Ian Anderson: Jethro Tull’s one-legged hammy past and their potential stripped-down future

(via Louder) by James McNair

Not ones for living in the past, Jethro Tull are back with their 24th album – and third in three years – Curious Ruminant. It finds frontman Ian Anderson embracing his love of sci-fi and issuing a warning about climate change. He tells Prog about building on the band’s legacy, hamming it up for the crowd and making sure all the semiquavers are in the right place.

Twenty minutes into his scheduled 9am Zoom interview with Prog, Ian Anderson has yet to appear. This is very unlike him and there is speculation about his whereabouts. Is he feeding his chickens? His pigs? Has he become absorbed in some music at his home studio? It’s a safe bet Jethro’s Tull’s venerable leader is up and doing something, because even now – or maybe especially now, given time’s year-stealing march – indolence is not this driven, 77-year-old flautist’s way.

Suddenly Anderson appears on screen, apologising that he has only just learned of a Google spreadsheet apprising him of the day’s many tasks. It turns out he’s been up since 6.30am (“A late start”) and has already replied to Derek Shulman of Gentle Giant’s email requesting a quote of endorsement for an upcoming memoir.

“I thought, ‘Okay, another end-of-life story,’” says Tull’s frontman, “but it’s what we do when we get older, right? You want to leave a legacy that isn’t just carved on your tombstone, but also carved in your own memory before it’s too late.”

After 24 studio albums and almost 60 years with Jethro Tull, Anderson’s legacy looks safe even before you factor in his not inconsiderable solo output. The band’s latest LP Curious Ruminant fulfils the contractual stipulations of their three-album deal with German prog label InsideOutMusic – but unlike 2022’s The Zealot Gene and 2023’s RökFlöte, it’s not a concept album; and it feels weightier, closer to home…

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