Jethro Tull: “Reasons for Waiting” (1969)
Another gem from the deep catalog of a band whose hardcore fans seem to think every release is a masterpiece (they couldn’t be more wrong) but who gets such little mainstream critical respect that, as of this writing, the band hasn’t been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (they couldn’t be more wrong).
Similarly to Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull started out as a British blues-rock band, but lineup changes–and perhaps commercial considerations–dictated a musical course correction.
Following the departure of band leader and guitarist Mick Abrahams after their first album, Tull was effectively Ian Anderson’s band (and has been ever since).
After a brief (less than 2 month) stint by future Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi, guitarist Martin Barre was brought aboard to replace Abrahams on guitar. A more versatile musician, Barre was adept on mandolin and had actually been playing flute longer than Anderson himself.
Tull’s signature sound would be forged by Anderson’s flute and Barre’s guitar licks over the next decade. In the meantime, second LP Stand Up was the record on which the transition from blues-influenced rock to a folk-inflected style began. Soon after, their distinctive folk/progressive rock blend fully unfolded.
But Tull has never truly abandoned its folk-rock leanings under flautist Anderson’s leadership.
“Reasons for Waiting” is nowhere on any Tull fan’s list of favorite songs. But this beautiful Ian Anderson ballad showcases the versatility of the writer better known for such canonical classic rock as “Aqualung”, “Locomotive Breath” and “Thick as a Brick”.
This was the first song on which the band used orchestration in the studio, and Dee (at the time David) Palmer’s string arrangement is what raises the song to another level.
Palmer, perhaps Jethro Tull’s true unsung hero, would later become a full-fledged recording and touring member of the band, helping to build the lavish arrangements on albums like Songs from the Wood and songs like “Orion”.
Credited as composer of the 1979 Stormwatch album-closer “Elegy”, one of the few Tull songs without an Anderson writing credit, Palmer wrote the song as an ode to her father, writing it within an hour after first hearing he had died.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/02/24/songs-you-may-have-missed-340/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/11/18/songs-you-may-have-missed-242/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/07/12/recommended-albums-100/
Every Moment Has A Song 