Jethro Tull - First studio album after 20 years

About the song The Zealog Gene

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/jethro-tull/the-zealot-gene

  • A zealot is a person who pursues a singular goal with all their being, often motivated by very strong beliefs about religion or politics. As America got more ideologically divided in the 2010s, more zealots emerged, their views amplified by social media. In this song, Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson looks into this phenomenon.

    "It sums up, for me, the divisive nature of societal relationships and the extreme views which fuel the fires of hate and prejudice, more so today perhaps, than at any time in history," he explained. "Perhaps you think you know who I might have been thinking about here [we're guessing Donald Trump] but, in reality, there are probably right now at least five prominent, dictatorial national figures who could fit the bill."

  • The song makes specific mention of Twitter:

    Ear-splitting Twitter thunder
    And a screaming banshee wail
    You got too many opinions
    And a tomcat by the tail

    Anderson explained:

    "I'm not a Twitter guy at all, but 'we know who' [again, we're guessing Trump] is the arch Twitterer of recent years, which was both a success and ultimately his downfall. It's that kind of vehemence or zealotry, which comes with a point of view and wanting to indoctrinate people with a very polarized and divisive view."

  • "The Zealot Gene" is the title track to the first Jethro Tull album since their 2003 Christmas album. The band was mostly an Ian Anderson solo project at this point, but Anderson chose to release it as Jethro Tull instead of under his own moniker. It was slated for release, along with a tour, in 2020, but was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

  • An animated video directed by Sam Chegini, an Iranian filmmaker, was made to accompany this song. Chegini also made a video for the Tull classic "Aqualung."
 
Thanks for sharing. I've been a Tull fan since the 1970's, seeing them on the Thick as a Brick and Passion Play tours.
Watched the interview as well, and its great that Anderson recorded his songs with a band. I like his latest project, much more than some of the recent releases of my early music influences of the 1970's.
 
Huge HUGE Jethro Tull fan, here. My first concert ever - Songs From The Wood tour 1978 IIRC. Epic!

Though I'm happy to see I.A. still giving it hell with stellar flute playing, I have difficulty connecting much with the music of Tull over the last 15 years or so. I could say the same of the remaining few iconic groups (Stones, Pink Floyd, et al) and their albums post-2000.

I guess there's only so far you can take things before relevance and uniquely creative inspiration becomes a challenge. At the same time, not much from current artists tickles my musical funny bone, either, but at least there IMHO is a youthful freshness to much it.

For example, compare the flair, energy and originality of tunes like The Whistler, or Skating Away, with just about anything Tull has done over the last 25 years. Sure, it's not fair, and I'm certainly not the agile spring chicken I used to be, either, so let's just chalk it up to aging.

In any event, I just purchased the multi- CD/DVD release of the Benefit album that has re-mixes, rare tracks, live footage, and previously unreleased stuff. Highly recommend this for nostalgia buffs, right before Tull hit their stride internationally.
 
I loved their first three albums. So unique and interesting and ballsy.

HATED Aqualung, partly because I really didn't care for it and a guy down the hall in my dorm cranked it 24/7.

They lost me at that point, but those first three earn them a real spot in the pantheon in my book.
 
Dave Merrill said:
I loved their first three albums. So unique and interesting and ballsy.

HATED Aqualung, partly because I really didn't care for it and a guy down the hall in my dorm cranked it 24/7.

They lost me at that point, but those first three earn them a real spot in the pantheon in my book.
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I didn't followed them after Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! except for the Ian Anderson Plays The Orchestral Jethro Tull and the Martin Barre Stage Left solo album.

And that makes me think of other 70's bands that I did stop following at the 80's, for no particular reason. I really don't know if their work after that is good or bad.

One of these bands is Uriah Heep. I had all the vinyls from ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble (1970) to Firefly (1977). Now looking at the discography I see that I am missing about 30 records! :eek:



Long Live Uriah Heep!

BTW: I like Bernie Shaw as much as a David Byron. He also has a great voice, with a nice "Bruce Dickinson touch"
 
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jimfist said:
Uriah Heep...I saw them open for Tull on a tour..I thought they were great, and pretty heavy for the time.
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Wow! That must have been a great concert

I've found the whole Wacken 2019 gig!! I'm going to play it on TV and sit at the sofa for one hour 😎🍿
Sorry for the neighbors

 
I gave it a listen and the title track is probably the best. As a Tull fan all my life it has been sad to see them in recent years. Ian's vocal range is not the same anymore and the songs are dropped so many keys that they are hardly recognizable. The band misses Martin Barre (who I saw last month doing tremendous versions of the Tull catalog) and lacks the punch of the glory days where they were one of the best and tightest live bands I''ve ever seen. The fact that they are not in the RnR HOF is the single most glaring omission (ELP a close 2nd) and an embarassment to the voting committee. They have influenced so many and Ian's work in his prime (Stand Up, Benefit, Aqualung, TAAB, Passion Play, Minstrel, Songs from the Wood) stands up to most any catalog.
 
Piing said:
I didn't followed them after Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! except for the Ian Anderson Plays The Orchestral Jethro Tull and the Martin Barre Stage Left solo album.

And that makes me think of other 70's bands that I did stop following at the 80's, for no particular reason. I really don't know if their work after that is good or bad.

One of these bands is Uriah Heep. I had all the vinyls from ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble (1970) to Firefly (1977). Now looking at the discography I see that I am missing about 30 records! :eek:



Long Live Uriah Heep!

BTW: I like Bernie Shaw as much as a David Byron. He also has a great voice, with a nice "Bruce Dickinson touch"
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Go see them. I saw them a couple of years ago, and it was a great show.
 
WITELITE said:
I gave it a listen and the title track is probably the best. As a Tull fan all my life it has been sad to see them in recent years. Ian's vocal range is not the same anymore and the songs are dropped so many keys that they are hardly recognizable. The band misses Martin Barre (who I saw last month doing tremendous versions of the Tull catalog) and lacks the punch of the glory days where they were one of the best and tightest live bands I''ve ever seen. The fact that they are not in the RnR HOF is the single most glaring omission (ELP a close 2nd) and an embarassment to the voting committee. They have influenced so many and Ian's work in his prime (Stand Up, Benefit, Aqualung, TAAB, Passion Play, Minstrel, Songs from the Wood) stands up to most any catalog.
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Hey, they did beat Metallica out on a Grammy for best metal album. Not many bands can say that, RnR HOF or not. :)
 
WITELITE said:
I gave it a listen and the title track is probably the best. As a Tull fan all my life it has been sad to see them in recent years. Ian's vocal range is not the same anymore and the songs are dropped so many keys that they are hardly recognizable. The band misses Martin Barre (who I saw last month doing tremendous versions of the Tull catalog) and lacks the punch of the glory days where they were one of the best and tightest live bands I''ve ever seen. The fact that they are not in the RnR HOF is the single most glaring omission (ELP a close 2nd) and an embarassment to the voting committee. They have influenced so many and Ian's work in his prime (Stand Up, Benefit, Aqualung, TAAB, Passion Play, Minstrel, Songs from the Wood) stands up to most any catalog.
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The last time I saw Tull, and I'm talking a long time ago, late 90s maybe, his voice was shot then. He was having do some weird inflection thing to hit higher notes. Same sort of weird vocal action you hear on the TaaB 2 album. It's more pronounced on that album, but it was disappointing to see live.

When Tull broke up, Barre even said, from now on, you're going to see two solo acts, basically the Martin Barre band, and the Ian Anderson band, and there will never be another Jethro Tull. It's kind of weird to me that this album is coming out under that name. Thick as a Brick 2 didn't. That was an Ian Anderson solo record.
 
I've seen Tull twice (2004 & 2008 IIRC) at more intimate venues (less than 1000 capacity), and the performances were good, tight, and professional sounding. But it was near heartbreaking to hear IA struggling with any upper range vocals, as mentioned, with many hit songs dropping key noticeably and being abridged.

I just would prefer the lasting memory of my youth idols to be when they were at their most vital. The tribulations IA had with his voice problems are well documented, and he's paid a price for carrying the entire vocal burden for so long. Admirable, but you can hear the results of the decline in range and nuance over the last 25 years. Martin Barre never missed a step...always great.

F*%$ the R&R HOF!! If any group deserved to be in the HOF it is Tull. Not many prog groups could give the masses red-meat hit songs like Living In The Past or Bungle In The Jungle, while also producing innovative artistic masterpieces like Thick as a Brick and Aqualung, that features lead flute and a freaky baritone lead singer.
 
jimfist said:
I've seen Tull twice (2004 & 2008 IIRC) at more intimate venues (less than 1000 capacity), and the performances were good, tight, and professional sounding. But it was near heartbreaking to hear IA struggling with any upper range vocals, as mentioned, with many hit songs dropping key noticeably and being abridged.

I just would prefer the lasting memory of my youth idols to be when they were at their most vital. The tribulations IA had with his voice problems are well documented, and he's paid a price for carrying the entire vocal burden for so long. Admirable, but you can hear the results of the decline in range and nuance over the last 25 years. Martin Barre never missed a step...always great.

F*%$ the R&R HOF!! If any group deserved to be in the HOF it is Tull. Not many prog groups could give the masses red-meat hit songs like Living In The Past or Bungle In The Jungle, while also producing innovative artistic masterpieces like Thick as a Brick and Aqualung, that features lead flute and a freaky baritone lead singer.
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Well said. Many, many years ago when I used to alphabetize my LP collection, I realized I had more Tull albums than any other band. Crest of a Knave was the last one for me (and Barre was still on that one)

....Hopefully you've gotten this far. Let me know if I need to translate "alphabetize my LP collection" :)

MM
 
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