Discography
Jethro Tull has been releasing high quality music for almost thirty years. In fact, Tull has been influential for so long that it is easy to forget what made them such a compelling act during the early stages of their career. The band had a profound effect on rock during the late 1960's and '70's due to their use of the flute as a lead instrument and the wild persona Ian Anderson portrayed on stage. During those years Tull was known as a hard rock band ("Aqualung" and "Locomotive Breath"). In the early 1970's they were thought of as a progressive rock band ( "Thick As A Brick" and "A Passion Play"). At the end of that decade "Songs From The Wood" and "Heavy Horses" were more folk-oriented. The 1980's saw Tull become more keyboard-oriented and hi-tech in its approach. More recently, "Crest Of A Knave" surprised everybody (especially Metallica) by winning a Grammy for best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Act. And in 1994 Ian Anderson showed incredible musical maturity with his classically-inspired, new age-influenced "Divinities". Tull also contributed a great deal to making the modern concert business what it is today. They were the first group to carry it's own PA system from city to city and make those costs part of the production expenses. They were the first group to carry multi-level staging on the road with them making them memorable for putting on an extravagant live show.
Ian Anderson has a style and a vision which he has been able to parlay into a huge army of dedicated fans that has remained loyal for decades. But with all the image, marketing and promotional aspects of the Tull story, one factor should not be dismissed: the songs were great. "To Cry You A Song ...A Collection Of Tull Tales" is made up of some of Jethro Tull's best and most loved songs. The performers that have been gathered together for this album have all been a part of the Tull story as participants or avid fans.
Who Are the Performers?
Mick Abrahams, Clive Bunker and Glenn Cornick
The original Jethro Tull rhythm section of Mick Abrahams (guitar), Clive Bunker (Drums) and Glenn Cornick (bass) have not performed as a unit since the first Jethro Tull album ("This Was"). But they have been re-united to perform 6 songs on this special album. Along with them, long-time Tull producer and engineer, Robin Black, was recruited to put the tracks to tape. The result was amazingly like the original recordings. But the similarity ends when a star-studded cast of vocalists and instrumentalists is brought on board to complement these tracks.
John Wetton
John Wetton (formerly of Asia, UK and King Crimson) gives an emotional vocal performance on "Nothing Is Easy". Ian McDonald (Formerly of King Crimson and Foreigner) lends his flute to the same cut as well as "New Day Yesterday". Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music plays guitar on the same two songs.
Glenn Hughes
Glenn Hughes (ex-Deep Purple, Trapeze and Hughes -Thrall) gives an incredible vocal reading on the albums title cut showing why Glenn has always been considered one of rock's greatest vocalists. Also performing on that song (as well as "Teacher") is Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian who lends color and feel to those tracks.
Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson (ELP, The Nice), a keyboard legend by anyone's standards, takes a well-known song ("Living In The Past") and gives it a completely new vibe by turning it into an instrumental.
Derek Trucks and Charlie Musselwhite
"Cat's Squirrel", an early Tull instrumental, shows the English blues as interpreted by American bluesmen of different generations. Derek Trucks, a sixteen year-old guitar phenomenon, plays incendiary slide guitar. Charlie Musselwhite, known as one the premier blues harp players in the world, supports the rest of the band with his tasty performance.
Robby Steinhardt
Robby Steinhardt, best known as the violinist for the great U.S. band, Kansas, turns in a gritty vocal on "New Day Yesterday" as well as burning up the track with a hot violin solo.
Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg, a long-time member of Tull as well as Fairport Convention, gives a heart-felt performance of "Life's A Long Song" along with his son, Matt, also a former Tull member.
Roy Harper
Roy Harper, legendary English eccentric folkie and the voice of Pink Floyd's "Have A Cigar", plants his tongue firmly in his cheek with a brilliant version of "Up The 'Pool".
Echolyn
Philadelphia's Echolyn contributes a quirky version of "One Brown Mouse" to the album. Acoustic guitars and unique vocals contribute to this cut's personality.
Wolfstone
Wolfstone, from Scotland, are known as one of the world's leading Celtic rock bands. Contributing vocals, guitar and violin to "Teacher", Wolfstone gives a delicate but sincere feel to this early Tull song.
Tempest
Tempest (A Magna Carta act) performs a folk-rock version of "Locomotive Breath" as well as having their lead singer, Lief Sorbye, record a version of "Mother Goose" with guitar-aficionado Mike Varney playing lead guitar.
Magellan
Magellan (another Magna Carta act) has written the only piece of original music for the album, "A Tull Tale". This track uses the sound of the flute (performed by Stan Johnson) to pay tribute to Jethro Tull's musical development and lead directly into Magellan's huge-sounding version of "Aqualung".
Robert Berry
Much of the album was produced, arranged and engineered by Robert Berry. Robert had been a member of the group "3" (with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer) as well as "GTR" (with Steve Howe). Robert also performed much of the additional instrumentation on "To Cry You A Song ..." as well as contributing a solo cut, "Minstrel In The Gallery". Robert Berry has developed a strong following with his body of recorded work over the year or so. His talent is obvious and his ability to distill the essence of other people's material while giving it a completely new flavor has been proven with his involvement in all of Magna Carta's tribute albums.
"To Cry You A Song...A Collection Of Tull Tales" is truly a tribute to one of the landmark bands in the history of rock. Jethro Tull is sometimes called "the world's best known underground band". So many people have loved this group over the years, both fans and musicians. Combining great musical performances and unique anecdotes by the artists involved tells a tale which still has not come to an end.
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