Published on Oct 25, 1999
It might have seemed odd to some people that Jethro Tull was
putting out a compilation album,
Living In The Past, in 1972. After all, this was a group
that was only four albums old at the time, and who were just
hitting their commercial stride thanks to the success of
Aqualung.
Bu
Living In The Past is not a best-of per se. What this album
does is collects the songs that made Ian Anderson and crew stars in
Great Britain, songs that quite possibly were not as familiar to
American audiences. And there are some chestnuts in this collection
that are absolutely astounding, making me wonder why they never
made it onto an album prior to this one.
Sure, there’s plenty of material that the casual Jethro Tull fan
will recognize, like “Teacher,” “Living In The Past” and even some
hidden nuggets like “Song For Jeffrey” or “Bouree.” But the real
treats on this one, rightfully so, are the songs that weren’t as
familiar.
Just sit back, slap the headphones on, and wait to see how long
it takes before you all in love with songs like “Love Story,” “Life
Is A Long Song,” “Dr. Bogenbroom” or “Driving Song.” What is
interesting about these tracks is that, even on the first listen,
they will sound like you’ve known them all your life, especially if
you’ve listened to Tull past the hit singles in any fashion.
There are one or two potholes in the road, of course. I’ve never
really been able to get into the track “Singing All Day,” and it
might surprise some people, but I also don’t count “Witch’s
Promise” among my favorites. (Maybe it would have stood out on a
different album, but it feels inferior in this setting.)
I will also admit the long, drawn-out live tracks from a
Carnegie Hall show might scare some people off – what is it about
Carnegie Hall that bands think they can get away with turning
simple songs into goddamn epics? Chicago tried this on a
four-record set that collapsed under its own weight, and Jethro
Tull comes dangerously close to doing this on the John Evan piano
solo. However, the drawn-out style works well on “Dharma For One,”
a jazzed-up version of the track from
This Was that has its moments — though I still love Clive
Bunker’s manic drumming on the original better, and probably always
will.
What
Living In The Past does is ties up the loose ends of Jethro
Tull’s career to that point, allowing both the band and the
listener to move forward towards new creations. And over 25 years
since this album came out, it still is a must-own item.