Jethro Tull - "Aqua Letterman"

[DoctorWho1983]

What?! The backup band goes from the greatest tull tunes to jackson 5?! I wonder how Ian and Martin went about that.

[jamesweisz]

i love his voice i grew up with tull its some of the best music even today.

[yoyoloto]

fuck, I cant pronounce Jethro properly

[meowandmeow]

This is awesome, his voice sounds much better here than I have heard elsewhere form recordings in the 90s/2000s

[zapspace]

Nice song!

[dmemswiler]

Letterman rocks, if for no other reason, he has had Tull the band, and Ian the man, as guests both in the 1980s and in recent history. Ian was the "guest" musician about 2007 or 2008, if I am remembering correctly. This was strange to watch, but I appreciate Letterman inviting the greatest rock band on, when so few other main stream media even recognize them.

[themountainviewguy]

I hate Letterman ... maybe he screwed one of his staff that night.

There it is ... right on American TV ... snot running down his nose ... now ... how does snot get down his nose,and what the hell is a dog end? ... nevermind, Letterman is a jerk, but he did shake Marty Lancelotte's hand!

Nice survey of Tull through the decades!

[4TuLLHEAD]

@themountainviewguy ... FYI : a "dogend" is a cigarette butt in Brit-speak.

[Howardtripper]

@themountainviewguy A DOG END IS A TIT BIT YOU THROW A DOG. A small piece of meat

[dunebasher1971]

@Howardtripper That might be what it means in other countries, but it's not what Anderson meant. He was using it in the British slang sense, where a "dog end" is the discarded stub of a cigarette. Tramps are closely associated with picking up and trying to smoke dog ends.

[bbmusic1]

Yeah his voice is gone but they're still one of the most fun live bands to see

[melkor6666666]

Bassist is kickin' ass!

[mockingbirdjim]

The "Black Sunday" part is a nice unexpected touch...

[TotteTheBreaker]

I love Jethro tull but... What happened to his voice? Is he just old or did something happen to him?

[Gregsynth]

Well, back in 1984, Jethro Tull was on tour for their "Under Wraps" album, and Ian developed vocal strain and laryngitis from over-touring for so many years (plus the Under Wraps material was all at the top of Ian's range-adding to the problem). Ian never stopped performing (until his voice completely gave out) and did permanent damage to his voice. His voice in 1985 was awful-but it recovered (with a nasally/raspy tone) in 1986 and he sounded OK up until 1992 (Continued).

[Gregsynth]

(Continued from previous post)After 1991, his voice has gotten weaker every year--he sounds good on newer material, but songs from the 60s-early 90s shows you how wrecked his voice is.

His instrumental abilities are still top-notch though!

[mwicks2k]

@Gregsynth Yeah, I aven't been able to go to any live tours in about 6 years or so 'cuz I can't stand to watch him strain his voice trying to sing the older material. I just bought the Live In MSG 1978 CD and it's great listening to a classis live performance.The only way I'd would see them live now would be if it were a final end-of-the-band tour. Plus, Ian doesn't jump around and twirl his flute like in the golden days of yesteryear. I think he is just about TOTRNR:TYTD.

[OdysseyIntoOblivion]

Ever since the mid 80's his higher vocal register went away from age and touring too much. It was acceptable till probably the mid to late 90's when it became like a fucking joke when he sang. He's still amazing though and 40 years of singing would ruin anyone's voice.

[BLUESMANRONCHICAGO]

@OdysseyIntoOblivion yeah, it is sad, but he can still play the hell out of a flute!!!

[captainkane1984]

I feel like this is a pretty good performance for Ian after the 80's stuff. It's a good mix of his old voice and the voice he has to live with. It sounds mature almost.

[hawkhandsaw]

What I could never understand is why Ian's speaking voice still sounds the same, but he's lost all his nasal resonance when he sings. Theoretically his singing voice should sound the same, despite his age. His voice sounds constricted and stuck in his throat, almost like he's had a perpetual cold. I know that he blew his voice out on the "Under Wraps" tour, but one would think that it would have recovered with rest and therapy. Perhaps he did permanent damage, I don't know. Still love him though

[virginiuspaiva]

lenda do rock de todos os tempos jethrotull

[XxDeineOmmaxX]

cool, cooler, ian

[marduk13]

Is anyone else reminded of Christopher Lloyd when they see Ian's random expressions, especially at 2:04-2:11?

[wrongsideoftime]

Great Scott!

[deconstructionist67]

Ian's gotten a lot of mileage from a song about a pedophile

[Chamomileable]

THIS!

[FloydyTube]

@deconstructionist67 What makes you think it's about a paedophile? You need to listen to it a bit more closely

[kataztr0fe]

whats the last part after loco breath? i've only heard it on live performances. can't spot it on one of the albums. =(

[4TuLLHEAD]

It's "Black Sunday" from the "A" album. It's also the opening song from the 1980 Video "Slipstream" ... because they opened the "A" tour with that song. It's a great tune... and very difficult to play. As Ian said, there's no place to take a breath.

[kataztr0fe]

thanks a lot for that info. i've known jethro tull for two decades through my father, but i listen to them intensely for about a year now. there is so much tull to listen to, an A is not an album i've touched a lot yet. maybe this is my intro to that album =) ... but wasn't that part also played at the end of the 77 hippodrome show?

[kataztr0fe]

false, i must have mixed it up with the ending of the 82 (or 84) show thats on the new "live from germany" dvd ...

[yogaman1919]

drats and i want to get that black sunday piece down on flute too. well nothing like a challenge :)

[9496tull]

awsome! i remember watching this forgot all about it

[khashayar44]

Thanks very much mate, been looking for this....

Kash

[minerviss86]

Thanks