Music Magazine Prog Special: Jethro Tull Third Edition Back Issue

Ian Anderson isn’t one for grandstanding celebrations. When Jethro Tull, the band the flute-wielding frontman founded in 1967, turned 50 a few years ago, he had to be cajoled, prodded and pushed into celebrating that landmark anniversary. It has taken a lot less persuading for us to commemorate the rich history of this great British band, one who helped lay down the foundations for the entire progressive rock genre before becoming bona fide megastars in the US. As anyone who has ever immersed themselves in the world of Tull and Anderson can tell you, there’s no one else like them. Of course their music is complex and groundbreaking – not least of their twin masterpieces, Aqualung and Thick As A Brick – but it’s more than just that. Their songs take in folk, rock, classical, blues, world music, even the occasional foray into heavy metal (maybe that infamous 1989 Grammy wasn’t entirely misplaced after all). And Ian Anderson remains one of the finest lyricists not just in rock but in the whole of music. Whether he’s skewering organised religion, satirising the rock’n’roll lifestyle, digging deep into the myths and folklore of Great Britain or, as on 1979’s Stormwatch album, predicting catastrophic climate change, he’s always been an utterly unique voice. We’re celebrating that amazing legacy in this special bookazine, which collects the best Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson interviews and features from the pages of Prog and Classic Rock magazines. We chart the band’s rise from blues-rock hopefuls to rock giants, telling the stories of the albums that made them superstars in the words of Tull members past and present. And Ian Anderson himself has opened up the band’s archive to present photographs that have never been seen before. So crank up Locomotive Breath, bust out the air flute and enjoy…