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Post by adospencer on Jun 25, 2021 8:21:51 GMT
Ian Anderson at his best has a way of inviting you into a song to draw your own conclusions. He asks questions of the characters in the songs that enable us to empathise with them. So with lines like "Do you still remember Decembers foggy freeze?" "Jack, do you never sleep?" "Do you simply reflect changes in the patterns of the sky?", we are drawn in, the characters are "humanised" if you will. So, yes, actually we do remember how cold December is out on the streets , yes, we do wonder if Jack in the green has time to rest, and just what is that weathercock thinking as he spins up there at the mercy of the wind? I think that's been a major disappointment in the last few albums. He no longer seems to wait for the muse to visit , but plans ahead to sit down to write songs on pre arranged dates in order to fit a project that he has in mind already. There seems little for the listener to unravel, being instead more of a statement of "facts" as he sees them, or even in some instances ( and the dreadful "Uninvited" comes to mind ) just a list! This seems somewhat forced, and has given rise to songs that don't involve me in the way they used to. Both "Brick 2" and "Erraticus" leave very little lyrically for us to unravel. Sure there are the usual clever word plays, with our hero there always will be, but that wonderful ambiguity seems to have gone. The lyrics to me have always been a big deal. I remember when "Play" came out I struggled with it musically finding it really hard work. But what kept me going back to it was the fascination of trying to make my own sense of the words which eventually I did. Well sort of!.
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Post by jackinthegreen on Sept 29, 2022 15:09:33 GMT
Ian Anderson at his best has a way of inviting you into a song to draw your own conclusions. He asks questions of the characters in the songs that enable us to empathise with them. So with lines like "Do you still remember Decembers foggy freeze?" "Jack, do you never sleep?" "Do you simply reflect changes in the patterns of the sky?", we are drawn in, the characters are "humanised" if you will. So, yes, actually we do remember how cold December is out on the streets , yes, we do wonder if Jack in the green has time to rest, and just what is that weathercock thinking as he spins up there at the mercy of the wind? I think that's been a major disappointment in the last few albums. He no longer seems to wait for the muse to visit , but plans ahead to sit down to write songs on pre arranged dates in order to fit a project that he has in mind already. There seems little for the listener to unravel, being instead more of a statement of "facts" as he sees them, or even in some instances ( and the dreadful "Uninvited" comes to mind ) just a list! This seems somewhat forced, and has given rise to songs that don't involve me in the way they used to. Both "Brick 2" and "Erraticus" leave very little lyrically for us to unravel. Sure there are the usual clever word plays, with our hero there always will be, but that wonderful ambiguity seems to have gone. The lyrics to me have always been a big deal. I remember when "Play" came out I struggled with it musically finding it really hard work. But what kept me going back to it was the fascination of trying to make my own sense of the words which eventually I did. Well sort of!. I find myself agreeing with you, great post. I think Ian still writes good lyrics some of the time, just not great lyrics all of the time......like he used to.
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Post by steelmonkey on Oct 2, 2022 22:28:17 GMT
I thought TAAB 2 was as good as anything ( well, outside of Passion Play) that Ian had ever written. Homo E. and Zealot a bit forced here and there but not without highlights.
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Post by tullabye on Oct 3, 2022 20:46:55 GMT
I thought TAAB 2 was as good as anything ( well, outside of Passion Play) that Ian had ever written. Homo E. and Zealot a bit forced here and there but not without highlights. And he’s already completed yet another album. Who else continues to write such compelling lyrics at his age. So prolific, it’s incredible!
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Post by ash on Nov 26, 2022 11:41:16 GMT
Even Ian's not so good is 100% better than others. Mine Is the Mountain is so powerful and Sad City Sisters paints a picture in my mind
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Post by jackinthegreen on Nov 27, 2022 2:14:54 GMT
Even Ian's not so good is 100% better than others. Mine Is the Mountain is so powerful and Sad City Sisters paints a picture in my mind I said so from the start, Mine is the Mountain, is my favourite track from the album.
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Post by steelmonkey on Nov 28, 2022 3:37:27 GMT
Mine is the Mountain. From My God to Me God in 50 short years. Great song, great album.
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