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Post by johntetrad on Jul 18, 2009 22:49:56 GMT
To be honest, I can't really blame Ian for not being as 'on the ball' with publicity or issuing his own rather flexible release schedules ... after all, until 1981-ish the guy worked his tripe off for Tull, year after year ... and then he did the same in the early 80s for his fish farming before returning for another ten years or so of heavy duty Tullery. Fair enough if he wants to do things at his own pace these days I say - the guy is 60 after all! These days he wears a fleece in publicity work for chrissakes. He looks as if he's got a part time job working on the tills in M&S most of time. Which I think is great by the way. The only thing that bothers me slightly about Ian is that he applies a little too much 'business rationale' to Tull ... I mean, in the past he did this brilliantly - Ian's a terrific businessman, hence Tull's success in 70s when he and Terry Ellis made such an effective team. However, as he's got older you hear him talk more and more about sales figures and viable marketplaces and all that sort of thing - I think that now he does more of the business side of things himself it's almost as if he runs Tull like a provincial double glazing firm or something, constantly staring over his specs at Excel spreadsheets of projected income from the three pointless gigs he'll be doing in Estonia to 426 people next March ... he lets his head rule his heart a little too much. He won't release a new physical LP because he knows - rightly - it will only sell a tiny fraction of what his business brain tells him he requires to turn a decent profit. What he fails to appreciate is that tiny bands and labels do that sort of thing all the time because they love making music and putting out little records. Maybe it's a pride thing? If my records were earning platinum discs 30 years ago perhaps I'd see less point in a limited run of 5000 new albums on Audiophile vinyl or something. You'd have thought small, more artizan releases might appeal to Ian's artistic bent. Obviously live work is where the cash is these days, whether you're an enormo-act, rock legend or tiny indie band. No one buys physical albums anymore in any truly meaningful quantities. I think the more Ian gets bogged down in his light admin, the less he's likely to embrace modern music selling techniques and - whisper it - forget all about ever making an album ever again. Personally speaking I'd rather he didn't make a new album if it's going to be just as awful as the rest of the stuff he's produced in the last 15 years but, whoah!, that's just my opinion! And I've been known to be wrong! Gareth
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Post by TM on Jul 19, 2009 1:08:00 GMT
To be honest, I can't really blame Ian for not being as 'on the ball' with publicity or issuing his own rather flexible release schedules ... after all, until 1981-ish the guy worked his tripe off for Tull, year after year ... and then he did the same in the early 80s for his fish farming before returning for another ten years or so of heavy duty Tullery. Fair enough if he wants to do things at his own pace these days I say - the guy is 60 after all! These days he wears a fleece in publicity work for chrissakes. He looks as if he's got a part time job working on the tills in M&S most of time. Which I think is great by the way. The only thing that bothers me slightly about Ian is that he applies a little too much 'business rationale' to Tull ... I mean, in the past he did this brilliantly - Ian's a terrific businessman, hence Tull's success in 70s when he and Terry Ellis made such an effective team. However, as he's got older you hear him talk more and more about sales figures and viable marketplaces and all that sort of thing - I think that now he does more of the business side of things himself it's almost as if he runs Tull like a provincial double glazing firm or something, constantly staring over his specs at Excel spreadsheets of projected income from the three pointless gigs he'll be doing in Estonia to 426 people next March ... he lets his head rule his heart a little too much. He won't release a new physical LP because he knows - rightly - it will only sell a tiny fraction of what his business brain tells him he requires to turn a decent profit. What he fails to appreciate is that tiny bands and labels do that sort of thing all the time because they love making music and putting out little records. Maybe it's a pride thing? If my records were earning platinum discs 30 years ago perhaps I'd see less point in a limited run of 5000 new albums on Audiophile vinyl or something. You'd have thought small, more artizan releases might appeal to Ian's artistic bent. Obviously live work is where the cash is these days, whether you're an enormo-act, rock legend or tiny indie band. No one buys physical albums anymore in any truly meaningful quantities. I think the more Ian gets bogged down in his light admin, the less he's likely to embrace modern music selling techniques and - whisper it - forget all about ever making an album ever again. Personally speaking I'd rather he didn't make a new album if it's going to be just as awful as the rest of the stuff he's produced in the last 15 years but, whoah!, that's just my opinion! And I've been known to be wrong! Gareth You may be known for being wrong, but I'd say you are absolutely right in this case.
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Post by nonrabbit on Jul 19, 2009 8:19:53 GMT
Ha!! fleece jackets/peering over excel spreadsheets/ working in M&S - part time LOVE it ;D I think you've hit the nail on the head marrying his business skills (Scottish business person of the Year) and his artistic skills is bound to have elements of one pushing the other and each winning on seperate occasions. It can't just be the accumulation of capital either cause he must have made enough to not bother about it now? Question to the Forum -especially the millionaires amongst us - How much money is enough? No I think he is a born businessman with an outstanding artistic talent - the B*****!!! I think there are other issues as well but best left to a gathering around the pub fire Ps Back to Gareth's descriptive picture - it's a pity he gave up the pipe and should we have a collection for a present of slippers for him at Xmas? ;D
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Post by nonrabbit on Jul 19, 2009 9:11:37 GMT
Another thought as well although I don't know the bloke but piecing things together over the years on what we the fans have seen (that interview with Australian TV for eg) I think he is a deep thinker and does genuinely care for the fans sitting in the far reacing corners of the world and also he shows a great keeness in supporting young up and coming musicians too. But I do think also that the time is right to listen to his 'old timers' and at the very least -shut us up !
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mix
Journeyman
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Post by mix on Jul 19, 2009 10:54:43 GMT
To be honest, I can't really blame Ian for not being as 'on the ball' with publicity or issuing his own rather flexible release schedules ... after all, until 1981-ish the guy worked his tripe off for Tull, year after year ... and then he did the same in the early 80s for his fish farming before returning for another ten years or so of heavy duty Tullery. Fair enough if he wants to do things at his own pace these days I say - the guy is 60 after all! These days he wears a fleece in publicity work for chrissakes. He looks as if he's got a part time job working on the tills in M&S most of time. Which I think is great by the way. The only thing that bothers me slightly about Ian is that he applies a little too much 'business rationale' to Tull ... I mean, in the past he did this brilliantly - Ian's a terrific businessman, hence Tull's success in 70s when he and Terry Ellis made such an effective team. However, as he's got older you hear him talk more and more about sales figures and viable marketplaces and all that sort of thing - I think that now he does more of the business side of things himself it's almost as if he runs Tull like a provincial double glazing firm or something, constantly staring over his specs at Excel spreadsheets of projected income from the three pointless gigs he'll be doing in Estonia to 426 people next March ... he lets his head rule his heart a little too much. He won't release a new physical LP because he knows - rightly - it will only sell a tiny fraction of what his business brain tells him he requires to turn a decent profit. What he fails to appreciate is that tiny bands and labels do that sort of thing all the time because they love making music and putting out little records. Maybe it's a pride thing? If my records were earning platinum discs 30 years ago perhaps I'd see less point in a limited run of 5000 new albums on Audiophile vinyl or something. You'd have thought small, more artizan releases might appeal to Ian's artistic bent. Obviously live work is where the cash is these days, whether you're an enormo-act, rock legend or tiny indie band. No one buys physical albums anymore in any truly meaningful quantities. I think the more Ian gets bogged down in his light admin, the less he's likely to embrace modern music selling techniques and - whisper it - forget all about ever making an album ever again. Yeah I think you're on to something. At best a Tull album used to shift over a million copies, at worst, hundreds of thousands. I'd guess the last albums from Ian/Tull were well under a hundred thousand, perhaps even under ten thousand. That has got to be hard for the ego. Having said that it is a matter of scale. While it may not be possible to shift the number that the old business model supported, today, with the internet you can sell direct to your customer. No middle men, no record company, no distributor and no manufacturing cost! So there is no need to sell the same quantity. Let's take a look at some numbers. Say Ian puts up a new song on JethroTull.com for $1.99. Now at worst he sells a 1000 copies = $1990. That is for one song! He could do one a month = $7960. Come on, that is a good return and that is worst case sales. I expect sales to be a bit better, not to mention future sales on said song. I thought Roots to branches was a pretty fair album. SLOB is one of Ian's best. Dot Com is average. Rupi is fair. Xmas album is ok. Orchestra stuff is dribble. So to call albums of the last 15 years awful is pretty harsh.
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Post by steelmonkey on Jul 19, 2009 15:13:53 GMT
Yeah...SLOB/DotCom quality new stuff would be just fine....we're waiting!
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Post by johntetrad on Jul 23, 2009 21:06:31 GMT
Well, hmm, yeah - I know a lot of peeps on here are big fans of the 90s Tull stuff ... not me though. Then again, I *love* 'A' and 'Under Wraps' - I'm sure there's a fair few folk on here who would take 'Dot Com' over 'A' anytime and ask me to insert the latter into an intimate area for safe keeping whilst they were at it. Besides, that's not to say IA's output since the early 90s is all *actually* awful - in the grand scheme of things it's probably pretty darned good!
But don't get me wrong - I'd still buy whatever new stuff IA came up with and I'd be as chuffed to bits if IA pulled a couple of little gems out of the bag. And there are still flashes of the old brilliance there, even for dour doom-mongers such as I. And that's all he needs to do really to keep people like us satisfied and to keep Shona in handbags - 4 cracking little tunes as a downloadable EP once a year would do the trick.
gx
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tommie
Master Craftsman
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Post by tommie on Jul 24, 2009 6:15:37 GMT
JohnTetrad, you have very eloquently put it all into perspective. Good job. my own two cents:
I know I'm in the minority here.....but to me "Roots...." was brilliant. 1995. "Dot" was very decent. 1999 "...Birds" was gorgeous. But, still, we're talking already a decade ago! I'm also in the minority vis a vis "Under Wraps" and "Walk Into..." which I thought were excellent.
My other two cents: Ian ONLY cares about the money. That's the one thing that really pisses me off, because I luv him so much in all other ways. It's been proven over and over again. Great example is when "Under Wraps" flopped (commercially, at least here in the States) he did a long Market Research thing to see what would sell the next time out. which wound up being "Crest..".
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Post by nonrabbit on Jul 24, 2009 7:13:36 GMT
My other two cents: Ian ONLY cares about the money. That's the one thing that really pisses me off, because I luv him so much in all other ways. It's been proven over and over again. Great example is when "Under Wraps" flopped (commercially, at least here in the States) he did a long Market Research thing to see what would sell the next time out. which wound up being "Crest..". Has this been discussed before?? If it was all money would he not have put himself about more over the years - Ozzy style? This has been said before - he bought the big pile in Scotland and turned it into a much needed boost to the Highland economy smart move! All he needed to do was sit and invest his money in property, stocks and shares. I'm not saying that he isn't shrewd maybe in a fickle world like music you have to become that way if you want to make a decent way of life out of it. Why is it such a big deal anyway? If it was all money would he not have brought out more records and made more appearances for publicity?
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Post by maddogfagin on Jul 24, 2009 7:40:23 GMT
Great idea and I know a heck of a lot of folks would go for this. I still wonder why IA has never gone down the road of having his own label to put stuff out on and maybe an idea like this would help his thought process along these lines.
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Post by TM on Jul 24, 2009 14:13:25 GMT
JohnTetrad, you have very eloquently put it all into perspective. Good job. my own two cents: I know I'm in the minority here.....but to me "Roots...." was brilliant. 1995. "Dot" was very decent. 1999 "...Birds" was gorgeous. But, still, we're talking already a decade ago! I'm also in the minority vis a vis "Under Wraps" and "Walk Into..." which I thought were excellent. My other two cents: Ian ONLY cares about the money. That's the one thing that really pisses me off, because I luv him so much in all other ways. It's been proven over and over again. Great example is when "Under Wraps" flopped (commercially, at least here in the States) he did a long Market Research thing to see what would sell the next time out. which wound up being "Crest..". I was part of the "Market Research thing" you mentioned. The purpose of it for Ian was to sell (the new) management at Chrysalis on Jethro Tull still being viable. All the songs were finished and nothing was changed because of the responses we had given to the music.
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Post by steelmonkey on Jul 24, 2009 15:12:31 GMT
I remember hearing about the pre-Crest 'feedback' sessions and was very curious....Tell more TM!? Please?
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Post by TM on Jul 24, 2009 16:58:47 GMT
I remember hearing about the pre-Crest 'feedback' sessions and was very curious....Tell more TM!? Please? Sure Steel. The listening parties were promoted by local radio stations throughout the US. About 30 callers and a guest (from each city) were selected to listen to the new songs in order to give Ian feedback on the new material. The interesting thing about my story was that the selection process was taking place between 8 and 10 am, which meant that for about a half an hour I couldn't call because I would be commuting. But as not to be denied I had my sister calling on my behalf as well. So sure enough 10:00 came and went, and as luck would have it I never got through. But shortly after my phone rang and it was my sister, she was calling to inform me that she in fact did get through and I was now in! I can remember not only being ecstatic that I was going but also a bit nervous since the New York radio station insinuated that we would be listening to the new songs and sharing our thoughts directly with Ian himself! But of course that was not the case. A couple of folks from Chrysalis met us at a club in NYC and handed out a questionnaire to be returned at the end of the night. In return for our participation we received our choice of beverage (the last time I drank Rolling Rock!). We were advised that our names would be included on the inside record sleeve, and that we would also be receiving an advanced promotional copy of the record. I think it was July when we received our copies while the official release was sometime in September. So anyway, every song that made it onto the CD was played that night. The only difference being that the instrumental before The Waking Edge was in fact it’s own track entitled “Instrumental.” The questionnaire had us rank each song on a scale of 1-10. Other questions were things like “What song would you like to see made into a video?” “Would you like to see Tull continue in a similar musical direction?” Etc., etc. It was a great night, and one of the reasons why Crest is amongst my favorite Tull records. Ian has gone on to discuss the listening parties... Not that Anderson doesn't consider the business angles.
I decided to con Chrysalis into some prerelease involvement and to involve the album rock radio stations in something that felt good to be doing.
Anderson says he arranged to have more than 800 listeners of 12 major album rock radio stations in the U.S. review the new album and offer critical comments.
I took a chance their answers would be very strongly complimentary (he says). Because then I could thrust that under the nose of our record company and say, "Look, you guys, if you get behind this one, you have a chance to do well."
Anderson says about 80% of the listeners polled found Crest Of A Knave to be "significantly more enjoyable than the last few Jethro Tull albums," while 78% found the style of music a direction they'd like the band to continue to follow.
Jethro Tull was the catalyst that brought Chris Wright and Terry Ellis together 20 years ago to form Chrysalis Records in the first place. Ellis managed the young Tull at the time, and Wright was a booking agent. Two years ago, Wright bought out Ellis to become sole owner of the company. It was just the latest of many changes that Anderson has seen at the company in 20 years.
Here's the full article: www.tullpress.com/bil21nov87.htm
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Post by maddogfagin on Jul 24, 2009 17:34:09 GMT
Thanks for that information TM. I was always curious why Chrysalis only did that in the States and nowhere else such as the UK or even Germany where there's a big Tull following but having said that they did a video shoot in a wine bar in London, early 1988, to get footage for the 20th anniversary video. Again I was surprised they didn't repeat the idea elsewhere. No band members attended the wine bar event and I suppose there must have been around 50 Tull fans present. I did get to speak to John Cokell of Chrysalis Records who blagged a copy of a cassette tape of a live Tull radio recording from Capital Radio he hadn't heard in return for an-house IA interview tape. The event itself was hosted by the radio presenter Annie Nightingale and clips were eventually used when the video finally was released. It always seemed to me to be a bit one sided with the interviews used and the video would have benefitted from the input of fans from other countries but then IMO that underlines Chrysalis' relationship with Tull at that time where they didn't really understand what they were dealing with. Still, someone may get it right for the 45 anniversary dvd
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Post by steelmonkey on Jul 24, 2009 19:51:59 GMT
Thanks TM...made my day ( I'm easy to impress) Though I liked Wraps and WITL and Broadsword and 'A' very much...I do remember really being knocked out and fired up about , I guess, a return to form, when the radio stations started playing Farm on the Freeway and Jump Start, which i taped and listened to over and over again. It must have been pretty effin cool to hear the whole album and be part of the process of Tull flexing their muscles to the record company. So...was the instrumental something you recognized? Did it turn into a song with words, or a concert interlude or anything ?
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Post by fatman on Jul 24, 2009 20:00:44 GMT
I remember hearing about the pre-Crest 'feedback' sessions and was very curious....Tell more TM!? Please? Sure Steel. The listening parties were promoted by local radio stations throughout the US. About 30 callers and a guest (from each city) were selected to listen to the new songs in order to give Ian feedback on the new material. The interesting thing about my story was that the selection process was taking place between 8 and 10 am, which meant that for about a half an hour I couldn't call because I would be commuting. But as not to be denied I had my sister calling on my behalf as well. So sure enough 10:00 came and went, and as luck would have it I never got through. But shortly after my phone rang and it was my sister, she was calling to inform me that she in fact did get through and I was now in! I can remember not only being ecstatic that I was going but also a bit nervous since the New York radio station insinuated that we would be listening to the new songs and sharing our thoughts directly with Ian himself! But of course that was not the case. A couple of folks from Chrysalis met us at a club in NYC and handed out a questionnaire to be returned at the end of the night. In return for our participation we received our choice of beverage (the last time I drank Rolling Rock!). We were advised that our names would be included on the inside record sleeve, and that we would also be receiving an advanced promotional copy of the record. I think it was July when we received our copies while the official release was sometime in September. So anyway, every song that made it onto the CD was played that night. The only difference being that the instrumental before The Waking Edge was in fact it’s own track entitled “Instrumental.” The questionnaire had us rank each song on a scale of 1-10. Other questions were things like “What song would you like to see made into a video?” “Would you like to see Tull continue in a similar musical direction?” Etc., etc. It was a great night, and one of the reasons why Crest is amongst my favorite Tull records. Ian has gone on to discuss the listening parties... Not that Anderson doesn't consider the business angles.
I decided to con Chrysalis into some prerelease involvement and to involve the album rock radio stations in something that felt good to be doing.
Anderson says he arranged to have more than 800 listeners of 12 major album rock radio stations in the U.S. review the new album and offer critical comments.
I took a chance their answers would be very strongly complimentary (he says). Because then I could thrust that under the nose of our record company and say, "Look, you guys, if you get behind this one, you have a chance to do well."
Anderson says about 80% of the listeners polled found Crest Of A Knave to be "significantly more enjoyable than the last few Jethro Tull albums," while 78% found the style of music a direction they'd like the band to continue to follow.
Jethro Tull was the catalyst that brought Chris Wright and Terry Ellis together 20 years ago to form Chrysalis Records in the first place. Ellis managed the young Tull at the time, and Wright was a booking agent. Two years ago, Wright bought out Ellis to become sole owner of the company. It was just the latest of many changes that Anderson has seen at the company in 20 years.
Here's the full article: www.tullpress.com/bil21nov87.htmThat's a great story. I remember you telling it on the old forum. Jeff
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Post by fatman on Jul 24, 2009 20:04:52 GMT
JohnTetrad, you have very eloquently put it all into perspective. Good job. my own two cents: I know I'm in the minority here.....but to me "Roots...." was brilliant. 1995. "Dot" was very decent. 1999 "...Birds" was gorgeous. But, still, we're talking already a decade ago! I'm also in the minority vis a vis "Under Wraps" and "Walk Into..." which I thought were excellent. My other two cents: Ian ONLY cares about the money. That's the one thing that really pisses me off, because I luv him so much in all other ways. It's been proven over and over again. Great example is when "Under Wraps" flopped (commercially, at least here in the States) he did a long Market Research thing to see what would sell the next time out. which wound up being "Crest..". You think you're in the minority? Well I'm probably the only Tull fan who thinks Broadsword was their worst. Jeff
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Post by TM on Jul 24, 2009 20:13:07 GMT
Thanks TM...made my day ( I'm easy to impress) Though I liked Wraps and WITL and Broadsword and 'A' very much...I do remember really being knocked out and fired up about , I guess, a return to form, when the radio stations started playing Farm on the Freeway and Jump Start, which i taped and listened to over and over again. It must have been pretty effin cool to hear the whole album and be part of the process of Tull flexing their muscles to the record company. So...was the instrumental something you recognized? Did it turn into a song with words, or a concert interlude or anything ? It was a great time. And again we didn't know Ian's motive, we just thought that Ian was looking for our input to help select the best tracks. But hearing the album before it's release was a great feeling. And unlike UW which took some time to grow on me, this one kicked ass from the get go. The instrumental song I was referring is actually the beginning instrumental of the The Waking Edge. I guess they were thinking of giving it it's own title but then decided to just make it part of the song.
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Post by TM on Jul 24, 2009 20:13:43 GMT
Sure Steel. The listening parties were promoted by local radio stations throughout the US. About 30 callers and a guest (from each city) were selected to listen to the new songs in order to give Ian feedback on the new material. The interesting thing about my story was that the selection process was taking place between 8 and 10 am, which meant that for about a half an hour I couldn't call because I would be commuting. But as not to be denied I had my sister calling on my behalf as well. So sure enough 10:00 came and went, and as luck would have it I never got through. But shortly after my phone rang and it was my sister, she was calling to inform me that she in fact did get through and I was now in! I can remember not only being ecstatic that I was going but also a bit nervous since the New York radio station insinuated that we would be listening to the new songs and sharing our thoughts directly with Ian himself! But of course that was not the case. A couple of folks from Chrysalis met us at a club in NYC and handed out a questionnaire to be returned at the end of the night. In return for our participation we received our choice of beverage (the last time I drank Rolling Rock!). We were advised that our names would be included on the inside record sleeve, and that we would also be receiving an advanced promotional copy of the record. I think it was July when we received our copies while the official release was sometime in September. So anyway, every song that made it onto the CD was played that night. The only difference being that the instrumental before The Waking Edge was in fact it’s own track entitled “Instrumental.” The questionnaire had us rank each song on a scale of 1-10. Other questions were things like “What song would you like to see made into a video?” “Would you like to see Tull continue in a similar musical direction?” Etc., etc. It was a great night, and one of the reasons why Crest is amongst my favorite Tull records. Ian has gone on to discuss the listening parties... Not that Anderson doesn't consider the business angles.
I decided to con Chrysalis into some prerelease involvement and to involve the album rock radio stations in something that felt good to be doing.
Anderson says he arranged to have more than 800 listeners of 12 major album rock radio stations in the U.S. review the new album and offer critical comments.
I took a chance their answers would be very strongly complimentary (he says). Because then I could thrust that under the nose of our record company and say, "Look, you guys, if you get behind this one, you have a chance to do well."
Anderson says about 80% of the listeners polled found Crest Of A Knave to be "significantly more enjoyable than the last few Jethro Tull albums," while 78% found the style of music a direction they'd like the band to continue to follow.
Jethro Tull was the catalyst that brought Chris Wright and Terry Ellis together 20 years ago to form Chrysalis Records in the first place. Ellis managed the young Tull at the time, and Wright was a booking agent. Two years ago, Wright bought out Ellis to become sole owner of the company. It was just the latest of many changes that Anderson has seen at the company in 20 years.
Here's the full article: www.tullpress.com/bil21nov87.htmThat's a great story. I remember you telling it on the old forum. Jeff Thanks Jeff.
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Post by TM on Jul 24, 2009 20:16:02 GMT
Thanks for that information TM. I was always curious why Chrysalis only did that in the States and nowhere else such as the UK or even Germany where there's a big Tull following but having said that they did a video shoot in a wine bar in London, early 1988, to get footage for the 20th anniversary video. Again I was surprised they didn't repeat the idea elsewhere. No band members attended the wine bar event and I suppose there must have been around 50 Tull fans present. I did get to speak to John Cokell of Chrysalis Records who blagged a copy of a cassette tape of a live Tull radio recording from Capital Radio he hadn't heard in return for an-house IA interview tape. The event itself was hosted by the radio presenter Annie Nightingale and clips were eventually used when the video finally was released. It always seemed to me to be a bit one sided with the interviews used and the video would have benefitted from the input of fans from other countries but then IMO that underlines Chrysalis' relationship with Tull at that time where they didn't really understand what they were dealing with. Still, someone may get it right for the 45 anniversary dvd You're very welcome Maddog. And even if they do get it right for their 45th, unfortunately I know that we in the States wont see it until their 50th!
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Post by TM on Jul 24, 2009 20:22:44 GMT
JohnTetrad, you have very eloquently put it all into perspective. Good job. my own two cents: I know I'm in the minority here.....but to me "Roots...." was brilliant. 1995. "Dot" was very decent. 1999 "...Birds" was gorgeous. But, still, we're talking already a decade ago! I'm also in the minority vis a vis "Under Wraps" and "Walk Into..." which I thought were excellent. My other two cents: Ian ONLY cares about the money. That's the one thing that really pisses me off, because I luv him so much in all other ways. It's been proven over and over again. Great example is when "Under Wraps" flopped (commercially, at least here in the States) he did a long Market Research thing to see what would sell the next time out. which wound up being "Crest..". You think you're in the minority? Well I'm probably the only Tull fan who thinks Broadsword was their worst. Jeff Interesting because there was a time that Ian would never have made an album like Broadsword. But I tend to believe that Gerry Conway may be the reason the album sounds so simple or main stream.
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Post by nonrabbit on Jul 24, 2009 20:47:56 GMT
You think you're in the minority? Well I'm probably the only Tull fan who thinks Broadsword was their worst. Jeff JEFF!! Noooooooooooooooo don't say that - words fail me...and when they come back a new thread about Broadsword ;D ;D
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Post by steelmonkey on Jul 24, 2009 21:29:16 GMT
I think 'The Clasp' has some of the best drumming of any Tull song ever...they sing! I love Conway's drumming on The Clasp and most of broadsword. I think of broadsword as better than average Tull...not the best but far from the worst...some of the extra songs are a bit dreary and i never liked 'broadsword', the title cut...or overhang...or 'living in these hard times'...but Pussy Wiilow, Seal Driver' and The Clasp are well-drummed classics
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tommie
Master Craftsman
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Post by tommie on Jul 24, 2009 21:44:01 GMT
Great story, TM. Thanks! I was part of that whole thing (in a different way) since I got to TALK WITH IAN privately for quite a while....off the air and personal in September of '87 as Tull was visiting WNEW-FM 102.3 here in NYC. I was VERY lucky and it was a very unexpected and unique opportunity. I'll write about it when I got more time. I'm starting to really LUV this board!
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Post by steelmonkey on Jul 24, 2009 22:09:54 GMT
Come on Tommie...Share with the class...can't wait to hear your tale of close encounters of the Ian kind! I am loathe to tell mine cuz, basically, he had me pegged as a fast talking pain in the ass in no time!
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Post by TM on Jul 25, 2009 14:30:14 GMT
I think 'The Clasp' has some of the best drumming of any Tull song ever...they sing! I love Conway's drumming on The Clasp and most of broadsword. I think of broadsword as better than average Tull...not the best but far from the worst...some of the extra songs are a bit dreary and i never liked 'broadsword', the title cut...or overhang...or 'living in these hard times'...but Pussy Wiilow, Seal Driver' and The Clasp are well-drummed classics I have to admit that I do find myself isolating on drums when I listen to that record, and I contemplate the amount of "space" given throughout, as well as the overly simple fills that he used. Barrie and even Mark Craney - but especially Barrie at the 'throne' would have had a profound effect on the music. I agree that Gerry did a fine job on songs like the Clasp, but I think Barrie would have taken the entire album to another level. Drummers like Gerry and even Doane, while very talented players tend to remain more to the back of the song. While guys like Neal Peart and Barrie's work were much more to the forefront and actually become the music.
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mix
Journeyman
Posts: 136
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Post by mix on Jul 25, 2009 15:05:36 GMT
I agree about Barrie, he just brought something special to the table, more than just the usual drums, he was very musical.
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Post by nonrabbit on Jul 25, 2009 18:40:48 GMT
I'm coming over all moderator like here on this thread and I'll tell you why there has been at least 3 great new threads here other than the original and the only reason I'm moaning is that they deserve a thread on their own for ease of following, for referring back to and also for any new people catching on to this fantastic Forum! I will do a bit of jiggery pokery and start a new thread for Broadsword ....Tommi's revelations ;D ie Meeting the Band and anything else when i read back. Is that ok Folks? ;D
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Post by steelmonkey on Jul 25, 2009 20:17:56 GMT
I can hardly wait to digress and mis-focus the new threads.....jsut to keep you on your toes, of course...please move this to a thread about threads...
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Post by TM on Jul 26, 2009 1:47:44 GMT
Great story, TM. Thanks! I was part of that whole thing (in a different way) since I got to TALK WITH IAN privately for quite a while....off the air and personal in September of '87 as Tull was visiting WNEW-FM 102.3 here in NYC. I was VERY lucky and it was a very unexpected and unique opportunity. I'll write about it when I got more time. I'm starting to really LUV this board! Thanks Tommie, and add me to the list of those who are looking forward to hearing your story. I met Ian once. Exchanged a few words and that was it. Martin I've met several times. I spent quite a bit of time talking with Dave Pegg once, as well as Glenn Cornick. I've also met James D., Andy, Doane and Jon.
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