A Little Light Music [Remaster]

Performer: Jethro Tull
Engineer: Leon Phillips
Producer: Ian Anderson
Distributor: MSI Music Distribution

Notes: Jethro Tull: Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, percussion); Martin Barre (guitars); Dave Pegg (bass, mandolin); David Mattacks (drums, percussion, keyboards). A LITTLE LIGHT MUSIC contains recordings from concerts in London, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Mannheim, Munich, Berlin, Graz, Prague, Zurich, Athens, Ankara, Jerusalem, and Caesarea in May 1992. Jethro Tull: Ian Anderson (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, flute, harmonica, percussion); Martin Barre (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Dave Pegg (mandolin, bass guitar); Dave Mattacks (keyboards, glockenspiel, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, hi-hat, tom tom, percussion). This generous 17-song set is culled from live performances from all over the world: Athens, Berlin, Jerusalem and Munich, to name a few. Despite a few intense electric moments ("Locomotive Breath," "A New Day Yesterday") this is very much in the "unplugged" tradition, meaning many of the formerly electric rock numbers are recast in gentler settings, featuring spare, acoustic accompaniment. The approach is perfectly suited to the songs of Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson's image as the rustic troubadour. The collection provides a thorough retrospective of the group's career, from the blues-rock that marked its earliest incarnation (""The Sun Won't Shine For You") to classic hit singles like "Living in the Past," which has been reworked into a purely instrumental version. Anderson revisits some of the cream of his later records on songs like "Pussy Willow" and the instrumental "Under Wraps." Highlights also include the gentle "Bouree," a longtime concert staple based on a Bach theme, which remains utterly charming. The group stretches out on a spirited, reggae-tinged rendition of the traditional "John Barleycorn," which was made popular by Traffic in the mid-'70s.

Q (10/92, p.83) - 3 Stars - Good - "...the performances of old favorites are often excellent...exhilarating..." Dirty Linen (Dec./Jan. 92-93, p.73) - "...the strongest Tull album in years...[A LITTLE LIGHT MUSIC] has given the band a chance to reinvent a lot of its standards..."

Led by the charismatic, flute-wielding Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull began as a somewhat Led Zeppelin-like, bluesy hard-rock band. Before long the balance tipped to courtly, Elizabethan-sounding progressive rock tinged with folk and marked by tricky time changes and long suites. Though they were masters of the concept album (THICK AS A BRICK, AQUALUNG), Tull was able to churn out hook-laden hard-rock riffs that guaranteed them a permanent place on classic-rock playlists the world over.

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