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""Curious Ruminant” gives Jethro Tull a new lease on life !"
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4/5
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“I'm very far from wanting to retire”. This quotation from 78-year-old Ian Anderson embodies the whole Jethro Tull revival, which began with “The Zealot Genre” in 2022, closing a deafening silence of over two decades, and beginning a frenetic cycle of releases from the new band with the one-legged flautist, of which “Curious Ruminant” is already the third in 30 months.
The opening track, 'Puppet and the Puppet Master', takes us straight to the band's best, with a folk-prog title full of rhythmic breaks, immediately highlighting the musicians' extreme technicality, where the highly melodic flute takes the lead, supported by a beautiful guitar. This one takes pride of place throughout the album, with many parts on which Jack Clarke is able to express all his talent, as if the Martin Barre page had finally been turned. 'Curious Ruminant' then takes things to the next level, heralding the return of the great Jethro Tull, in the best of the band's 1970s traditions. Varied themes, multiple solos, changing moods and rhythms, this track breathes progressive Rock and quickly becomes addictive.
After such a slap in the face, the other tracks hardly drop in level, and the eyes of the traditional proponent will quickly be drawn to the 16-minute running time announced for 'Drink from the Same Well'. This a priori bravura track allows the band to offer numerous instrumental parts to its various protagonists, and in particular allows Ian Anderson to prove (if proof were still needed) that he is an incomparable flautist. Nevertheless, the track ends up dragging a little in its second half and never really reaches the climax that the flute/keyboards dialogue announced throughout the first half.
The captain's voice no longer expresses itself on the high notes and, rather like Franck Bornemann on Eloy's latest productions, Ian Anderson remains confined to a low, not very wide register, even going so far as to use spoken words on the very dispensable 'Interim Sleep'. Nevertheless, this in no way detracts from the pleasure of listening to the carefully-crafted melodies, which are less tortured than they were in the past, as well as the magnificent orchestrations, which give the band's message a color that is both ancient and modern, with the recurrent integration of accordion further reinforcing the folk/rock contrast.
Jethro Tull, far from resting on its laurels, finds a new lease of life with 'Curious Ruminant', an album that surprises and delights. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Puppet And The Puppet Master - 4:04
 02. Curious Ruminant - 6:00
03. Dunsinane Hill - 4:17
04. The Tipu House - 3:31
05. Savannah of Paddington Green - 3:13
06. Stygian Hand - 4:16
07. Over Jerusalem - 5:55
08. Drink From The Same Well 16:42
09. Interim Sleep - 2:33
LINEUP:
David Goodier: Basse
Ian Anderson: Chant / Guitares / Flûte Traversière / Flûte Irlandaise, Mandoline
Jack Clark: Guitares
John O'hara: Claviers / Accordéon
Scott Hammond: Batterie
Andrew Giddings: Claviers / Invité / Piano, Accordéon
James Duncan: Batterie / Invité / Cajón, Percussion
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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Top of the page
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(1) COMMENT(S)
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READERS
3.5/5 (2 view(s))
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STAFF:
3.3/5 (3 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH JETHRO TULL
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OTHER REVIEWS
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OTHER(S) REVIEWS ABOUT JETHRO TULL
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