One of the most iconic images in 1970's music is of Ian Anderson standing effortlessly on one leg dressed in a frock coat, wild hair blowing around him with demonic sounds coming from his flute. It was a magical combination of art in it's many forms - visual art, performance art, with music, fashion and passion. Regardless of whether you like them or not, Jethro Tull in the 70's was a force of nature. Although known for his flute playing Anderson is a multi-instrumentalist, contributing mandolin, electric and acoustic guitar, balalaika as well as Hammond organ and tin whistle.
In line with their flamboyancy this album's aesthetics do not disappoint. So many times I've mentioned the extravagance of 70's album covers and here we are again. Printed to give the appearance of gold embossed leather, the outer cover opens into a gatefold containing a 22 page booklet and recording details of all included tracks.
Depending which version of the album you got makes a difference to the tracks. The UK album had 'Locomotive Breath' and 'Inside' but the US replaced them with 'Hymn 43' (a harsh hard-hitting song if ever there was one) and 'Alive and Well and Living In' respectively. They also swapped the running order of 'Witch's Promise' and 'Teacher'.
My vinyl copy of this fantastic compilation was purchased in Australia and published by Reprise but the whole package and track listing was identical to the US Chrysalis version. As we live in a digital world, my computer copy includes ALL tracks, US & UK.
From 1972 onwards Tull released some great work and later compilations are deserving of praise, but for their first 4 years this is the ultimate set. High on the list is their 1969 song used as the title for this double LP 'Living in the Past'. Their 'Christmas Song', even though the season has just passed, is worthy of being listened to often. It's caustic and cutting and ends with the tongue-in-cheek line "Hey, Santa, pass us that bottle, will you?" There's the tension and inevitability of 'Locomotive Breath' and the beauty of 'Bourée' based on an arrangement of 'Bourrée in E minor' by Bach. For me one of the highlights is the very first track taken from their debut 1968 album 'This Was'. 'A Song For Jeffrey' is a virtuoso introduction to the "voice" of Ian Anderson not only through his singing but also his instrumentation. Apart from a couple of collaborative tracks, all the material on this album was written by Anderson, a musicians musician. The balance of the album contains a 'must-have' compilation of album tracks, non-album singles, b-sides, live performances and out-takes. That was quite a brave move to make for a group who were still relatively new in their career and to be brutally honest, although they were popular they hadn't had many stand-out hits.
If you see this album anywhere, buy it. You won't be sorry. Just be sure not to confuse it with the 2002 release of live performances titled 'Living WITH the Past' - that's a different kettle of fish altogether.
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