THE MAN, THE DRILL, THE BAND

Forget all that stuff about how staid and boring ’70s rock was. Well, don’t forget it, because it was generally pretty dull. But for my money, an Englishman wearing tights and jumping up and down, playing flute and singing meticulous, rockilymelodic epic tunes in a band named after the 18th-century inventor of the seed drill is worth a look in any decade. And the fact that the guy (Ian Anderson) and his combo (Jethro Tull) have remained an arena-level act for nearly 20 years—during which time they’ve turned out numerous rock-radio staples (“Locomotive Breath,” “Aqualung,” “Bouree,” “Too Old To Rock ’n’ Roll,” “Bungle In The Jungle,” etc., etc.) as well as several complex-but-popular concept albums (Aqualung, Thick As A Brick, A Passion Play, et al.)—is also kind of neat.

Chatting away in a conference room in the Manhattan offices of Chrysalis Records (a company which grew from small independent to major label largely on the strength of Jethro Tull’s immense ’70s popularity), Ian Anderson seems a far cry from the flamboyant Dickensian wacko of Tull’s live shows. In conversation, he comes off more like an agreeably sober, no-nonsense businessman—which, in fact, he is.