There doesn’t really seem to be any stopping Ian Anderson. Although diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), the flute-playing frontman of one of the world’s most iconic rock bands keeps chugging along, releasing three Tull albums in the last three years — 2022’s The Zealot Gene, 2023’s RökFlöte, and, for 2025, Curious Ruminant.
On board for the 24th Tull album, from a band that’s surely seen some changes across its 50-plus-year history, is former Tull keyboardist Andrew Giddings and drummer James Duncan, plus current band members David Goodier, John O’Hara, Scott Hammond, and, in his recording debut with the band, guitarist Jack Clark. From Anderson’s flute sailing above the jaunty opener “Puppet And The Puppet Master,” setting us his view of mutual manipulation between player and audience to the low chunk rockin’ of the title track, to more acoustic ruminations like “Savannah Of Paddington Green,” we get lots of the usual Tull tropes — layered instrumental interludes, Anderson’s distinct vocal, in a lower range, often oratory (like on “Dunsinane Hill”), slow and studied electric guitar note riffing.
“Drink From The Same Well” is a 16-minute + penultimate track that goes back to the early 2000s when then-Tull keyboardist Andrew Giddings made a demo of the tune with Anderson. Here, Anderson and Giddings spend the first two minutes bantering back and forth via flute and piano. Anderson leads things throughout, no shortness of breath for him here for sure. He’s playing both his concert and bamboo flutes, and there are times you can hear a change from one to the other. There are some sweet Gidding piano moments here as well. Anderson hits us with a few lines, nut it’s a virtuosic flute performance from Ian Anderson that makes this, dare I say, one of his best in the Tull oeuvre.
The collection ends with Ian reciting “Interim Sleep” over flute trills and acoustic picking on a song about the moment when one finally leaves this mortal coil. Thankfully, Jethro Tull lives on. Able to play, write the songs, and mingle with a fine company of wonderful players, Ian Anderson has spearheaded yet another strong showing with Curious Ruminant.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
Purchase Curious Ruminant
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