Jethro Tull – Curious Ruminant
Ian Anderson would seem to be in prolific frame of songwriting & musical mind since re-establishing the Jethro Tull band, or brand (take your pick) with, first, 2022’s The Zealot Gene, the following year’s RökFlöte and, now, in the first quarter of 2025, Curious Ruminant.
But, as Anderson himself has pointed out on numerous occasions, work on what became The Zealot Gene started three years before Covid came calling, and RökFlöte started life as an instrumental project before becoming a fully formed Norse Gods concept work under the Jethro Tull banner.
And while Curious Ruminant (Ian Anderson’s most lyrically reflective and personal album to date - the ruminations of a genuinely curious man) is another all-new Tull album, it does contain instances of earlier demo/ instrumental pieces that have been reworked and completed, including near seventeen-minute centrepiece 'Drink From The Same Well.'
The results are an album that features the current Tull line-up Ian Anderson (vocals, flutes, acoustic & tenor guitars, mandolin), David Goodier (bass), John O’Hara (piano, keys, accordion), Scott Hammond (drums) and 2024 recruit, Jack Clark (electric guitars), along with guest appearances (via the earlier songs) from previous band members James Duncan (drums, cajón, percussion) and Andrew Giddings (piano, keys, accordion).
Seven songs before 'Drink From The Same Well' weighs in, Curious Ruminant sets itself up as quintessential, mid to late seventies Jethro Tull (think Minstrel in the Gallery to Heavy Horses), with 21st century production values and a contemporary sheen.
Following a delicate piano intro, opener 'Puppet & Puppet Master' kicks in to a folksy jaunt where flute, keys, accordion and guitar all play their part (Jack Clark also makes himself known through a short but well-focused solo).
The strong start continues with the six-minute title track, which is built on a more contemporary sound and, following another short and delicate intro, a rhythmic, insistent riff. Lyrically Ian Anderson asks the ultimate question - "Why am I here? Why am I anywhere?"
(It should be vocally noted that while the 77 year old Anderson is certainly not the singer he once was in the live environment, in the studio, the Curious Ruminant songs and their arrangements play to his tonal strengths).
But, as Anderson himself has pointed out on numerous occasions, work on what became The Zealot Gene started three years before Covid came calling, and RökFlöte started life as an instrumental project before becoming a fully formed Norse Gods concept work under the Jethro Tull banner.
And while Curious Ruminant (Ian Anderson’s most lyrically reflective and personal album to date - the ruminations of a genuinely curious man) is another all-new Tull album, it does contain instances of earlier demo/ instrumental pieces that have been reworked and completed, including near seventeen-minute centrepiece 'Drink From The Same Well.'
The results are an album that features the current Tull line-up Ian Anderson (vocals, flutes, acoustic & tenor guitars, mandolin), David Goodier (bass), John O’Hara (piano, keys, accordion), Scott Hammond (drums) and 2024 recruit, Jack Clark (electric guitars), along with guest appearances (via the earlier songs) from previous band members James Duncan (drums, cajón, percussion) and Andrew Giddings (piano, keys, accordion).
Seven songs before 'Drink From The Same Well' weighs in, Curious Ruminant sets itself up as quintessential, mid to late seventies Jethro Tull (think Minstrel in the Gallery to Heavy Horses), with 21st century production values and a contemporary sheen.
Following a delicate piano intro, opener 'Puppet & Puppet Master' kicks in to a folksy jaunt where flute, keys, accordion and guitar all play their part (Jack Clark also makes himself known through a short but well-focused solo).
The strong start continues with the six-minute title track, which is built on a more contemporary sound and, following another short and delicate intro, a rhythmic, insistent riff. Lyrically Ian Anderson asks the ultimate question - "Why am I here? Why am I anywhere?"
(It should be vocally noted that while the 77 year old Anderson is certainly not the singer he once was in the live environment, in the studio, the Curious Ruminant songs and their arrangements play to his tonal strengths).
Ian Anderson and his flute lead the way on Celtic-folk number 'Dunsinane Hill,' which lyrically touches on the Scottish hill’s role in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
There then follows what is best described as a triumvirate of classic Tull tunes that remind of the band’s aforementioned later 70s period - indeed, the mandolin, flute and guitar-led Tull-folk of 'The Tipu House,' the acoustically shaped 'Savannah Of Paddington Green' (which lyrically nods to the famous green space and "urban savannah2 of London) and darker folk stylings of 'Stygian Hand' would all sit comfortably on Songs From The Wood, which is no bad reference.
The light, and predominately downtempo air of second six-minute number 'Over Jerusalem' plays counterpoint to a harder-edged lyric that acts as both a commentary and observation on the troubles that have persisted across the ages in that area of the Middle East ("Long lost tribes, invaders of old, staking their claim to spiritual gold… angry gods of retribution, driving hate without solution").
As strong as Curious Ruminant has been to this point, it takes a giant leap in ambition and compositional arrangement with 'Drink From The Same Well.'
Originally an instrumental demo/sketch of an idea (later shelved) to have an extended piece for two flutes (Ian Anderson and esteemed classical flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia), the revisited and fully rebuilt piece opens with an instrumental section featuring plaintive flute and Andrew Giddings’ original piano parts, interjected with an up-tempo, folksy sequence.
The second part begins with a bluesy vibe before flute & piano exchange solos over a jazzier groove; a short lyrical stanza then reminds that, perceived differences aside, we all "drink from the same well."
The song then enters another plaintive section (including some lovely two flute sequences) before the lyric is reinforced (the "chew it over, chew the cud" line is a nice, ruminating touch).
The song closes out on another instrumental section, including a revisit of the earlier folk section.
The widescreen scope of 'Drink From The Same Well' means it could, and arguably should, have closed out the album, but 'Interim Sleep,' a short, spoken word piece on where we may next be headed, acts as a fitting finale, if finale it be ("Buy tickets, stow useless excess baggage, to board the onward train, another journey...")
'Interim Sleep' also acts as its own curious ruminant, one that signs off another well-crafted release from the 21st century Jethro Tull.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
There then follows what is best described as a triumvirate of classic Tull tunes that remind of the band’s aforementioned later 70s period - indeed, the mandolin, flute and guitar-led Tull-folk of 'The Tipu House,' the acoustically shaped 'Savannah Of Paddington Green' (which lyrically nods to the famous green space and "urban savannah2 of London) and darker folk stylings of 'Stygian Hand' would all sit comfortably on Songs From The Wood, which is no bad reference.
The light, and predominately downtempo air of second six-minute number 'Over Jerusalem' plays counterpoint to a harder-edged lyric that acts as both a commentary and observation on the troubles that have persisted across the ages in that area of the Middle East ("Long lost tribes, invaders of old, staking their claim to spiritual gold… angry gods of retribution, driving hate without solution").
As strong as Curious Ruminant has been to this point, it takes a giant leap in ambition and compositional arrangement with 'Drink From The Same Well.'
Originally an instrumental demo/sketch of an idea (later shelved) to have an extended piece for two flutes (Ian Anderson and esteemed classical flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia), the revisited and fully rebuilt piece opens with an instrumental section featuring plaintive flute and Andrew Giddings’ original piano parts, interjected with an up-tempo, folksy sequence.
The second part begins with a bluesy vibe before flute & piano exchange solos over a jazzier groove; a short lyrical stanza then reminds that, perceived differences aside, we all "drink from the same well."
The song then enters another plaintive section (including some lovely two flute sequences) before the lyric is reinforced (the "chew it over, chew the cud" line is a nice, ruminating touch).
The song closes out on another instrumental section, including a revisit of the earlier folk section.
The widescreen scope of 'Drink From The Same Well' means it could, and arguably should, have closed out the album, but 'Interim Sleep,' a short, spoken word piece on where we may next be headed, acts as a fitting finale, if finale it be ("Buy tickets, stow useless excess baggage, to board the onward train, another journey...")
'Interim Sleep' also acts as its own curious ruminant, one that signs off another well-crafted release from the 21st century Jethro Tull.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ