This Icelandic show brings a 40-year-in-the-making project to life. Filmed at Reykjavík's Harpa concert hall, the performance begins with Jethro Tull's 1972 concept album Thick as a Brick and ends with its 2012 sequel, Thick as a Brick 2. Tull founding member Ian Anderson, who plays flute and parlor guitar, fronts a five-piece band featuring John O' Hara (keyboards, piano, accordion), Florian Opahle (guitar), David Goodier (bass), Scott Hammond (drums), and Ryan O'Donnell (vocals). Short video segments with Anderson playing a fictional therapist bracket each section. The first part features the single long title track, while the second serves up 15 pieces performed in the same prog-folk style. Although Anderson's conversational tenor hasn't deepened with age, he does strain a bit at times, so the addition of a younger vocalist with a similar style works well here (in the liner notes, Anderson explains that it also allows him to make more instrumental contributions). Regardless, a cleaner mix would have brought more of the lyrics to light. During the concert, Anderson also takes a call, delivers a weather report, and encourages the men in the audience to get regular prostate exams. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include a two-song performance from the 2012 Montreux Jazz Festival, a blues jam with Montreux founder Claude Nobs, and an interview with Anderson, who says that the show is “80% heavily arranged and performed,” but that he also leaves “areas for improvisation.” Anderson also talks about the original Thick as a Brick, a parody with autobiographical elements that revolves around a fictional character named Gerald Bostock. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick as a Brick Live in Iceland
(2014) 144 min. DVD: $14.98, Blu-ray: $19.98. Eagle Rock Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Volume 30, Issue 1
Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson: Thick as a Brick Live in Iceland
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