From a pebble thrown (Ian Anderson) (LP 881)

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson  TAAB 2: Whatever Happened To Gerald Bostock? (CD, Chrysalis/EMI,  2012) **

Genre: Progressive rock 

Places I remember: FOPP (Covent Garden)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: A Change Of Horses

Gear costume: Confessional

Active compensatory factors: I have written about this album before but it was years ago, before I started my album collection countdown (you can read my thoughts here).

Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson have become closely intertwined now - so much so that the two are pretty much inter-changeable and good musicians flesh out recent albums under either brand name, but I really miss the classic lineup with Jeffrey, Clive, John, Barriemore and Martin who made the first TAAB album. 

I particularly miss Martin Barre. His singular guitar sound is a shorthand for that classic seventies sound of Tull. There's quite a bit of electric guitar on TAAB 2 but it pales in comparison to the real deal.

Was he available for this album? Probably. I guess it's complicated - he toured with Anderson and a version of Jethro Tull the year before but he's not on this album or the 2017 anniversary Tull tour. A real pity and a lost opportunity as it would have given a further tangible link to the original album, aside from Ian Anderson obviously.

The concept behind this sequel is a series of what ifs. What if Gerald was a...? etc. Okay. I guess so. But, I can't help being a bit - mmmm, so what?

The music is polished and good and all, but it's not Jethro Tull is it and I realise that's really unfair, but he does open himself up to that criticism by linking this sequel back to one of my favourite albums of all time without any of the original blokes.

And there lies the rub. TAAB is a five star classic album. The sequel struggles to have any memorable tunes in comparison.

Where do they all belong? I have positioned this one with in the prog genre CD racks with Anderson's solo albums. Seems more appropriate.