TAAB 2

[Jack Green]

Ja, das ist für mich auch sehr frischer Wind. Wirklich mehr Tull als Tull selbst seit langem.

EDIT: Und immer wieder: Diese Orgel!!

[Snafje JT]

Do you have any idea yet of what your next project will be, or are you not yet looking beyond touring TAAB?

IA: A string quartet album, a singer/songwriter stripped-down acoustic album, and - just maybe - a hard rock album. That takes me to 2015 and almost certain early bed.

Hard rock album? Wow, with Steven?

[Snafje JT]

Production notes in the album booklet:

additional vocals by Ryan O'Donnell
trumpet, flugelhorn, tenor horn and e-flat tuba by Pete Judge

and:

recording engineer: Mike Downs
digital editor: Florian Opahle
mixing engineer: Steven Wilson
mastering: Peter Mew

[Jack Green]

A hard rock album would be nice indeed. But I'm also looking forward to all the other stuff that Ian will do in the next years. The acoustic album could make for a real gem. But I'm a bit tired of the sound of his little acoustic guitar, it has dominated his sound very much in the last years. But I think he likes it so much he'll hang onto it.

[jan.gast]

..."Banker bets, Banker wins", was sie auf Planetrock in der Komplettversion gespielt haben, gefällt mir ganz ausgezeichnet. Es klingt für mich viel mehr nach Jethro Tull als vieles in den letzten Jahren. So mein erster Eindruck.

So seh ich es auch, alle Achtung, das rockt mächtig ab, Flöte... Orgel: sehr fein.
Ob er sich mit den Gesangs-Effekten, sollten die sich durchs ganze Album ziehen, einen Gefallen tut... zweifelhaft.
Übrigens, wer Besitzer der radiomäßig eingekürzten 1-Track-Promo-CD ist, hat gar ne echte Wertanlage in der Hand:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Ian-Anderson-Ban ... 3f15182e0d
JG

[Kwyjibo]

Pff, die sollen das Lied lieber spielen, als zu verkaufen

[jan.gast]

Pff, die sollen das Lied lieber spielen, als zu verkaufen

Wer jetzt?
JG

[Kwyjibo]

Die Radiostationen

[Caledvwlch]

kann man den Rockplanet-Auftritt irgendwo nachträglich anhören?

[banff]

Dreimal gehört und es geht mir nicht mehr aus dem Kopf.
Das ist mir schon lange nicht mehr passiert mit den Kompositionen des Meisters. Ich bin begeistert.
Wenn alles andere auch nur annähernd da rankommt (und das scheint mir nach dem was ich bisher in den Sequels vernommen habe sehr wahrscheinlich) wird das meines Erachtens ein richtiger Kracher!
Wann habe ich mich das letzte Mal so auf was neues gefreut...*nachdenk*....

[jan.gast]

kann man den Rockplanet-Auftritt irgendwo nachträglich anhören?

http://www.laufi.de/board/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=6734
JG

[Caledvwlch]

Alles klar, danke vielmals. Geht ja richtig schnell hier.


cheers

Caledvwlch

[Kwyjibo]

Exciting news! Next Monday (26th March) we will be streaming Ian Anderson's ‘Thick As A Brick 2’ in its entirety right here on the Jethro Tull Facebook page for 24 hours! Stay tuned for more info...

[Kwyjibo]

Neues Review http://www.ytsejam.com/modules.php?name ... nt&id=2049

2012 Chrysalis-EMI Records

My first reaction to Thick As A Brick 2 otherwise known as TAAB2, was where is Martin Barre? He has been playing with Ian and Jethro Tull forever! Well Martin is busy recording a two disc solo album. I do not think he has ever missed a Jethro Tull studio album because of a session he was involved in due to solo work. There may be more to this than meets the eye and there probably is. Irregardless Anderson soldiers on to bring Gerald Bostock, the main character in the story up to date, now 40 years later at 50 years old and what his story would sound like now.

Intrigued yet? If you are a lifetime fan of the band such as I, well of course you are, if not you probably could care less, then again if you are progressive rock fan certainly your outright curiosity will get the best of you and then you must listen!

The 40th Anniversary of the original album is celebrated with Thick As A Brick 2 and a lineup that includes Ian Anderson at the helm providing all the writing, vocals, flute and his mini acoustic guitar, John O’Hara (Hammond Organ, piano, keyboards), David Goodier (bass guitar, glockenspiel), Florian Opahle (electric guitar), and Scott Hammond (drums, percussion). Some of you may recognize guitarist Ophale from Ian’s solo work or his orchestral projects back in 2003. He is no newcomer to the world of recorded music and performing. Considering he received master class instruction from the legendary jazz-rock-fusion guitarist Al Di Meola, it comes as no surprise to me that he was a more than an adequate replacement for Mr. Barre. Barre is a great player and it is disappointing to see him absent from this album however you have to give credit to all the musicians involved as they did a superlative job with Ian’s new incarnation of the album.

This is an excellent album offered in two formats, the one CD package and the 2 Disc Special Edition, which I received for review. This version comes in a tri-fold out CD case with the regular CD and a DVD featuring 5.1 stereo mixes, 24-bit stereo mix, video making of the album, interviews with the musicians and Ian reading the lyrics in various locations, and a booklet. If you pop the 5.1 DVD in your stereo system connected to your TV or PC each song displays the words as they move down the page to lead you. A pretty cool feature I thought. What was nice about the in studio footage was that it is a very rare occasion as Anderson never allows that to happen. So all of you JT fans can enjoy this and take advantage of the opportunity and get the special edition.

Ian Anderson is very English and a bit eccentric and his words that make up his music and song are direct reflection of his personality and experiences. He does have a vivid imagination and is a gifted songwriter and musician. So how does this second version stand up to its forerunner? Firstly the vocals are a few notches down as they have been over the last several years but that is just fine. Ian has adapted to his lost range and brings a new found resonance and a poetic sense to his delivery. He has a defined talk-sing type of voice now that actually suits the music quite well. The energy is entirely different on this album, there are flashes of brilliant musicianship and Ian and the boys cut loose here and there but the overall atmosphere is one of reflection with an added pensiveness as Mr. Bostock makes his way through all the pitfalls of society today. It becomes obvious that this is a man living out of time and would have been better suited in old England sipping tea in the garden.

I gave TAAB2 several spins along with a listen to the 5.1 surround sound (mixed by Steven Wilson) and it all sounded crisp and clear. Anderson’s voice is punctuated by well-placed instrumentation as you would expect and the story rolls along in stride with every note. This will be the kind of album that grows on you with each listen and I think many folks will agree this is some of Ian’s best work in the last decade. Tull’s last studio album was the 2003 The Jethro Tull Christmas Album, which was excellent I might add. And actually the last normal JT studio release was J-Tull Dot Com in 1999, the only release in their entire catalog that I did not care for.

TAAB2 offers up tasty treats such as ”Upper Sixth Loan Shark” and “What-ifs, Maybes And Might-have-beens” and “Banker Bets Banker Wins,” which has an extremely catching guitar riff running through it. It all sounds familiar, in a comforting way if you are a fan, and most importantly sounding like something Ian would write. He spins a yarn like no other in music today and is the true minstrel in the gallery once again.

TAAB2 will not go down as a classic like its predecessor or albums like Aqualung or Passion Play but it can be appreciated as a solid release for Jethro Tull 2012 with an entirely different lineup. Even without Martin Barre playing guitar it still sounds like a Tull album because let’s face it, Ian Anderson is the man that makes it all tick. This entire album most definitely is a “Change of Horses” and it works out all very well making this a welcome addition to the Jethro Tull catalog.

Key Tracks: Upper Sixth Loan Shark, Banker Bets, Banker Wins, What-ifs, Maybes And Might-have-beens
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-Founder MuzikReviews.com March 20, 2012
©MuzikReviews.com
For Questions Or Comments About This Review Send An Email To info@muzikreviews.com

Added: March 22nd 2012
Reviewer: Keith Hannaleck
Score: 4 Sterne

[CaptainFalcon]

In der aktuellen Ausgabe der Eclipsed: 2-seitiger Bericht, plus halbseitige Werbung und Review von Taab 2. Note 8/10

"Wären doch nur alle Fortsetzungen so schön wie diese. Die Story ist spannend, und auch die Musik steht der des ersten Teils in nichts nach. Nur wenige Künstler haben es bislang geschafft, Text und Musik derart glaubwürdig und griffig Hand in Hand gehen zu lassen."