Zealot Gene - New Jethro Tull album late 2021

Maybe i should have titled this "New Jethro Tull Studio album" rather than leading with the title of the new album as I think it got lost on everyone. No responses after nearly 6 hours...everyone still in bed?!

BarryGlibb wrote: This will be the first studio album from a Jethro Tull band since 2003's Christmas Album. Sorry no Martin Barre.

I'll give it a listen, but the minute Ian starts to make that labored bronchial exhale he calls singing, I am out.

I am excited! I have really enjoyed the last two Anderson albums. I truly do wish that whatever issues Ian and Martin have could be resolved, but I am always up for a new Tull album, regardless of the lineup!

I second that !  I'm looking forward to it as well. 

I will certainly get it. Not as enthusiastically as I would have if Martin Barre was there, but Ian has his own genius and will be something good at least. I surely prefer Martin Barre's own output, but I'm sure Ian Anderson will deliver a pleasant listening experience.

Worth a listen when it gets on you tube....I suppose.

No Barre?  What an abomination.

^ An album 5 years in the making never bodes well.

Edited by SteveG - July 15 2021 at 05:05

This is an edited and shortened version of my review which appears on DPRP net

https://www.dprp.net/reviews/2022/001

The Zealot Gene contains an interesting amalgam of styles that will probably please and frustrate Tull fans in equal measures. Any Tull aficionado expecting a consistent, hard rock experience will be somewhat disappointed. Any Tull fans who want a re-tread of the progressive complexity of a Passion Play might feel a bit underwhelmed.

However, Tull fans who enjoyed the light and shade of albums such as Minstrel In the Gallery, or the enchanting beauty of The Secret Language of Birds, might appreciate the way in which some of The Zealot Gene explores the gentler side of Anderson''s compositions. If you like prog that is full of melody, but on occasions also mixes that approach with the bite and gusto of a rock act, you will probably enjoy much here.

In this respect, whilst never achieving the peaks of the best-regarded Tull albums, The Zealot Gene offers something appealing, that fans from a wide variety of Tull eras might value and enjoy. It is by turns quirky, charming, and lyrically astute.

Anderson's vocals are surprisingly strong. However, some might find that his now-limited vocal range ensures that the vocal parts have a similar tonal quality. Several techniques are used to good effect to give the vocals an extra dimension.

Anderson's flute flurries are superlative. Whilst numerous flute passages have the pureness of tone associated with players such as Bjorn Json Lindh, there are many occasions where Anderson blows his flute with snorting aggression. Some of the most dynamic flute-bursts occur during the interchange between Opahle and Anderson in the inventive Barren Beth, Wild Desert John.

Mine is the Mountain contains some of the best instrumental sections of the album. John O' Hara's piano introduction provides a perfect foil for Anderson''s haunting flute line. At the mid-point of the tune, the group have an opportunity to stretch out. This exciting passage ends all too soon, but the band interplay is quite brilliant.

The Zealot Gene is a fine album and is a welcome addition to Jethro Tull's catalogue.