CURIOUS RUMINANT

I'm sure today's artist needs absolutely no introduction. Jethro Tull, led by Ian Anderson has been a hallmark of prog from the 60s onward. After nearly two decades of no releases under the Tull moniker, Anderson resurrected the name in 2022 with the album "The Zealot Game", albeit without longtime guitarist Martin Barre, who had been onboard since Tull's second album, "Stand Up" in 1969. In 2023, Tull released "RökFlöte" and today's review is the third since the band resumed, called "Curious Ruminant". By all accounts, this album is very much in the style of their 70's classics. Here is the line-up for this outing, which is the 25th studio album under the Jethro Tull name:

- Ian Anderson / flutes, vocals, acoustic guitar & tenor guitars, mandolin, odds & sods, bits & bobs - David Goodier / bass - John O'Hara / piano, keyboards, accordion - Scott Hammond / drums - Jack Clark / electric guitar

With: - James Duncan / drums, cajón, percussion - Andrew Giddings / piano, keyboards, accordion

Let's check out this Curious Ruminant, shall we?

Track 1 - Puppet and the Puppet Master

The track begins with a minor key piano melody, but soon after, a jaunty beat takes over with Anderson's famous flute work out front. Anderson then begins singing and telling a tale. Just before one minute an almost funky rhythm takes over. After a second verse in 6-8 the flute is featured again. The third verse follows and is in turn followed by a guitar solo. As we proceed, we have another flute section, then the organ is featured. All the while the rhythm section is tight. The verses are short, punctuated by flute leads after the main instrumental break. The song concludes on a minor chord after having been in a major key following the piano intro. A lively and entertaining track.

Track 2 - Curious Ruminant

Once again, melancholy piano starts us off. A few acoustic chords join in, before unaccompanied flute takes over. The groove sets in around 30 seconds in, with a chugging rhythm. Ian Anderson has always taken the storyteller role in his music, but it somehow even seems more so here, as his voice is definitely singing a melody, but it's almost spoken. There is a wonderful guitar solo as we cross the three-minute mark. The next verse is quieter than the ones before the solo. Jack Clark's guitar tone is remarkably similar to Martin Barre's, but his playing is more fluid than his legendary predecessor. There is another wonderful guitar solo as we cross the 4-minute point, then a call and response with flute. I like the moving guitar parts behind the vocals. There is a staccato unison rhythm pattern from the band as the song reaches its conclusion. Good track.

Track 3 - Dunsinane Hill

This one begins with a flute, backed by accordion. It has a 3-4 feel like Brahms' Lullaby. The flute parts become layered prior to the verse. At a bit after 1:30 the rhythm changes as the agile flute takes over. He then returns to 3- 4, although the beat picks up. The drums are playing a subtle tom-tom pattern. By 3 minutes he is fully speaking the lyrics, before returning to singing. A well-arranged song, and Anderson's voice is engaging.

Track 4 - The Tipu House

This one begins with a bit more excitement. This one is upbeat with more energy in the flute. I am feeling a bit more of the Tull that I expect to hear. There is a lot going on lyrically here, that I will need more time to digest. Lots of things are happening in the Tipu House, for sure. The song ends somewhat abruptly. Kind of a fun track though.

Track 5 - Savannah of Paddington Green

Birds chirping and other nature sounds are quickly joined by a staccato acoustic guitar part. This one harkens back to the 70s folky acoustic strumming Tull songs. We are in 6-8 here. After a verse and chorus, the staccato acoustic riff leads us back to another verse and chorus. Anderson's voice range may be a bit more limited these days, but he makes it work well by writing within his range. Good track.

Track 6 - Stygian Hand

Stygian seems to be the word of the year among classic proggers, as Alex Lifeson's new band Envy of None's second album which I recently reviewed is called Stygian Wavz. This one has a very fun riff. I like the mandolin on this. Excellent swirling parts between vocal phrases. I love the guitar run just prior to the 2-minute mark. This one reminds me the most of classic Tull, so far. I like the pause in the instruments at around 3:20. Great track, my favorite one to this point.

Track 7 - Over Jerusalem

Flute, Acoustic guitar and some sort of bell-like keyboard or percussion, then vocals soon join in. Other instruments begin making appearances as the verse proceeds. This one is very folky and melodic. In the bridge there are some nice clean electric guitar fills. At around 2:35, the acoustic guitar establishes an odd-metered rhythm. As the band joins back in, the flute takes a solo, then there is a new verse in that rhythm. We are in 5-8, I believe. We then get a brief guitar solo before the flute takes the spotlight back. I like the rhythm section bed in this part. After a short unaccompanied flute bit, the guitar solo resumes, and he continues playing lead lines when Anderson begins singing again. At 4:23, the music mellows out again. There is a stronger section before Anderson closes out the song by saying "Jerusalem" twice in a very distinct way. Strong track.

Track 8 - Drink from the Same Well

This is by far the longest song on the album at 16.42, with the second longest being the title track at an even 6 minutes. After a quick check it seems that the last time there was a song of this length (and it's exactly the same length at that!) on a Tull album was "Baker Street Muse", going back 50 years to 1975's "The Minstrel in the Gallery"! In fact, as far as I can tell the only song over 10 minutes between that one and this one is "Budapest" which was just above that threshold at 10:05 on 1987's Grammy winner (for best metal album, lol) "Crest of a Knave". So, let's see what Ian and company have in store for us.

High-pitched melodic flute and piano start this one off, and then the bass joins in. After around 1:15, some synth strings subtly join in. At the 2:00 mark, an acoustic guitar strum announces a new, more rhythmic section, with the flute still firmly in the lead role. The band provides some rhythmic twists along the way, but the percussion is still subtle. At 5 minutes, the beat pauses, then the flute gives us a new tune. Jazzy drums join in at around 5:35. The piano takes over after the six-minute point, but only briefly as the flute takes back over quickly. Piano gets another brief spotlight around 7 minutes in. After another short pause in the action at around 7:45, piano and acoustic guitar give us a new melodic foundation. After a bit more flute, the first vocals begin at around the 8-minute point on a low note. Ian the storyteller is in fine spirits on this one. There is an effective vocal effect at around 9 minutes in. At 9:45 there is another flute feature. Vocals return at 11:52. At 13:30 there is another distinct pause after an accented note, then we get some rhythms from the intro that return and the flute solo resumes. Ian is, of course, one of the finest flautists in rock history, which is a small but distinguished lot, and he really felt like stretching out on the instrument here. This feels less like a prog epic, however, and more like an extended Ian Anderson flute solo with a short, but intriguing song in the middle of it. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the only thing it shares with "Baker Street Muse" is its length. It's not a bad track, but I am a bit disappointed, as I was hoping for something a bit more exciting when I saw the run time of this one.

Track 9 - Interim Sleep

The album closes out with the shortest track, at just over 2 and a half minutes. It begins with a nice slowly strummed acoustic guitar chord. This time he actually is talking instead of singing. The acoustic guitar and flute flourishes accompany a droning note as he waxes poetically. I interpret this as a metaphor for dying and being reborn. This is just a little punctuation on the album, to me.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

It's not bad, not great. It's an enjoyable listen overall. The playing on it is quite good, if lacking a little in energy. But when you consider that the Jethro Tull 'brand" has been around for 57 years this year, it's impressive that there still are Jethro Tull releases to be had. Tracks 6 and 7 are my favorites. Ian Anderson still has stories to tell, and this is how he does it. Maybe it's not quite as good as the 70s glory days, but it's still worth listening to. I'll give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to yarstruly
• Report this review (#3181645)
• Buy JETHRO TULL music online with PA partners
• Show all JETHRO TULL MP3/Stream
• Go to JETHRO TULL page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Curious Ruminant page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for JETHRO TULL related discussions