LIVING IN THE PAST

Tull's 'Living In The Past' is a semi-compilation album featuring a host of non-album tracks and singles, one track off each of the first 4 studio albums, and one side of Live material. It serves as a wonderful introduction to a really great band, and the selection of songs all display the versatility of the musicians involved. This covers their early years with their, somewhat 'simpler' approach to bluesy/folky rock music, although the Live tracks hint at what was to come....

.........'By Kind Permission Of' is composed by Keyboardist John Evan, and is mainly a fine performance on piano along with Anderson's virtuosic flute playing, demonstrating Evan's ability at tackling classical runs, with the rest of the band coming in at the end for a really exciting bash, albeit very brief. 'Dharma For One', originally a superb instrumental track of their debut 'This Was', is now twice as long, features vocals from Anderson and heavy- handed Hammond Organ playing from Evan, plus Clive Bunker's Drum solo, showing off 'double kick' with two bass drums, something that Cream's Ginger Baker revolutionised a couple of years earlier and wasn't heard too often at the time. The track 'Living In The Past' is a playful, jazzy tune in 5/4, showing Anderson's penchant for being clever AND catchy. The original double LP comes in a hard-cover Gatefold with a leather-like finish, and features a 20 page booklet full of colourful and amusing photo's of the band throughout their first few years of existence. An excellent addition for any music lover.