DIVINITIES - TWELVE DANCES WITH GOD

Ian Anderson

Prog Folk

3.55 | 149 ratings

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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

He called for his flute, and he called for his fiddlers three

With Ian Anderson essentially being synonymous with Jethro Tull (many of the uninformed think that is his name!), solo albums by him are few and far between. With his overwhelming influence on the musical directions of Tull, there is little need for him to release albums in his own name, other than perhaps in order to attempt to distinguish the contents from those which fans of the band might expect. "Divinities, Twelve dances with God" is however a genuine exception.

This album was recorded "at the invitation of EMI Records' Classical Division". It reflects Anderson's interest in "religious and cultural influences" through the sounds of flute and orchestra. The principal musicians are Anderson (of course!) who plays a wide selection of flutes and whistles plus Andrew Giddings who supplies the orchestrations and keyboards. Anderson's distinctive vocals are not to be heard anywhere on the album. The pair are supported by 8 other musicians playing instruments of the orchestra or providing percussion.

The overall mood of the album is distinctly classical. Inevitably, the quality of Anderson's pedigree does shine through though, but the style of flute playing here is not of the staccato rock timbre which adorns Jethro Tull's releases. Here, the flute plays the part of lead instrument in a series of short concertos.

In reality, there is little to distinguish one track from the next, each bearing the same light nature as the last. As such, the album is best heard piecemeal, taking one or two tracks at random.

In prog terms, there is little of interest here at all. Only the revered name of the principal musician offers any genuine link to our genre of choice. Overall though, there is no doubt that this is a pleasant if undemanding listen.

Easy Livin | 3/5 | 2008-6-16

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