Jack In The Green (DVD)

Arguably one of the most consistent and successful British rock bands of all time, Jethro Tull has also been a huge influence on bands like Iron Maiden, Rush, Blind Guardian and more recently Falconer. Their unique blend of folk/celtic music with traditional hard rock and the unique voice of Ian Anderson has resulted in a style of music that is truly one of a kind. Flirting with commercial success several times in their career with landmark albums like Living In The Past, Thick As A Brick and Aqualung as well as some brief resurgences in the late 80's and early 90's, the secret to their longevity is their very strong and loyal fan base. It's the one reason that they still tour on a regular basis world-wide. This particular new DVD Jack In The Green was filmed at various times over the years in Germany and includes rare and never before released footage as well as some photos from Ian Anderson's personal collection in the accompanying booklet.

The focus of this DVD is on the period between 1982-1986 with material from such albums as Heavy Horses, Stormwatch, Broadsword and The Beast and Songs From The Wood being core components of their set. The first section is from an appearance at the Rockpop Festival in 1982. Along with tracks like Hard Times, Pussy Willow, Heavy Horses, Jack In The Green, Sweet Dream and Cheerio, we also get such classics as Aqualung and Locomotive Breath. The footage on this section was filmed very well with the band sounding excellent. We also get the track Hunting Girl from an appearance at Rocksummer in 1986 and Thick As A Brick, Black Sunday and Too Old To Rock 'N Roll, Too Young To Die from the Out In The Green Festival in 1986. There's also a couple of newer tracks filmed in 1993 with My Sunday Feeling and So Much Trouble. These shorter concert segments lack a bit of the professionalism and clear sound of the very first section but are still solid nonetheless. A real gem is the very last section that was filmed during a rehearsal at the Beat Club around 1971. The band performs With You There To Help Me and the classic Nothing Comes Easy with Ian Anderson having some sort of physical discomfort that keeps him stopping and restarting the track.

With every Jethro Tull concert or live DVD, the pure genius of Ian Anderson is always front and centre. Singing, playing flute, mandolin as well as acoustic guitar, he proves time and time again that he is one of the best and most animated front men ever. His is the heart and soul of Jethro Tull. Other concert DVDs have been released but Jack In The Green tries to focus on a particular era of the band. The sound quality and film quality varies from show to show but for Tull fans, this ones got some outstanding performances and should be a part of your collection.