By Nick Tate
Photos by Larry Marano Photography
If you think Jethro Tull was only ever a musical vehicle for singer-songwriter-flautist Ian Anderson, well…Martin Barre would like a word. Barre, Tull’s guitarist for more than 40 years, was nearly as integral to the band’s eccentric English-prog sound as Anderson’s distinctive rock-flute and rich baritone. Now, 12 years after parting ways with Anderson, Barre is staking a legit claim to Tull’s legacy, touring and recording new music that pays homage to the band that helped define first-wave progressive rock.
There’s no denying Anderson’s musical genius as Tull’s frontman. He wrote the music for nearly every song and lyric in the Tull canon, combining British folk, classical music, rock, jazz, blues and even world-beat elements. And his unique flute-playing technique and intricate acoustic fretwork (not to mention his wild-man stage antics) set him apart from pretty much everyone else in the game. But as Anderson’s right-hand (axe)man from 1969 to 2012, Barre also played a leading role in defining that classic Tull sound. His iconic solo on “Aqualung,” charging fretwork on “Minstrel in the Gallery” and jackhammering intro to “Steel Monkey” (from 1988’s Grammy Award-winning “Crest of a Knave”) are just three sparkling examples that signify Tull would have been a very different band entirely without him.
Like Steve Howe’s latest Yes incarnation and Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited project, Barre is reprising his role with his longtime musical squeeze, carrying the flame for the band (which has sold 65 million records). At The Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale last week, Barre showcased the dazzling virtuosity and inventiveness that are his musical calling cards during a stop on his current U.S. and European concert tour, entitled “A Brief History of Tull.”
Playing to a packed and enthusiastic crowd, Barre performed two 65-minute sets featuring Tull’s best-known and deep tracks, a few of his own solo pieces and several cover tunes, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. But this was no nostalgia fest. Even with the classic Tull warhorses and fan favorites, Barre and his band — Dan Crisp on vocals/rhythm guitar, Alan Thomson on bass and Terl Bryant on drums — reinvented the arrangements, giving them an often-surprisingly new sheen.
For instance, “Fat Man,” the whimsical Indian-flavored acoustic lament from 1969’s “Stand Up” album — Tull’s second record and Martin’s debut with the band — was rejiggered as a rocked-up anthem that turned fat-shaming on its head. Several tracks — “Wind Up,” “Nothing to Say,” “My God,” “Song for Jeffrey” and “Locomotive Breath” — served up newly written sections that replaced Anderson’s original flute solos with twin-guitar duets featuring Barre and Crisp. And even the covers — B.B. King’s “Rock Me Baby” and the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” and “I Want You (She’s so Heavy)” — were given retreads that made them sound entirely fresh and new.
Barre was, as ever, the star of the show. He seemed to revel in his newfound role center stage, delivering tasty guitar licks and joking with the crowd between songs (even poking fun at South Florida’s early-bird-special culture), as a video screen behind the band offered up a visual history of Tull through the years.
But his taut-as-a-drum band delivered solid contributions, too — notably Crisp, whose confidence is building on every tour. It can’t be easy to step into the role of Anderson, one of the most captivating and theatrical frontmen in all of rock and roll. But his strong vocals, precise fretwork and commanding stage presence were the perfect foil for Barre’s craftsman-like fretwork. Throughout the evening, Barre and Co. struck the perfect balance, delivering tracks with a ring of familiarity but also a touch of novelty that made them sound like they could have been written today. Also notable: The few solo tracks Barre played fit nicely into the show, standing up well against the classic Tull material. “Back to Steel” could have been an outtake from “Crest of a Knave” and “Lone Wolf” could have easily slipped onto 1989’s “Rock Island.”
Throughout the performance, it was clear that Barre, at 77, is still innovating and breaking new musical ground. His guitar lines are as fluid and virtuosic as ever — by turns bluesy, jazzy, classical, introspective and hard-rocking, as the song demands.
For the encore, Barre and Co. closed out the show with an extended version of “Locomotive Breath,” bringing the crowd to its feet for the duration. The closing line — “And the train, it won’t stop going, no way too slow down” — was both a fitting end to the show and an apt description of Barre’s continuing role as one of the long-running Tull train’s chief engineers.
