Jethro Tull

SUE’S SUNDAY SOJOURN: Each week I will showcase a particular artist or band during my entire two hour set.  Each week, prior to the set, there will be a blog post where I will write about my memories, favorite stories or share other interesting tidbits.  The idea here is not to tell the story of the band or play two hours of their greatest hits.  The idea behind Sue’s Sunday Sojourn will be to spend time with Sue, down in her music vault.  As she puts together the set, she will reminisce and share special memories.  “I remember when this came out,” or, “I recall hearing this for the first time and I thought…”  She might share little known facts, favorite memories, fun stories or maybe even some personal experiences. 

The sets will have plenty of the big hits but be ready for a few obscure tunes that may be her personal favorites.  She will probably include a few rarities or possibly unreleased material, along with other sundry curios.  So join her every Sunday night from 7-9 as she lets you into her world.

Jethro Tull

Songs From the Wood, 1977

I first became aware of Jethro Tull in 1971 when they released their album, Aqualung.  The two songs I recall hearing back then were the title cut, Aqualung, and Locomotive Breath.  They were good songs but they didn’t make much of an impression on me or inspire me to run out and buy Jethro Tull records.  Aqualung was actually their fourth album.  Their first, This was Jethro Tull (usually referred to as “This Was”), was released in 1968 and I always thought it was a clever title for a first record.

My attitude changed in 1977 when I heard a song on the radio that instantly mesmerized me and I just had to have.  I listened intently to the radio station, waiting for them to go back over the last several songs played, which they didn’t always do.  I was desperate to learn who did the song and I was rewarded about 15 minutes later.  The song was the Whistler and it was off of Jethro Tull’s new album, Songs from the Wood.  The following day I made a journey to Jack’s Records and bought that album.

I played the entire album several times and was completely enthralled.  I had already begun to love all things pagan and here was an entire record with songs about the Green Man, the Solstice and even Beltane.  Not only that, it was a rock album by a major artist.  I soon found Minstrel in the Gallery from 1975 that also had some of that same feel with songs like Cold Wind to Valhalla but it had not yet fully developed into the full blown pagan theme I held in my hands with Songs from the Wood.  I had become a big Jethro Tull fan.

“Jethro Tull” is one of those band names that does not correspond to anyone in the band, like Pink Floyd.  Jethro Tull, for whom the band was named, was an actual historic person who was a British pioneer and innovator in farming.  In 1700 he developed the horse drawn seed drill and many more of his techniques are still used on modern farms in one form or another.  It was no surprise then that their next album, after Songs from the Wood, would center on that bygone farming life.  Heavy Horses was released in 1978 and I made another pilgrimage to Jack’s the next day to secure my copy.

Jethro Tull’s music was ever evolving.  There would be other albums from them that would sing to my pagan soul (The Broadsword and the Beast in 1982 comes to mind), but none with the fervor of Songs from the Wood or Heavy Horses.  They actually started out with blues sound in 1968 before switching to what most people would call progressive rock.  Then, during their Heavy Horses period, they were labeled “folk rock.”  While this was technically accurate with their use of old English folk elements, it was a far cry from what the rest of the Folk Rock scene, which was combining folk music elements from the Greenwich Village scene with rock, was doing; think Simon and Garfunkel.

There were many unique things about Jethro Tull but one that must be addressed is their front man, Ian Anderson, who is often mistakenly called “Jethro Tull,” and his most unusual instrument for a rock band, the flute.  Especially when going back to the 60’s and the 70’s, while the flute was not an unheard of instrument, there were so few playing a major part in the music.  Ray Thomas of the Moody Blues and Thijs van Leer of Focus are the only two to come to my mind.  Ian Anderson would often play the flute while standing on one foot and that image of him has become iconic.

Back in the day of LP records, I used study an album cover as I listened to the music.  Jethro Tull albums consistently featured the band on the album cover art, or more often, Just Ian Anderson himself.  This probably led to the confusion that he was Jethro Tull.  It was a couple of years after I owned Songs from the Wood, that I noticed something peculiar.  I was looking at the flames on the cover and they didn’t look quite right.  Further study of the brush behind him, his sleeve and his hair led me to a startling conclusion.  The album cover was not a photograph but an oil painting!  The album cover is shown above.  Below are a couple of blow ups.  Look carefully at the red sleeve.  Also, look at the fire, especially the red along the outside edges of the yellow.  Digging a bit deeper I learned that the painting was called the “Wood Cutter” and was painted for the album by an artist named “Jay L. Lee.”  If you look carefully, you can tell that it is not Ian Anderson as most people assume but it does bear a striking resemblance to him.  The actual model for the painting was a man named “Keith Howard.”

Close-up details of the Songs from the Wood album cover... Click to enlarge.

One interesting album by Tull is 1972’s Thick as a Brick.  It only has one song but it is almost 46 minutes long and spans both sides of the record.  After you heard the first half of the song on side-A, you were supposed to flip the record over and listen to the second half.  This is why various excerpts released for airplay or used in compilations are referred to as “Edits.”  The most famous is Thick as a Brick Edit #1, which most people think of as the title track and song they all know as “Thick as a Brick.”

One fun fact about Jethro Tull concerns its keyboardist, David Palmer.  He did arrangements for the band and worked with them in the studio since their very first album in 1968.  With Songs from the Wood, Palmer was accepted and acknowledged as a full member of Jethro Tull until he left in 1980.  The reason that he is a bit of a curio is that he underwent a sex change operation in 2004 and has been known as “Dee Palmer” ever since.  She continues her involvement in the music industry including performing.

 

Into DJ Sue’s Music Vault…

Below you will see a photo containing elements of two Jethro Tull boxed sets in my music library.  The first is 20 Years of Jethro Tull, a five vinyl LP set released in 1988.  It contained many rare tracks including what has become my favorite Christmas song, Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow.  This song combines the pagan elements and Tull sounds I love so much and I have included it every Christmas season in a couple of my sets.  This was the only place this song was released until the Jethro Tull Christmas Album was released on CD in 2003.  There was just one problem.  The 2003 release of Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow was a remake of the original.  It lacked a lot of the elements of the original and is nowhere near as good as the 1988 release on 20 Years of Jethro Tull.  I will play the superior 1988 version during my Sunday set.

The CD in the upper left of the photo below is from the 25th Anniversary Box Set, released in 1993.  This is one I consider myself fortunate to own.  The set was a numbered limited edition and consisted of four CD’s that came in a Jethro Tull “cigar box.”  The box consisted of live material, unreleased material and remastered favorites.  There was also one CD, the one shown below, called, “The Beacons Bottom Tapes.”  They had gone into the studio and recorded new versions of some of their old classics, including a hard rock instrumental version of the song that started it all for me, the Whistler.  I’ll play both the original and this new version back to back on Sunday.

Two collections in Sue's Vault that contain material that is rare and no longer available.

Other curios and rarities I’ll play from the vault on Sunday:

Song for Jeffrey – This song appeared on their 1968 debut album.  That same year, the Rolling Stones taped a television show for the BBC, The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus.  The show highlighted various bands, including the Stones and presented them as circus acts.  The show, though taped and completed, never aired.  In this cut you can hear Mick Jagger introduce Jethro Tull but a circus midget actually yells the band’s name.

Teacher – This song was released on the US version of the album, Benefit (1970), but did not appear on the UK release.  Instead, in the UK it was released as the B-side to the non-album single, A Witch’s Promise.  This single version released in the UK was quite different from the US version, most notably lacking a flute track.  I will play this version of Teacher that is rarely heard today.  I’ll throw in the A-side too, A Witch’s Promise.

Aqualung – This rather different version was recorded during a set aired on the BBC.

Bungle in the Jungle – A rare live recording of this song, performed at the Palais Des Sports, Paris, on 5 July 1975.

Law of the Bungle – This song was originally recorded for the album, A Passion Play, in 1972 but did not make the final cut of the record and remained unreleased.  I’m sure it must somehow be related to Bungle in the Jungle, released on War Child in 1974, but I’m not sure how.  Both songs have an animal theme and mention “Bungle.”  The song’s title is obviously a play on the common phrase, “Law of the Jungle.”

Sunshine Day – This non-album single was the very first thing released by Jethro Tull.  On the label on the 45 record, the band’s name is mistakenly printed as “Jethro Toe.”  Any single with the correct name is a counterfeit.

 

Sue Fact…

Okay, now a fun fact about me.  I can’t listen to Heavy Horses, the title track of the 1978 album without tearing up and needing a tissue.  I find the lyrics that moving!  I’ll end Sunday’s set with this song.  Tell me if it moves you as much as me.

 

Conclusion…

I may not have been a Jethro Tull fan very early on, but I became one nonetheless and I’m a big fan now.  This is the first band featured on Sue’s Sunday Sojourn that I have had the privilege of seeing live in concert.  I hope you enjoy these tidbits I’m going to share during my set this Sunday night.  Please join me.

Jimi Hendrix

SUE’S SUNDAY SOJOURN: Each week I will showcase a particular artist or band during my entire two hour set.  Each week, prior to the set, there will be a blog post where I will write about my memories, favorite stories or share other interesting tidbits.  The idea here is not to tell the story of the band or play two hours of their greatest hits.  The idea behind Sue’s Sunday Sojourn will be to spend time with Sue, down in her music vault.  As she puts together the set, she will reminisce and share special memories.  “I remember when this came out,” or, “I recall hearing this for the first time and I thought…”  She might share little known facts, favorite memories, fun stories or maybe even some personal experiences. 

The sets will have plenty of the big hits but be ready for a few obscure tunes that may be her personal favorites.  She will probably include a few rarities or possibly unreleased material, along with other sundry curios.  So join her every Sunday night from 7-9 as she lets you into her world.

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967

James Marshall Hendrix was actually born “Johnny Allen Hendrix” in 1942 in Seattle, Washington.  He was born while his father was away fighting in World War II.  Somehow, and I’ve heard conflicting stories on this, his return home resulted in him divorcing his wife and legally changing the child’s name to “James Marshall Hendrix.” 

Hendrix learned to play the guitar at age 15 when his father bought him a $5 acoustic guitar.  However, it failed to keep him busy enough to keep out of trouble and James had several run-ins with the law by the age 18, which included being caught riding in a stolen car on more than one occasion.  He was given the choice of jail or enlisting in the Army, which he did in 1961.

Probably my favorite fun fact about Hendrix is that he served as member of the 101^st Airborne Division, nicknamed the “Screamin’ Eagles.” Yes, Hendrix was a paratrooper with one of America’s most elite units.  It was on his 26^th jump that he broke his ankle and received an honorable discharge in the Summer of 1962.  There are conflicting stories floating around on this and some say the Army discharged him because of his bad behavior and conduct.  Jimi had always maintained that it was because of the broken ankle, which makes more sense with the honorable discharge in my opinion.

James Hendrix, 101st Airborne, 1961

After the Army, Hendrix began his music career.  He was quite good and it wasn’t long before he started touring with the Isley Brothers and even recorded a single with them in 1964.  He also appeared as a studio musician for Don Covay on his single, Mercy Mercy.  In 1965, he joined Little Richard’s band and recorded a single with them, I Don't Know What You Got.  I’ll play both Covay and Little Richard singles during Sunday’s set.

It was in New York that he met Chas Chandler, former bassist for the Animals, who was looking into becoming a manager and producer.  He saw Hendrix’s potential and brought him to England in 1966.  He also recommended he use the name, “Jimi Hendrix,” instead of “James Hendrix.”  In London he formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience with two Brits, Noel Redding would play bass and Mitch Mitchell, drums.

Today, people are a bit surprised to hear that Jimi was more of a British phenomenon than he was in his native America.  Are You Experienced was released in the UK and spent 33 weeks on the charts there, peaking at the #2 spot.  It was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that kept it out of #1.  A good example of the discrepancy was the single from that album, Purple Haze.  In the UK it hit #3 on the charts, while in America; it never made it past the #65 position.  Don’t get me wrong; he was a big success in the States, but he was a tremendous hit in the UK.  America would not catch up in their appreciation of him until Woodstock in 1969.

Jimi was popular because no one had ever heard anyone like him before.  He was known as the “Master of the Stratocaster,” which is a reference to the guitar he played most, the Fender Stratocaster.  He managed all sorts of antics playing the “Strat,” as it is sometimes affectionately called.  He played it behind his head or with his teeth, but it was at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 that he did something on stage that became a rather popular image of Jimi.  He took out a can of lighter fluid and set his Stratocaster on fire.  (See the picture at the top.)  It was a seminal moment in Rock History.

Jimi had an on again, off again relationship with German figure skater, Monika Dannemann.  It was in her London flat that Jimi took an overdose of barbiturates and was found dead by Monika on September 18, 1970.  The overdose put him in a coma so he was unable to respond when he vomited during the night.  He then aspirated on the vomit and died.  Monika Dannemann’s death in 1996 was ruled a suicide, though many today think it was the result of foul play, unrelated to anything having to do with her relationship with Jimi.  She had claimed, after Hendrix’s death that they were to be married but no one ever put much faith into this.

For most artists I would end with their deaths but with Hendrix it seemed he was just getting started.  Shortly after he died, many of his recordings and material were stolen and found their way into bootleg releases.  What was left was locked down and would not see the light of day for decades as Hendrix’s estate was fought over and law-suited beyond what anyone would deem fathomable.  Things were finally settled by 2010 and Jimi Hendrix released his next studio album, 40 years after his death. 

This album, Valleys of Neptune, was recorded in 1969.  There was some new material but there was also some reworking of previously released material.  One example was Fire, originally released on his debut album 2 years previous.  He recognized that his sound had matured and evolved, and that some of his old stuff could be improved and benefit from this.  During my Sue’s Sunday Sojourn set, I’ll play both the 1967 version and then the 1969 version of Fire, back to back so you can compare.  The title cut, Valleys of Neptune, was one of the most sought after bootleg cuts before it was released in 2010.  I’ll play that one too and maybe others.

In 2013, Hendrix released another posthumous studio album, People, Hell and Angels.  It contained yet more unreleased material for yet another album he was working on at the time of his death.  There is still some hope that more may come from the master.  I’ll play a couple from this one too.

I promised that with Sue’s Sunday Sojourn that I would let you into my world a bit more than I usually do and maybe even give you a glimpse into my music vault.  Let’s go…

The very first bootleg I ever bought was in the 70’s and it was a Jimi Hendrix boot.  It was called “Sky High” and purported itself to be a jam session with many greats including Hendrix, along with Jim Morrison of the Doors, Johnny Winter and others.  The source is a two track reel-to-reel recording stolen from Hendrix’s possession in 1970.  The boot was released in 1970, a couple months after his death.

This is probably one of the most famous bootlegs ever and is high quality because Jimi recorded himself.  Hendrix used to love to Jam in clubs and bars with other musicians and it was typical for him to record these sets.  The one that is the subject of this boot is a Jam session he did at the Scene Club in New York City in 1968.  This bootleg has been released many times, by various entities, of varying degrees of quality and many other names, including:

Sky High (1970)

Jamming Live at the Scene Club, NYC

NYC '68

High, Live 'n Dirty (1978)

Live At The Scene Club, N.Y., N.Y.

Woke Up This Morning and Found Myself Dead

Tomorrow Never Knows

Bleeding Heart (1994)

Sunshine of Your Love

And many others…

The Sky High version, the version I purchased over 40 years ago, was undoubtedly made directly from the tape stolen from Hendrix.  Subsequent bootlegs were usually made from a recording of one of the previous bootleg records making them of far lesser and varying degrees of quality.  I was lucky that it came into my possession when it did.  Below is a picture of that vinyl bootleg record today, taken on chair in my living room and still in DJ Sue’s music vault in pristine condition some forty-something years later.

I’ll play a cut from this album on Sunday night in which Jimi plays Tomorrow Never Knows by the Beatles and Jim Morrison rambles on drunk, often unintelligible, to the music.  I picked it for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Hendrix identifies Morrison by name during the song.  “In case any of y’all want to know what’s happening, I’ve asked Jim Morrison…”  Early on in this cut it is hard to hear Morrison, though towards the end his ranting drowns out even Jimi’s guitar.  Earlier in the jam session, Morrison was more coherent and you can easily hear him improvise lyrics to Jimi’s music.  However, these are often explicit and rather raunchy, so much so that the 1978 version, High, Live 'n Dirty, actually sported an X rating on the cover, though this was more to boost sales since a bootleg would not be obligated to follow any sort of regulatory rating or warning.

Earlier, I said that this album boasts a long list of prominent musicians on stage with Hendrix, Morrison and the Jimi Hendrix Experience.  This is just not true.  Johnny Winter for instance was not even in New York at the time and always claimed he never was on stage with Morrison.  We also know that Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) were not there as the album covers claim.  The only two that we know were there for sure were Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, both of whom died within a year of each other over 45 years ago.  So, who else was on stage?

It was probably members of the McCoys, the Scene’s house band at the time.  The McCoys had had a big hit a few years earlier with Hang on Sloopy and would have been the type of musicians Hendrix would have loved to jam with.  This would mean that Rick Derringer is a strong candidate for the second guitar heard on the album, along with Randy Jo Hobbs on bass and Randy Z (Rick’s brother) on drums.  Both Rick and Randy Z would become members of Johnny Winter’s band in 1970, which may be what led to the confusion that Johnny Winter had played during the jam.  It was usually reported that the harmonica was played by Morrison, which he often played in concert, but he can be heard ranting over the harmonica parts in a few places so the harmonica player remains unidentified.

My original Sky High bootleg, still in my "music vault"

Sue's Sunday Sojourn... The Rolling Stones

Sue’s Sunday Sojourn

The Vault!

 This week marks the beginning of a new Sunday feature, Sue’s Sunday Sojourn.  Each week I will showcase a particular artist or band during my entire two hour set.  Each week, prior to the set, there will be a blog post where I will write about my memories, favorite stories or share other interesting tidbits.  The idea here is not to tell the story of the band or play two hours of their greatest hits.  The idea behind Sue’s Sunday Sojourn will be to spend time with Sue, down in her music vault.  As she puts together the set, she will reminisce and share special memories.  “I remember when this came out,” or, “I recall hearing this for the first time and I thought…”  She might share little known facts, favorite memories, fun stories or maybe even some personal experiences. 

The sets will have plenty of the big hits but be ready for a few obscure tunes that may be her personal favorites.  She will probably include a few rarities or possibly unreleased material, along with other sundry curios.  So join her every Sunday night from 7-9 as she lets you into her world.

The Rolling Stones

 

The Rolling Stones in 1965

When I was a kid, there were two great giants in Rock and Roll, spun forth from the British Invasion.  These, of course, were the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.  Both made a splash in the United States at about the same time with the Beatles hitting it big a few months before the Stones.  I liked both but there was just one problem, I was not allowed to like both.  The kids at school, my peers, insisted that if you were a fan of one, then you couldn’t be a fan of the other.  The rivalry was that strong but I never understood it.

So I publicly declared my love of the Beatles, who were far more refined than the Stones.  The Stones had more of an edge and were seen as something of a bunch of bad boys.  Now, since I placed myself in the Beatles’ camp I had to further declare who was my favorite Beatle, something peculiar about Beatles fans.  For the record, mine was (and still is if I must choose), George.  However, I still secretly loved the Stones too and listened to their music.  My record collection (please forgive me) had both Beatles and Stones records and if I went to a party, I made sure I left any Rolling Stones’ records at home.

In 1969, the Stones held a concert at Altamont Speedway outside of San Francisco.  The concert was hoped to be another Woodstock but the Stones had hired the Hells Angels to do security at the event.  A man by the name of Meredith Hunter charged the stage and was stopped by the Angels.  He pulled a gun and was stab to death.  The event was caught on film and it appeared that the Angels were justified in their use of deadly force.  Jagger publicly blamed the Angels for Hunter’s death.  This angered the Angels who plot to have Jagger killed in 1975.  Mick was staying at a residence on the shore of Long Island.  The Angels approached by boat to carry out their plot to kill him.  However, their boat was leaky and they wound up having to swim for their lives and, of course, Jagger never came to any harm.

In 1970 the Beatles broke up and I was upset, like many young women my age.  The silver lining was that over the next several years, things changed and it eventually became acceptable to have both the Beatles’ Red (1962-1966) and Blue (1967-1970) albums in your record collection, alongside Hot Rocks 1964-1971 by the Stones.  The Beatles were now just a memory and the Stones continued to come out with amazing albums as the years progressed.

In 1978, they came out with Some Girls.  The album was not only a big hit musically, but it achieved notoriety for other reasons.  The original album cover included pictures of Farrah Fawcett, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe, Raquel Welch and Judy Garland.  After a threatened lawsuit, the album was rereleased with a redesigned cover.  I liked a lot of the tunes on the record, but I was not too fond of Miss You at the time.  Disco was big back then and it sounded to me like the Stones had sold out.  I heard a disco tune when I heard Miss You.

The title cut off of the next album, Emotional Rescue (1980), also seemed to sell out to the pop sound and I worried that the Stones music I loved would be in jeopardy.  Alas, it was only a phase and they did go back to making just plain old good Rock and Roll.  In all, they released 25 studio albums and almost as many live albums.

This past year, 46 years after the Beatles broke up, the Stones came out with their 25^th studio album, Blue & Lonesome.  They are old men now but are still going strong.  Mick Jagger is a great grandfather and Charlie Watts is 75 years old!  In 2006, Keith Richards fell from a coconut tree at the age of 62 with no sign of slowing down.  However, many believed that Richards had been dead since the 70’s but due to the extreme amount of chemicals (drugs) in his body, his body refused to decompose and continued somehow animated to the present.

The Stones Today