Imagine Ian Anderson sitting in a therapist’s office (the “past-ologist”) trying to remember which year his trousers were stolen. Picture the band playing "Locomotive Breath" in a model train shop while miniature trains derail around them. This is not a typical rock documentary filled with talking heads. It is a Dadaist comedy.
The setlist on Living with the Past is a fan’s dream, avoiding the obvious in favor of the inspired. Yes, you get “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath,” but they arrive late, earned by deep dives into the catalog. The opening trio—“Some Day the Sun Won’t Shine for You” (a Stand Up gem), “Living in the Past” (re-arranged with a softer, jazzier lilt), and the instrumental fireworks of “Hunting Girl” (from Songs from the Wood )—announces a band comfortable with its history but not trapped by it. jethro tull living with the past
The true highlight is the centerpiece: a stunning, 11-minute rendition of “My God” from Aqualung . In Anderson’s hands, it’s no longer just a diatribe against organized religion; it’s a living, breathing jam vehicle. He duels with Giddings’ synth flutes and Barre’s razor-edged guitar, his own flute trilling manically as he hops on one leg—a theatrical signature that, on audio alone, translates as pure, urgent energy. The recording captures the room’s warmth, not sterile and over-dubbed, but alive with the slight reverb of the Apollo’s wood-paneled walls. Imagine Ian Anderson sitting in a therapist’s office
In the age of reunion tours and legacy acts playing identical setlists every night, Jethro Tull: Living with the Past feels subversively modern. Anderson understood that the past is not a destination; it is a lens. The album refuses to be a funeral dirge for classic rock. Instead, it presents a Jethro Tull that is witty, self-aware, and musically voracious. It is a Dadaist comedy
A rare and historic session featuring the original 1968 This Was lineup— Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, Glenn Cornick, and Clive Bunker —performing early favorites like "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine For You" in a British blues club setting.
The live recordings cover over 30 years of the band's history, ranging from blues-rock roots to complex progressive arrangements. My Sunday Feeling Roots to Branches A New Day Yesterday Jack in the Green Thick as a Brick Sweet Dream Locomotive Breath