The opening six notes of Aqualung have probably given the general public a picture of Jethro Tull that is completely inaccurate. It's a hard rock, almost heavy metal guitar riff and even though a good portion of the song is a solo acoustic performance from Ian Anderson, those six notes have led people to believe that Tull is a hard rock band. Most descriptions of Jethro Tull remind me of the story of the blind men and the elephant (you know, the old tale where one blind man feels the elephants leg and decides an elephant is like a tree, another feels it's ear and decides an elephant is like a fan, another feels it's trunk and decides an elephant is like a snake etc. etc.), they don't quite capture the big picture. Tull’s music has been described as bluesy, Celtic inspired, synth rock, folk rock, classical rock, inspired by the English ballad tradition, jazzy, medieval and of course, hard rock. Ian Anderson has described the music as heavy metal with mandolins. The amazing thing is all of these descriptions have a degree of truth to them. The even more amazing thing is somehow even though Jethro Tull’s music has mixed and matched all these different elements over the years, they still have an immediately recognizable sound that couldn't be anyone else. The music of Jethro Tull isn't for everyone. Being offbeat, unique and creative is no longer in fashion. Their music doesn't fit most people's preconceived notions of what rock music is supposed to be. Who ever said rock music had rules! And besides, who says the music of Jethro Tull is rock music. It's TULL music. Something different. Something wonderful.

    There are many nice Jethro Tull pages where you can learn all about the band, see pictures of Ian and the gang in action and listen to clips of their music. This page is all about what I, W. S. Gumby, think of Jethro Tull. Here you will find reviews and comments that will hopefully give the newcomer to Tull an idea of what to expect from each album. Of course, many Tull fans will violently disagree with my opinions and I include thoughtful, constructive dissenting opinion, so write and tell me what you think. Try to keep in mind that I'm just another blind guy feeling up the elephant.

    You can also take a look at some pretty cool picture sleeves and picture disks of some of Jethro Tull's single releases or connect to other Tull sites from my link page. Have a Tull web page? Let me know!

The depths of Mr. Gumby's fanatacism revealed.