Product Description

Jethro Tull is one of the most successful British acts of all time with a career reaching from the late sixties to the present day. In 2003 they made their first (and so far only) visit to the Montreux Festival. Split into a semi-acoustic first half and a full on electric second half, the concert was a triumph combining newer songs such as "Dot Com", "Pavane" and "Budapest" with classic favorites. As ever Ian Anderson leads from the front with his instantly recognizable voice and inimitable style of one-legged flute playing.

Tracklisting 1) Some Day The Sun Won't Shine For You 2) Life Is A Long Song 3) Bourée (Version de Noël) 4) With You There To Help Me 5) Pavane 6) Empty Café 7) Hunting Girl 8) Eurology 9) Dot Com 10) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 11) Fat Man 12) Living In The Past 13) Nothing Is Easy 14) Beside Myself 15) My God 16) Budapest 17) New Jig 18) Aqualung 19) Locomotive Breath

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24332 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-08-21
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Live, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 117 minutes

Amazon.com
Two hours. 19 songs. And 35 years, which is the time that elapsed between Jethro Tull's first record and Live at Montreux 2003. Pretty amazing when you consider that when the punk and new wave brigade first hit the scene, Tull, with their tarted-up progressive rock sound, was one of the first "dinosaur" bands to be run out of town on a rail. Except not. Decades later, the punks have scattered, but Ian Anderson and company are still at it, and sounding good to boot. Only Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre, whose power chords matched with Anderson's flute to define the original Jethro Tull sound, are still around from the early days. But this particular lineup (with Jonathan Noyce on bass, Doane Perry on drums, and Andrew Giddings on keyboards) was the most enduring in the band's history, remaining intact from 1995 to 2006, and it shows; the musicians are tight and totally on their game as they make their way through what amounts to a career retrospective, with a couple of new songs to round out the set. They draw on their entire catalogue, from the first (the bluesy "Someday the Sun Won't Shine for You") second ("Fat Man," "Bouree"), and third (the exquisite "With You There to Help Me") albums through relatively obscure recordings like Crest of a Knave, Roots to Branches, and Songs from the Wood. "Living in the Past" is also there, as are the crowd-pleasing hits from Aqualung, and they even play a few holiday tunes to hawk the then-new Christmas Album. Although he gives ample space to the others, this is primarily Anderson's show. His stage demeanor has changed little over the years; his impish court jester shtick (what his fellow Brits might call "twee") may or may not be to one's taste, but the guy has always been a gifted songwriter, with an ear for melody and an innate feel for rhythm and interesting arrangements. The DVD includes no bonus material, but there's still plenty here to satisfy most music lovers--except maybe the punks. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

Like being there
I personally preferred Tull's performances 35 years ago during the Thick as a Brick era when the band was ferocious and the stage act was way over the top. Really, there wasn't a better live rock band than the early 70's Jethros.

Jump to Montreux 2003 and you have a much kinder and gentler group that spends the first half of the concert on some pretty cheesy Christmas-meets-new-age instrumental meanderings, with a few gems thrown in.

The second half sounds a lot more like the Tull we grew up with, unleashing the heavy riffage on songs like Nothing is Easy, My God and Locomotive Breath. Martin Barre is one of rock's greatest unknown guitarists, and his playing here is first rate as always, and Ian still makes the flute sound like it was invented to drive a rock band.

Both video and audio quality are superb... too bad DVD technology wasn't around 35 years ago... but this Montreux performance may be the next best thing.

The Best Live Tull DVD Released Yet!
I've been a fan of Jethro Tull for 28 years, and have literally grown up with their music. Even after seeing them in concert numerous times, I have always thought how great it would be to have "a concert" to take home with me (visuals and all). This DVD fulfills that desire in a way not quite accomplished by previous Tull DVDs, which intercut interviews or special effects into the flow of the concert itself, which rather disrupted the atmosphere in places.

This disc is the concert from start to finish, very well filmed and recorded, with a superb performance from the group. I personally think that Jethro Tull continue to grow and explore new musical territory under the leadership of Ian Anderson, and this concert expertly blends all the group's styles and influences, from rock to folk to jazz to new age and blues and back again... Tull have always been hard to categorize, but there is something for everyone in the group's diverse fanbase to cherish here.

Everyone in the group gets a chance to shine, with Ian Anderson's flute playing well to the fore and sounding better than ever. It's also nice to see Martin Barre perform his acoustic instrumental "Empty Cafe," a little gem not available on DVD before.

I would recommend this to committed fans as well as to people unfamiliar with the group; it's a great introduction to the multi-faceted Jethro Tull.

Fantastic video of Tull onstage in '03
Jethro Tull is one such act where the same kind of break-neck energy found within the tattered fringes of punk rock co-exists inside virtuoso instrumentation and arrangements. Singer-flautist-co-founder Ian Anderson loves the art of adding several notes of flute and voice at the drop of a sage's hat, and his tendency for ad-libbing can seen and heard on the new DVD, "Jethro Tull -- Live at Montreux 2003," released by Eagle Rock Entertainment.
"Jethro Tull music has always retained a degree of improvisation," the 60-year-old Anderson told me on the telephone recently. "Even structured music has space for improvisation. All members of the band have an opportunity to change notes, and that's always fun."
Led by Anderson and longtime guitarist Martin Barre, Tull sounds tremendous throughout the new DVD, which will shoot shivers of excitement through the faithful and uninitiated alike, both with acoustic numbers and electric guitar-driven tracks.
Anderson selected a near-perfect set list for the new live DVD. It shows the way he and Tull inject adrenaline and inspiration into 19 of their most beloved tracks on the new DVD, which also is available as a double-compact disc set. As the DVD plays, it's little surprising that "Living in the Past," "Aqualung," "Locomotive Breath," "Empty Cafe" and "Life is a Long Song" sound so relevant and feisty, even though the bulk of the video's tracks were first recorded in the late 1960s and 1970s. Bassist Jonathan Noyce, drummer Doane Perry and keyboardist Andrew Giddings round out the quintet as Anderson rotates between flute and acoustic guitar.
"I try to be inventive with time signatures when writing, and there's new pieces of music that tests the limits of the musicians, which is exciting," Anderson told me. "I'm just grateful for people to give us something of a chance live, and to want to see a one-legged flute player."
Equipped with one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in all of rock music, the song "Aqualung" builds in intensity and the punchy "Fat Man" is ironic without ever being too aware of itself. Yet it's the quieter moments on the DVD, particularly the perfect, should-have-been-a-No.1-hit "Budapest" and the holiday-themed "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Bouree (Version de Noel)," that hit the deepest. Framed by Anderson's acoustic, appropriately crystal-like guitar playing, "Budapest" is a prime example of how Tull weaves classical influences into blues, folk and Mediterranean sounds. The track originally appeared on Tull's 1987 album, "Crest of a Knave," which edged past the gamblers' favorite, Metallica's "... And Justice for All," to win the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album Award in 1988.
Check out this DVD. They might not play with quite the fire they had in 1972, but they have a lot of energy and class left in them.