Jethro Tull is a divisive band amongst classic rock fans. A lot of that grows out of their winning the inaugural Grammy for Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Performance in 1989. It was obviously a ludicrous choice. They beat out the likes of Metallica and Jane’s Addiction, both of whom fit the award’s title much better than did Tull.
But that speaks to one of the things that their fans love best. Ian Anderson and his mates were never content to fit into an easily identifiable genre. They were, in fact, hard rock, though never really sailed near the shores of metal.
But they were also pastoral and classical and folky. “A Song for Jeffrey,” from their debut, is old-school blues. 15 years later, “Lap of Luxury” is as new-wavy as a band named for an 18th-century agronomist was apt to get.
To really hear Ian Anderson, listen to some Jethro Tull covers
The unifying factor has always been Anderson. Frontman, composer, and the most famous flautist rock music has ever produced, Ian Anderson is an iconic figure. I have heard him lauded for his vision and musicianship, for his leadership and lyricism. But one thing he gets almost no credit for is his actual singing.
There is good reason for downplaying Anderson’s vocals. He doesn’t really have a very good voice. I mean, it’s fine. He can hit the notes. He can even sound sweet at times. But his primary vocal attack involves a growl. Like those lions and tigers who sleep in the shadows, Anderson has never been known for his lilt.
I had an epiphany when exchanging some texts with an old friend who is a big Tull fan. Brian (not his real name – or maybe it is – you’re never really going to know) asked me if I knew of any bands that covered Jethro Tull songs.
One came immediately to mind, but I had to search my memory for others. That in and of itself is a little strange. Tull was very popular in the 1970s. They had plenty of hits. You’d think there would be at least a few well-known covers.
I initially thought that this was just a result of their iconoclastic musical approach. Maybe it isn’t that easy to cover a band that travels all over the genre map and has a flute at its core.
Then I began listening to a few covers and had that epiphany. It is Anderson’s voice. Not the range or the timbre, which are not in the least bit special. It’s something else… something that is very hard to put words to. I imagine it is the same reason people like listening to Tom Waits and Bob Dylan and Leon Redbone. For lack of a better term, I’m going to call it the attitude in the vocal.
Here are the songs I listened to just before writing this. They all lead in the same direction.
“Cross Eyed Mary” by Iron Maiden (1983)
If Tull was indeed perceived as worthy of a “heavy metal” Grammy, surely a band like Iron Maiden could kill a cover of one of their heavier tunes from the iconic Aqualung album. And the Maiden track starts off promising enough, with electric guitar replacing Anderson’s tremulous flute intro.
The instruments pound away for almost a full minute before freshly arrived singer Bruce Dickinson begins to sing. Dickinson is one of the greatest metal vocalists there is, but he can’t do this song justice. His shrieking really strains his formidable range. Anderson didn’t have half that range, but he snarls out the words perfectly, while Dickinson over-cranks it and loses the menace in his delivery.
“Living in the Past” by Midge Ure (1985)
Ure is highly acclaimed and highly respected, with an astonishing resume as both a solo performer and contributor to many other bands. He has been knighted. (I may not be using that term correctly. Forgive me. I’m an American.)
He covered Tull’s highest-charting single (both in the UK and USA) on his debut solo album, The Gift. It’s a pretty cool take, existing kind of halfway between synth-heavy new wave (common at the time) and proto-industrial pounding (looking forward).
As with Iron Maiden, that intro goes on for about a minute. Then he begins singing, and it all kind of falls apart. The thin, precise voice lacks the lunacy that Anderson brings to the original.
“Hymn 43” by Overkill (1999)
Thrashers Overkill issued a compilation in 1999 which included a cover of Anderson’s controversial “Hymn 43.” The song asks for forgiveness despite the supplicant’s lack of any true remorse for his sins. Good fodder for a metal treatment.
I cannot accuse Bobby Ellsworth of underselling the vocals. He snarls with Anderson-like intensity. And still, it feels forced. Anderson brings a measure of gravitas to the hypocrisy, perhaps due to the lower register of his voice. Ellsworth can match the snottiness implicit in the lyric, but it sounds more like an act than truly authentic.
“Locomotive Breath” by Styx (2005)
I must admit, I never would have pegged Styx as being a good match for a song like “Locomotive Breath.” But in 2005, long after their glory days in the late ‘70s and early ’80s, they released a pretty cool covers album. It included Beatles and Blind Faith, Hendrix and the Allmans. And Tull.
It was a wise decision to have JY Young take the vocals. He has a quality hard rock voice, required for the snarl of “Locomotive Breath.” If you squint your ears, you can almost hear Styx’s “Miss America.”
And yet, the song – and much of the album – sounds to me more like a really good rock cover band playing a bunch of famous songs. That’s nothing to brush off, but as close as Young comes, I don’t think he quite gets the titanic momentum of Anderson’s vocals.
“Bungle in the Jungle” by Hashtronaut (2024)
The new trio from Denver comes the closest I have ever heard to equaling what Anderson accomplishes. And it has nothing to do with trying to copy the sound. Their version of “Bungle…” sounds nothing like Tull.
Daniel Smith ping-pongs between melodic singing and metal shrieking and comes closer to the attitude of Ian Anderson’s voice than any cover I know of. Because that is the key. It’s the attitude.
Ian Anderson was not a great singer. No one is putting him on a list of all-time great rock vocalists. But he was, in fact, a great rock vocalist. It was partly phrasing, but it was mostly the way he could morph from wink to glare, calling on humor or menace as the song dictated.
He was one of the best ever at conveying attitude with seemingly little effort or artifice. Which is just one reason why, as we have argued in these pages, Tull deserves a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
At least this epiphany helps explain why I think the best Jethro Tull cover I have heard is the Hampton String Quartet’s 2005 version of “Aqualung.” No vocals to come up short. Just a killer string adaptation. Well worth a listen for fans of Jethro Tull.
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