Ian Anderson standing on one leg playing flute solos over hard rock riffs was one of rock's most improbable and iconic images. Jethro Tull were prog rock's most eccentric band, fusing British folk, blues, jazz, and classical into a sound anchored by Anderson's flute and vocal snarl and Martin Barre's crunchy guitar. They were heavier than most prog bands and folkier than most rock bands.
Aqualung is their defining work, a concept album (or not, depending on which interview Anderson gives) about religion and homelessness that contains some of the most recognizable riffs in classic rock. Thick as a Brick took the concept album idea to its logical extreme: a single 44-minute track presented as a newspaper.
Key Albums
The title track and 'Locomotive Breath' are classic rock staples. The album's thematic ambition pushed boundaries.
One track, one album. Prog rock's most committed conceptual joke (or masterpiece, depending on your view).
Folk-rock Tull at their most charming and accessible.
Why They Matter
Jethro Tull proved that the flute could be a rock instrument and that prog rock didn't have to be humorless. Anderson's eccentric personality and the band's fusion of folk and rock created a unique space that nobody else has successfully occupied.