Ian Anderson - Homo Erraticus

[arturs]

Actually, both albums have not met my relatively hopeful expectations ... neither are bad, but what's the point really??

Yeah, that's about my take on both TAAB2 and HE. I gave each of them a few dozen spins when they came out. Nothing ever stuck. Probably will never play either of them again.

At least HE stands or falls on its own merits. TAAB2 irked me beyond its relative mediocrity because Ian re-used the name of his most successful LP ever (IMHO of course) for a new record that has nothing in common spiritually with the original, other than that silly story I never paid any attention to anyway. Purely a marketing ploy.

[PROGMONSTER]

Sounds too pop to me. Too much influence from the other band members. Some good tracks but a few mediocre ones. Don't like the guitarist much. He's trying hard to sound like Martin but he's just too young and doesn't have all the right influences

[taliesin]

Sounds too pop to me. Too much influence from the other band members. Some good tracks but a few mediocre ones. Don't like the guitarist much. He's trying hard to sound like Martin but he's just too young and doesn't have all the right influences

Wait - aren't there any outtakes that would have made it better?

[Dave (in MA)]

Opahle is about the same age that Barre was circa Stormwatch.

[The Dark Elf]

The last Ian Anderson album I really cared about was Rupi's Dance. Unpretentious. Uncluttered. Full of simple joys like a good cup of coffee and an old black cat. The Rubbing Elbows Tour which accompanied the album was outstanding, particularly since it was all acoustic and Ian didn't have to go bug-eyed wheezing out high notes he can no longer sing.

I thought, and still do, that naming an album Thick as a Brick 2 was a mistake, as it had neither the musical accomplishment of superb band mates like John Evan and Barrie Barlow who expanded Ian's ideas far beyond the mean constraints of the follow-up. They were a band then and a damned good one, not just hired hands paid at union scale, which is exactly what TAAB2 sounds like. Also TAAB2 has almost no humor. It's as dry as toast, and Gerald Bostock has been turned into a miserable old fag. Why make him miserable to the point of being decrepit? A cynical take from Ian I didn't appreciate.

[Trane]

HR & TAAB2 were disappointments. i know better now not to buy anymore IA solo projects. his writing went the same path as his voice.

I wouldn't go THAT far either...

Never heard RD, but Language of Birds and 12 Dances were more than OK, IMHO

[chalkpie]

The last Ian Anderson album I really cared about was Rupi's Dance. Unpretentious. Uncluttered. Full of simple joys like a good cup of coffee and an old black cat. The Rubbing Elbows Tour which accompanied the album was outstanding, particularly since it was all acoustic and Ian didn't have to go bug-eyed wheezing out high notes he can no longer sing.

Haven't spun Rupi's in decades so I will grab for today's journey and report back.

[thedunno]

I wouldn't go THAT far either...

Never heard RD, but Language of Birds and 12 Dances were more than OK, IMHO

Rupis dance is the secret language of birds twin brother.

[Trane]

^^^

thx

[Facelift]

The last Ian Anderson album I really cared about was Rupi's Dance.

Agreed. IMO, that and the even better Secret Language of Birds are the kind of music that best represents IA the solo artist. TAAB II and Homo are attempts at being Tull in all but the name, and IMO neither are very good attempts.

[PROGMONSTER]

Opahle is about the same age that Barre was circa Stormwatch.

Yeah but the average guitarist has 10 times better influences back then

[Fracktured]

HR & TAAB2 were disappointments. i know better now not to buy anymore IA solo projects. his writing went the same path as his voice.

Sadly I feel this way also. Jethro Tull is one of my all time favorite bands, but these albums just do nothing at all for me.

[stevedian]

I like HR way better than TAAB2 whose melodies I wasn't very impressed with. I like the melodies on the album and I really like the flute playing. I actually like the vocals on this album better than some of his work in the late 80s and 90s. The funny thing is that I don't mind his singing on HR at all. To me he's writing vocal melodies which he can handle. Ironically when I've seen him live his vocals always seem to be better able to handle the new material as opposed to the problems he has handling the vocals on his older songs. Back in the day he could handle those songs but now he can't. So to me the newer material live often sounds better than the older material as far as the vocals.

[Steve983]

Love this album! One of Ian Anderson's best works.

[Dave (in MA)]

Homo Raticus

[Yodelgoat]

At this stage in the progression of the prog music scene, I absolutely LOVE that Ian is still putting out decent music at all. I'll take anything Yes, Rush, Tull (Ian), Genesis... the list goes on. I can afford to buy it, I support older artists expanding their catalogs. If its not growing, its shrinking, because the Universe is expanding.

Some people, I need to stop buying. But not my favorite musicians. Just give me one more... That is, until they have nothing left to say. With Ian, I enjoy his conversation. Sing about one brown mouse? yeah, I can listen. So as long as he comments on whatever interests him in this world, I find that I can always listen. When he starts singing about Geritol or his bowels no longer functioning... I'm out. But his music is not limited to drugs sex and rock and roll. I enjoy what he enjoys writing about.

[Mister Triscuits]

Homo Raticus

Hottus Raticus.

[JKL2000]

HR & TAAB2 were disappointments. i know better now not to buy anymore IA solo projects. his writing went the same path as his voice.

Hopefully nothing more will come of it.

[JKL2000]

At this stage in the progression of the prog music scene, I absolutely LOVE that Ian is still putting out decent music at all. I'll take anything Yes, Rush, Tull (Ian), Genesis... the list goes on. I can afford to buy it, I support older artists expanding their catalogs. If its not growing, its shrinking, because the Universe is expanding.

Some people, I need to stop buying. But not my favorite musicians. Just give me one more... That is, until they have nothing left to say. With Ian, I enjoy his conversation. Sing about one brown mouse? yeah, I can listen. So as long as he comments on whatever interests him in this world, I find that I can always listen. When he starts singing about Geritol or his bowels no longer functioning... I'm out. But his music is not limited to drugs sex and rock and roll. I enjoy what he enjoys writing about.

[Mister Triscuits]

When he starts singing about Geritol or his bowels no longer functioning... I'm out.

Peter Hammill included a song something like that on one of the more recent VdGG albums and it was actually pretty great.

[Dave (in MA)]

I liked TAAB2 and HE at least as much as his other solo albums. I'll keep buying them as long as he can crank them out, I suppose.

I didn't go see the tours, though. I don't care to really care to see him trying to reach notes out of his range anymore by trying to stand on tiptoe and really don't care to see his theatrical replacement singer trying to compensate.

[Facelift]

I liked TAAB2 and HE at least as much as his other solo albums. I'll keep buying them as long as he can crank them out, I suppose.

I didn't go see the tours, though. I don't care to really care to see him trying to reach notes out of his range anymore by trying to stand on tiptoe and really don't care to see his theatrical replacement singer trying to compensate.

I'd be interested in IA attempting another album of pure instrumental music, but not as an experimental one-off like Divinities, but in the general style of rock-oriented music that he made most of his career of. It would obviously be much easier for him to perform than the stuff with vocals.

Too bad that I kind of doubt that he has a genuine interest in this himself, though - he seems to really like writing lyrics.

[The Dark Elf]

Hottus Raticus.

Is that like Monty Python's Biggus Dickus?

[JKL2000]

As he's getting older, he's rereleasing the following albums with new titles:

Sit Down
Catfish Sitting
Walker Into Light
Rocker Island
Minstrel in the Pharmacy

[Progatron]

As he's getting older, he's rereleasing the following albums with new titles:

Sit Down
Catfish Sitting
Walker Into Light
Rocker Island
Minstrel in the Pharmacy

... to be followed by:

War Grandchild
Too Old To Rock N Roll, Too Old To Rock N Roll
Eh?
Songs From When I Used To Get Wood