"The Secret Language of Birds"..."Rupi's Dance"... "Divinities"...never got around to buying these. I listen to clips on Youtube and they sound pleasant enough, but I'm concerned they may be nothing more than that - pleasant background music, good for certain moods/situations but ultimately something that I would be hard-pressed to recall a melody from after repeated listens. How do you rate these?
You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...
SLOB is a song-oriented album and has Barre, Giddings & Conway playing on it and lacks only a non-Anderson Tull bass player, so it's not really clear to me why DotCom constitutes a Tull album and this one doesn't. I guess it's lighter than any real Tull albums.
Rupi's Dance is really good.
I have all 3. I would probably go with "Rupi's Dance" as my favorite followed by "Secret Language" and "Divinities" (which is all instrumental BTW). They are all good (although not great) and worth owning.
Steve Sly
Walk into the Light is a precursor to Under Craps...Its actually very good....
Four excellent discs that cover a lot of ground among them. If I had to pick a favorite it'd be TSLoB, but each has its appeal. all All good, all different.
I really like the IA solo albums. Whether they prove to be 'pleasant background music' or not depends on the individual listener but I find there's plenty to like on them. Walk Into Light is still my favourite, I've mentioned in the past that it is a dark, moody record and I think it succeeds where a lot of Under Wraps fails. But since we're focusing on the later ones, I would recommend The Secret Language Of Birds first. Rupi's Dance is about on par with it, a very similar style. Divinities is the black sheep, being that it is instrumental and goes for a more 'mystical' vibe a la Roots To Branches, which some people see as a sort of 'companion piece', even though it's full-on Tull. I assume you're familiar enough with TAAB2 since it's been discussed a lot so recently.
Here's a favourite of mine:
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Rupi's Dance is sweet and witty ... I have lost the CD, though, so technically I only own the memory of it
The Secret Languance of Birds is stunning in my opinion. Rupi's Dance i find a bit boring, especially lyrics-wise.
I have always preferred the acoustic side of Jethro Tull, that's why I preferred TSLoB and Rupi's Dance over almost any Tull record, with some exceptions: This as a Brick, A Passion Play, Songs from the Wood and Minstrell in the Gallery.
I only have "Walk into Light," which I haven't heard in years, but always enjoyed, and "Divinities," which I really like.
I think that SLOB is pretty good, and basically sounds like an album of good acoustic Tull songs. I think it's the best album that IA has been involved with since Crest of a Knave (though it should be noted that I don't have a particularly high opinion of the post-Crest Tull albums). I'd rate it around a B+ or so and would solidly recommend it to any fan of Tull.Originally Posted by Garden Dreamer
Rupi's Dance is very similar in style, though not quite as good, IMO. But if you end up liking SLOB, you'll definitely want to try it. Considering how close in time those two albums were to each other, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of the Rupi's Dance tunes were leftovers from SLOB.
I regard the other two albums as weaker; experiments that didn't really work out. If, for some reason, you like Under Wraps, then you might want to try Walk Into Light. Divinities, IMO, accurately fits into the "background music" category that you mention. Personally, I've got many other albums I'd rather have on in the background than that one.
Secret Language of Birds is excellent and I prefer to a lot of JT albums, Ian's lyrics and singing on it are so evocative and just sublime.
That's pretty much my stance as well, although my exceptions would be Songs From the Wood, Heavy Horses, Christmas Album, War Child, Roots to Branches .
Yes it is! Never bought the others, but heard them all and think all of them are at least decent.
I know there is one of those three you mentioned I haven't heard (most likely SLoB)... One (and if memory a second one as well) is Indian music with a typical Ian touch
The only one I'd tell you to avoid is that atricious 80's stuff WitL disaster... (haven't heard since a few weeks after its release, and have no wish to ever again)
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
I absolutely love Birds and Rupi's Dance. I listen to them a lot more than I listen to Tull it seems. Then again, I'm also very slanted towards acoustic Tull!
[SLOB is a song-oriented album ]
As opposed to what? TAAB and APP are song oriented they just happen to both be one long song.
As opposed to instrumental, as in Divinities. Does it reflect the OP's point that I forgot that Rupi's was a song-oriented album as well? Though it's quite good and I'm listening to it now, and this thread has compelled me to rip the CDs in question (plus Walk Into Light) to go alongside TAAB2 on my MP3 player.
Oh I see. I didn't know Ian did any instrumental albums. Could be interesting.
What is a non-Anderson Tull bass player?
I love The Secret Language of Birds. It's basically the type of solo album you wanted/hoped/expected Ian to release when he gave you Walk Into Light instead. It has all the acoustic numbers that have been sorely missing from official Tull releases for decades; for me personally I listen to it far more than any Tull release since Ian broke up the band before A. Postcard Day is right up there with the best Tull acoustic songs. The songs overall are also well written for his latter day vocal issues to the point where you don't even mind his lack of range.
Rupi's Dance is more of the same but a slight step down. The other two studio works are interesting experiments, but ultimately get little playtime from me.
The live 2cd Ian plays the Orchestral Tull should not be overlooked. Its full of acoustic Tull and solo work and is a very pleasant listen similar to A Little Light Music (disc two gets a little bogged down with the typical concert standards of Aqualung, Locamotive Breath, etc, but disc one is fantastic).
Presumably, somebody who has played bass in Jethro Tull and who is not Ian Anderson.
This one seems to be a hit-or-miss when it comes to fans' opinions, since it comes too close to new age for some folks' taste. I for one think it's excellent.
You can't go wrong with Birds or Rupi.
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