Thick As A Brick Live In Iceland

Been a Tull fanatic since the mid 1970's when I was a kid, I have seen them live several times and was always amazed that anyone could some up with so many amazing pieces of music. Thick as a Brick live in Iceland is another awesome piece of work from a man who has had so many. I miss Martin Barre, that said the guitar work by Florian Opahle is superb. All the playing here is great, the band sound fantastic. Ian is his usual energetic, manic flute playing self and also does himself proud on acoustic guitar. Everyone comments on his voice, but I felt it was clear and strong throughout, especially considering this man has been doing this for close to 50 years. I loved Thick as a Brick but I actually think I may like Thick as a Brick II more which is saying something. If you have a couple of hours to sit back and give this masterpiece a listen, you will find it is time well spent. Awesome playing, a true masterpiece!

I had the pleasure of seeing this tour live and it was fantastic. It's great to have a wonderfully-recorded souvenir of the experience. For the dolts below who are complaining "why is it Thick as a Brick over and over?"... 2012 was the 40th anniversary of the original "Thick as a Brick" album, so Ian Anderson released "Thick as a Brick 2" (a completely different album), and then went on the road playing both Thick as a Bricks in concert. It was the first time if 40 years that the original TAAB was performed in its entirety. THAT's why there is now a live double-CD and a concert DVD and/or Blu-ray available now. I welcome it. The two-disk CD sounds great, the band performs the piece without a hitch, and it's Ian Anderson. (Why not Jethro Tull, you ask? Do some research. Ian Anderson disbanded Jethro Tull a few years ago and now performs as "Ian Anderson". But Ian Anderson has always been Jethro Tull and Jethro Tull has always been Ian Anderson, so there really isn't much of a difference!). If you're a serious Tull fan, or rather, Ian Anderson fan, this is a worthwhile purchase.

I had always heard that the 1972 TAAB tour ,was one of the best live events of the 1970's. I have a couple of bootlegs, and I agree. Maybe one day they will release a prime recording of that tour. But for now, we have Iceland. The 70's let all band members participate equally. This recording billed as Ian Anderson instead of Tull showcases Anderson while the rest of the band serves as back up more or less. If you are hoping for a repeat of the legendary 72 tour. This is not it. Pretty much a note for note update. I had never listened to TAAB part 2 before. And the recording is not bad, but I thought a continuation would have to be based on the musical theme as the original. But, I suppose the story is what makes it part of brick. Maybe using the brick theme would sell more copies

I purchased this CD mainly to hear THICK AS A BRICK 1 which is what this review will concentrate on. First of all I think this is a respectable late-period addition to the Tull library. It is not without its flaws nor is it without its strengths. The most obvious alteration is the extensive utilization of vocalist Ryan O'Donnell during TAAB1. This was a bold and proper move for Ian Anderson: 1.) Bold because it demonstrates that his ego is perhaps not as uncompromising as many of us were conditioned to believe and 2.) Proper because what has been the number one complaint among Tull fans for the past 20 years or more? I believe it's been Anderson's declining vocal capabilities, especially in concert. Unlike what some reviewers have stated (here and amazon.co.uk) I don't think O'Donnell's voice resembles Anderson's much at all but it fits the music and blends well with the old man's. [Aside: Given O'Donnell's spot duty on TAAB2 and HOMO ERRATICUS and his sweeping usage here and Anderson growing older by the year, could it be that he's grooming the younger vocalist as future lead singer for Jethro Tull? Just wishful thinking out loud.] This band - O'Hara, Goodier, Ophahle and Hammond - is as talented an ensemble as any assembled under the Anderson/Tull monicker and Anderson's flute playing is as spot-on as ever, however, not as agressive and edgy as he once was. Florian Ophahle in particular is as capable a guitarist as one could hope for to replace Martin Barre. He's very reminiscent of Anderson's longtime righthand man. So, with the good comes the bad. ALL of the spoken bits are simply non-essential, throw away routines that quickly grow tiresome and I will avoid whenever possible; The Bostock intro, the phone call/skype explanation (a simple credit in the liner notes would suffice), and the dreadful prostate exam midway through with no track delineation. Please just include it as a separate track if it must included at all. Minus one star for all that foolishness. And even the spoken exerpt that's part of the original piece (and was just marginally humorous some 40 years ago) sounds like an arcane joke that is well past its expiration date ('the babies wearing nylons' bit). They got the words right but it sounds contrived and detracts from the flow. It would've been preferable to have just omitted that small portion. I suspect listeners would have been none the wiser. And finally, a longtime gripe of many Tull-Ian fans has now become mine as well (and this phenomenon usually manifests itself live moreso than in studio); That is, while singing Anderson seems to be a fraction of a beat behind the music and is constantly fighting to catch up but rarely succeeds. Why is that? O'Donnell doesn't have that problem and Anderson keeps perfect time whilst playing the flute. Hmmm. It's peculiar and bothersome to me but that's how I whittled my way down to 3 stars. And just a reminder, three *s means it's OK. With that said I certainly hope Ian Anderson continues composing while he's on a roll. His recent studio albums were solid 4-5 star efforts. His creativity hasn't waned much while his flute playing remains top-notch. His singing in the mid and lower ranges in a studio environment can still be quite effective. It's nice to have a backup singer available to sing lead when called upon. Will O'Donnell remain satisfied in that roll? Or will he take on an even greater roll?

I just finished listening toTAAB1 Live In Iceland. I have to say the music and the musicians are excellent. Ian Anderson is still great. The rest of the band are as good as the band on the original TAAB. I have to say the 3 minute talking to the audience is very annoying. It ruins the flow of the song. TAAB2 is just as good as TAAB1. I was surprised how good it is and how much I liked it. It's different but really good. I liked added vocals on 1 and 2. Other than the talking on TAAB1 I give both CDS 5 Stars. If you are a Jethro Tull / Ian Anderson fan this is a must have concert for your CD library.

hey this was a fun night in iceland. gee i had never heard TAAB 2 before and now that i have i have to say it's pretty good. Ian does deliver. how can he not. it's a part of his DNA. one unique man.as for part one hey it stands up. it's a treat to hear the whole TAAB live i only heard it live once before and that was in the Cow Palace. and nixon was the president. well nixon is gone and we get to enjoy this release now. aint life the best

Jamais je n'aurais cru prendre autant de plaisir à l'écoute d'un "nouvel" album de Jethro Tull en 2014! Même s' il s'agit du contestable Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, c'est à dire du légendaire chanteur/flûtiste/guitariste accompagné d'illustres inconnus. Rassurez-vous, Martin Barre (qui tourne de son côté avec sa propre set-list tullienne) ou Doane Perry ne manquent pas le moins du monde car les musiciens choisis par notre échassier préféré sont tous très compétents, à commencer par le guitariste allemand Florian Apahle qui l'accompagne depuis un certain temps déjà. John O'hara (claviers et accordéon), David Goodier (basse) et Scott Hammond (batterie et percussions) sont à l'image de tous les musiciens qui ont traversé le Tull: subtils et fidèles dans leur interprétation au service de sa majesté. Quant au répertoire interprété ce soir de 2013 en Islande, c'est du pur bonheur: l'intégralité des deux volets de "Thick As A Brick", espacés seulement d'un court entracte de 20mn, le temps qu' Ian Anderson aille soulager sa vessie comme il nous l'explique en long, en large et en travers lors d'un exposé supposé comique sur le cancer de la prostate. Cette digression malheureuse figure en plein milieu de "Thick As A Brick" -premier du nom- qui occupe le 1er CD. J'avoue avoir redécouvert cette œuvre car, étrangement, ce n'était pas un album du Tull que j'affectionnais particulièrement. Par méconnaissance sans doute, car c'est effectivement excellent. Cependant, j'aime tout autant (voire plus) "Thick As A Brick 2", paru 40 ans (sic) après, permettant à Ian Anderson de renouer avec l'excellence musicale des années 70 car les derniers opus de Jethro Tull (de "Catfish Rising" à "Dot.Com" en passant par "Roots For Branches") n'étaient franchement pas transcendants. Les retrouvailles avec Gerald Bastock furent donc l'occasion de raviver l'inspiration de l'artiste. Je n'ai d'ailleurs pas compris les chroniques mitigées car ce disque paru en 2012 figure parmi mes préférés du Tull. L'interprétation en concert de ces deux albums exigeants (rappelons qu'Anderson avait composé le premier volet en 1972 dans le but de se moquer du rock progressif, sans penser une seconde qu'il deviendrait un classique du genre) aurait pu se révéler une entreprise désastreuse si Ian Anderson n'avait eu la lumineuse idée de recruter un excellent chanteur additionnel. Outre le fait d'être un acteur, danseur et mime talentueux Ryan O'donnell (qui arpente la scène en donnant la répartie à Anderson) a le mérite d'avoir une voix assez proche (mais plus onctueuse et moins nasale) de celle du vieux grigou. Cela permettant à Ian de préserver sa voix sur la tournée marathon de 176 dates à raison de 2 heures d'un show très chanté. Il pouvait alors davantage se consacrer à sa flûte pendant que sa doublure chantait, évitant ainsi l'utilisation de bandes préenregistrées. A noter qu'une violoniste, Anna Phoebe s'est chaque soir, en direct de chez elle à Londres, connectée au groupe, rajoutant quelques parties de ci de là. Une anecdote que Ian Anderson relate dans le livret. En CD, comme en DVD, ce témoignage live (moins hermétique, à mon avis, que les versions studio) est bien évidemment essentiel à tout amateur de musique.

Si tratta di due dischi molto piacevoli da ascoltare, ben realizzati musicalmente (come sempre ha fatto Ian Anderson). Due note negative: il primo CD (Thick as a brick 1) è una traccia unica di 50 min. e, per di più, vi è incluso uno sproloquio di Anderson sulla prostata insopportabile dal secondo ascolto in poi.

All s OK.

La gira fue brillante y este disco confirma las buenas sensaciones de los conciertos. El sonido es tal y como se pudo escuchar por lo que no hay ni retoques ni nada parecido. Rock progresivo en estado puro.

Excellent live recording of classic Tull songs. Recommended.