OK, I admit it — I’m somewhat of a bootleg junkie, especially when it comes to rare concert video. Jethro Tull’s quirky satellite broadcast from New York City’s Madison Square Garden in 1978 is a rare one I eventually found. This was of particular interest to me because I had seen Tull the same year, and they were sensational.
When I spoke to Ian Anderson in 2003, I asked him about the likelihood of shows like this and other Tullian trinkets ever finding their way to the legitimate marketplace. He almost had me convinced it wasn’t in the cards. I don’t know, maybe he just hadn’t looked at the footage yet. Who cares — the “official” Live At Madison Square Garden 1978 is here. In a twist that’s becoming more commonplace, it appears the producers
behind this DVD even borrowed a creative trick or two from the bootleggers.
The story behind the performance on this DVD is simple: some of it was filmed and some of it was not. According to Anderson’s liner notes, the show began as scheduled for the paying audience. After three songs, the “live”
television viewing audience was treated to a staged opening, followed by an hour-long concert.
The cameras shut down during “Locomotive Breath,” but the concert carried on. Fortunately, as it has been revealed, they recorded the entire show on audio tape for safe-keeping.. To create a proper DVD, the solution was also
simple: fill in the video portion with photos of the band and let the viewer fill in the blanks with his imagination before the video kicks in. It’s a technique some of the more anal retentive, creative bootleggers have been using to bridge spotty video for many years now.
Still, more often than not, “official” versions of bootlegs manage to get a leg up on the competition, so to speak, by adding certain enhancements beyond the scope and capabilities of the amateur. In this case, the 5.1 soundtrack more than makes up for the lack of complete video (which you can view exclusively if you so chose).
“Heavy Horses,” the title track from the album Tull was promoting at the time, is a well-orchestrated blast before the screen fades out, the lights come up and suddenly we see Ian Anderson — roguishly dressed in Gaelic plaids, a beret atop his noggin — and the rest of Jethro Tull, waiting in the wings and ready to take the stage…again. Anderson makes a mad dash to the front, surrendering to the fluttering silliness of “Thick As A Brick.” The video portion is underway.
This is one of the classic 70s Jethro Tull lineups featuring Martin Barre on guitar, Barriemore Barlow on drums and John Evan on keyboards. By this time, the band’s longtime orchestral arranger David Palmer had also been initiated into the ranks to play keyboards. But bassist John Glascock, who would pass away in 1979, was already showing signs of wear and tear at this juncture, and was unable to perform. Never one to mince momentum, Anderson quickly recruited fellow Englishman Tony Williams to take his place.
“No Lullaby” is prime Tull — Barre’s rigid passages give way to Anderson who, flute in hand, becomes the pied piper of New York City. On the ever enchanting “Songs From The Wood,” rare Tull harmonies spark the opening verses and Barlow gets to toot the flute. Afterwards, Anderson extends a delightful introduction, a little jig starts up, and it’s all about “Aqualung.” This is truly the singer at his edgiest, intoning each stanza with staggering conviction while strumming his small acoustic at the breaks. Once Barre steps up to whip out his trademark lead, the song descends and we’re all sitting on park benches with snot running down our noses again.
The “staged’ encore of “Locomotive Breath” features the insanely underrated John Evan tinkling out the intro. Then the band pops in and the train is on the run. Anderson was every bit a rock star in those days as the legions push forward. But Tull as a whole is really where the action is. An off-the-cuff jam ensues — Anderson jumps in on the keys, Barre strikes a few uneven power chords. Evan finishes out the video sequence with a wild grin and a cache of grace notes.
Now, we’re back to a slide show. But the music carries on with “Too Old To Rock N’ Roll, Too Young To Die” and “My God/Crossed-Eyed Mary.” Why they decided to revisit “Locomotive Breath” for the “real” encore is the $64,000 question. Most listeners may very well shut it off, satisfied with the 11 songs (there must have been more they didn’t include). No matter, you can always throw the companion CD in your car player and relive the experience the old-fashion way.
The bottom line is that Live At Madison Square Garden 1978 offers the kind of snippets hardcore Tull fans want. Whether that translates to a level of sales needed to even bother is something else altogether. If, however, Ian Anderson would care to dig a little deeper and pull out something from just a few years earlier — bits and pieces from the tours behind A Passion Play or War Child; maybe that infamous 1976 Tullavision concert from Tampa Stadium — he’d probably make the world a little safer for future generations.
~ Shawn Perry
