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What is Geddy Lee’s opinion on Jethro Tull
The Rush bassist, singer and keyboardist Geddy Lee was extremely influenced by Progressive Rock bands when he was a teenager. His contribution to Rush’s musicianship came from that and of course, bands like Cream and Led Zeppelin. He had the chance to see many of those bands plaiyng in Canada when he was just dreaming about becoming a Rock star.
Over the decades he talked about many of those bands, including Jethro Tull, led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Ian Anderson.
What is Geddy Lee’s opinion on Jethro Tull
As a Rush fan can probably expect, yes, Geddy is a huge fan of Jethro Tull and recently even said that is “plain wrong” that Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before them. “There are a lot of bands that come to mind but the first band of course is Jethro Tull. I mean, I love Jethro Tull so much. They were so inspirational to me and I talk aboult this in the book. About how our careers were elongated and we had another chance after Neil’s tragedies to come back on the road.”
“So much loosened up about our stage show and we started to become more comfortable with ourselves. (Also started to) bring more of our sense of humor into the films we produced and etc. A lot of that was inspired by when I used to go see Jethro Tull play. Because they were really funny.”
“I mean, their staging was elaborate, their music was complicated and they had a great sense of humor. They would interrupt a song to read the news, you know. They had all kinds of Monty Phyton episodes on their shows. (Me and my friend Oscar heard ‘Thick as a Brick’ so many times when we were young) that we could even recite the whole album. So the fact that they are not in the Hall of Fame is just plain wrong. The fact that we are there before them is just plain wrong. So I hope they will correct that one day,” Geddy Lee said during spoken-word to promote his book “My Effin’ Life” in 2023 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
Geddy Lee said his favorite Jethro Tull album is “Thick as a Brick” and they were the best band he saw live
The Rush frontman had the chance to see Jethro Tull playing in Canada back in 1972 when they were promoting the album “Thick as a Brick”, which is his favorite album by the band. He even listed that album in interview with The Quietus in 2012 as one of his favorites of all time.
“My favorite Jethro Tull album. I know it is partly a send up of the idea of ‘concept’, but it is delivered to perfection. I was a massive Tull fan from very young. They are one of the bands that I saw live in Toronto. Yes, we were lucky to see so many incredible concerts when we were very young. I hope, that too reflects in Rush.”
Geddy Lee continued:
“I was mesmerized by Ian Anderson. His presentation was simply magical and he delivered it with such a sense of humor and great style. There really wasn’t anyone else who looked or sounded quite like them and that holds true to this day. We saw it as a huge challenge to try and create something that can seem so dynamic onstage.”
“They are probably best regarded as a live band although their series of albums around that period were exceptional. This still sounds fresh and it is great to see that interest in Tull is still growing,” Geddy Lee said.
Geddy loved their show so much that even more than five decades later, in 2023, he told Classic Rock they were the best band he saw live. According to him, the greatest thing about them was the mix of incredible musicianship and complex songwriting.
Formed in Luton, Bedfordshire, England in 1967, Jethro Tull released 24 studio albums so far. They have sold an estimated amount of more than 60 million records worldwide.
