Jethro Tull fans have lauded Ian Anderson for embracing the band's classic sound on the lead single and title track from its forthcoming album, Curious Ruminant, but to Anderson, the contemplative progressive rock style of the record is not the result of premeditation.
"Without trying too hard, inevitably, you will draw upon some elements of the style and feel of things you've done at other times in your career," Anderson tells Q104.3's Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke. "So it's nice when people say to me, 'Oh, you know, this has some elements of music that could have been on the Aqualung album or the Songs from the Wood album or whatever. I like to hear that, but I don't try too hard to give it that shape."
Anderson says that all of Tull's best music has more or less written itself.
"I think songs have personalities and they dictate to you during the writing process," he continued. "They almost tell you how that want to be when they grow up."
Likewise, he considers an album a kind of family of siblings, raised in the same home under the care of the musicians and producers who work on them. Anderson wrote and produced most of the record in his home office/studio, bringing the whole band together at a separate location to breath life into the arrangements.
Anderson adds that Curious Ruminant owes a debt to the patience of his wife, who is kind enough to relinquish their home studio when he needs to record.
Watch the full interview via the player above!
Go here to pre-order Curious Ruminant.
Watch the official video for Jethro Tull's "Curious Ruminant" via the player below.
1 of 3 Photo: Getty Images AsiaPac
2 of 3 3 of 3