JETHRO TULL'S MARTIN BARRE TO RELEASE "AWAY WITH WORDS"
RELEASE DATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre has announced the release of his fourth solo album "Away With Words", through RSK’s new label, Edifying Records on September 30th.
Barre's guitar playing has earned him a high level of respect and recognition; He was voted 25th best solo ever in the US and 20th best solo ever in the UK for his playing on "Aqualung". His playing on the album "Crest Of A Knave" earned him a Grammy award in 1988. By the age of 21 he was already multi-talented playing guitar, flute, and saxophone. He proves it's never too late to pick up something new, learning Bass Clarinet at age 64!
Martin Barre, with the invaluable help of engineer James Bragg, took the lesser known Tull songs from their catalogue and with Barre's superb knowledge and understanding of music, did away with words (hence the title) and transformed them into intellectual acoustic songs, weaving each of these gems together with heartfelt melody and harmony. Martin uses each instrument to compliment each other and uses them also, in a playful way like in the track "One Brown Mouse/Fatcat" it seems, using the acoustic guitar as the mouse and the electric guitar as the cat. "It's My Round" is a beautiful track that made my mind and heart soar into a warm, bright place filled with tenderness. "Air Lament Of The Spalpeen/Martin's Jig/Hymn" starts out with a crying flute like a wolf howling at the moon and then picks up a feisty attitude.
“Re-arranging and representing the Tull songs featured on this album became a very pleasant and rewarding task. These lesser known songs have always been amongst my favourite pieces of music and reworking them brought back many good memories” – he confides enthusiastically. Talking about his new compositions included in the album, he says “I have written the rest of the music, hopefully with sympathy and taste. Composing and re-arranging is my passion. Bringing together the many acoustic instruments was a delight for me, but of course the electric guitar couldn’t be totally left out of the picture!” He goes on to say “This album is a fusion of my writing blended together with Ian (Anderson’s) in a continual movement of music.”
The Band:
Martin Barre: Acoustic/Classic/Electric Guitars, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Bass, Flute & Bass Clarinet
Dan Crisp: Vocals
Frank Mead: Blackwood Flute, Whistles, Bodhran and Blues Harp
Jonathan Noyce: Bass
George Lindsay: Drums & Percussion
The Album:
1. First Light/Moths
2. It's My Round 3. One Brown Mouse/Fatcat
4. All Bars Hold
5. Air: Lament Of the Spalpeen/Martin's Jig/Hymn
6. Pussy Willow
7. Snapshot/Paparazzi
8. Long Ago/Home
9. Fire At Midnight/From The Ashes
10. Protect & Survive
11. Spare A Thought/From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser
12. Sundown
Martin Barre started his music career in the early 60s playing saxophone. He audition for Jethro Tull in 1969 and was handpicked by Ian Anderson to take on guitar duties from Mick Abrahams. Today he’s the longest standing member after Anderson himself, having appeared on all of their albums apart from their first. In an interview recently with Classic Rock Radio dot EU's Jon Kirkman, Barre stated that "The Tull door is closed right now, but not locked. If Tull was to get together again it will have to be really really special."
3rd October Brighton - The Komedia
4th October London - The Borderline
5th October Banbury - The Mill
6th October Hebden Bridge - Trades Club
8th October Sheffield - The Greystones
10th October Wolverhampton - The Robin
11th October Bristol - The Tunnels
12th October Falmouth* - Blues In The Bay Festival
14th October Milton Keynes - The Stables
Tickets are £17.50 (subject to booking fee) except for Falmouth*; Details can be found at
Pre Order Martin Barre's "Away With Words" Here:
By Jill Maciel
West Coast Correspondent for CRRdotEU
No comments:
Post a Comment