Remarkably, The Zealot Gene is the best album by Jethro Tull since The Broadsword And The Beast. If that does not sound like much of an achievement (a sentiment I understand in view of such all-time greats as Under Wraps and Rock Island), let me put it in a different way. The Zealot Gene is Jethro Tull's best album in forty years. Forty years, come to think of it, is nothing to sniff at - not if your voice is shot, your guitarist is exiled, your last release was a Christmas album, and anything you are doing at the moment is but a shot in the dark.
But a damn fine shot it is. The Zealot Gene sounds like Jethro Tull's final album - Ian Anderson's last push for... well, if not relevance (relevance has not been here for years), then some sort of urgency and, dare I say it, closure. Clearly the second installment of Thick As A Brick was not it, and neither was Homo Erraticus. This time, however, he is tight, tasteful, tuneful and mostly to the point.
All the elements of classic Jethro Tull are in place, from catchy flute breaks to lush acoustic guitars to playfully smart lyrics to occasional heavy riffage. The latter is never overbearing or excessive, so no misguided Grammies this time around. Musically, I would say this albums slips into the nether regions of Jethro Tull's top ten, and some melodies are downright inspired ("In Brief Visitation" is a highlight). To me, the centrepiece is "Mine Is The Mountain". Built as a mini-suite, it flows beautifully from atmospheric piano to impressive flute workouts and proves that even after many years of slump you never completely lose it as a songwriter. And as for Ian's voice, it is in fine form, or, at the very least, you would not notice much wrong from the studio recording.
I used to have a book with Ian Anderson's lyrics, and it started with several chapters where he gave brief opinions on Jethro Tull's back catalogue. Interestingly, when he got to those old records, he criticised some of them for the lack of humour and warmth. I appreciated that and always felt I knew exactly what he meant. To me, The Zealot Gene has some of those qualities back - for instance, I can definitely sense them in the harmonica breaks in "Jacob's Tales". Which do not appear typical (in fact, they bring to mind George Harrison's "Apple Scruffs") but which sound so great on a Jethro Tull album number twenty-two.
RECOMMENDED THIS MONTH:
Jethro Tull - The Zealot Gene
Yard Act - The Overload
Elvis Costello & The Imposters - The Boy Named If
