Jethro Tull : For a Thousand Mothers

I think Jethro Tull gets a bit of a bum rap in the rock world. Maybe it's because, while half their songs rock heavy ("Aqualung", "Hymn 43", "Cross-Eyed Mary"), the other half sounds like they were stolen from the local Renaissance Faire. Or, maybe it's because they stole the first Heavy Metal Grammy out from under Metallica's "One", even though Metallica had completely blown the song out live on-stage for the Grammy audience not more than fifteen minutes previous.

But Tull (as the fanboys call them) can throw down some serious licks. Say what you will, but their heavy songs are heavy, full of slightly broken proggy blues riffs and furious drumming. And of course, props to Ian Anderson for actually making the flute work as a rock instrument. He gets that thing howling as angrily as any sax or guitar out there. I once knew a flautist who hated Jethro Tull because Ian just played the flute wrong, to which I can only say, "Well, fuck you then" because you're missing the whole point of rock music in the first place.

Speaking of fuck-you's, even though the title sounds like a tribute, it's not exactly Mother's Day material. This piece is a bit of a kiss off to all the mothers and fathers out there who cast doubts on the dreams of their offspring. He's made it, and he's picking you up at eight in his limo to remind you just how seriously wrong you were.

"For a Thousand Mothers" is a serious rocker, with a prog bent. The guitar hammers the riffs hard and is matched in lockstep by the bass and drums, grooving on this 6/8 (maybe 12/8?) rhythm that shifts back and forth between twos and threes. Meanwhile, Ian shreds his flute, seriously pushing it to the limits with all sorts of nasty overtones crashing over the top. There's even a killer post-verse breakdown with just unaccompanied flute. And on top of all this, Ian delivers his parental kiss-off, which is thinly disguised by a rather nice melody. Very hummable.

Then, finally, after the song has been sung and the music fades, they go at it some more. It sounds like they looked at each other and decided, "Screw it, let's jam some more," and they kick it back into gear and jam for another sixty seconds or so, which unfortunately gets the fade out a second time.

You can find "For a Thousand Mothers" on Jethro Tull's 1968 release, Stand Up, which is a great LP, even with all the fay medieval stuff.

Actually, that's stuff's nice too. I just don't want you to think I'm a pansy.

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