Why does Ian Anderson keep singing?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Daniel Falaschi, Aug 11, 2015.

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  1. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    Perhaps he was born to sing
    & has no plan-B
     
  2. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    He made/makes plenty of money with non-musical things (sold the salmon business, but still owns a lot of land). I'm sure he makes a healthy profit from touring, but since he plays small-ish places and employs quite a few people, it's probably not his greatest source of income.
     
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  3. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    From a 2014 concert review:
    "and backup/side singer Ryan O’Donnell. That’s right, Ryan is a singer that sounds a lot like Ian Anderson. Ian has admitted recently that his voice is slowly exiting the stage. Ryan’s voice brings a better way to enjoy an Ian Anderson show with them swapping lines and by letting Ryan take the lead singing at times while Ian plays the flute during the vocal parts…"

    http://www.concertblast.com/2014/10/ian-anderson-concert-review-nashville-tn-ryman-auditorium/
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2015
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  4. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    Yeah, it is not only sad what happened to his voice - it is perplexing. It's not just a loss of range, he actually sounds like he is struggling to draw breath. And it's not like those old Tull songs were out of his range, nor was he a screamer.

    As the OP mentioned, 1984 was that line of demarcation. As the story goes, he blew his voice out on the Under Wraps tour and re-emerged for Crest Of A Knave sounding like a cross between Mark Knopfler and Popeye The Sailorman. It wasn't until Roots To Branches that it was real obvious he was singing in a much lower key and within his limitations - and I think the music was the better for it.

    But the current state of his voice is not why I am missing his show this fall - it is the ticket prices!
     
  5. Atmospheric

    Atmospheric Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eugene
    Well, Levon Helm continued to charge real money for folks to hear him sing after throat cancer. Larry Campbell stood at the ready to cover for him. Ian Anderson has to sound better than Levon did the night I heard him.
     
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  6. Arkay_East

    Arkay_East Forum Resident

    Location:
    ATX
    I actually love Leon's post cancer voice on those albums, but I never had the opportunity to see him live.
     
  7. segue

    segue Psychoacoustic Member

    Location:
    Hawai'i
    If he's only singing at 50% (and that's being generous) he should only charge 50%.
    -lifelong JT fan.
     
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  8. jjjos

    jjjos Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    For what KISS is and has always been about, both are just fine. I enjoy KISS and Jethro Tull very much, and have no pretensions about either.
     
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  9. Atmospheric

    Atmospheric Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eugene
    I'm sure LH's fitness to sing varied greatly from day to day. No doubt, he chose good takes in the studio to include on the album. Concert goers aren't that fortunate. Hey, I love Levon... I really do. I also remember a particularly wretched Don Ho concert in 1983, his voice was pretty shot too. It happens I guess. I just want to be warned before hand so I can leave my wallet in my pants.
     
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  10. peteham

    peteham Senior Member

    Location:
    Simcoe County
    He charges what the market will bear. And so he should.
     
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  11. Atmospheric

    Atmospheric Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eugene
    Well, not really. He charges what he can get away with while not fully divulging how crappy his voice is. Some people no doubt gladly pay the money for novelty sake. But others are surely disappointed by paying and experiencing what they did. It's called truth in advertising. If you bought a new car and it fell apart in your driveway, you'd be ticked off. But because it's "entertainment," quaint things like truth and honesty don't really apply. Huey Lewis is another guy who should absolutely not be charging anyone money to hear him. His voice is totally shot. Band members sing his parts while he lip syncs to them. That's Milli Vanilli level deceit.
     
  12. I saw the Under Wraps tour in Sydney right at the point where his voice blew out.I think it was the 2nd last show before he stopped live performance or nearly 3 years.
    I saw a few Tull tours after that(had also seen 72,74 and 77) and after 2005 I vowed to never go again because the vocals were nearly painful to listen to.
    I went back last December partially because I loved TAAB2 so much and partially because I had heard how much Ryan had improved the show.It was great and I never thought Iwould say that again about a IA concert.It saved his voice reducing the amount of singing he has to do and Ryan's persona/vocals were excellent and fitted in well.
     
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  13. PHILLYQ

    PHILLYQ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn NY
    This is something from this year:
     
  14. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Because he keeps getting paid for it.
     
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  15. Olias of Sunhill

    Olias of Sunhill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jim Creek, CO, USA
    Disagree with the premise of this thread. I've seen Ian twice in the last five years, and on both evenings he was in fine voice.

    He's clearly altered his delivery to account for his age and abilities, and bringing in Ryan to sing 50% of the lines was sheer brilliance. I hope he keeps going and will gladly pay to see him whenever he passes this way.
     
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  16. Paulo Alm

    Paulo Alm Forum Resident

    Location:
    In The Light
    With all due respect, I thought that didn't work at all. And to say Ryan O’Donnell "sounds a lot like Ian Anderson" is simply untrue. I much rather go see Ian singing the whole thing, for better or worse.
    Homo Erectus was a solid album too.
     
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  17. JazzVinyl

    JazzVinyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    usa
    We try not to age but time has it's rage...
    Have not seen Ian or the Tull since back in the day but this sentiment is exactly how I felt about Roger Daltry's singing, the last three times I saw him...
     
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  18. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I was just responding to comments that Anderson was oblivious to his voice being shot. This concert review clearly shows that he is aware. That's why he brought someone else on stage.

    It seemed to me that a number of folks were unaware.
     
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  19. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Heaven forbid but maybe they enjoy singing? It's up to the public whether they pay to watch them do it or not. And if money can still be earned, why not?
     
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  20. JamesLord

    JamesLord Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I have seen Tull many times over the years. My first show was Hammermith Odeon in London on the Under Wraps tour in '84 (which remains my favourite Tull gig). Ian and the band were immense that night.

    Every time since has been a case of enjoyable but with diminishing returns, largely the results of IA's vocal decline. Watching him sing in recent times has become almost painful - and it frequently looks like it is painful for him to do so, sadly.

    Whilst I certainly have no objection to him continuing if he wants to and people want to see him, I think I have now got permanently off the bus and will stick with albums and a lot of happy memories.
     
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  21. vudicus

    vudicus Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I think having the other singer taking over some of the lead parts is just plain wrong.
    Having backing vocalists is one thing, but Ian Anderson is the singer (and Flautist) and that's what people are wanting to see/hear when they pay for a ticket.
    It's bordering on tribute act status.

    That other guy sounds fine as a singer, but walking round the stage with a headset on making those hand and body gestures like he's in some pantomime looks ridiculous in my opinion. The skinny jeans don't help either. :laugh:

    If Ian is struggling so much with the older material, then he should drop it.
    Stick to singing songs that he can do a great job on and leave out the stuff that he can't sing any more.
    He gave up the Jethro Tull brand and people still pay to see his solo show, so why doesn't he drop the difficult to sing Tull material too.

    I think the majority of his audience these days are hardcore fans who don't need to hear Locomotive Breath for the zillionth time.
    I'm sure most of them would be happier hearing Ian singing other songs that he can do justice to.
    It's not like a massive stadium crowd that want to hear the same old hits every time he hits the road.

    Seeing the videos on youtube has certainly put me off going to see him live as I think the whole concept stinks.
    If he was the only lead vocalist, singing material that he could really sing well (there's plenty of it), then I'd happily go and see his solo shows.
     
  22. Headfone

    Headfone Nothing Tops A Martin

    When he sings within his current vocal range, e.g. Homo Erraticus, he sounds fine. If he wants to continue performing the older stuff "live", he needs to do some transposing. However, at this point, he probably thinks that's too much work.
     
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  23. ptmconsulting

    ptmconsulting Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Saw the group on the TAAB tour and Ryan did an amazing job singing alongside Ian and hitting those high notes when called for. The old material calls for that level of emotion and together they pulled it off in a very decent manner.

    The new material on TAAB2 just doesn;' stand up at all to the old stuff. Ian sang fine on it, staying within his new range. But because of that it lacked variety and sparkle and sounded much the same song to song. Sadly, it's just not as good as the old stuff.
     
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  24. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    I remember towards the end of Martin Barre's time with Tull Barre commented that they did transpose, and that it wasn't easy remembering what key they were using for each song that tour.
     
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  25. peteham

    peteham Senior Member

    Location:
    Simcoe County
    I'm sorry, I find any notion of Ian deceiving anyone to be ridiculous in this social media world we live in. All you have to do is go on youtube and hear him, second, it has been known for years that Ian's voice isn't close to what it was. All you would have to do is read the hundreds of concert reviews from fans and otherwise to find that out. If you've been living in a cave for the past fifteen to twenty years, and the first thing you want to do after you come out is go see a Jethro Tull show, then maybe you have an excuse. There is truth in advertising, but that has nothing to do with Ian. It's more about having a modicum of personal responsibility. I can't speak of Huey, but when I go see McCartney, I know exactly what I'm getting, and when I went to see Ian, I felt the same way.
     
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