In the hands of a lesser being than Ian Anderson, this could very well have been a bit of a ‘Spinal Tap’ album.
Looking into his DNA and family origins, Anderson has produced an album based around the early polytheistic beliefs of the Icelandic, Norse and Scandinavian peoples. There are 12 songs based on the principal Gods of old Norse paganism. They are written as poems with music backing. The vocals on the first and last numbers are spoken in an form of old Icelandic by a singer/violinist/actress guesting on the album – Unnur Birna.
So, with regards to the album itself, unless you are a student of ancient Icelandic and Norse paganism, is it worth listening to? I would have to say that it is one of Anderson’s better recent albums. He has surrounded himself with a superb band: David Goodier - Bass guitar has been with Tull since about 2002. He couples with Scott Hammond on Drums in the beating heart of the band. The rest are John O’Hara on Piano, Keyboards and Accordion who joined Tull in around 2005 and Joe Parrish-James on Guitars and mandolin who only came to Tull in 2020. They are all, individually, very talented musicians but there is very little question that Ian Anderson is not only the face and core sound of Jethro Tull but also that he is the prime driver behind the band and that without him, this is a bunch of disparate musos.
The 12 songs on the album all reflect the characters and roles of different gods, with the music mirroring the attitude of the individual god. The lyrics are largely spoken, in that slightly sardonic manner that Anderson has made his own and musically the 12 songs all have an individual feel and form.
It is definitely a fine piece of music, Anderson’s flute playing is particularly good. Very well worth investigating.
