Minstrels in the Gallery: A History of Jethro Tull by David Rees
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"Three decades during which a remarkably gifted band of minstrels, guided by one of the true musical geniuses of our time, have created a unique brand of music. You can't dance to it, many simply can't listen to it, but to the millions of delighted record buyers and concert goers that discovered the special sound of Jethro Tull at various points of the epic journey, there is nothing quite like it. The sound is still undefinable, yet instantly recognisable."

David Rees' Minstrels In The Gallery: A History of Jethro Tull (1998, 2021) can hardly be considered a traditional biography-type book. The author had been the editor and publisher of a Jethro Tull fanzine, The New Day, for many years; thus Minstrels In The Gallery reads as a collection of fanzine issues. It is a thirty-year-long compilation of news about the band, about insanely frequent personnel changes, descriptions of performances, and some gossip. It is a difficult read because of the stunning amount of detail provided on every page. The overlong paragraphs filled with dense text do not help either.

Jethro Tull, one of the most famous rock bands in the popular music history, has been one of my favorite groups. Being a member of a generation for whom rock music used to be the single most important thing in life, I advanced from late teens to early twenties listening to Jethro Tull's music. I loved their progressive sensibilities and their ventures into classical music (remember Jethro Tull's version of J.S. Bach's Bourrée?) I loved Ian Anderson's flute playing and the British folk music influences.

Jethro Tull's story begins in 1963, when three school friends form The Blades, which - after countless personnel and band name changes - evolves into Jethro Tull. The big breakthrough comes in August 1968, when their performance at Sunbury Jazz and Blues Festival receives both popular and critical acclaim. Their first album, This Was, is released the same year, and the band begins getting invitation to play as a supporting act for such hyper-popular groups like Led Zeppelin. The peak of their world fame occurs during the 1970 - 1973 period; the band tour almost continuously all over the world and keeps releasing new albums. In fact, they keep touring and performing individual concerts all the way until 1998, when Mr. Rees' narration ends.

The author includes several fragments that break the monotony of personnel changes and performance descriptions, such as a passage about Ian Anderson (the only permanent member of Jethro Tull) as a very successful salmon farming and processing businessman, creating jobs in Scotland.

While the book is an absolutely essential read for any Jethro Tull fan, I doubt if it will be interesting for anyone who has not listened to their music.

(Let me note that, contrary to the Goodreads blurb above my review, there are no pictures in the book.)

Two-and-a-quarter stars.

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