Magnetic Eye Records are assembling a tribute album to Jethro Tull‘s 1971 prog rock classic “Aqualung” as part of their redux series of covers albums. As the label is known to do, an additional set focusing on Jethro Tull fan favorites will arrive alongside this new set. Crowdfunding for these two outings has just been launched via Kickstarter.
Initial artists revealed to be involved with the project include The Sword, who are contributing their first music to be recorded since just recently returning from hiatus. Also involved are Chris Goss (Masters Of Reality) and Alain Johannes (Eleven, Queens Of The Stone Age), who will be pairing up for a track. Further artist announcements are pending.
Magnetic Eye Records said of their plans for these two tribute albums:
”We want to thank Jethro Tull for not putting out an album this year.”
So said Lars Ulrich when accepting Metallica‘s Grammy for Best Rock/Metal Performance in 1992, a jab at when Jethro Tull head-scratchingly beat out the Bay Area thrashers for the award when it debuted three years prior.
You don’t have to be a music historian to know that Jethro Tull isn’t a metal band, nor even a rock band in the classic sense. But you’ve almost definitely been listening to their songs on rock (and maybe metal) radio your whole life, not to mention soundtracks, mix tapes, playlists, etc.
Magnetic Eye‘s Redux Series was created to pay homage to classic albums from across music history, and we’ve charged ourselves as chroniclers and archivists to help ensure these artists and records are never forgotten. Heavy music has experienced many evolutions, but the idea that a band led by an eccentric, mercurial Scotsman who integrated art pieces, social critiques, off-kilter humor and yes, a flute, could become one of the most memorable and recognizable acts of the 1970s shows what a fun and crazy time those early days of rock’s exploration were.
With ‘Aqualung Redux‘ and ‘Best of Jethro Tull Redux,’ we pay heavy tribute to the original art-rock masters through an array of renditions by bands both iconic and new. Jethro Tull were singular and might never come into existence today, but it’s cool as hell that what they did lives on more than five decades later, and we proudly uphold and endorse their lasting importance with this homage.
And before you ask, yes, more than a couple bands actually included flute in their songs – just wait till you hear them…”
