Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson stays curious while he still can with Curious Ruminant
Curious Ruminant is Jethro Tull's third in the three years since Ian Anderson relaunched the band with 2022's The Zealot Gene. It finds the frontman in a more contemplative lyrical mode than usual.
'Curious Ruminant could refer to a ruminant in the sense of it being an animal, like a cow or a deer or a sheep – but in this case it's applied to humans thinking something through, ruminating on it,' says Anderson. 'And it's 'curious' in the investigative sense, of wanting to find out about something and think about it, rather than curious as in 'weird.''
He began writing the album shortly after finishing work on 2023's RökFlöte. Where that album was inspired by Norse mythology, the follow-up dispenses with any overarching concept or theme. 'If there's an overwhelming notion, it was just to be a little more personal, a little more heart-on-sleeve, rather than being objective and painterly in style,' he says.
Musically, the nine-track album evokes Tull's mid-70s output, especially with the 16-plus minute Drink From The Same Well – the longest song they've recorded since 1975's Baker Street Muse. It was written several years ago as a duet with Indian flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, who eventually decided not to participate. Anderson has re-recorded parts of the song, and developed the lyrics.
'It's about the fact that we're all in the same boat – we all breathe the same air; we all reap the same potential doom from climate change; we better be careful to all bail out the boat together, and pee over the side and not into it.'
There's definitely a sense, as you get older, that this is not for ever
Elsewhere, the spiralling Over Jerusalem looks at the current state of the Middle East from a different perspective. 'It draws a parallel between a bird looking over the city, with all its history and foibles and positives and negatives, and likening it to a military drone,' says Anderson.
He first played Israel in the 1980s and has donated profits from shows in the country to NGOs involved in human rights, education and co-operation between the various social and religious factions. 'I definitely tried not to make it a political song,' he explains. 'It's more a feeling of slightly despairing affection.'
One of the album's most moving songs is closer Interim Sleep, with spoken-word lyrics based on a poem written for an imagined friend who'd suffered a bereavement. 'It's based on the idea of what happens when you die,' says Anderson.
'I toy with the notion of belief rather than having a firm sense of it, but the idea of there being an ongoing spirit and relationship after death is the basis of several religions, and a matter of comfort to different people of different faiths.'
Curious Ruminant marks the continuation of the 77-year-old Anderson's late-career hot streak – something he puts down to a mix of creativity and urgency. 'There's definitely a sense, as you get older, that this is not for ever,' he says.
'You become increasingly aware that it's probably a good idea to get on and do the things you want to do, whether that's travel, or recording a new song. And once you get the bit between your teeth and say, 'I'm writing a new song,' the snowball starts rolling.'
He plans to dip into Curious Ruminant when Jethro Tull tour this year, though he doesn't expect there will be any UK dates until 2026. 'We'll certainly be playing a couple of songs from the new album, and we'll continue to play a song from each of the last two albums,' he says. 'But the set list will embrace a few more early Jethro Tull songs which I haven't played for a few years.'
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