Recently Heard: Trick of Memory

[ellyssian]

Martin Barre: Trick of Memory

The surprising thing about this is not how good it is - that's almost expected! - but how little most of the songs sound like Tull. Why's that you ask? Well, if you have to ask, you just might be one of those folks who might not see beyond Ian, in thinking Mr. Anderson = Mr. Tull. Fortunately, you are about to learn Jethro Tull, the person, was a farmer and the inventor of a plow, and that Jethro Tull of Aqualung-type musical fame, is not a single person, rather a whole entire band of them. Martin Barre has been the guitarist of Jethro Tull as long as I've been alive, to the year, which means most times you've heard Tull, you've heard Martin. Thus, on this, Mr. Barre's first - to my knowledge - solo outing, one would expect some similarities.

They are there - there's a couple of tunes that just might have been potential Tulltunes, but really, most of them are their own creatures entirely. That's actually one thing I've come to notice with a lot of first solo albums from long-time band members - they play, and they range far and wide, when they get out on their own. Leastwise the best of them seem to. As a f'rinstance, I think this album fits in really nicely with the jazz/rock fusion stuff I've been listening to. Martin cruises around the neck of the guitar, and it fits right in there with the other jazz guitar slingers. And, more surprising, the funk. Not every tune, but more than a couple, have - at the least - some great horn arrangements. So it fits in with the funk and R&B stuff that's getting heavy play lately.

There are vocals - by Barre and a few others - on maybe half the tunes (I didn't count lyrics to verify, but it's close.) In some cases, it reminds me a bit of the first solo outing by another British band member - Bill Ward, the drummer for Black Sabbath. Certainly, Martin doesn't range as far into the eccentricities as Ward does, and his sense of humor really only pops noticeably into one tune, but, still, there are some similarities.

This album should be a must for Tull completists, and a good choice for anyone who likes some variety, especially when the varieties might include classic rock, jazz, fusion, funk, or good music.