Chris Thompson Interview: Ex- Frontman for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band Releases New CD

Chris Thompson releases 'Toys & Dishes'

By Ray Shasho

Chris Thompson legendary Manfred Mann’s Earth Band lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, most recognized for singing the #1 hit/ classic rock radio anchor “Blinded by the Light” has released an extraordinary new CD entitled ‘Toys & Dishes.’ It’s Thompson’s first studio release in over ten years. Released by Esoteric Antenna/ Cherry Red Records …the album consists of pure driven rock & roll tempos while enchanted by powerful lyrical content. …I gave ‘Toys & Dishes’ by Chris Thompson (4) Stars.

MANFRED MANN and drummer Mike Hugg founded the British Beat /R&B/ Psychedelic/ Pop/ Rock/ band Manfred Mann in 1962. Manfred Mann scored a huge hit with their cover “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” (#1 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1964) and played an important role with the British Invasion. The first incarnation of Manfred Mann also spawned the hits “Sha- La- La” (#12 U.S. 1964), and “Pretty Flamingo” (#29 U.S. 1965) with Paul Jones as lead singer.
Manfred Mann’s second incarnation began with singer Mike d’Abo. In 1968, the band generated a hit with the Bob Dylan penned “Mighty Quinn” (#10 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 hit).Over the years Manfred Mann featured such bandmates as Jack Bruce and Klaus Voormann.

MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND was formed in 1971. The third incarnation began while lead singer and guitarist Chris Thompson took over the frontman duties in 1974. Thompson was born in Ashford, Kent, England but raised in New Zealand. After joining the band as their new lead singer, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band scored huge with their #1 hit song penned by Bruce Springsteen “Blinded by the Light” (1976). The tune remains a mainstay on commercial radio stations. The Manfred Mann’s Earth Band track also became the only #1 hit written by Bruce Springsteen. The Earth Band toured excessively and released many other popular recordings including another Springsteen composition entitled “Spirits in the Night,” “Davy’s on the Road Again,” “You Angel You,” and the Top 40 hit “Runner.”

In 1979, Chris Thompson left Manfred Mann’s Earth Band but returned periodically through 1999. Thompson recorded seven solo albums including two albums with his band Night. Chris also scored Top 40 hits with “If You Remember Me,” “Hot Summer Night, ” and perhaps his biggest hit co-penned with Andy Qunta (Icehouse), Keth Reid (Procol Harum), and Maggie Ryder entitled “You’re the Voice” performed by John Farnham.

Chris Thompson has collaborated with The Doobie Brothers, Roger Daltry, Alan Parsons, Ray Charles, Rita Coolidge, Michael McDonald, Bonnie Tyler, Isaac Hayes, Jan Hammer, Jennifer Rush, Heart, Mike Oldfield, Brian May, Bob Geldof, Mavis Staples, Paul Rodgers, Joe Walsh, Steve Lukather, Ian Gillan, and Starship to name just a few.

In 2004, Chris toured with Jeff Wayne’s musical version of ‘The War of the Worlds’ while finishing in 2010 with 21 sold-out shows in England.
In 2005, Thompson rejoined Manfred Mann for 22 sold-out shows in Germany with “Night of the Proms.”

Chris Thompson also released an album featuring Big Band and Orchestra music entitled ‘Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me’ in 2012.

I had the great pleasure of chatting with Chris Thompson about his incredible new album ‘Toys & Dishes’… the inception of “Blinded by the Light”… Manfred Mann’s Earth Band … touring… and much-much more.

Here’s my recent interview with singer, songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and legendary frontman for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band … CHRIS THOMPSON.
Ray Shasho: Hi Chris, you’re in Belgium?
Chris Thompson: “I am.”
Ray Shasho: You’ve begun a tour that kicks off soon in Norway?
Chris Thompson: “We’ve actually already done ten gigs in Germany at the end of last month. We’ve had a little bit of time off so I can do a radio promotions tour in Germany. I wouldn’t say we’re touring but we are doing four or five gigs in Norway beginning next weekend, then we go into festivals in the summertime. We’ll be touring properly in October-November. But these days, at least for me anyway, touring is not what is used to be. Thank goodness in a lot of ways. We used to tour America and never knew where we were going.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve always admired the way musicians traveled and performed on lengthy worldwide tours.
Chris Thompson: “Touring has never really been ridiculously hard. I never did up and down the motorway in a transit van, like most people, which is the hardest kind of touring. I think probably what we do now, the travelling is fairly difficult in Norway… it’s always been difficult in Norway. But I think in Germany we have it easy, our journeys aren’t too far. I would think the worst time was in America when we were taking a scheduled flight, which was the worst because you’d have to be up at ridiculous times to catch the scheduled flight to wherever you were going. You’d be in New York one day and then Atlanta the next day… then Los Angeles and Chicago … I think that was very-very difficult. But that was early before we were successful enough to organize our own tours.”
Ray Shasho: Chris you grew up in New Zealand, what was the music scene like there?
Chris Thompson: “The music scene was very isolated. There was a New Zealand Rolling Stones, the equivalent of, and a New Zealand Beatles as it were. The New Zealand well-known bands were Ray Columbus & the Invaders, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs, and then there was a bunch of bands doing cover music which was what I did. I played in one band that did just Blood Sweat & Tears and Chicago music. Now the New Zealand scene is quite active, there are a lot of bands doing their own material and has been for the last 10-15 years. But when I was growing up in New Zealand there was mostly cover bands unless you were lucky enough to be one of those successful bands. On the other hand, it was fantastic because I got to sing all sorts of different styles, songs, and paid my dues doing that, which was great really.”
Ray Shasho: Who were some of the American music artists you grew up listening to… and was American music easily obtainable in New Zealand?
Chris Thompson: “Your records were easily available. English musicians listened to The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Kinks, Manfred Mann, and all the pop kind of stuff. I listened to an awful lot of jazz. The American bands that influenced me were Blood Sweat & Tears, Chicago, and I listened to a lot of Edgar Winter, they were kind of jazz/rock/pop. I listened to a lot of blues obviously. I grew up doing a lot of Sam & Dave covers, James Brown, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and all of that. Then into the pop music genre and by the 70’s we were listening to the Eagles and The Doobie Brothers.”

‘TOYS & DISHES’ the new album

Ray Shasho: Speaking of the blues … “Woe Is Me” was my favorite track on ‘Toys & Dishes’ the new album … I absolutely love that tune! Have you ever recorded an album devoted solely to the blues?
Chris Thompson: “Thank you so much, no I have not. Whatever albums I have done, I’ve always done some kind of blues song. It was actually a couple of blues songs that we were going to do for this album and they just ended up not fitting in with everything else. “Woe Is Me” came from the very first song I wrote for the record and it got changed at the very-very last moment. On the album I made it a very big point to try to make a booklet that would be worth people reading and looking at. I took a page for each lyric and then wrote some comments about what was meaningful to me about the lyric, or I’d put some photographs related to the song in some way or another.”

““Woe Is Me” has got a little tag on the bottom which says, “If it wasn’t for Johnny Cash this song would be in D major (All laughing).” It was in D major all of the time until the very end and it didn’t sit correctly for me. I was listening to the radio and heard a Johnny Cash song and I went s**t, what would happen if I played it in a minor key. So I just started playing it and came right at the last moment. I’m glad you like it because it’s really kind of a sarcastic funny song. But a lot of people like it. I got a letter from a friend of mine who’s worked with Randy Newman, I sent him a copy of it and he said that was his favorite song.”
Ray Shasho: The album is a monumental mix of music. Most of the tracks are upbeat but you’ve also recorded a beautiful acoustic composition entitled … “Dream Away Little Girl.”
Chris Thompson: “When we were trying to put the album together, I was struggling where to put that ‘Dream Away’ song, so I just imagined that I was making an album that had two sides. So that’s why at the end of “Hey You” the track before ‘Dream Away’ has got a little record clink, just to kind of give people a hint that we were going to change over and listen to the other side, which is styled totally differently from the first side.”
Ray Shasho: ‘Toys & Dishes’ spotlights intriguing lyrics as in “Million Dollar Wonder Hit” and “Millie Christine.”
Chris Thompson: “We try to tell some stories and inject a little bit of humor into what we are doing, and “Million Dollar Wonder Hit” is definitely tongue-in-cheek, it’s for my life and a million other people’s lives. I sang a number one hit that I didn’t write and wrote a number one hit that I didn’t sing. So I’m hoping that I can write one and sing one but it’s difficult, it’s always been difficult, but nowadays it’s more difficult than anything, I’m glad that I’m not a young musician starting off anyway.”
Ray Shasho: There are a lot of great musicians out there that will never have a legitimate opportunity to be showcased on mainstream radio. Radio station owners are more interested in playing an outrageous amount of commercials rather than providing the public with admirable entertainment.
Chris Thompson: “Everybody plays the same thing! I just can’t believe it! If you go back to the 70’s when you used to open a Billboard magazine and see what somebody in New York was playing or in Chicago was playing … it would be nothing like what was being played in LA or in New York. I had a song called “If You Remember Me,” it was released and nobody really played it at all. Then one station in New York started playing it and became a top request. And because it was a top request and remained a top request on that station, in the end other stations thought … well gee, I guess we’ll play it. Everywhere they played it people began asking for it more. Eventually it got up to number four or something like that on the charts. I think it was six or seven months from the first entry until it got to the top and that just doesn’t happen anymore. A radio station won’t play a song and believe in it anymore… it’s very sad.”
Ray Shasho: Chris, talk about the players in your touring band?
Chris Thompson: “It’s the same band that I’ve had for thirteen years and they come from Norway. The guitarist is Mads Eriksen, bass player is Frank Hovland, the keyboard player is Gunnar Bjelland and he was the only one that played on the record. It’s so difficult to fly people in and out to do a record because you just have to get things done; otherwise it’s a waste of money. So I decided that I would take my time and do stuff at home. In the end I brought Gunnar over for a couple of days on several occasions. But it’s the same touring band I’ve had for thirteen years and they’re a fantastic band. We do a very good show and I’m very lucky. We’ve been having some fun playing the new songs; in fact just before you called I was sitting down listening to the recording and always thinking of ways to improve things and ways to make the music a little bit more alive instead of just playing the music from the record.”
(Other band members include Szolt Meszaros and Steinar Krokstad on drums).
Ray Shasho: Any chance of touring in the U.S. again soon?
Chris Thompson: “I’d be there in a shot if somebody would ask us. I still have a couple of friends who deejays in Los Angeles …Joe Benson and Cynthia Fox and they always play Manfred Mann and talk about me which is very nice. I sent them the new record, so I’m hoping they will start the American Revolution by playing something new. But we’re going to try everything possible to get this record played in America. All the ABC radio news stations picked up the fact that I made a record and it was amazing. So it was very nice that people are still interested that I’m making new records. I think for America, “Dark Side” is the song for me, the one with the piano intro … for me that’s the song for America. But I’m really happy with this record and I’m going to really concentrate on it until the end of the year. We’ve got a lot of exciting things coming up, we’re playing in Kiel in the north of Germany at a great festival called Kieler Woche and we’re playing an hour of our music with an orchestra. So I’m really-really happy about that. So we’re going to keep plugging away and look for that breakthrough.”
Ray Shasho: Manfred Mann continues to tour with Mick Rogers?
Chris Thompson: “He’s always on the road …him and Mick… they’re the two originals of the Earth Band.”
Ray Shasho: The band Manfred Mann has evolved into many diverse and commercially successful facets during their career. An early #1 hit with “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” (1964) and probably their most successful #1 hit single “Blinded by the Light” by a revitalized Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in which you were the lead singer and guitarist. How did the band select that Bruce Springsteen tune?
Chris Thompson: “Manfred was given the album by a deejay in Philadelphia called Ed Sharkey, a fantastic man, he’s dead unfortunately, he knew Manfred and loved Manfred’s Earth Band and he just brought the record and gave it to him and said listen to this, I think you could do something with a couple of these tracks. When I joined the band, Manfred was fiddling around with “Blinded by the Light” and I never had heard Springsteen’s version until I went and saw him live in 1977 in Montreal. So Manfred just sang me the song and said this is how it goes. I didn’t want to listen to the original and be swayed by it in any way. So I never heard it at all, we just sat around a piano and Manfred said this is the way it goes. Then we worked it out with the band and the rest is history.”
Ray Shasho: Did the band actually change some of the original lyrics to the song?
Chris Thompson: Originally it was … ‘Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night’… and we replaced it with … ‘Wrapped up like a deuce, another runner in the night.’ (Note: the song lyric around the web states … ‘Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night’) I think one of the major reasons it was a hit as well is because nobody could understand the lyrics (All laughing). But when a record gets played and played and played it becomes a hit.”
Ray Shasho: Of course Manfred Mann’s Earth Band had other hits as well like … “Davey’s On The Road Again,”“Runner,” and several other Springsteen penned tracks … “Spirit in The Night” and “For You.”
Chris Thompson: ““For You”…with me singing it was on the German dance charts for about 132 weeks. A band called The Disco Boys did a dance version of it and is very-very good actually. I’ve been playing piano and voice version of that song for fifteen years. We mix it up and kind of do a disco version of it now and a lot of people love it.”
Ray Shasho: Your biggest hit was co-penned with Andy Qunta (Icehouse), Keth Reid (Procol Harum), and Maggie Ryder called “You’re the Voice” and performed by John Farnham.
Chris Thompson: “It continues to be a very good track for us. It’s found its way into all sorts of things like movies … and funny enough; the Australians use it almost like their national anthem. I remember I was in Australia when it was a hit. I was driving with John I think and I had the radio on and drove into a gas station to get some gas. “You’re the Voice” was being played and I could tell where it was being played on the song that it wasn’t what I was listening to on the radio. Then I went to the next gas station and it was also being played there, but at a different place as well. So it was being played on three different radio stations at the same time. It was insane. On You Tube there’s a great version of Coldplay doing “You’re the Voice” when they were in Australia … it’s really great.”
Ray Shasho: A YouTube video that gets millions of hits is “Blinded by the Light” on The Midnight Special … the band performed flawlessly on the show.
Chris Thompson: “The funny thing about The Midnight Special was the Eagles were on that night as well. It was at a time when the band was falling to pieces and they didn’t want to play with each other anymore. They kept stopping every thirty seconds and theirs was a prerecorded thing. Ours was done in one take but the Eagles kept doing it again. It became too embarrassing so they asked everybody to leave.”
Ray Shasho: Chris, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Chris Thompson: “If I go back to when I was in Manfred Mann’s Earth Band …one of the greatest live bands in my opinion was Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer. At the time I would give my eye teeth to play with them. I was lucky enough to be on stage with The Doobie Brothers every night for nine months. That was pretty fantastic. I think as far as writing is concerned …if I could sit in a room with Elton John, Bernie Taupin and myself and written a couple of songs, I think that would have made me pretty happy.”

“I went back to New Zealand one time and they asked me who I would really like to work with and I chose Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, The Doobie Brothers and the Eagles. Those were the four people that I wanted to work with. I’ve worked with Ray Charles and the Doobies; I sat in the studio with Aretha while she was working, and never worked with the Eagles. But to have written with Elton John and Bernie Taupin or be in a band with Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer would be unbelievable, listening to that ‘Roadworks’ album… it’s just phenomenal.”
Ray Shasho: Rick Derringer lives very close to where I live here in Bradenton.
Chris Thompson: “You tell him hello from me, I did a lot of gigs with him. He was fantastic; he’s the only person I knew that used to dress down for a gig in the 70’s. He was such a dapper dresser, always perfectly dressed. When he came in he’d put on an old pair of jeans with a ripped knee, sneakers, and a T- shirt and go on and do the gig (All laughing).”
Ray Shasho: Chris, thank you for being on the call today but more importantly for all the incredible music you’ve given us and continue to bring.
Chris Thompson: “My pleasure Ray, thank you!”

Purchase Chris Thompson’s incredible new release ‘Toys & Dishes’ [Here] or amazon.com
Chris Thompson official site:
Chris Thompson on Facebook:

Very special thanks to the great Billy James of Glass Onyon PR
Coming up NEXT … My recent interview with Jann Klose

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com - Please support Ray by purchasing his book so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting.

“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com


© Copyright rayshasho.com. All Rights Reserved

Jack Bruce Interview: ‘Rock’ Icon Releases Brilliant New Album Entitled ‘Silver Rails’

By Ray Shasho                                  Jack Bruce 1943-2014  RIP

Jack Bruce is the esteemed bassist, lead vocalist, and songwriter for an array of legendary bands and distinguished musicians. Most notably, Bruce was a key member with the British rock power trio Cream which featured Eric Clapton (guitars, vocals), Ginger Baker (drums, vocals) and Jack Bruce (bass guitar, lead vocals). Bruce handled most of the lead vocalist and songwriting duties for Cream, recognized as one of the most revered groups in rock history.

Bruce wrote or co-wrote such Cream classics as… “I Feel Free” (1966), “We’re Going Wrong” (1967), “Sunshine of Your Love” (#5 Hit in1968), “White Room” (#6 Hit in 1968), “Politician” (1968), and “Doing That Scrapyard Thing”(1969). Bruce co-penned many of those classic tracks with poet & lyricists Pete Brown. Cream remained a group for less than three short years. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. The original lineup reunited briefly in 2005.

When you think of well-respected quintessential musicians, Jack Bruce immediately comes to mind. Bruce has performed in such bands as … Alex Korner’s Blues Band Inc., the Graham Bond Organisation, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Manfred Mann, Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse, Cream, Lifetime, West, Bruce & Laing, Jack Bruce & Friends, Robin Trower, Ringo’s All-Star Band, and The Big Blues Band.

Jack Bruce almost joined Marvin Gaye’s band when he was in his early 20’s.


Bruce fronted many other bands that included artists …Carla Bley, Mick Taylor, Billy Cobham, Simon Phillips, Tony Hymas, David Sancious, and Gary Moore .

Jack Bruce is a multi-instrumentalist and has collaborated on albums with Frank Zappa, Lou Reed, and Kip Hanrahan to name just a few. Bruce also wrote “Theme for an Imaginary Western” which was performed by classic rock legends Mountain.

The critically-acclaimed ‘Seven Moons’ (2008) was Jack Bruce’s most recent album with longtime friend and collaborator Robin Trower.

‘SILVER RAILS’ NEW RELEASE:

JACK BRUCE has recorded 14 solo albums, but his highly anticipated new release ‘Silver Rails’ may be his very best yet. It’s his first studio release in more than ten years. The album was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. I gave ‘Silver Rails’ (5) STARS.

‘Silver Rails’ is an all-embracing blend of pure innovative musical genius, while complemented by brilliant lyrical content. The album features legendary guest artists … Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music), Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions), Robin Trower, Bernie Marsden (White Snake), and others. Many of the lyrics were co-penned with Cream lyricist Pete Brown, long-term collaborator Kip Hanrahan, and Jack’s wife Margrit.
‘Silver Rails’ is available NOW on CD, Vinyl or as Digital Download. The limited edition deluxe version of the album comes with a behind the scenes documentary DVD filmed on location at Abbey Road Studios. -Released on Esoteric Recordings/Cherry Red Records.
You can purchase ‘Silver Rails’ [HERE] or at Amazon.com.

I had the rare pleasure recently of chatting with legendary bassist, singer, and songwriter Jack Bruce to talk about his highly anticipated new release ‘Silver Rails.’

Here’s my interview with Cream legend, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Lifetime Grammy Achiever, and just an incredibly nice man … JACK BRUCE.
Ray Shasho: Hello Jack!
Jack Bruce: “How are you doing Ray?”
Ray Shasho: Did you have a rough winter in the UK?
Jack Bruce: “It was very wet and there was so much rain here that you wouldn’t believe it. It rained for like six months. It was very bad, a lot of flooding.”
Ray Shasho: I’d like to dive in and talk about your new album ‘Silver Rails.’ “Reach for the Night” was definitely one of my favorite tracks.
Jack Bruce: “I think that’s also one of my favorites because it’s kind of biographical isn’t it. To me it’s like a film noir version of me. I can see myself in the Philip Marlowe look, wearing the fedora and smoking camels.”
Ray Shasho: The first track of Silver Rails is entitled “Candlelight” which has a Calypso flavor to it.
Jack Bruce: “You being from Florida and not far from Cuba … I was over there a couple of years ago with Phil Manzanera who plays guitar on “Candlelight.” We went over there to play with some Cuban musicians and we became good friends. He’s a great guy and guitar player. So when I wrote that I thought I needed to get him on there.”
Ray Shasho: Jack, I’ve always admired the collaboration between you and Robin Trower. Robin and you perform together on the song “Rusty Lady” which is about the death of Margaret Thatcher? Talk about the track.
Jack Bruce: “Yea, I thought it was a lot like “Politician.” So I said to Pete Brown, let’s write a more modern version of “Politician.” So while trying to write something more up to date he came up with the death of Thatcher. So I thought, okay then, that’s cool. But the song is about … a lot of changes came out of that period in the 80’s in this country, and we’re still feeling the effects of it, like economically. I’m no politician but I do feel that a lot of damage was done because of misguided principals and the country is still suffering from it. You’ve got to write some stuff that has something to say.”
Ray Shasho: I really enjoyed all your work over the years with Robin Trower. I was saddened to hear of the loss of Robin’s wife recently.
Jack Bruce: “Yes, it was just terrible. He really had a bad time for years. I’m feeling for him right now, he’s a beautiful guy.”
Ray Shasho: One of my favorite albums with you and Robin was B.L.T. (1981).
Jack Bruce: I liked ‘Seven Moons.’ Robin is much underrated but I think he gets more recognition in the states and I’m glad to see that. I’m sure he’ll be touring again soon because he loves to tour. He toured nonstop. With his wife going like that it was very hard for him and he had to cancel a lot of tours. He’ll be back, I know him, and he’s a wonderful guy. He’s one of those hard workers who gets out there and plays.”
Ray Shasho: Were you trying to model ‘Silver Rails’ after your first solo album … ‘Songs for a Tailor’?
Jack Bruce: “Yes, it was sort of like a template, because when I did my first album, I didn’t just want to do a blues rock thing like Cream, great as it was, I wanted to do something different. I wanted horns … wanted to play piano, cello, and just wanted to do different things. This is my fourteenth album and I think that’s what I was trying to do, just continue that diverse thing. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music and rather than just doing one thing when I make an album, the challenge to myself is to write all these diverse tracks, but to make them work. It’s like a jigsaw because if you’ve got a lyrical track going into a hard rock track …it’s got to work. You’ve got to write things that will work together.”
Ray Shasho: Pete Brown and Kip Hanrahan collaborated with you on various tracks on the new album. We all know about your relationship with Pete Brown that began back in your Cream days, but you’ve also established a bond with Kip Hanrahan over the years.
Jack Bruce: “Kip Hanrahan wrote “Hidden Cities.” It was through Kip I got to know about Cuban and Afro-Cuban music. He had those great bands and we used to go to New York a lot. We made some really cool records. I learned a lot from Kip, he’s one of my closest friends. So he just came over to my house and wrote that lyric, but that was just an excuse to get him to come and hang out. Although he hates trees, he gets kind of fidgety when there are trees around (All laughing).”
Ray Shasho: You played a beautiful piano on “Industrial Child.”
Jack Bruce: “I played piano on the entire album. Because we recorded at Abbey Road, they had a bunch of wonderful pianos there among other things, so I was able to choose each piano for each track, which is a great thing. Working at Abbey Road was such a joy.”
Ray Shasho:”Hidden Cities” is another great track, the song could easily be a soundtrack to a movie.
Jack Bruce: “Love that track … that’s my version of Metal (Laughing). That’s why I’ve got Uli Jon Roth on guitar because he’s been with the Scorpions and all that. He understood that track immediately and got it.”
Ray Shasho: When was the last time you worked at Abbey Road?
Jack Bruce: “Over the years I’ve been in and out of there on sessions, but the last album I made was actually in 1965, so that’s going back a bit. It’s just fantastic that place, the music just oozes off the walls.”
Ray Shasho: Jack, how did you decide on ‘Silver Rails’ as a title for the new album?
Jack Bruce: “I know this wonderful artist called Sacha Jafri who painted the cover and some other pictures on there. I’m very fortunate to know him; he’s a friend of mine and probably one of the most well known artists in Britain. I asked him if he would improvise. I gave him a bunch of titles that I might call the album, and so he listened to the album and painted the cover. He did that and said “You’ve got to call it ‘Silver Rails’ because that’s what I was thinking.” I always create a bunch of funny titles and then end up with one.”
Ray Shasho: You have a wonderful sense of humor. In an interview you did, you said that many of the personal issues between you and Ginger Baker occurred because Ginger didn’t have a sense of humor …is that true?
Jack Bruce: “Well he’s got his own sense of humor, I don’t understand. He doesn’t get my humor that’s for sure. I think I’m a pretty funny guy but then I guess a lot of idiots do (Laughing). If you haven’t got a sense of humor you’re making your life a hundred times harder. It doesn’t matter what happens to you, if you can have a laugh about it, and don’t take yourself so serious, you have the battles halfway won.”
Ray Shasho: Who were some of the artists that got you interested in becoming a musician?
Jack Bruce: “As far as the big name influences I would say Charlie Mingus, a great bass player and American composer. I played upright bass. I wanted to write great tunes, play the bass, be a band leader, and smoke a big funny pipe like Charlie Mingus. So I went out and bought the pipe when I was around 18 or 19 years old. You know even women smoke a pipe in Glasgow. I worked with Carla Bley and she smoked a pipe, which I find fascinating. She worked in a band of mine with Mick Taylor.”
Ray Shasho: They used to say that James Brown was the hardest working man in show-biz … I think it’s Jack Bruce!
Jack Bruce: “That’s nice of you to say so but I have to take my hat off to James Brown. He was amazing. Another one of my influences over the years who is also a hard worker is Albert Collins. ‘The Ice Man’ they called him. He was a fantastic guitar player. I like the people who work hard in their career and on stage. He was one of those guys who had the big long guitar cable and would go in the audience. He said to me, “Jack, don’t forget you’re just an entertainer when it comes down to it.”
Ray Shasho: Jack, you’ve played with so many legendary artists … and you were actually asked to play in Marvin Gaye’s Band?
Jack Bruce: “I was man, when I was around 21 or something like that. We did this TV show and we just got to talking and he said let’s go to your place. We sat up all night talking about music. Then he asked me to join his band. Of course I was thrilled to be asked but at the time I couldn’t do it. I was going to get married a couple days after he asked me, I couldn’t not show up at the wedding. I don’t know the way things have panned out; maybe I should have gone to Detroit.”
Ray Shasho: You’ve been extremely successful crossing into various genres, not only on the new album but throughout your music career.
Jack Bruce: “Yea, that’s what I do. But I think people who basically do one thing like Eric Clapton is great, although he has crossed over more in recent years, doing a bit of jazz here and there. But I’ve always enjoyed playing different kinds of music and playing with different kinds of musicians because I find that really interesting, like learning and working with Kip Hanrahan. There’s a great conga player called Milton Cardona and he taught me a lot of the nuances, he’s a Santeria Priest and so he knows his onions as it were.”
Ray Shasho: You wrote lyrics on Frank Zappa’s ‘Apostrophe’ album?
Jack Bruce: “I wrote “Apostrophe,” just the one track. That was simply Frank Zappa who I got to know when Cream first went to New York. Eric and I used to go to this little theater in the Village and Frank used to do these mad things in the afternoon. At these gigs he would gather hobos off the street and give them a ukulele or something, I thought this guy’s outrageous; and then of course I had the first Mothers of Invention album and fell in love with him. Frank was very kind and helpful to me. He liked my singing. He called me up when I was in New York and asked me to come down to the studio and play some cello. I told him that I didn’t have my cello with me; it’s not something I carry around that much. He said we can rent one. I told him that you can’t really rent a cello, it’s very personal. So I went down to the studio and there was this really terrible cello and I tried to play it but it sounded awful. Frank said, “Oh well, why don’t you just play bass guitar.” So I played on “Apostrophe” with Jim Gordon on the drums and Frank. Then when he mixed it, it had that sort of distorted sound I used in Cream.”
Ray Shasho: You also worked with Lou Reed on the ‘Berlin’ album?
Jack Bruce: “That was fun because the drummer was Aynsley Dunbar who also worked with Frank. It was kind of funny to me because Lou Reed was pretty out of it actually. There was Bob Ezrin who was producing it. When I finally heard the finished product, I thought wow, this Bob Ezrin is good, and he’s really taken it somewhere else.”
Ray Shasho: I was a huge Rory Gallagher fan …one of the most energizing performances I’ve seen you do was a You Tube video with Rory doing “Politician” on the German music television show Rockpalast … what a jam!
Jack Bruce: “Rory and I should have done more together.”
“I was a big fan of Gary Moore, he was my buddy and I miss him a lot. I loved his playing because you’ve got that passion; it was sort of a Celtic thing. The Irish and Scots they just go for it and not too worried about looking good. When I was in the states touring, I landed in Seattle to do a gig and one of the fans came to me and told me about Gary’s death. It was very hard for me to carry on, it was awful.”
Ray Shasho: Jack, you’ve worked in numerous band configurations prior to the inception of Cream … Blues Incorporated, the Graham Bond Organisation, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Manfred Mann, Eric Clapton with Powerhouse. And although Cream was only together for about three years, it appeared that you finally found the musical chemistry you may have been searching for.
Jack Bruce: “I definitely was. I had worked with Eric a little bit with John Mayall, but he left the band quite soon after I joined. But it wasn’t because of me (All laughing). He left the band because he wanted to do this world tour, but he got as far as Greece. Then he saw this butcher shop with this lamb hanging up and all the flies crawling all over it and he said I’m going home. That’s the story anyway. I didn’t play with him much with Mayall. The Powerhouse thing was purely a get together thing that Joe Boyd did …the great record producer. So we did that and it was great fun. As soon as Cream got together for the first time, we all knew that there was magic there.”
Ray Shasho: You wrote or co-wrote many of the classic tracks for Cream.
Jack Bruce: “Well somebody had to do it (All laughing).”
Ray Shasho: I would have thought there’d be a little more songwriting collaboration at that time.
Jack Bruce: “That was really done because of the management. They just worked us so hard. When we were off the road, which was briefly, we just didn’t have time. Later on in the 70’s people always said we were going to go and get it together in the country… that was the phrase. But we never had that. We were making so much money you can’t fret about it. They didn’t want us to stop, because every time we had a day off they were losing money. They just kept us going because I think they thought it wasn’t going to last, and it didn’t last as long as it might have because of that. We had a shortsighted and really terrible manager. He just kind of worked the band to death. The one thing that would have kept the band alive would have been if we all got together and co-written the songs, but we never had the chance to do that.”
Ray Shasho: Jack, I’m really going to put you on the spot now …Do you think Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton was the better blues guitarist?
Jack Bruce: “That’s a hard one, but I would say Eric. Simply because Jimi was this force of nature, and I don’t even think of him as a great blues guitarist, he was something else, like from another planet. Just this amazing force and he was a friend of mine. But it’s very difficult to say whose better. Eric had such a great knowledge of the blues; he knows the blues inside out, like a musicologist. So I would have to say Eric, but that’s probably out of loyalties love.”
Ray Shasho: Jack, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play, sing or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Jack Bruce: “It’s a tricky one for me. We nearly had a band with Jimi Hendrix and Tony Williams. We were talking to each other about forming a band with those guys and I would have loved to see what would have happened if the three of us had got together. So I would say Jimi and Tony Williams.”
Ray Shasho: Final thoughts Jack?
Jack Bruce: “I’ll probably be doing some gigs in the UK later on in the year and hopefully get to the states, do the odd festival here and there. But I’m going to be taking it nice and easy. I just really like what I’m doing …enjoying life. I bought a wonderful new house in New York. I just want to go hang there and write some more songs and then get back into Abbey Road … I’ve got the recording bug back. It’s not a bad life.”
Ray Shasho: Jack, thank you for being on the call today but more importantly for all the incredible music you’ve given us and continue to bring.
Jack Bruce: “Ray, I really appreciate speaking to you and it’s been very interesting.”

Purchase ‘Silver Rails’ the brand new CD by Jack Bruce available now at amazon.com
Jack Bruce official website
Jack Bruce on Facebook
Jack Bruce on Twitter
Jack Bruce on Myspace

Very special thanks to Chip Ruggieri of Chipster PR

Coming up NEXT … My recent interview with Chris Thompson former lead singer and guitarist of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (“Blinded by the Light”)

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com - Please support Ray by purchasing his book so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting.
“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com



© Copyright rayshasho.com. All Rights Reserved

IAN ANDERSON In-Depth Interview: Migration, Human Sustainability, Politics and Jesus

 By Ray Shasho

-A very special Interview with the legendary Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull:

I interviewed Jethro Tull legend Ian Anderson on Tuesday, March 18th and our conversation transposed into something exceptional and quite monumental. Our in-depth discussion covered an array of atypical and riveting topics concerning… World issues, Politics, Human sustainability, The Bible, Religion, Jesus Christ, David Cameron, Barack Obama, Tony Snow, Our Vets, Ian’s family heritage, Commercial airline piloting , UFO’s … and then of course about the music… including the inception and concept behind his Gerald Bostock character & Anderson’s latest studio release ‘Homo Erraticus.’

Ian Anderson’s latest musical endeavor ‘HOMO ERRATICUS’ is an extraordinary and all-embracing musical arrangement that poetically and wittily interprets man’s pilgrimage with brilliant lyrical optimism. -I gave it (5) Stars! Pre-order your copy of Ian Anderson’s latest studio release [Here] or amazon.com … Released on Anderson’s own label imprint Calliandra Records in conjunction with Kscope. ‘Homo Erraticus’ will be officially released on April 14th but available now for pre-order.

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson will be performing the new album ‘Homo Erraticus’ & The Best of Tull Live In Concert at a city near you throughout 2014. The Ian Anderson touring band is …Ian Anderson (flute, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica and lead vocals), David Goodier (bass guitar and double bass), John O’Hara (orchestral conductor, piano, keyboards and accordion), Florian Opahle (guitar),Scott Hammond (Drums and Percussion), and Ryan O' Donnell (Vocals and stage antics).

This is my second interview with Ian Anderson; our first encounter was published on April 3rd 2012. Mr. Anderson is not only a legendary singer, songwriter, musician, rock icon, and entrepreneur; he’s also an extraordinary and brilliant man. I can envision Anderson achieving and inspiring the world in so many other critical roles in his lifetime besides becoming a musical and creative genius … perhaps in such roles as …Novelist, College Professor, Pilot, Political Analyst, Economist or Theologian. The hands of time may only permit Mr. Anderson from accomplishing a few of these added goals that I have suggested, so I’ll devotedly conclude that I am eternally grateful for the JethroTull legacy and the evolving musical ingenuity of Ian Anderson.

Here’s my in-depth and very important interview with the Scottish gent we attest as Jethro Tull … IAN ANDERSON.
Ray Shasho: Good evening Ian, thank you so much for being on the call today. Your latest studio release ‘Homo Erraticus’ will be officially released on April 14th but is available now for pre-order.
Ian Anderson: [PURCHASING ‘HOMO ERRATICUS’]
“Absolutely, you can order it in four different formats. There is the double vinyl records, there’s what we call the media book which has a CD and an accompanying DVD in a sort of hardback package, then there’s the simple CD in a plastic case which is the last one to be released in fact, and then there is also the special limited edition box set which has two CD’s, two DVD’s and a 64-page booklet that will grace your coffee table for years to come. So yes, four different formats and a lot of work in compiling all of that and getting all the video material and the 5.1 surround mixes and all the extra goodies in there including all the original demos that I made in a hotel room in Barbados last March. So there are all sorts of stuff there to intrigue the fan who wants to unpeel and examine the many layers of the onion.”
Ray Shasho: Ian, do you also have your own record label?
Ian Anderson: [CALLIANDRA RECORDS]
“We have a label imprint which is a profit sharing enterprise with a rather specialist record company in the UK which employs about fifteen people. It’s kind of reminiscent to Chrysalis Records in the early days, and kind of a homely place where you can always talk to the top three or four guys who are always at the end of the phone …which is good. I was grateful to have the same offer from two other record companies, one was Warner Brothers which of course is one of the majors. But I just felt maybe it would get a little lost in something as enormous as Warner Brothers, especially a time when they’re trying to integrate the huge amounts of catalogue and manage an expanding business. So it’s probably not a good time to get their undivided attention.”
Ray Shasho: I have heard from a lot of artists that say Warner Brothers is one of the best record companies to work with.
Ian Anderson: “A lot of the reasons why I gave it serious attention are that Warner Brothers were our U.S. record company back in 1968-1969. When Chrysalis Records was boarded and too was just a label imprint and on a full service deal with Warner Brothers, so we kind of started off with Warner Brothers, actually the Reprise label which was a division of Warner’s, and that was our original American home until Chrysalis became independent two or three years later.”
Ray Shasho: Why did you initially create the Gerald Bostock character and why did you bring him back?
Ian Anderson: [GERALD BOSTOCK]
“He’s like kind of an old friend, a Harry Potter who has grown into a grumpy middle-aged man who wants to pontificate on things. So he’s a useful writer’s tool and can be an alter-alter ego. He’s just another stage removed. He can say things that I wouldn’t say and voice opinions that I don’t have. So he can create lyrical material which I can occupy as a performer by singing in character. He doesn’t necessarily speak with my voice. He being a fictional character can have his own fictional opinions and views on life, some of which I’d probably share with him but some I don’t.”
Ray Shasho: Ian, you bear an unyielding intelligence and you’re a master storytelling …traits essential in becoming a great novelist.
Ian Anderson: [TOO OLD FOR BRITISH AIRWAYS BUT NOT TOO OLD TO ROCK & ROLL]
“I have the intelligence to probably learn to fly a 747 Jumbo Jet but I’m now a year too old to be employed by British Airways. I would have had to retire last year, so I’m better off doing what I’m doing. But I do sometimes fantasize about testing my mental and physical skills by flying 250 people around the world and remembering to keep my transponder on.”
Ray Shasho: Have you actually flown a jet before?
Ian Anderson: [AIRLINE PILOT ANDERSON]
“I’ve only flown a Boeing 737, at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. We went out and did a climb out and did a big circling thing around Surrey, south of London, and I came back in and landed surprisingly not too badly. But we did a second landing which I have to say was just brilliant; I could almost hear the applause at the back of the airplane, and my very pregnant lady first officer sitting next to me, I was just concerned not to kill the baby. So when we did land the second time it was with a huge sense of relief. Then I disembarked the 737 British Airways simulator and caught a taxi home (All laughing). The simulators are just like the front of a real airplane, they are the real deal. They’re not sort of video games; they are bewildering in their complexity. I kind of understand kids who play video games because they’re quite realistic. In a computer graphic world they do begin to detach themselves perhaps from reality. It’s kind of a little worrying because sometimes the borderline between fantasy and reality is getting blurred in people’s lives too easily.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve heard that those video game wizards may be the medical surgeons and military experts of tomorrow.
Ian Anderson: [SUPPORTING OUR VETS & POLITICS]
“What does seem to be the case are the kids that play the shoot ‘em up video games have actually become officers serving in the military, basically because they’re chicken- shits. They’d rather stay home in their bedrooms and fanaticize about blowing the heads off people instead of actually going out there and doing a real man’s job. I think if people try and do that for a living, they’d better go in and do it with a sense of duty and patriotism. I think young people in America or Britain when they join the military they think it through pretty carefully. Certainly the ones that I meet who’ve come out usually the hard way with tremendous injuries and victims of IED … the folks that I meet sometimes in America when I do meet & greets with the Vets and from recent excursions to Iraq and Afghanistan, the tales they have to tell me are certainly not video game shoot ‘em up tales. They have lived only to tell the tale of their own war injuries … frequently blindness and deafness through roadside bomb activity.”

“The thing that I do hear from them a lot is their belief in having gone there to try and do something to improve things for other people. They haven’t gone there to fight a war for America, they’ve gone there to try and create a better opportunity for people in Afghanistan or Iraq. Overwhelmingly I hear that the Iraqi’s were not worth fighting for. But the Afghans … a lot of Brits and Americans feel that it’s worth a try. It was worth just seeing that things could be made better and a real democracy could flourish in the face of the inevitable Taliban overturn when the Americans are out of there. It doesn’t look good but I think it was worth a try too. But Iraq I think we could have all done without. I personally would have paid Saddam Hussein to stay in power, keep the lid on things, and then shoot him … actually shoot his sons would have been the better bet because they were a couple of evil buggers, but they got it even before he did. I think Iraq was just a mess, a place where nothing good could possibly be done, to overcome the huge divisions within the country. The sectarian divisions will probably prevent it forever in becoming a united country. It’s a mess. But Afghanistan was really worth a try. I was with George Bush on that one, but not on Iraq.”
Ray Shasho: I think Pakistan is another country that we should not support.
Ian Anderson: [DAVID CAMERON, BARACK OBAMA, AND TONY SNOW]
“We actually do collectively give them quite a lot of monetary aide, probably to keep them on their side (All laughing). I don’t think we’ll be going in there, I think Syria was the closer call in recent times, but luckily the decision was taken to not go in there, and it all happened on one particular day in the UK Parliament where a left-wing leader decided to stand- up to David Cameron, the Prime Minister, to not support the venture to take military action in Syria. That precipitated a cave-in, which Obama, much as he hated the idea, suddenly realized he didn’t have the Brits anymore and faced the same kind of repercussions in congress where he wasn’t going to get a vote of confidence to go into military action. I think the people and their representatives, the House of Representatives and the House of Commons in Britain, I think the people spoke and our leaders backed down from a confrontation that would have been a grave error in judgment. So luckily we managed to escape that particular issue. Obama and Cameron both fell into that trap of thinking … we could have our own little war here and be remembered for something great. It would have been a fatal mistake.”

“I came to the conclusion that Mr. Obama is not the man that we all hoped he was. I think we all rather liked his straightforward, nice guy, not too liberal but pragmatic democratic kind of stance. However he’s been a grave disappointment, not only to you guys but to the world. Because he wasn’t just your President … we thought he was going to be our President. Throughout the world people wanted Obama to be the man that would be for all of us. But we’re all feeling a bit let down. And my good friends at Fox TV are probably even more let down (All laughing) because they never much liked him anyway.”

"My old pal Tony Snow, who was a Fox guy, an ardent Republican and was Press Secretary for Bush Jr. prior to his colon cancer returning, his last job was to be taken up by CNN in the run-up to the last election. I was so sorry that Tony didn’t get to hang-on for at least a few months to cover that. He was a guy I would love to have seen giving another view on the emergence of that President. I do remember saying before Tony died that I hoped he’d make it long enough, because I’d love to see him be the Press Secretary in the Obama Administration. He was someone that the media loved; they thought of Tony as a straight guy. He would do his job in a partisan way if necessary… but he was a journalist, he was a writer, a broadcaster, and just one of the guys …they held a huge respect for him.”
Ray Shasho: Let’s talk about your new release ‘Homo Erraticus’… I gave it (5) Stars!
Ian Anderson: “Out of twenty? (All laughing)”
Ray Shasho: Ian, I believe ‘Homo Erraticus’ is an extraordinary and all-embracing musical arrangement that poetically and wittily interprets man’s pilgrimage with brilliant lyrical optimism.
Ian Anderson: [HOMO ERRATICUS CONCEPT AND HUMAN SUSTAINABILTY]
“If it’s about anything it comes from the very opening lines on the very first song and I had that and then on the third day of writing the album I pieced out the whole rest of it as kind of a bullet point scenario and continued to write for the next three weeks. It’s the story of all of us. It’s about migration, the movement of people from the last ice age on to even the future. It’s about the story of all of us… we’re all from somewhere else. None us are really ancestrally born and bred, we all came ultimately and possibly from one single tribe sixty thousand years ago in Africa. I’m not going to go that far back because I’m really only concerned with the point where my own country first was permanently occupied by our ancestors who at the time were predominately Homo sapiens in the aftermath of the last Ice Age. It’s just a way of talking about the fact that we’re all from somewhere else and we ought to accept that migration is the story of our planet. It goes on today and we fearfully and sometimes in protective terms refer to it as immigration because we naturally and understandably have some suspicion and sometimes hostility towards those who want to come and join our party, who perhaps are not always invited or welcomed, and that’s the way some people think about it.”

“But I just want to remind everybody that we’re all from somewhere else. It’s a difficult moral, a human ethical problem to try to find the solutions for accepting people who may enrich your culture and society, and on occasion may cause difficulties which has to be worked through and overcome. We have to find our way to accept the idea of human migration. However, we are living in a different world now to fifty years ago. Certainly, Five thousand years ago when increasing the population was necessary for the good of human kind on the planet, right now the migration that we’re talking about in future years of climate change is going to be a very-very enormous moral dilemma for our great grandchildren. That generation is going to have to make some terribly difficult decisions about who can be accepted where. We don’t have the resources and there are parts of the planet that prove to be not really habitable, in the way they are in some cases barely now, and it will get a whole lot worse in the future inevitably. We’ve got to start thinking about, talking about, and discussing in a sensible, rational, and friendly way about these issues before they start impacting us in ways that can be very divisive and damaging to people everywhere. We have to start thinking about our resources that isn’t just about recycling or Green Energy, it has to do with sustainability long-term beyond the life of any politician or any government of today. We have to start thinking long-term and people are not very good at doing that. They’re not very good at thinking beyond their own fragile lifetime, maybe that of their children but that’s as far as it goes.”

“We have a very beautiful planet here, one that we should be looking to think of in terms of sustainability, and that means sustainable populations. We’ll probably have to think about over a period of a few hundred years, reducing the global population and not increasing it, because we’re certainly going to find it very difficult to feed the nine billion people on planet earth in forty or fifty years time. So everywhere where sensible and responsible thinking women have an average of 1.5 children, which is the average for most of Western Europe except for Britain and France where it’s close to 2, everywhere else is about 1.5. Women are educated; they have equality with men and the family unit. They choose to have modest family sizes, not because the government tells them they should, but because they make an educated responsible family choice. And I would venture to say that those who back it up with excuses of religion and culture and want to have 5, 6 or 7 children, they have to question if it’s socially responsible in the long term. The argument they present as well is God wants us to multiply … well then I think you picked the wrong God. Educated women that receive a basic or secondary education, they make those choices, the evidence is here already. We don’t actually have to change the culture of most of Europe, it already works that way. People have made those choices in the last twenty or thirty years increasingly to have modest family sizes. So I just want people to be talking about this stuff with a smile on your face and a friendly hug, and not to have it erupt in fisticuffs at a local bar. So my words and lyrics of this album was not designed to be lecturing, hostile, provocative or create violent arguments, they’re to get people thinking and talking and doing it in a friendly and smiley kind of a way, because that’s the way to get into people’s hearts and minds.”
Ray Shasho: So many people turn to the Bible as if it were a set of plans or instructions to guide them throughout their lives. How factual do you believe the Bible really is?
Ian Anderson: [THE BIBLE, RELIGION, AND JESUS CHRIST]
“I think the Bible is a tremendous document and I now have a copy of it on my iPhone. I have a copy of the Quran as well. The point being, these existers have bona fide plans, they are “Plan A”, but your interpretation of the Bible and your interpretation of the Quran is a very complex issue. In years gone by people did not take this absurd evangelical literal view of the words in the Bible, it was all considered to be allegory, it was all considered to be lots of ways of creating the metaphors. A thousand years ago people looked at the Bible in a much less literal way. It served as a very useful function for people to stand by a set of general rules and applications. In many ways the words of the prophets, Muhammad, are not so different to many of the words of Jesus Christ and many of the sentiments, good, sound, and sensible structure or advice that you get from the Bible. It’s all good stuff!”

“However, it’s got to be seen in the light of today. Anyone who takes those words as literal meaning is missing the whole point. The hundreds of people who put together painstakingly work over a huge number of years to come up with these words, they are less about being literal than being about inspirational, being about something that gives you guidance. You have to be able to interpret and to paraphrase in the context of today. Whatever happened back then was back then and this is today. I think the Bible is still a very relevant document, not only for Christians, but for people everywhere. But don’t literally for God’s sake just take that simplistic view. The words are merely the English translations from King James’ Bible and in itself is an interpretation for goodness sake. Unless you are incredible learned scholars who can go back beyond the ancient Greek to look at the origins of the words that make up the Bible, than you really are on dangerous ground. There are a lot of good things in the Bible to be used in the inspirational sense, not in the literal sense. That’s the simple message there… I’m all for Christianity and all for the Bible but handle with care and respect. A lot of Christian scholars spend a great deal of time looking at the Bible and trying to make sense of it in light of today’s world, and that’s something that is a vital part of Christianity today. I’m not a Christian, don’t get me wrong, but I have a full respect and a huge sense of following Christianity and being predominately the Religion of my nation.”

“Obviously with Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism …they’re kind of in our culture too. We may not embrace them with the same ease that we embrace Christianity but nonetheless they are in our culture too. But I’m from here… I’m a white middle-class from Great Britain and my natural first response is to Christianity as something with a calling card that I can easily understand. However, it’s not going to make me a Christian. I like almost everything about Christianity except for the Jesus bit. I’m pretty big on Jesus the historical character in the context of his time. But Jesus as the son of God, well, that’s where you have to start thinking in looser terms; you’ve got to step out of the box once you get to Jesus in that role. He is symbolic, he is important, he is an example, and it’s terribly important to have that, but you’ve got to stop short of creating Jesus as essentially the face of God. We do know he really was a historical character in Palestine at a given point in time. He was a revolutionary; he was a Jew for God’s sake. He was a revolutionary Jew who was pissed off with stuff that was going on and the fact that many of the Religious hierarchy at that time were in cohorts with their Roman overlords to have a quiet but influential and powerful life. Jesus was an angry prophet. He was a guy who got pissed off … I like that Jesus. I don’t want to confuse him and give him Godlike status, that’s where I have to stop short and why I can’t really be a Christian.”
Ray Shasho: Ian what are your thoughts on UFO’S … have we been visited by life from other worlds?
Ian Anderson: [UFO’s AND ALIEN ABDUCTIONS]
“Having been born in 1947, it was a good year for UFO’s. I may be the son of Roswell, who knows? Maybe aliens visited in 1947 and my mother was whooshed up into some alien encounter and was abducted and impregnated and I’m the result. Who knows? It’s a spooky tale but extremely unlikely. I think the chances of physical presence of alien spaceships from another far-off star are pretty slim in possibility terms, for a number of reasons. But I think there is every possibility that we have and we may be visited in the future. But I don’t think they will be real living creatures who have traveled at or beyond the speed of life. For the time it would take to get here, it seems to me; either we are talking something really in terms of the supernatural, in terms of parallel universes, in terms of multiverses, or in terms perhaps of just human imagination wanting to see bogey men when there aren’t any.”

“But I doubt if we’re really going to see living, breathing aliens. I think what we might see is rather the equivalent to the unmanned probe to Mars and beyond, because we can send machinery where we are not able to go. And right now a lot of scientists are trying to figure out how to get beyond the Van Allen radiation belt, because you’re going to have your testicles fried if you step outside the safety zone of magnetic shield into the trip beyond to Mars. There may be a lot of people who fanaticize about going to Mars in the next 30-50 years, whenever it might be possible, but personally I’m keeping my testicles where they belong (All laughing).”
Ray Shasho: Ian, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be? You can even go back to the classical period.
Ian Anderson: [FIELD OF DREAMS WISH]
“Well, it would probably go a little further than that. Because with Beethoven who I enormously love, appreciate, and respect as the most all around classical composer of all time. He came relatively late in the day in true classics terms and benefited enormously from Bach and Mozart before him. But he was very clever and way complicated and very consummate in his ability to understand and to arrange. It would be difficult to collaborate with him because certainly later in life he wouldn’t hear a word I say.”

“So I think I’ll go back to the very first time when music was first written down and the first notions of harmony came about. That would be kind of simple. So you’d have to plant me in a Medieval Monastery about a thousand years ago, where I could have talked in more equal terms to those who were spearheading the development of music, harmony, rhythm, and to find fault in music too, because maybe I could have helped them with lyric writing.”
Ray Shasho: Have you ever traced your family heritage?
Ian Anderson: [IAN’S ROOTS]
“Not very far back …there’s probably some dreadful Danish Viking who landed on the east coast of Scotland and probably didn’t even leave the sheep alone (All laughing). Probably with a bit of a dastardly piratical past combined with a bit on my mother’s side, maybe some Celtic weaver from Britain perhaps. But no, it’s not been researched very far back. My much older brother did try a few years ago but he only got so far and then they couldn’t find anything else reliable further back than that. So they only went back about a hundred years or so. So I think we have some Viking blood. Not very romantic or glamorous but we were people that migrated, we came, we saw, some of us stayed behind and put down roots. We brought with us the customs, the language, and costume jewelry (All Laughing).”
Ray Shasho: Ian, thank you for being on the call today but more importantly for all the incredible music you continue to bring.
Ian Anderson: “Nice to talk with you Ray.”

Pre-order your copy of Ian Anderson’s latest studio release entitled 'HOMO ERRATICUS' [Here] or at amazon.com …on Ian Anderson’s own label imprint Calliandra Records in conjunction with Kscope

Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull official website
Jethro Tull on Facebook
Jethro Tull on Twitter
Jethro Tull on Myspace
Ian Anderson on Tour

Very special thanks to the incredible Anne Leighton of Leighton Media: * Music Services*Motivation
Coming up NEXT … My recent interview with Jack Bruce of the legendary Cream

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com - Please support Ray by purchasing his book so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting.
“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com

© Copyright rayshasho.com. All Rights Reserved