Ian Anderson
This is the first solo album for Anderson, who for 15 years has been the lead singer-composer-flutist-poseur-in-residence for the multiphase rock group Jethro Tull. Anderson is as serious-minded—not to say gloomy—as ever, singing about problems of the House of Commons, the image of Germany and the oppressiveness of television. But in this less cluttered context, his lyrics are clearer and wittier. His User-Friendly is a deft blend of romance and computers, talking about "binary joys and digital sighs." End Game compares the inevitability of a chess-match finish to that of a love affair. Anderson wrote these 10 songs alone or with Peter Vettese. Their melodies serve primarily as vehicles to cart the lyrics along; they are hardly carefree ditties. But then nobody should expect—or want—Anderson to turn into John Denver. (Chrysalis)
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