The Secret Language of Birds is Ian Anderson's third solo album, but the first to specifically highlight his melodic skill and guitar prowess on a set of folk-inspired songs. His first solo album, 1983's Walk into Light, was marred by its full embrace of sterile '80s production in lieu of rusticity. While his second effort, 1995's Divinities, was a move in the right direction and a sonic precursor to the set at hand, it still was held back by its conscious decision to downplay Anderson's ...   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

This album, along with Aqualung and Thick As A Brick, constitutes Ian Anderson's thrust for serious music credibility--unlike the two Tull albums, however, this one started out with a serious intent and seems to be roughly Anderson's equivalent to Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio, except that there's nothing remotely as embarrassing here as there was in that piece of overblown North England drivel (also done for EMI, on should recall). The familiar voice is absent, as Anderson confines his w...   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

It's difficult to explain the difference between an Ian Anderson and a Jethro Tull album. After all, Anderson writes virtually all of Tull's material and his unique voice and flute playing encapsulates the band's style. And Anderson isn't necessarily prone to the stripped down, confessional approach that many frontmen take when issuing solo projects. Perhaps during this particularly productive period Anderson simply needed to separate his "regular" songwriting from the group's concurrent ...   [ read more ]

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