WILL WE GET ANOTHER FLUTE SOLO IN THIS? First Time Hearing Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath Reaction!

So glad you did the studio version. It's impeccable.

Jethro Tull is just another aspect rock n roll. Unique. Truly one of a kind. No one else sounds like them. Just like Pink Floyd. No other groups are similar.

Masterpiece. One of the greatest songs from one of the greatest bands ever.

They are great live, Ian Anderson is always moving, one the best front men in rock, seen them 4 times.

Studio versions are better, but some front men are so charismatic that live is good too. Canned Heat, from the 60's had some great flute solos

Fun Song Facts; Written by Jethro Tull front man Ian Anderson, the locomotive in this song is running out of control, and is a metaphor for societal problems. Anderson gave a detailed explanation of the song in our 2013 interview, where he said: "When I wrote it, I wasn't deliberately setting out to write a piece of music on a particular subject. But it evolved during the writing process into being not terribly specific, but about the issues of overcrowding - the rather claustrophobic feel of a lot of people in a limited space. And the idea of the incessant unstoppable locomotive being metaphor for seemingly the unstoppable population expansion on planet Earth. When I look at it today, it does, for me, become very crystallized in being a song about unmanageable population expansion. It's something that concerns me even more today than it did back when I wrote it, when the population of planet Earth was only about two thirds of what it is today. So in my lifetime alone, we've seen an enormous increase in population, and an enormous increase in the degree to which we devour our limited resources. So the idea of population planning and management is something that I think we ought to be thinking about a lot more than we do. Does that mean I think we should sterilize everybody after the age of 30? No, of course not. The size of the family you want to have is going to be your choice. But, you should make that choice knowingly, wisely, and responsibly." "Old Charlie," who appears in the chorus to this song, represents God. Anderson says that when he "stole the handle," he left the train running out of control. This symbolized everyone facing injustice in life and feeling powerless to do anything about it - you just have to make the best of it. It took a few attempts to record this song, as Anderson had to impress on the band that musically, it was supposed to feel like a train on the tracks, not one that goes off and explodes. He uses the analogy of a boiler building up pressure to describe the song musically. Restraining the drummer is always a challenge when performing this song.

The band for Locomotive Breath... Ian Anderson – flute, lead vocals, bass drum, hi-hat, acoustic guitar, electric guitar John Evan – piano Martin Barre – electric guitar Jeffrey Hammond – bass guitar Clive Bunker – drums However this song was recorded in parts, with the band members finishing up what was missing in the final steps. Wiki describes it all very well.

SAM PICKED UP ON THE LOCOMOTIVE SOUND FROM HIS GREAT GUITARIST ( MARTIN BARRE ) 😊HOW GENIUSSSS WAS THAT GUYS ONLYYYY 52 YEARS AGO, THAT'S INSANE!!!💯😊HAVE A GR88888 WEEKEND YOU GUYS!👍

As Samantha said, the music is supposed to feel like a train and it absolutely does. It totally captures the feeling of a runaway train. Which of course then can be a metaphor for someone's life or for all kinds of things. In my mind, this song would not work at all without the music being like a train, in other words just like this, with that relentless desperate feeling.

I saw him three times in the seventies. The best act I've ever seen. They outdid us with the talent, sound and energy. They were very different from any other band. He's too old to perform as well as he used to but what a experience it was.

This song in the live version is very very worth the watch. Amazing work.

I was a teenager in 60's - 70's. I was fortunate enough to go to 3 of their concerts in Ft. Worth, TX. He always made me feel like some Medieval crazy person who time traveled to our time. He has the most expressive eyes and is a showman extraordinaire. Twirling his flute like a cheer leaders baton, throwing it into the air, amazing. He presents like someone high on drugs with all his energy, but he in fact was very anti-drug. Ian played by ear, he didn't learn to read music until his daughter started taking music classes. Amazing artist.

Now that you heard the studio you must watch the live version. Ian Anderson is truly a showman.

This is the version that was played on the radio throughout my life and is embedded in my skull. It's one thing that I'll definitely carry in to my Alzheimer's years! I'm also glad that you've discovered Triumph. They had multiple hits that got huge airplay through the decades so you can't go wrong with anything from them. They were known as "the good guys of rock and roll" as their songs had positive lyrics. Their biggest hit was "Magic Power", my personal favorites from them are "Never Surrender" and "When the Lights Go Down". "When the Lights..." is one that the drummer Gil Moore sings on. "World of Fantasy" is another great one and so many more that all will widen your eyes, raise your eyebrows and wrinkle your foreheads in amazement. It's fun watching you learn about and take in all these greats for the first time ... that I grew up with, hearing it all for the first time and waiting for the new stuff over time.

Jethro Tull has several extremely talented musicians. I saw them in concert and was blown way back in the day.

The locomotive represents a man's journey through life and how little control he has.

Jethro Tull is one of my favorite bands to see live. I have seen them 5 times over the last 50 years and they never disappoint.

I just discovered an excellent live version of Locomotive Breath that gives a view of what Jethro Tull does live, including their comedic performance elements while maintaining excellence of music and better sound than the Thick As A Brick live you watched. It begins with keyboardist John Evan dramatically playing the first two notes and continuing as on the studio version with added elaborations, along with Martin Barre’s guitar. Ian Anderson, in addition to singing, flute, and conducting takes a turn on organ while the keyboardist wanders around the stage. It is an excerpt from an encore in 1977 that continues to completion with the British anthem “Land of Hope and Glory” and the final refrain of “Twelve Backdoor Angels” which apparently the encore started with but is not part of this video. It is YouTube described as “Jethro Tull – Locomotive Breath (live 1977)” 9:49 with excellent sound quality.

This song launched the career of Tull. Unique sound at the time, and really dark vibe for the happy sixties mood that dominated the airwaves. Great live performers; saw them during the Thick As a Brick tour.

It was this song that was my first exposure to Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson, and it blew my mind. It is by far my favorite JT song to this day. You may have to listen a number of times to get all the elements to it because there's so much to it. BTW: Since I have no musical talent what-so-ever, I learned the sound boards so I could at least be in the loop.