Ian Anderson and the 40th Anniversary of Stormwatch

Ian Anderson is doing some ‘living in the past’ with an upcoming release. Jethro Tull is releasing Stormwatch: 40th Anniversary Force 10 Edition, a four-CD, two-audio DVD expansion of Tull’s 12th studio album, which has an unreleased early version of “Dun Rungill” today, October 18th.

The Stormwatch package features the original album remixed by Steven Wilson as well as a disc of “Associated Recordings,” eight of which have never been released, along with a previously unreleased concert from March 16, 1980 in the Netherlands.

The project will be followed in November by The Ballad of Jethro Tull, a sanctioned biography featuring more than 200 photos, many from Anderson’s personal collection, and downloads of two news songs, “The Ballad of Jethro Tull” and “Marmion.”

Anderson explains, “It’s been the case for quite a few years where I say there are no unreleased tracks, there are no hidden gems in the tape faults — only to find myself proven utterly wrong, time and again, so I have to eat humble pie and accept that all these things are around.”

While there are no firm plans yet, Anderson says there is no shortage of inspiration from the world’s political landscape and issues such as nationalism and climate change. in a recent interview, Anderson joked, “I’m not a writer of love songs,” he says. “If you’re looking for pleasant little ditties or comfort zone lyrics, I’m probably not the guy to go to. Go to Ed Sheeran. He’s got enough for all of us. No, I have the difficult job of trying to write about real stuff and make it somehow palatable so you can swallow the bitter pill and think you’re having a good time, which is kind of the art of politics, too”.

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Photo Credit: Palis Michalis / Shutterstock.com