Jethro Tull
Ian Anderson- flute and vocals
Martin Barre- guitar
Maartin Allcock -keyboards
David Pegg- bass
Doane Perry- drums
Centrum
worcester, Mass. U.S.A.
October 28, 1989
performance quality: mostly A, inspired and energetic show
recording quality: B+ not much crowd, good clear sound
source: master audience tape
runtime: 120:55
setlist:
disc 1: 46:51
1: Carter Alan stage announcement :46
2: intro music :35
3: strange avenues 4:00
4: steel monkey 3:50
5: Big Riff and Mando 7:58
6: thick as a brick 4:07 (reader's digest version for rockers with ADD)
7: rock island 7:14
8: requeim 2:44
9: black satin dancer 3:18
10: wondering aloud (acoustic) 1:12
11: mother goose (acoustic) 1:48
12: Jack-A-Lynn 5:19
13: another Christmas song 3:56

disc 2: 74:03
14: my god > bouree 11:27
15: drowsy Maggie 3:43
16: the whaler's dues 9:22
17: Budapest 11:51
18: farm on the freeway 6:38
19: sea lion 1:16
20: kissing Willie 3:44
21: band introductions 2:02
22: nothing is easy 5:27
23: aqualung 9:14
24: locomotive breath 5:20
25: the third hoorah > dambuster's march 3:56
lineage: Realistic mini- mikes >
Sony D-6 cassette deck (dolby off) >
Maxell XLII-S cassettes > played on Naka. 125 into
soundforge 4.5 > FLAC 6 > torrent. first seeded in 2008.
reseeded in 2010 with a flac > wav > flac (sb's aligned) reconversion to remove the sbe's.
A tullnut production. (this one is seamless).
And another in glasnostrd19's Masters of Rock series.
Masters of rock from master audience tapes.
Do not sell this recording.
Trade freely, losslessly and gaplessly.
Share the tull.
comments:
This is a nearly complete recording of Jethro Tull's 4th (of 5)
appearances in Worcester, this one on the "Rock Island" tour. There
was a few seconds of talk (nothing too significantly noticable) cut
after Jack-A-Lynn and a few seconds of the beginning of Sea Lion for
tape flips. This (2008) is the 1st time I've ever posted this show, but the
3rd transfer I've done from the master. the 1st had a few glitches
and the editing was a little shaggy. The second was a little better
but not quite what I wanted. This comes from a third one, and I was
able to remove all significant flaws in the recording (only a few of
them, from mike chord problems on one side in a few short sections only)
to the point where the flaws are unnoticable, and the recording doesn't
sound at all "patched" or altered, so now this thing may be my best
sounding Centrum Tull show. As bad as the Worcester Tull crowd was in
1982, they were as good this time, not alot of crowd noise at all and
plenty of enthusiasm and even the between song talk comes through clearly,
as the music does. I put the disc break after track 13 for the sake of best
continuity, but there are a couple of other workable options if you prefer.
Rock Island may be the least represented of all Tull tours on dime with
Martin Barre. I've only seen one or two 89 shows posted. the Tull marketing
strategy was quite odd for this tour, since their current hit at the time of
this concert was Rattlesnake Trail, and they didn't even play it. Not even
a reader's digest version. Have to have time for aqualung and locomotive
breath (AGAIN)... and my god. Kissing Willie was also a hit but even though
that's a good song too, I liked Tull's trail mix better. But I've also
never heard a live version of that. If you aren't familiar with Rock Island,
don't expect earsplitting loud rock, it's almost a soft rock album in parts
(much like Crest of a Knave) but it's not a soft album. Avenues sounded okay,
not one of my Tull faves but enjoyable listening. Big Riff and Rock Island
and Jack-A-Lynn sound like classic Tull, the whaler's dues is good too (a
little like farm on the freeway which may be Tull's most often played 80's
era song in concert). many folks who saw the Clive Bunker or early Barlow tull
may have a hard time calling this (Doane Perry era) Jethro Tull, but many
others have seen that Perry is pretty good too, just not like Barlow or Bunker
(which is a good thing, even though I liked both of them alot.)
This was not a very "high-intensity" Tull show, but I liked it, alot
of good songs I'd never hear again live since this was the only 89 Tull show I
saw. in some places late Sept. marks the beginning of fall, or spring in the
southern hemisphere. In Boston and Worcester, it means hurricane season is over,
and Tull season has commenced, as it has since I was just 11 years old.
this is a good place to be a tullnut. Unlike cancer, tull addiction doesn't
harm or kill anyone, but like cancer, there is no cure for it, and no rock
band to hold a higher concert standard for such a long time.
this is the most enduring band in rock history, and one of the most distinctive,
even with almost constant changes in personnel, it still sounds like Tull,
the 1st rock band I ever heard that uses a flute REGULARLY in the band.
Rock Island is yet another Tull album that, to the unTullified ear
may be mistaken for a "heavy metal" album. I could see Metallica naming
an album "Rock Island", but they didn't. It's not a "heavy metal" album
and much like their world famous 1987 "heavy metal album of the year"
Crest of a Knave, probably more appealing to the Fleetwood Mac crowd
than anything heavy metal. Progressive rock is an overused term, but
Jethro Tull is a progressive rock band. And a very good one. No exception
here, either.