![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Studio work on the album began in 2017 and, due to touring and other project obligations, seven backing tracks were recorded, and four tracks were completed before the pandemic hit in early 2020. Listeners can also watch a series of video interviews with Ian Anderson on the band’s YouTube channel where he reviews the creative process, the album concept and the production process, which were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. ![]() The words for each song appear along with the associated Bible verse and track notes explain what the songs are about. If listeners have occasionally been baffled in the past by Anderson’s sometimes abstruse metaphors and colloquial adages, they will welcome the supporting material in the CD packaging. While he typically finds images like photos or paintings to prompt his observational lyrics, the trigger this time was, “immortal words from 1611 which, for me, immediately conjure visual images” that can be used to “interpret and vocalize the subject matter.” In keeping with progressive rock’s “concept album” format, The Zealot Gene is comprised of twelve songs that reference Biblical text as inspiration for an exploration of human emotions such as compassion, tolerance, loyalty, love, jealousy, greed and hate.Īs Anderson explains in the liner notes, he is not “a man of faith when it comes to conventional, organized religions,” but the Bible verses “fueled my songwriting” and were the starting point for elaborating examples of extreme feelings from different vantage points. Also, the lyrics demonstrate Anderson’s affinity for story-telling and commentary on current and historical social phenomena from unique, not to say eccentric, points of view. The new album contains a mixture of acoustic songs and heavier rock tracks featuring the eclectic blend of musical styles and influences that are central to Jethro Tull’s sound. With words and music written by founder-leader Ian Anderson, the new record is a legitimate addition to the discography of the band, which started in Blackpool (a seaside resort on England’s northwest coast) playing the blues in 1967 and went on to become an internationally successful progressive rock group in the 1970s. The British progressive rock band Jethro Tull released The Zealot Gene on January 28, the first recording of all new music by the group in more than twenty years. ![]()
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