Q: Jethro Tull has been together for more than 30 years. Made more than 30 albums. I guess everyone has their slice of Tull that they relate to. Is there a period that you think -- that you consider the classic Jethro Tull?

A: Well, I think there are probably three periods. There's the period back in the early part of the '70s when band consisted of Barrie Barlow on drums, John Evans on piano, Jeffrey Hammond on the bass, Martin Barre on guitar and me. And that was a lineup that made quite a few classic albums, Thick as a Brick through Songs from the Wood, Heavy Horses, that kind of stuff. You know, that was an important part. But there is a little period before that, which really began in 1969 when Martin Barre first joined the band. I think there was a certain classic thing happened back then because we were still fairly fresh and just writing songs for the first time. And I think for my second album, Stand Up, through to the Aqualung album, probably was quite important. It was -- you know, those were formative years. By the time '72 came a long, musically speaking, we were a bit more experienced and a bit more capable of tackling bigger ideas. But I think the first period was quite important. And the album Stand Up, for me, still brings a lot of very useful material when it comes to doing live concerts. I still thoroughly enjoy the songs that we play live from Stand Up. And then, of course, later on into the '80s and '90s, you know, there was a degree of sophistication necessarily that comes into the music because you got older and you've got a slightly broader perspective on music and how to go about it. So, you know, for me, some of the most enjoyable pieces have come out of the last ten years, during which time I've also made a couple of solo albums, which I've enjoyed doing, too. Although they've been quite different from the sort of thing Jethro Tull does.

Q: Well, I would like to ask you to play a Jethro Tull song, but I'll leave it to you as to which period you'd like to draw from this afternoon.

A: Oh, right. Well, okay. Well, let's pick something from -- well, we'll do a couple ofthings spun together as a medley here. This one is actually from the Bouree album and then it moves on slightly sideways to one of our early and very, very few hit singles which we had back in the early -- actually, I think it was the late '60s. This is "Bouree"

(Songs: Bouree/Living In The Past)

A: There we go. Living In The Past. Jethro Tull. Well, except, it wasn't really. It was just me. If that was just a different arrangement me just playing the acoustic guitar and stuff on to which I add my flute, live in the mix.

Q: Also, we began with --

A: With "Bouree", yes, from the Stand Up album, which was a piece that was taken from JS Bach, who originally wrote that -- I'm not sure in what context it was written, whether it was an orchestral piece or for solo instruments. I really don't know. I actually heard it because the guy who lived in the apartment underneath me back in North London when I was 20 years old, was learning to play classical guitar and kept playing this piece of music over and over again. And I could hear it coming through the floorboards. It's indelibly ingrained itself upon my mind.

Q: Well, and then you did that to the millions of the rest of us. So thank you for that.

A: That was a pleasure.

Q: There's been several compilations over the years. Is there one that you -- if there's someone listening out there who's a novice to Jethro Tull, is there one of the compilations that you feel is the most definitive?

A: Well, that's an interesting question because I just was talking to EMI Records a few weeks ago about doing a new definitive Jethro Tull best of, which we're going to be compiling this year for release early next year. And it's interesting because it marks the start of the real remastering process of all the Jethro Tull catalogue because, as you now know, through DVD, the new format for digital and audio -- I mean, for video and audio, there is the prospect for elevating quality of sound way beyond that dreadful, edgy, nasty CD, which, you know, operates at 16-bits dynamics. And the -- and a 44.1 khz sampling rate. So with DVD it's going to be possible to have 24-bit sampling with a 96 k band width, which is going to make things just a whole lot more like the old analogue recordings, but with all the benefits and convenience of digital. So we start the remastering process of all the Jethro Tull catalogue later this year, so that's going to keep me busy for a few months to come.

Q: And my discs may be from the dawn of the CD age, but, you know, last night I wanted to play for my wife some things since we're going to the concert tomorrow and I wanted to play her Thick as a Brick and Ministry on the Gallery. And the lyrics do not exist on my CDs.

A: What a bummer.

Q: When you're doing that, maybe you could put in a good word for us that we need the lyrics inside, too.

A: Well, there's a point. Yes, I mean, the later albums all had lyrics on. But there were a few missing in the earliest ones, so I guess that's something we must address. Until then, you'll just have to content yourself by going to jtull.com and, of course, through that you can find your way to links of various lyrics and all the rest of it. Our website is a good place to go, by the way, if you're looking for any information about Jethro Tull. It's [jtull.com]. And that's where you'll find us.

Q: And I did visit there. And you are correct, it was a wellspring of information. We talked a little bit about this, but you play approximately 20 songs during the course of a show. Over a tour, the band may draw from 100. Is that one of the more creative things, besides what goes on on stage, what goes on when you're compiling the set lists and kind of juggling it up to keep yourself amused and entertained?

A: Yes. And it is necessarily compromise because you know that there are going to be some people going home from the concert every night who say, oh, you know, they didn't play my favorite song. But given so many records and so many tracks, that's got -- you know, statistically is going to happen. Someone goes away disappointed. You can only try to please most of the people most of the time. And we start by trying to please ourselves. You know, I think that we, the musicians, we have to be excited and challenged by what it is we have to play on stage. And so we take a pretty selfish view. We go out there every night to have a good time. Have as good a time as possible. And we think -- you know, if we make us happy, there's more chance that will convey itself to the audience and they, too, will have a good time.

Q: An opening night always has a certain bit of an edge, I think.

A: It has a certain bit of an edge, provided, of course, the bass player doesn't fall asleep because he's not arriving until about midnight tonight. So he'll be one tired little boy tomorrow.

Q: He's a young man. He can handle it. And speaking of young men, I just want to ask you one final question. I mean, I grew up with a lot of these records. And if I was going to meet Ian Anderson backstage, I would want to discuss the philosophical meanings of "Thick as a Brick" or "Passion Play" or "Minstrel in the Gallery." How do you deal with oddballs like me who bum-rush you after the show and want to know exactly what this meant or that meant?

A: Politely, I hope. But after the show is never a good time because after the show, by the time we've actually packed up bits and pieces and done the obligatory hellos and, you know, cuddled people for autographs and photographs and whatever else they want to take home a piece of you every night, you know, they -- by the time all that's over, we head for bed. And so -- because we travel, you see, the next morning. And usually that means getting up around 7:00 in the morning and getting on our way. So we don't hang around afterwards partying or, you know, meeting people and indulging in esoteric conversations if we can possibly get away with it.

Q: But at other times, I'd imagine you would engage someone -- I mean, there's a lot of Tull fanatics out there who find a lot of meaning in this music and would like to get you and sit you down and ask you about it. I'm sure you encounter it all the time, if not even after shows, at another time. Do you find that interesting at some point or is it just --

A: Well, I always think that what the music and what the lyrics mean to other people is very important to them. And sometimes, to tell them, hey, this is what this really means might be quite different from, you know, the meaning that they have extracted from listening to the songs. I think that actually could be counterproductive. I rather like the idea that, you know, I spend a lot of time trying to convey my own thoughts and images in my own way because I write very much from visual images. I try then to convey those things in words and music to somebody who may then sit back in their armchair, close their eyes, listen to the music and make their own pictures in their head from the songs that I've written. But the fact is, their pictures could be quite different to mine, the ones where it started off. And I think that that's part of the fascination, you know, that people will put their own spin on it. And it's very valuable to them. You know, it's there. They have ownership of the meaning, of the imagery that they draw down from the songs. And I think that's every bit as important as the image that I start off with. So I would hate to disillusion them by saying, no, don't be an idiot, you got that completely wrong. It's not about that at all.

Q: Well, I think that's well said. And I appreciate the answer. We've been spending time today with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. And it's up to you, might you give us one more song that we can make images in our heads from?

A: Oh, wow.

Q: Are we ready for that?

A: Yeah, I'm sure I can. I wasn't expecting it quite at this minute. But let me just dial in something. Well, let's do one of these tracks from -- there's a piece, in fact, from a solo album based on what happens when you're on holiday and you realize you've forgotten to send any postcards home. This is called "Postcard Day".

(Song: Postcard Day)

Q: Very nicely done.

A: Thank you.

Q: Ian Anderson, "Postcard Day." It can be found on his new album, The Secret Language of Birds. And that was Ian live in our studio playing flute live, singing live and with his --

A: Band in a box.

Q: -- band in a box.

A: Very cheap. Just by them a beer in the bar every night. They're happy as hell.

Q: Well, I wish I could buy you a beer tomorrow night, but I don't think you'll have any trouble finding one if you desire one. We look forward to the concert tomorrow night at the Backyard with Jethro Tull.

A: Thanks very much. And thanks for having me. And we look forward to seeing all you folks there tomorrow if you have nothing else to do. And if you have something better to do, then give me a call, tell me what it is, because I might want to do that as well.

Q: And so the jalapeños, they don't hold very much interest for you because the chilis are so hot, is what you're saying?

A: No, the jalapeño is kind of okay as a little diversion.

Q: It's nothing.

A: Hot is not necessarily great. Subtlety is everything in eating. So there are some things that the hots work well with and some things you just don't want to put hot stuff with. So, you know, it's a matter of choice.

Q: Well, I hope you find a good meal while you're here in Austin on your day off.

A: I'm sure we will. Thank you.