Ian Adnerson – Homo Erraticus: Part One: Chronicles – Doggerland; Heavy Metal; Enter The Univited; Puer Ferox Adventus; Meliora Seqamur; The Turnpike Inn; The Engineer; The Pax Britannica; Part Two: Prophecies – Tripudium Ad Bellum; Ager These Wars; New Blood, Old Veins; Part Three: Revelations – In For A Pound; The Browning Of The Green; Per Errationes As Astra; Cold Dead Reckoning.
Personnel: Ian Anderson: Flute, Guitar, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Harmonica, Vocals; David Goodier: Bass guitar and double bass; John O’Hara: Orchestral conductor, piano, keyboards and accordion; Florian Opahle: Guitar; Scott Hammond: Drums and percussion; Ryan O’Donnell: Vocals and stage antics
Ian Anderson – Homo Erraticus was produced by Ian Anderson and was released on the Calliandra Records label in conjunction with K Scope Music. In addition to the CD release of HOMO ERRATICUS there is a Special CD/DVD Tour Edition available, which features a DVD track for each track on the CD.
Ian Anderson has released over 40 albums between releases under the band name Jethro Tull or under Ian Anderson. He is a musician who has not only crossed genre’s but has gone as far as to be referred to as the round genre peg in a square peg industry as he cannot be tied down, which is what makes his music so diverse.
With his latest release Homo Erraticus, Ian Anderson brings out his signature adventurous sound via his distinct vocals, changing melodies, and powerful instrumental segments. A little background on the release Homo Erraticus, it is a concept album that according to the website continues on the story of Gerald Bostock of Thick As a Brick. The ‘story’ is that the former child poet, Gerald Bostock, “wrote the lyrics to the album after stumbling across a book that contains the complete history of England written by an amateur historian after a malarial fever dream that had him entering the lives of several figures in British history.” Ian Anderson took the concept and he spans the time continuum as he brought the story forward a few hundred years by infusing the lyrics with current affairs, as well as going back in time a few hundred years. Longtime fans of Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull will not be disappointed with Homo Erraticus.
The release is broken down into three parts: Chronicles, Prophecies, and Revelations, which caries the ‘story’ through the release’s tracks.
The first part, Chronicles, defined as “a work of fiction or nonfiction that describes a particular series of events,” opens with the track Doggerland that has a renaissance touch and paints a moment in history through the melody. Ian’s vocals are influential in setting the song’s mode and pace and when combined with that distinct opening flute solo layered on the hard driving drum and base segment you know that you are in for a classic track. The tracks Heavy Metal, Enter The Uninvited, and Puer Ferox Adventus continue the story with lyrics spiced with events from various centuries. The tracks musically ebb and flow with the lyrics while advancing the tale on creative and catchy melodies and solos. Other tracks found in the first segment are Meliora Sequamur, a church choir arrangement with a lively melody and echoing backing vocals, The Turnpike Inn, The Engineer, and The Pax Britannica round out the Chronicles.
Turning the ‘page’ to part two, Prophecies, defined as “a prediction, prognostication, prognosis, or divination,” starts with the track Tripudium As Bellum and the release’s pace quickens with a engrossing and hard driving musical arrangement. After These Wars and New Blood, Old Veins close out the prophecies part with lyrics covering a series of time periods, while the musical segments of the tracks are infused with jazz, pop, and rock components.
Part Three, Revelations, defined as “a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way,” has a short intro track, In For a Pound, that sets the table for the track, The Browning Of The Green, that musically and lyrically is one of the great tracks on the release and starts to bring the listener’s travels to a close. The closing tracks for Revelations and Homo Erracticus are Per Errationes Ad Astra, which is a reading from the book of “Homo Erracticus,” and Cold Dead Reckoning with its tight arrangement that pounds out a marching melody which marches us along to a dramatic ending while our finger moves to hit replay.
Homo Erraticus is an entertaining release both musically and lyrically and with the Thick As A Brick 2 band the release holds true to the drive and musical flow that fans of Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull have come to expect.
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Websites where you can procure Ian Anderson – Homo Erraticus are Kscope , Amazon, and iTunes.
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