Ian Anderson‘s solo career will be celebrated with a new 10-disc vinyl box set 8314 Boxed, due on Aug. 23. Pre-ordering is already underway. An official trailer for the box set is below.
Among the highlights are two sequels to Jethro Tull‘s prog cornerstone Thick as a Brick. 8314 Boxed will include a 2LP reissue of 2012’s Thick as a Brick 2 with a special etching on Side D and a half-speed vinyl remaster of 2014’s Homo Erraticus, which again followed the fictional character Gerald Bostock.
Three of Anderson’s solo albums have never before appeared on vinyl: 1995’s Divinities: Twelve Dances with God, 2000’s The Secret Language of Birds and 2003’s Rupi’s Dance. The track listing for a disc titled Roaming in the Gloaming featuring unreleased live recordings from 1995-2007 is also below. 8314 Boxed is rounded out by a 96-page book with a foreword from Anderson and exclusive new liner notes and photographs.
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“Since 1983, I have made a few solo albums, not as dissatisfaction with fellow musicians or the group identity but usually just to try something a bit different – whether sonically, stylistically or in terms of instrumental line-up,” Anderson said in an official statement.
“These records all stand out for me as being quite different from each other and in some ways demonstrate a broader depth of my songwriting,” he added. “The flute instrumental Divinities record is one of my favorites to this day.”
The Secret Language of Birds became a Top 30 U.S. hit in 2000, while fans who remained interested in Bostock’s fate pushed Thick as a Brick 2 to the Top 40 in the U.K. Homo Erraticus fared even better, hitting No. 14 on the U.K. chart in 2014. Anderson released Thick as a Brick: Live in Iceland later in the same year.
Ian Anderson, ‘Roaming in the Gloaming’ Track Listing
1. “In a Stone Circle” (Shepherd’s Bush, London, May 24, 1995)
2. “Circular Breathing” (Keene, New Hampshire, Oct. 18, 2002)
3. “The Donkey and the Drum” (Reggio Emilia, Italy, Dec. 22, 2007)
4. “The Secret Language of Birds” (Katowice, Poland, May 6, 2000)
5. “Boris Dancing” (Istanbul, Turkey, May 13, 2000)
6. “In a Black Box” (Shepherd’s Bush, London, May 24, 1995)
7. “In the Moneylender’s Temple” (Production Rehearsal, UK, May 1995)
8. “Not Ralitsa Vassileva” (Saarbrucken, Germany, Oct. 12, 2004)
9. “Eurology” (Saarbrucken, Germany, Oct. 12, 2004)
10. “The Habanero Reel” (Istanbul, Turkey, May 13, 2000)
11. “In the Grip of Stronger Stuff” (Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Nov. 12, 1998)
12. “In the Olive Garden” (Shepherd’s Bush, London, May 24, 1995)
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Gallery Credit: Ryan Reed