Scary Seventies

Seeing pitcher Ian Anderson star for the Braves this past month reminded me of the first Ian Anderson. I was a huge Jethro Tull fan ---Benefit, Aqualung (with Cross-Eyed Mary, Locomotive Breath, Hymn 43 and the first known recorded mention of snot running down his nose), Thick As A Brick. Never once did I wonder why he was standing on one leg to play the flute---no reason---or why he took up salmon farming at the expense of songwriting. But he has a new tune now and, judging from the cover photo, scarier in his 70s than he ever was in the 70s.