Jethro Tull Isle of Wight

This release is a bit like stepping into a time warp – before they were a folk-rock band and before they were a progressive rock or art rock band, Jethro Tull were pretty much a loud rock & roll band working from a blues base, with a few elements of jazz and folk thrown in, and that's mostly what you've got there. The dominant instrument is Martin Barre's heavily amplified, chord-driven lead guitar playing, which crunches and slashes with the best of them on most of this performance – Ian Anderson's vocals, flute, and acoustic guitar are present, to be sure, and they find a balance on the then-new song "My God," but even at the their folkiest and droning-est, Tull were still a hard rock band in those days with an irresistible propulsive force in their work.

Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 is a live album by Jethro Tull, released on 2 November 2004. It was recorded on the fifth and last day of the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, where Jethro Tull were second on the bill between The Moody Blues and Jimi Hendrix.

Coverage from the 2004 Isle of Wight Festival. Artists featured include Snow Patrol, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Jet, and many more.
The Isle of Wight Festival - is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers (Ron, Ray and Bill Foulk) under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited. The venues were Ford Farm (near Godshill), Wootton and Afton Down (near Freshwater) respectively. The 1969 event was notable for the appearance of Bob Dylan and the Band. This was Dylan's first paid performance since his motor cycle accident some three years earlier, and was held at a time when many still wondered if he would ever perform again.

Twenty-five years ago, half a million flower children set sail for the Isle of Wight in search of peace, love and understanding. Amidst the chaos of 'Britain's Woodstock', some lost their hippy ideals. But all who came witnessed one of the greatest ever rock festivals.

Perhaps the most interesting and insightful of the individual films to come out of Murray Lerner's footage shot at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, Nothing Is Easy is also the most ambitious. Jumping between the 1970 events and a rather droll-humored Ian Anderson recalling the events from 2004, the film gives a lot more than an excellent account of the band's music and stage presentation of that era…

One of the “strange decisions in rock” in recent years has been that of Ian Anderson to seemingly cast off his first lieutenant: Martin Lancelot Barre. It seems that his trusty cohort since 1969 hasn’t really had a proper explanation either but as time goes on it is evidently more permanent than we may have suspected. The first major post-Barre project is ‘Thick As A Brick’ the updated version is the subject of Anderson’s appearance on 30 June at the Royal Albert Hall and there is talk already of a new Tull album next year but without the long-serving guitarist. This makes this 4 DVD/Book set all the more poignant and the 2005 Swiss gig almost writes a line under the band’s more recent history.

Rather than just give fans one live concert DVD to dig into, Jethro Tull deliver Around the World Live, a four-disc collection that spans over 30 years' worth of shows. Starting with a performance at the Isle of Wright festival in 1970 and going all the way forward to a 2005 performance in Lugano, Switzerland…