Out of the blue, the progressive rock legends Jethro Tull not only announced a new album, ‘The Zealot Gene’, but also released their first new single in eighteen years, ‘Shoshana Sleeping’, which blends all the elements that make Jethro Tull so, well, legendary. 

Whenever 70’s progressive rock is mentioned, it’s very hard to ignore the folk, flute-heavy blacksheep Jethro Tull that revolutionized the genre with their album ‘Aqualung’ and their epic ‘Thick as a Brick’. They were widely credited for bringing the more acoustic and folk sound to the progressive rock movement. They shifted sounds many times in their career, until they took a break from composition in the late 90s, releasing a Christmas album in 2003 and playing concerts periodically. Then, like magic, ‘Shoshana Sleeping’ was birthed and delivered to the public. It immediately starts with the classic Jethro Tull flute, followed by Ian Anderson’s mysterious and aged vocals. The groove is strong with all passages of this track, and highlighted by the explorative chord changes played by the guitar and punched with popping bass lines. About midway through the song, a synth soundfield establishes itself within the instrumentation, tipping a hat to their electronic phase of the 80s. It’s incredible that rather than simply returning to a sound they knew would ‘sell’, they incorporated all the elements that made Jethro Tull ‘Jethro Tull’, all with a fresh and modern take on the classic sounds. You can definitely tell through both the production and the ideas that this is a new song, and not some unearthed song from the past.

When I heard Jethro Tull had returned with new material, I was both nervous and excited. Like mentioned before, they were very important to the progressive movement, and eighteen years is a long time for a fan to grow bloated expectations. ‘Shoshana Sleeping’, however, met all my expectations and above. The prog giants have embraced everything they know makes the band so great all the while giving us a whole new flavor of their talents.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.