If we ever feature Zamfir on the Dusty Vinyl Archive, please lobby to have The Nest taken down…
Monday morning find you with a bad case of locomotive breath? Well, The Nest will take care of that as it’s once again time for us to go living in the musical past by bungling in that jungle we like to call the Dusty Vinyl Archive! DJ Scratchy’s never too old to rock and roll, while the Sponkies are being eyed with bad intent by some prevert sitting on a park bench. Here’s another awesome lost hit that’s guaranteed to be as thick as a brick…
What do Pablo Cruise, Wang Chung, Molly Hatchet and Blondie have in common? They’re all the names of bands, not the names of people in those bands as gullible music fans sometimes assume. Maybe the king of all proper name bands is the British rock act named after the John Deere of the Isles, Jethro Tull. Although not a proper hit single, the band’s most famous song is probably 1971’s “Aqualung,” which not only has one of the most iconic opening guitar riffs ever, but also one of music’s creepiest leading lines…
Sitting on a park bench
Eying little girls with bad intent
Tull had a pair of more contemporary hit singles that both made the US Top 20 in “Living in the Past” and “Bungle in the Jungle.” But their song I’m going to feature in the DVA is a track that was exclusively released on the US version of their 1970 album Benefit. It got some play on AOR and classic rock stations, and I came to love it! Here’s “Teacher”…
The most unique thing about Jethro Tull was lead singer Ian Anderson’s instrument of choice he played for the band. Early in the group’s history, he decided to give up the guitar and learned to play the flute… making Anderson one of, if not the only rock and roll flautist!
You gonna tell him only dweebs play the flute?
Amazingly, the original UK version of “Teacher,” which was released as the B-side to another single, doesn’t have the flute parts in it at all! Unthinkable! It just isn’t authentic Tull if it doesn’t have that flutey sound to it…
I’ll be back next Monday to blow you away with another lost hit…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
there is more about that whistles than just El Condor Pasa… love the guitar and the flute, it is like a battle somehow… but there is no winner, both are great… that solidifies my last wish to go to hell with the record version of highway to hell… could be not bad, maybe there is even a version what’s dance-able?
No Zamfir for you? 😉
I love Jethro Tull. “Teacher” is one of my favourites.
I had enough of Zamfir just from all the commercials….
Wow, that takes me back. Think I still have my Aqualung album..
It takes me back to before I was born, which I don’t think is possible…
You can’t really go wrong with a bit of Jethro Tull, which is a shame because I really wanted to rip into your choice this week…
Sorry to let you down by not letting you down. I’ll see if I have any rap to put on next week…
I really did enjoy Jethro Tull back in the day……the flute was very cool and different at the time too. Always thought they had a GREAT sound….still do.
Pam
You gotta be a real badass to play the flute in a hard rock band! Kinda like the guy who played violin for Kansas…
You selected this one just to goad me into my yearly rant about Tull not being elected to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Admit it.
That discussion on the Bored inspired this DVA!
Back in the days fresh outta high school (aka 4/20 days) I used to listen to this group all the time with my friends. Some good memories from those days. Mostly because there wasn’t much that I needed to be responsible for. #rockon