egroj world: Ian Anderson • Homo Erraticus

Monday, September 30, 2024

Ian Anderson • Homo Erraticus

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Two years after Thick as a Brick 2, an explicit 2012 sequel to the 1972 prog classic, Ian Anderson embarked on another ambitious journey, this time assembling a concept record called Homo Erraticus. A loose -- very loose -- album based on a "dusty, unpublished manuscript, written by local amateur historian Ernest T. Parritt (1873-1928)," Homo Erraticus is an old-fashioned prog record: it has narrative heft and ideas tied to the '70s, where jazz, classical, folk, orchestral pop, and rock all commingled in a thick, murky soup. Divorced from Tull, Anderson favors fruitiness -- he likes ripe melodies and baroque arrangements that showcase either his flute or the dexterity of his band -- and if the music by and large isn't as forceful as Aqualung, partially due to the absence of muscular musicians, it nevertheless demonstrates a clear-eyed conception that is in the same lineage. Yes, the production on Homo Erraticus is too precise -- there's too much air, there's too much room to roam, decisions that diminish the impact of the music -- but the contours of the compositions deliberately and delicately recall classic Tull, so Homo Erraticus winds up satisfying: it's as close to '70s prog as is possible in 2014.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/homo-erraticus-mw0002625345

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Reseña de Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Dos años después de Thick as a Brick 2, una explícita secuela de 2012 del clásico prog de 1972, Ian Anderson se embarcó en otro ambicioso viaje, esta vez montando un disco conceptual llamado Homo Erraticus. Un álbum suelto -muy suelto- basado en un "manuscrito polvoriento e inédito, escrito por el historiador aficionado local Ernest T. Parritt (1873-1928)", Homo Erraticus es un disco prog a la vieja usanza: tiene peso narrativo e ideas ligadas a los años 70, donde el jazz, la música clásica, el folk, el pop orquestal y el rock se mezclaban en una sopa espesa y turbia. Divorciado de Tull, Anderson se inclina por lo fructífero -le gustan las melodías maduras y los arreglos barrocos que ponen de manifiesto su flauta o la destreza de su banda- y si la música, en general, no es tan contundente como Aqualung, en parte debido a la ausencia de músicos musculosos, demuestra, no obstante, una concepción lúcida que está en la misma línea. Sí, la producción de Homo Erraticus es demasiado precisa -- hay demasiado aire, hay demasiado espacio para vagar, decisiones que disminuyen el impacto de la música -- pero los contornos de las composiciones recuerdan deliberada y delicadamente a los Tull clásicos, por lo que Homo Erraticus acaba siendo satisfactorio: es lo más cercano al prog de los 70 que es posible en 2014.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/homo-erraticus-mw0002625345

Tracks:
1 - Doggerland - 4:20
2 - Heavy Metals - 1:32
3 - Enter the Uninvited - 4:12
4 - Puer Ferox Adventus - 7:13
5 - Meliora Sequamur - 3:34
6 - The Turnpike Inn - 3:07
7 - The Engineer - 3:11
8 - The Pax Britannica - 3:05
9 - Tripudium Ad Bellum - 2:50
10 - After These Wars - 4:29
11 - New Blood, Old Veins - 2:31
12 - In for a Pound - 0:36
13 - The Browning of the Green - 4:05
14 - Per Errationes Ad Astra - 1:34
15 - Cold Dead Reckoning - 5:31

Credits:
    Artwork, Design, Photography – Carl Glover
    Bass Guitar – David Goodier
    Drums – Scott Hammond
    Electric Guitar – Florian Opahle
    Lyrics By – Gerald Bostock
    Mastered By – Jakko Jakszyk*, Nick Watson
    Mixed By – Jakko Jakszyk*
    Music By – Ian Anderson
    Piano, Organ, Keyboards, Accordion – John O'Hara
    Producer – Ian Anderson
    Vocals – Ryan O'Donnell
    Vocals, Flute, Acoustic Guitar – Ian Anderson

2014