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Featuring various Tull performances shot in Germany from
1971 all the way through 1992, Jack in the Green: Live in
Germany offers a brief at some different moments in the band's
history. Shot in various places, the DVD acts more like a
retrospective of sorts rather than being a full-length concert,
nevertheless, when is it that we ever get to see these moments
broadcasted. With the flute toting Ian Anderson at the helm,
the DVD draws material from five different events. ****
The first from 1982, drawing from their late folk-rock
period is the 'Rockpop in Concert' show. It starts out with
more acoustic numbers like "Hard Times," "Heavy Horses," and
"Jack in the Green," then moving to hard rock standards with
"Sweet Dream," "Aqualung," and "Locomotive Breath" among others,
being the longest set on the DVD. There is a one off performance
of "Hunting Girl" from Rocksummer in 1986 which appears to
be a promotional spot, a brief set from '86 featuring "Thick
as a Brick," "Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die,"
"Black Sunday," and a jam session, and even formal gig (and
I do mean tuxedos & even hardhats intact) from '93 featuring
"My Sunday Feeling," and an all acoustic blues number "So
Much Trouble." The earliest footage comes from The Beat Club
("With you there to Help Me" & "Nothing is Easy") which is
good to finally see at will, seeing how a lot of The Beat
Club material from anybody has yet to surface in legitimate
form. Nevertheless, this appears to come from stock footage,
which is professionally shot in the old school video format
rather than digital, not to mention that the transfer was
done very well in both the audio and video department. ****
With this spanning about ninety-three minutes and with
many of these events being only excerpts from concerts (all
songs are the complete songs), it makes me wonder what might
have happened to any additional material from these particular
concerts and in many cases, it will make you want the complete
show instead of just a handful of songs; that's the only downside
to this, but who knows what might be lost from or lurking
around in the vaults. Jack in the Green: Live in Germany is
essential for fans and showcases how great this band was live
back in their pre-Heavy Metal Grammy heyday.
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