- 24-BIT DIGITALLY REMASTERED + 3 BONUS TRACKS.
Rock Island is an album by the British rock group Jethro Tull, released in 1989. The album continued the hard rock direction the band took on the previous effort, Crest of a Knave. The line-up now included Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Dave Pegg and new drummer Doane Perry.
The staging on the 1989 tour supporting Rock Island featured projected silhouettes of lithe dancers during the song "Kissing Willie", ending with an image that bordered on pornographic. The song "Big Riff and Mando" reflects life on the road for the relentlessly touring musicians, giving a wry account of the theft of Barre's prized mandolin by a stage-struck fan.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Kissing Willie"
02 "The Rattlesnake Trail"
03 "Ears of Tin"
04 "Undressed to Kill"
05 "Rock Island"
06 "Heavy Water"
07 "Another Christmas Song"
08 "The Whaler's Dues"
09 "Big Riff and Mando"
10 "Strange Avenues"
The 2006 remastered CD added extensive liner notes and three bonus tracks, all recorded live in Zurich, Switzerland on October 13, 1989. These had previously been released on the UK CD single of "Another Christmas Song":
11 "A Christmas Song"
12 "Cheap Day Return"/"Mother Goose"
13 "Locomotive Breath"
LINE UP:
Ian Anderson - vocals, flute, keyboards, mandolin, acoustic guitar, drums on tracks 2 & 7
Martin Barre - guitars
David Pegg - bass guitar, acoustic bass, mandolin
Doane Perry - drums
Also featuring:
Martin Allcock - keyboards on tracks 1 & 10
Peter Vettese - additional keyboards on tracks 3, 4, 5 & 6