Rock Island is the seventeenth studio 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 (1987). The line-up now included Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Dave Pegg and drummer Doane Perry in his first full recording with the band, although he had already been a member of Jethro Tull since 1984. Without a permanent keyboard player, the role was shared by Fairport Convention's Maartin Allcock and former Tull member Peter Vettese.
Rock Island went Gold in the UK, with good sales also in Germany, where it peaked at No. 5. "Kissing Willie" was a hit on Rock radio, reaching No. 6 on the US Mainstream Rock Chart.
The staging on the 1989 tour supporting Rock Island featured projected silhouettes of lithe dancers during "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 fan.
Track listing
The bonus tracks were recorded live in Zurich, Switzerland on 13 October 1989. They had previously been released on the UK CD single of "Another Christmas Song".
Personnel Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, keyboards, Synclavier, mandolin, drums, percussion (on tracks 2 & 7) Martin Barre – acoustic guitar, electric guitar David Pegg – bass guitar, acoustic bass, mandolin Doane Perry – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
Maartin Allcock – keyboards (on tracks 1 & 10) Peter-John Vettese – additional keyboards (on tracks 3–6) Jim Gibson – illustrations Mark Tucker – mixing
Charts Chart (1989) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart. 81 Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) 26
Certifications
References