Like many of their contemporaries, Jethro Tull embraced new technology and the changing tone of music as they continued making music at the dawn of the ’80s. 

But as the band’s mastermind, flautist and vocalist Ian Anderson lays out in the conversation below, their evolution had begun long before that and in fact, was a constant element of their process. So while the albums they made at the beginning of the decade and beyond shifted in more of an electronic, synthesized direction, the focus remained squarely on the songs and the quality of the songs, just like it had always been.

Anderson continues to revisit his work from across the decades with expansive box sets, featuring bonus material, live recordings and new presentations for the albums themselves. The latest set takes stock of 1984’s Under Wraps album and his own solo album, 1983’s Walk Into the Light. During a long conversation that you can listen to on the UCR Podcast, he unpacked the time period for us. You can preview the interview with a few excerpts below, including his thoughts on when fans can expect the next new Jethro Tull studio album.

Let’s start with your memories of working on Under Wraps. There was a lot going on.
Well, from 1982, the changing landscape of music technology was going to impact in some way, and I felt that either I could largely ignore it and continue in a very traditional analog world of Fender guitars and Hammond organs and acoustic instruments like the flute and the guitar, my acoustic guitars and so on.

But it felt like a harmless attempt to explore the possibilities that might come along with that new technology from a creative standpoint. So moving from the simplest early drum machines to programmable computer-based drum or rhythm type of organizing of the elements from the band point of view were interesting. And of course, particularly in keyboards, things were changing dramatically, where the earliest synthesizers were giving way to polyphonic and more programmable options.

So it seemed like an opportunity to try and utilize some of those different sonic possibilities in the songs that I was writing. And the songs were very much written around that technology, particularly working with Peter Vettese, who I’d worked with on the Walk Into the Light solo album in 1983. So ’84 was a move within the Jethro Tull context and with the Jethro Tull band members to utilize that technology [to] see where it might take us. I think the result was a very good blend of traditional analog, real-time recording and the programmable digital elements that we brought into play.

I think it’s important to remember that the album was recorded with all the musicians actually playing their instruments. The only thing that was programmed and we were playing too were the electronic drums. Other than that, everything was being played as it always had been. I mean, most of the guitar, for example, was probably recorded on a 15-watt Marshall little mini amp in the studio and Dave Pegg was playing one of his usual bass guitars plugged straight into the back of the mixing console. We were playing in real time; we were playing as a band and we rehearsed the music.

Knowing that much of it would be music we could perform live on stage was an important part of how we worked; indeed we did go on to play much of that music—not all of it—but certainly much of it we performed live in concert during the next year or so. So it was very much a Jethro Tull album. It just had some elements that made it different from what we’d done before and musically had a different nuance because of the technology in which the songs were being written and arranged. So it wasn’t as if I was taking songs that I’d written a couple of years before or working in some absolute musical sense and then saying, “Right, now I’ll apply those songs to to the recording process using new technology.”

Listen to Ian Anderson on the ‘UCR Podcast’

These were songs that were all really written with the technology there in front of me, particularly Peter Vettese, with whom I worked closely on realizing those songs musically—not lyrically—so that the band could develop within those musical arrangements as they were being devised anyway.

But it’s a great album I always liked. Some of the songs I felt were really amongst the best songs that I played. And I would say that from a guitar standpoint, I would rate this album as being from a guitar performance—both Martin Barre’s lead guitar and Dave Pegg’s bass guitar—amongst their very best work ever; it was demanding to play. But they entered into it with good heart and spirit. And I think they gave really good performances.

Watch Jethro Tull’s ‘Lap of Luxury’ Video

With this new box set, we get two new mixes of both Under Wraps and Walk Into the Light. What was your experience revisiting these records?
Well, I’ve revisited these albums in deciding how we would embark upon doing remixes or replacing original drums; there were two or three options available to me and to the record company. After some discussion and a few examples prepared as potentially ways forward, I decided to work within my familiar relationship with Bruce Soord—the writer, producer, and performer with The Pineapple Thief—a progressive rock band from more contemporary times.

Bruce is a very intuitive [collaborator] co-conspirator when it comes to bringing these things alive 20, 30, or 40 years after they were originally recorded. And I feel very blessed with those relationships; people who could be called Jethro Tull fans but are also notable musicians and producers in their own right are beneficial collaborators. They both have a really good feel for Jethro Tull music along with high respect for its historical significance.

It was interesting as a music fan to watch how bands evolved as they got into the ’80s. With A and also The Broadsword and The Beast, you and Jethro Tull went full-on into synthesizers and drum machines. What led you in that direction?
Well, it goes back to 1972 when we started using very earliest monophonic synthesizers during recording Thick as a Brick. You know Moog synthesizers had been developed in America but there were one or two European companies developing synthesizers too; we did utilize [some of that] them on Thick as a Brick, generating sounds derived from my flute playing.

READ MORE: How Jethro Tull Tried to Out-Prog Everyone on ‘Thick as a Brick’

I played flute but what came out recorded on tape was synthesizer sound; interesting experimentation occurred there. However, I quickly concluded I preferred flute sounding like itself rather than like monophonic lines typical of two-oscillator synthesizers at that time. But part of this experimentation [with] digital technology [that] had also been creeping in regarding effects processing—digital echoes, tape repeats—and other innovations beginning to emerge.

So really from ’72 onwards we occasionally used this technology as part of our recording process. By late ’70s synthesizers became common for both keyboard players; sometimes interesting sounds emerged while other times not so much.

The early ’80s saw British bands latch onto synthesizer sounds creating what was perceived as a new musical direction; however this grew organically from music developed ten years prior—technology evolving over time.

When it came to our own music during mid-’80s it moved slightly more towards that direction but not fundamentally; four-fifths of what you heard still came from human beings playing real-time instruments—musicians sitting down actually performing substantial chunks rather than short lines at once.

This approach characterized Jethro Tull recordings since inception: aiming for recordings resembling live performances through rehearsed arrangements; recording sessions aimed at capturing collective performances whenever possible—even if acoustic musicians like me faced challenges doing this live in studio settings.

READ MORE: Jethro Tull, ‘Curious Ruminant’: Album Review

You have many Jethro Tull shows scheduled presently; how much have you thought about your next album?
Well, I’m gradually settling into direction for my next project—doodling lyrics and music—but I’m not yet ready to set aside time for deliberate writing or recording; that’s still months away due to commitments with tours among other activities keeping me busy throughout this year—and even into 2027! We don’t list upcoming shows until tickets are available for purchase so details remain unadvertised until then.

I have trips planned soon visiting locations for shows scheduled towards end-2027 just before Christmas; that’s quite far ahead! I’m being optimistic thinking positively about performing then—hoping health remains stable without concerns about cardiac issues or boredom.

READ MORE: Jethro Tull Schedules Massive 2026 Tour

Find more details regarding Jethro Tull: Under Wraps: The Unwrapped Edition at Rhino’s official website.