Jethro Tull are one of the most original and prolific bands in the history of rock and roll. Since 1968, they have released over 20 studio albums, and even more live and "best of" compilations, which have spanned the genres of blues, folk, classical, rock, and progressive-rock with equal splendor. Oh, and let's not forget METAL, the category of which they won the 1989 Grammy with their Crest Of A Knave album, infamously beating out Metallica in their prime. Don't get me started on that subject. Tull has also performed upwards of 3000 concerts in this 35 year period, which averages out to around one concert every 4 days. I did say prolific didn't I?

Ian Anderson has been the mastermind behind Jethro Tull for going on forty years now. He is the only member to be in every incarnation of the band, although guitarist Martin Barre comes a close second, having been in the band for all but its first year of existence. Anderson became famous for his distinctive stage personas, most notably the medieval, flute-wielding jester, standing on one leg, or dancing around the stage like a madman, while spewing forth ferocious rock licks from his electric flute. Not something you see every day. Anderson is also a brilliant songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, most notably with the flute and acoustic guitar.

Living With The Past captures the genius of Ian Anderson, and the magic of a Jethro Tull show very effectively. The bulk of the video is taken from the band's performance at London's Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in November 2001, but you also get some wonderful, stripped down performances by the reunited 1968 Tull line-up, jamming to a few of their This Was classics in a tiny British pub, before a small crowd of friends and devoted fans. You are also invited into Ian Anderson's living room, where a string quartet accompanies the band through some acoustic performances of two of their best folk songs.

These diverse performances are all intermingled together, along with loads of behind the scenes and interview footage. The documentary style presentation of this DVD initially turned me off at first, as I much prefer an uninterrupted concert performance with any documentary material neatly tucked away in the special features section. This particular documentary was done very well though, maintaining a nice flow, and providing footage that was actually very interesting. Each band member provided some terrific insight into the music, touring, and the history of the band.

The setlist covers a broad range of Jethro Tull's career, going all the way back to their 1968 debut album, This Was, for the rockin' Hammersmith show opener "My Sunday Feeling", as well as contributing "Someday The Sun Won't Shine For You" and "A Song for Jeffrey" to the pub performance by the original lineup of Anderson, Mick Abrahams (guitar), Glenn Cornick (bass), and Clive Bunker (drums). Throughout this gig, Anderson shows that he is equally dangerous on the harmonica as he is on the flute. For those of you who didn't really join the Jethro Tull fold until the early '70s, when killer albums like Aqualung and Thick As A Brick propelled the band's popularity into the stratosphere, you may be surprised at how raw and bluesy the band's sound was on their first two albums from only a few years prior.