Martin Barre might protest that he is “not and never will be a guitar hero”, but he’s certainly looked and sounded like one at numerous points in his career – and perhaps never more so than on Jethro Tull’s Aqualung.
However, in a recent interview with Guitarist, he explains the song’s tone was influenced by another six-strong icon.
“I’d met Leslie West, and like a lot of guitar players, you couldn’t meet Leslie West and come out unscathed,” he tells Guitarist. “I loved him to bits. I loved his playing, I loved his presence. And I loved Mountain.”
The influence stuck, particularly West’s rehabilitation of the Les Paul Junior as an instrument worthy of a guitar hero. Before Aqualung, Barre played a bootleg Les Paul but it met an unfortunate end on a hot summer’s day.
(“I left it in a car, and when I came back, it was like a banana,” he explains), so having quite literally given that one the backseat, he was in the market for a replacement. Barre immediately recalled his experience touring with Mountain a few years prior.
“Everything about them was a learning curve,” says Barre. “Not just the guitar playing but everything about their arrangements. So, like a lot of people, I bought a Gibson Les Paul Junior because Leslie had one.”
As a result, the Junior became one of the key instrument’s that Barre used throughout the album, including his crowning moment.
“So Aqualung was a ’58 Les Paul Junior and I still had my Hiwatt. And I had a really tasty 58’ Fender Strat. It was simple – no pedals, nothing. Just a guitar into the amp – and off you go.”
Off he went, indeed. For more on his time in Jethro Tull, the Aqualung sessions and recording in front of Jimmy Page, read Martin Barre’s full interview with Guitarist.
