by Dave SlegerIt's difficult to explain the difference between an Ian Anderson and a Jethro Tull album. After all, Anderson writes virtually all of Tull's material and his unique voice and flute playing encapsulates the band's style. And Anderson isn't necessarily prone to the stripped down, confessional approach that many frontmen take when issuing solo projects. Perhaps during this particularly productive period Anderson simply needed to separate his "regular" songwriting from the group's concurrent The Jethro Tull Christmas Album release. Yes, a more acoustic treatment was given to this album than to Tull releases during the '90s, although their Christmas recording is very similar in production to this solo outing. The only Tull member that appears on this release is keyboardist Andy Giddings -- and it's a cameo appearance at that. Maybe Anderson merely needs to exit the confines of the band momentarily to work with other musicians for either inspiration or escape. Whatever the case, the end solo product isn't substantially different from the band's most recent effort. That's a good thing given Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull's new lease with the Varese/Fuel 2000 record label. "Rupi's Dance" is a folksy piece recalling Minstrel in the Gallery and "Old Black Cat" would have fit nicely on Heavy Horses. Anderson does give some of his solo work various world music touches, such as Eastern European, Celtic, and Mid-Eastern, but only sparingly. Anderson's knack for writing simple, yet endearing, melodies is evident in numerous instances on Rupi's Dance, but is magnified on "Griminelli's Lament," an instrumental honoring the Italian flautist Andrea Griminelli. Other instrumental passages seem to be an outgrowth of classic Tull albums like Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play, among others. An extremely satisfying album, Rupi's Dance looks simultaneously to the past and future for its inspiration.