| Living in the Past | |
| Cover: | Living_in_the_Past_-_Jethro_Tull.jpg |
| Caption: | French picture sleeve[1] |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Jethro Tull |
| B-Side: | Driving Song |
| Released: | 2 May 1969 UK[2] [3] October 1972 US |
| Recorded: | 3 & 18 March 1969[4] |
| Studio: | Vantone Sound Studio, West Orange, NJ[5] & United Western Recorders, Los Angeles, CA |
| Length: | 3:18 |
| Label: | Island WIP 6056 |
| Prev Title: | Love Story |
| Prev Year: | 1968 |
| Next Title: | Bourée |
| Next Year: | 1969 |
"Living in the Past" is a song by British progressive rock group Jethro Tull. It is one of the band's best-known songs, and it is notable for being written in the unusual time signature. The use of quintuple meter is quickly noted from the beginning rhythmic bass pattern, though it can also be explained as a distinct + syncopated rhythm.
According to the composer, Ian Anderson, he wrote the tune in approximately one hour in his room at a Holiday Inn 'on the banks of the Charles River,' Boston, Massachusetts, on 12 February 1969. He and his manager, Terry Ellis, were checking in 'a day off here before the show,' ahead of a three-day residency 13 – 15 February 1969 at the Boston Tea Party rock club. When he handed it to Ellis later, he replied, 'Wow! I'll book a studio next week, when we we’re in the New York area.' [6]
At the end of the East Coast leg of their US tour, the backing tracks were recorded at Vantone Sound Studio, West Orange, New Jersey on 3 March 1969[7] (described by Anderson as a "cheap studio in New Jersey.") Apparently, much of the recording was of "a small local ensemble of session musicians – the cheapest we could find," and later overdubbed by band members. Anderson described overdubbing his vocals in San Francisco during mid-March; but conflicting reports identify 18 March at United Western Recorders, Los Angeles, California, as correct. It was also the date "Driving Song" was recorded, released as the b-side of Jethro Tull's fourth single, "Living in the Past", on 2 May 1969 to UK audiences. Meanwhile, the band returned to London in mid-April to begin work on their second album, Stand Up.[8]
After reaching number 3 on the UK Singles Chart,[9] it was released in several other countries, but only promotionally in the United States in July 1969. It was not until October 1972 that it was commercially released in the US,[10] as the lead single and title track of Living in the Past, a double compilation LP of the band's UK-only releases and outtakes recorded from 1968 to 1971. It became the band's first Top 20 hit in the US, peaking at #11. The 1972 version was remixed, replacing a flute overdub with an organ part. In 1993, a remix on the song went to #31 on the US dance chart.[11] In 2001, it was included as a "bonus track" for the CD reissue of Stand Up.[12] A Steven Wilson remix "sympathetic to both the original and later mixes"[13] was included on the 2016 "Elevated Edition" reissue, alongside flat transfers of the original 1969 mono and (promo) stereo mixes.
"Living in the Past" was ranked the fifth best Jethro Tull song by Rock – Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check.[14]
Anderson has described the song as a critical reflection of the hippie lifestyle and a general naivete of the era:
| Chart (1969) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| France | 41 | |
| New Zealand (Listener)[15] | 15 | |
| UK[16] | 3 |
| Chart (1972–73) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[17] | 36 | |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[18] | 16 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[19] | 11 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100[20] | 15 |
| Chart (1973) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada[22] | 108 | |
| US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[23] | 102 |
The song was first covered as an instrumental by CCS in 1970. Other cover versions include:[25]
. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955–2012 . Joel Whitburn . 2013 . Record Research . 432.