Former Jethro Tull lead guitarist Martin Barre has reflected on his relationship with the art of rhythm guitar, saying he avoided it like the “plague” until some sage wisdom he heard from Steve Lukather made him rethink his stance.
“In the beginning, I was a terrible rhythm player,” he tells Guitar World. “I sort of avoided it like the plague. But Steve Lukather famously has said that most of his sessions were playing rhythm guitar, and that made me sit up and take notice.”
Most memorably, Lukather played on Michael Jackson’s Beat It – which featured a legendary solo from Eddie Van Halen – but his session credits stretch far and wide. From Michael Bolton and George Benson to Cher, Alice Cooper, and Elton John, Lukather is a legend of the session circuit, and he's previously remarked how rhythm playing was at the heart of most of his sessions.
“I’ve been paid to play rhythm guitar 90% of the time,” he told Rick Beato in 2023. “Kids can learn every lick in the world from the Internet now, but a lot of them have no groove, because they haven’t learned how to play rhythm guitar – like that’s not important!”
Barre, then, was taking notes. Asked what he did to improve that side of his playing, he explains: “I examine every aspect of what I do. It could be my left-handed technique, using my little finger, more bending notes with it, scales, modes, or listening to and trying to play classical.
“There’s always some aspect that will grab me, and right now, it’s my right-handed technique,” he expands. “I knew that I needed to up my rhythm game. Even in playing solos, the rhythm of what you’re playing is vital for the feel. You can’t not be a good rhythm player. You have to understand it and feel it; otherwise, you’re not a complete player.”
After over 40 years in Tull – during which he helped turn a fledging group into prog rock icons and, unbelievably, beat Metallica to a Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental Grammy – Martin Barre left in 2011.
Discussing his departure from Tull, he gave a rather sharp response: “Essentially, Ian talked and I listened. You can draw your own conclusions.” But though he may now be a bandleader in his own right, Barre still believes: “I am Jethro Tull's guitar player. I was, I am now, and I always will be.”
Jethro Tull released Curious Ruminant, their latest album in the post-Barre era, earlier this year. Naturally, a certain portion of their fanbase will always clamor for Barre's return, but Anderson has been quick to quash such talk.
“Martin is doing his own stuff,” he recently told Classic Rock. “He should be having a whale of a time, instead of being embittered about Jethro Tull.”
