It’s 1968. You’re in a smoky London club. On stage, there’s a guy standing on one leg, looking like a manic Victorian tramp, clutching a flute.
Most people think of Jethro Tull and immediately hear the opening riff of Aqualung or the marathon prog-rock madness of Thick as a Brick. But honestly, if you want to understand where the magic actually started, you have to go back to the bluesy, gritty roots. A New Day Yesterday isn't just a song title; it's the mission statement of their debut album, This Was. It’s that weird, heavy, blues-rock hybrid that felt like it belonged to the past and the future all at once.
The track opens with a riff so thick you could practically chew on it. It’s heavy. It’s sluggish in the best way possible. Mick Abrahams, the original guitarist before Martin Barre took the reins, was channeling a very specific kind of British blues-boom energy. But then Ian Anderson drops in with that flute. It shouldn't work. Heavy metal flute? It sounds like a joke on paper. In reality, it was a revolution.
The Sound of A New Day Yesterday
When you listen to A New Day Yesterday, you're hearing a band in transition. They weren't "prog" yet. They were a bunch of guys obsessed with Roland Kirk and Muddy Waters, trying to figure out how to stand out in a scene dominated by Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The song is built on a 12-bar blues skeleton, but it’s been stretched and bruised. It’s got this swinging, syncopated rhythm that feels like a heavy heartbeat. Most people miss the fact that Ian Anderson’s vocals back then were much huskier, almost a growl. He wasn't the high-pitched minstrel of the mid-70s quite yet. He was a blues shouter.
Why the Flute Mattered
Let’s be real. Nobody was doing this. Sure, the Beastie Boys sampled it decades later, and Joe Bonamassa covered it to death because the riff is a guitarist’s dream, but in '68? It was alien. Anderson didn't play the flute like a classical musician. He spat into it. He hummed while playing. He used it as a percussive instrument.
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That’s why A New Day Yesterday feels so visceral. It’s not "pretty" music. It’s sweat-soaked and loud.
The Mick Abrahams vs. Ian Anderson Tug-of-War
You can’t talk about this era of Tull without mentioning the friction. Mick Abrahams was a blues purist. He wanted to keep the band in that 12-bar lane. Ian Anderson? He was already dreaming of concept albums about 10-year-old poets and folk-rock myths.
This tension is exactly what makes A New Day Yesterday so good. It’s the sound of two different musical philosophies colliding. You get the traditional blues-rock grit from Abrahams' Gibson SG and the avant-garde, jazzy exploration from Anderson’s flute.
Eventually, the tension snapped. Abrahams left to form Blodwyn Pig. Martin Barre stepped in. The band became the prog-rock legends we know today. But for one brief moment, they were the heaviest blues band in England, and A New Day Yesterday was their crowning achievement.
Impact on Modern Rock
If you think this is just a dusty relic, listen to the stoner rock movement or modern "retro" bands like Rival Sons or even Greta Van Fleet. The DNA is everywhere. That "sludge-blues" feel started right here.
- Joe Bonamassa basically used this song as a cornerstone for his live sets for years.
- The 1970 Isle of Wight Festival performance of this track is widely considered one of the high points of early British rock history.
- It proved that "the lead instrument" in a rock band didn't have to be a guitar.
Honestly, the lyrics are sorta vague, right? "It’s a new day yesterday / But it’s an old day now." It’s about the passage of time, the feeling of being stuck between what was and what’s coming. It’s ironic because that’s exactly where the band was. They were standing on the graveyard of the 60s blues boom, looking toward the experimental 70s.
Breaking Down the Production
The production on This Was is surprisingly dry. There isn't much reverb. Everything feels like it's right in your face. When the harmonica kicks in during the bridge of A New Day Yesterday, it feels like it's being played three inches from your ear.
Terry Ellis and Ian Anderson produced the record, and they didn't have a massive budget. They recorded it for about £1,200. In today’s money, that’s nothing for a classic rock staple. But that lack of polish is what gives the track its soul. It sounds like a room. It sounds like four guys playing until their fingers bleed.
The Gear Behind the Grit
Abrahams was using a Laney amp—one of the early ones. These things were notorious for being loud and slightly unpredictable. That’s where that biting, nasal tone comes from. It cuts through the mix even when the bass is thumping. It’s a masterclass in tone management.
Misconceptions About the "Prog" Label
One thing that bugs me is when people call this song "prog rock." It’s not. Not really.
If you go in expecting Close to the Edge by Yes, you're going to be confused. This is bar-room music. It’s jazz-inflected blues. The "prog" elements—the complex time signatures and the multi-part suites—wouldn't show up for another year or two with albums like Stand Up and Benefit.
A New Day Yesterday is actually quite simple in its structure. It’s the execution that makes it feel complex. It’s the way the drums (played by the criminally underrated Clive Bunker) push and pull against the beat. Bunker was a powerhouse. He didn't just keep time; he colored the song with these weird, jazzy flourishes that most rock drummers of the time couldn't touch.
Why You Should Listen to It Today
In a world of over-produced, quantized, and pitch-corrected music, A New Day Yesterday is a reminder of what human error and raw passion sound like. There are moments where the timing is just a tiny bit loose. There are breaths caught in the flute mic.
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It’s alive.
If you’re a guitar player, learn the riff. It’ll teach you more about "the pocket" than a thousand YouTube tutorials. If you’re a music fan, listen to it on a good pair of headphones and try to track the bass line. Glenn Cornick was doing incredible work down there, weaving around the heavy guitar.
Actionable Steps for the Curious
To truly appreciate this era of music, don't just stream the one song.
- Listen to the 2018 Steven Wilson Remix: Wilson is a wizard. He cleaned up the muddy frequencies without losing the grit. It’s the definitive way to hear the track.
- Watch the 1970 Isle of Wight footage: You need to see Ian Anderson’s physical performance to understand why people were so baffled and fascinated by them.
- Compare it to "Cat's Squirrel": This is another track from the same album. It shows the more traditional blues side of the band and makes the experimental nature of A New Day Yesterday stand out even more.
- Check out Blodwyn Pig: If you like the guitar work, follow Mick Abrahams' career. His album Ahead Rings Out is a lost classic of the era.
This track is the bridge. It connects the 50s blues legends to the arena-filling giants of the 70s. It’s heavy, it’s weird, and it’s still one of the coolest things to ever come out of the UK music scene. Don't let the flute fool you—this is rock and roll in its purest, most dangerous form.