Ian Anderson, the artistic genius who wrote and recorded Jethro Tull's Progressive Rock classic album Thick As A Brick, only now, 40 years later, takes his original album and this follow-up recording, Thick As A Brick 2 (TAAB2), to the Sunrise Theatre, Tuesday, September 25 at 7 PM.

"In 1972, when I wrote Thick As A Brick, the lyrics were credited at the time to the fictitious child character, Gerald Bostock, whose parents supposedly lied about his age," said Anderson. "The record instantly became a number one Billboard Chart album and enjoyed considerable success in many countries of the world."

Ian Anderson somewhat dutifully, took the quaintly theatrical show on the road in the UK, USA and a few other countries. Since 1972, the album has never been performed in its entirety although a few minutes of the material have been a regular repertoire staple in both Tull and Ian Anderson solo shows over the years.

So, forty years on, what would Gerald Bostock – aged fifty in 2012 – be doing today? What might have befallen him? Well, that is exactly the purpose of this anniversary "part two" album…to examine the possible different paths that the precocious young schoolboy, Gerald Bostock, might have taken later in life and to create alter-ego characters whose song-section identities illustrate the hugely varied potential twists and turns of fate and opportunity.

"In the development of the piece, the divergences of life's infinitely forked roads finally give way to an almost gravitational pull which results in convergence to, perhaps, a pre-ordained, karma-like conclusion," ads Anderson. "As we baby-boomers look back on our own lives, we must often feel an occasional 'what-if' moment. Might we, like Gerald, have become instead preacher, soldier, down-and-out, shopkeeper or finance tycoon." asks Anderson?

From a 2012 perspective, is TAAB 2 a concept album? Ian is emphatic in his response. "Yes, it is very much a concept album! It is a concept album that I think is fairly grown-up and mature, but I think it should ring bells for people of all ages. It's an intellectual proposition. I'm not sure how many people are going to be ready for that kind of a thing, but I think there will be enough people for it to be a worthwhile record to make," said Anderson.

According to Anderson, some of the music is pretty straight-ahead which you can just kind of groove to, and some things work without your being too cerebral about it. But audiences should enjoy the overall concept and elements of Folk, Classical and Jazz Music. Don't miss it!