Living In The Past

Living in the Past is a double album quasi-compilation collection by Jethro Tull which contains album tracks, outtakes, the “Life Is a Long Song” EP, and all of their singles non-lp tracks except “Aeroplane”, “Sunshine Day”, “One for John Gee”, “17″ and the original United Kingdom version of “Teacher” (the United States single version, included in the US version of Benefit, was included instead).

These tracks were all re-released on the “20 Years of Jethro Tull” boxed set in 1988, with the exception of “Aeroplane” and the UK version of “Teacher” as bonus tracks. The “Benefit” remaster CD booklet reports that the version of “Teacher” included is the UK mix, but it’s actually the same version appearing on this album; the song “17″ was shortened by 3 minutes compared to its original single version, which was eventually released on the 40th Anniversary edition of “Stand Up” in 2010. Many of the tracks only appeared as British releases before being compiled on “Living in the Past” for the first time in the American market.
The album was named after the single released in May 1969 and was released in an elaborate gatefold packaging that contained a large colour photo booklet with over 50 photos of the band – subsequent CD reissues contain only a fraction of these pictures.
Two songs, “By Kind Permission Of” and “Dharma for One,” were recorded live at Carnegie Hall.