Jethro Tull Stand Up

Jethro Tull  Stand Up

Jethro Tull  Stand Up

This album is not only by far Jethro Tull's finest, but quite simply one of the best rock albums ever made. These days Tull carry a lot of baggage with them; however, on their sophomore effort they deliver the goods through and through. There is a tangible human warmth to Ian Anderson's writing and singing here that would never again be recaptured (save perhaps for a few cuts on the followup "Benefit") when the band moved closer to a prog base. "Stand Up" points an early finger toward prog in the outstanding "Bouree" and the breezy orchestration on "Reasons For Waiting", but its main stock-in-trade is blues-rock with a healthy twist. Tracks like "New Day Yesterday" and "Nothing Is Easy" represent the peak of the form, with the whole group's playing remarkably sophisticated and subtle, mixing jazz, blues and rock with consummate ease. "Look Into The Sun" is the group's finest ballad and one of the most touching songs of its era, with Martin Barre's wah-wahed guitar punctuating Anderson's vocal with remarkable grace. "Fat Man" is a humorous lyric matched to a magnetic rhythm and vaguely Middle Eastern flavor. The diversity of the musical styles, the strength and consistency of the songwriting (Filler? What filler?) and the ever-elusive feel of "magic" on this album are hard to beat, and indeed Jethro Tull--despite some great moments on later albums--reached their peak with this release. This is my favorite of 1969, beating out other classics like "Abbey Road", "Hot Rats", "Unhalfbricking", "Happy Trails", "In The Court Of The Crimson King" and others. 

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Jethro Tull  Stand Up