Jethro Tull "Benefit" appreciation thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Sear, Mar 9, 2020.

  1. Sear

    Sear Dad rocker Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tarragona (Spain)
  2. speedracer

    speedracer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cascadia
    I love Sossity
     
  3. JazzVinyl

    JazzVinyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    usa
    Benefit, Minstrel...both can be endlessly studied. Always hear something new.
     
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  4. hugo.polo

    hugo.polo Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    It's kinda cool that Glory Row was released as early as 1975 in Spain though. The rest of the world didnt get to hear it until two years later....
     
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  5. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    I don't listen to it much, because it doesn't sound all that great, but I have an original Island cassette of Benefit that came in a plain pink cover with just the band, title and island logo. I've also got the reel to reel, but, unfortunately, that was one of the 3 3/4 i.p.s. ones.
     
  6. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    Martin liked it so much he named his boat Sossity.
     
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  7. Jim N.

    Jim N. Just another day in what was once Paradise...

    Location:
    So Cal
    Most excellent album. I slightly prefer the at times crazed energy of "Stand Up" but "Benefit" has a better overall balance and variety of songs. The groups growth from "Stand Up" to "Benefit" is indeed a harbinger of "Aqualung". That troika is peak Tull to me. I truly enjoy their next several outings (except TOTRnR, which was a massive let down) but my Tull listening time usually goes to "Stand Up", "Benefit" and "Aqualung".

    At their peak one of the greatest live acts ever.
     
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  8. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    Interesting that they issued banded copies of Passion Play for radio but not the much more radio friendly TAAB.
     
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  9. no time

    no time Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    I really like "Benefit", its folk-rock and moderate use of the Hammond organ. I have the gatefold version (Germany) unfortunately the release without poster. "Sossity; You're A Woman" is one of the best songs of their entire career.
     
    Sear likes this.
  10. I hope you eventually picked up that first James Gang lp also!
     
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  11. Electric

    Electric The Medium is the Massage

    You would think so, but no, as a 16 year old with limited spending money I only wanted the latest. That first JG album was already way over a year old, so ancient. Unless it was a Blues album, of course.
     
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  12. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    There was a TAAB radio edit LP. Apparently it is much rarer than the Passion Play edit LP.
    [​IMG]

    Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
     
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  13. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    It's 10 minutes shorter than the normal album!
     
  14. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    I guess they figured parts of side two had no chance of getting radio play.

    I have the Passion Play LP and although it is closer in length to the standard version, it is missing a few bits (the "Lifebeats" prelude and the "there was a rush" reprise at the end). Also, "The Hare" is not split between sides (improvement).
     
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  15. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...

    My fave Tull album... and a Top Ten All Time album for me!


    Watery eyes of the last sighing seconds,
    blue reflections mute and dim
    beckon tearful child of wonder
    to repentance of the sin...
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2020
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  16. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...


    Mistake methinks -- my memory of reading Tull history is that the band was called The John Evan Smash
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2020
  17. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...


    He predated that with "For a Thousand Mothers" on Stand Up, which I'd guess would be every bit as difficult for his parents to listen to as "Son."
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2020
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  18. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    They used both names, along with others like Ian Henderson's Bag O'Blues.
     
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  19. folkfreak

    folkfreak The cold blooded penguin

    Location:
    Germany
    And it wasn't a mistake. The "s" went on purpose to avoid the impression that it was John Evans his band, as with an ' before the s.
    Btw. Songs from the wood is the only regular Tull album with John where it says "Evans"
     
  20. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    Just listened today. I like how it’s the only Jethro album with a lot of studio gimmicks. It’s a great album.
     
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  21. shadlet

    shadlet Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    It's the opposite for me. It was a great soundtrack to driving (on eight-track no less) in the fall of 1970. After listening again to the CD on a long drive, from start to finish, it sounds greater than the sum of it's parts.
    There are the great sound effects and personal "awkward" parts but I appreciate it more with each run-through. Stand Up seemed to say, "We've hit the big time" and Benefit - "The big time's not all it's cracked up to be."
    Where's the boook?
     
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  22. folkfreak

    folkfreak The cold blooded penguin

    Location:
    Germany
    Autumn.
    Can't wait for the additional stuff and the book as I love this album
     
  23. friend74

    friend74 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Benefit is great.
    It's in my JT Top 3 together with TAAB and Heavy Horses.
    Together with Heavy Horses it has the best JT album opener.
    It is so much better than the overrated Aqualung.

    Really looking forward for a Book version.
     
    folkfreak likes this.
  24. Fitter Stoke

    Fitter Stoke You don't suspect my life's a mess...

    Absolutely agree that 'Benefit' is Tull's greatest album. It has powerfully emotive songs, great playing, and a unique, ethereal production that perfectly compliments the intense, misty haze that predominates the record*. Fine as 'Aqualung' is, it pales by comparison next to this.

    (*Steven Wilson's remix replaced this with a sterile clarity that ruins the album's feel for me. The original 1970 mix is the real deal.)
     
  25. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    Did Florian what’s his face name his bicycle Thick as a Brick 2?
     

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