Considering the lack of information about the confirmed and imminent release of This Was, I wouldn't expect them to say much about Benefit just yet, even if they do decide on a bookset reissue (which is neither guaranteed nor even reliably rumored). They're not going to draw attention away from an upcoming release.
I don't think IA will bother to repackage Benefit. He doesn't think too much about this album. Most probably we will get the This Was announcement next month.
I wouldn't be surprised if we do see one in about 2020, the 50th anniversary. Especially if they could come with some additional content or include the Carnegie Hall gig.
Just wait for the 50th anniversary editions of all albums. Ian just has to rerelease them and alter the packaging for Benefit. Most of the work is done
Tere is a post from yesterday on the IMWAN site claiming that a book edition of Benefit ids indeed bening planed. Not sure if It is to be taken seriously though.
I see that the current Benefit Steve Wilson cd reissue is out of stock on Amazon and is up to $89.99. Could this mean it is OOP and maybe getting the book set treatment, I hope it does.
I really hope they reissue this set and include a remixed version of the 11/4/70 Carnegie Hall show. I have the vinyl issue and the performance is great. However, Glenn Cornick’s bass has zero presence and I feel the mix could sparkle a bit more. I’m not holding my breath, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to wish.
Absolutely love "Benefit", in a way it's the first Tull Tull album. Of course "This Was" and "Stand Up" are great but the way the heavier, proggier side comes into its own on this album is simply fantastic. The artwork is great too and I never really understood how this is sometimes given short shrift. Probably my favourite early JT album!
My memories of this album's first years of existence, as a Jethro Tull fan hanging around constantly with other music fans, was that nobody ever had a bad word to say about it. And for me and some of my acquaintances there was something almost "mystical" or cultish about it... Hard to explain. One Tull fan I knew even thought it was better than "Aqualung", right on the trail of this one's highly successful release... Memories of old days...
Benefit is a little overlooked, because it's squeezed between two all-time classic albums. Ian himself is ambivalent about it, which may be why there's only one Benefit track on the 50 For 50 compilation (two if you count "Teacher," which was only on the U.S. version). It's a little dark, a little weary, but it's very recognizably a stepping-stone between Stand Up and Aqualung - it didn't just coincidentally come between those two albums; it couldn't have happened anywhere else in the catalog. At times it's a bit indulgent, with a lot of "what does this button do" exploration that came with sudden studio freedom (if the label was confident it would sell, they'd sometimes allow more studio time). For instance, the backwards effects on "Play in Time." So it's very much a product of the late 1960s/early 1970s, but that era produced more than its share of classic albums so I'm more than fine with the album being "of its time." Will there be a book set? I don't know. If there is, I'll buy it. I have the rest and I've read them all. (Okay, I don't always read the side pieces, like the exposition of folklore on SFTW or the digression about motorcycles on TOTR&R.) Carnegie and Wight are already out there in other forms - maybe they can strike a deal with the Bill Graham estate and put audio and video of Tanglewood on a Benefit book set. "For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me" is an overlooked classic. That track appeared on several European compilations, years ago. Ian wasn't alone in writing about the Apollo moon missions, but he explored the subject from a different angle. And I know Ian hates "Alive and Well and Living In," but he's wrong on this one. Possibly my favorite track on an album that I usually listen to all the way through. (And I frequently skip "Bouree.") Regarding the album cover, I'd kind of like to see the original photos that were used to create the artwork. And speaking of artwork, of course, any hypothetical book set needs to include the gatefold and poster art that were exclusive to the German edition of the LP.
Well said and spot on. I concur on your view with the tracks you mention. Some of my favorite Tull tunes. And John Evans deserves a lot of credit too. He is to often overlooked for his playing in my opinion.
Great write up! These "of its time" elements are exactly what I love about "Benefit", definitely a transitional album but some days I like it better than "Aqualung". Wasn't aware that the gatefold was exclusive to Germany btw. Love the picture. Even though I'm not sure why it needed two Ians. Oh.... and concerning the poster: Just like the German 1970 edition of "This Was" these posters are totally elusive. With time and patience - and a little bit of bin hitting - you eventually will find "Electric Warrior", "Master Of Reality" or "Let It Bleed" with poster but these two Tull albums? At that point they simply didn't sell that much albums and apparently fans liked to put them on the wall.
Yes, a friend of mine gave me the US and UK vinyl LPs and they don't open up. Their only pre-1974 album that wasn't widely released in a gatefold sleeve. It took me a long time to learn that the Beatles' Let It Be album was only a gatefold in the US (apparently a compromise because the US distributor, United Artists, didn't want to pay for the lavish box and book packaging that most other countries got).
Given that Benefit isn't one of the "landmark" albums, I'm assuming that no news is no news. If Parlophone isn't confident that a re-release would pay for itself, there's not much reason for them to bother, and Ian doesn't like the album enough to really push for it. I hope it happens, and that something interesting surfaces to justify it, but I'm not holding my breath.
Who cares what Ian likes or doesn't like!! No offence but artists are the worst judges of their own material! I'm sure initial album sales were good. Ian can't seem to distance himself from his own feelings and/or memories about the recordings. The songs are transitional.....sure..... But.........."so what?".... It's all still very exotic and essential. IMHO Grrrrrrrr (You can tell this is my favourite early Tull album LOL)
Isn't an non Mew TAAB reissue far more critical? Sure, I'd buy Benefit again for packaging, but I can't figure why the powers that be don't want me to ever buy TAAB!? *Finally, is Songs from the Wood oop?
