The early works of British rockers Jethro Tull can be seen as a
series of progressions. They went from Fleetwood Mac-like blues on
This Was to a more jazz-oriented groove with
Stand Up. But their third album,
Benefit, marked a turn towards a more experimental sound —
one which is pretty difficult to categorize.
More of a rock-oriented disc than the two previous efforts,
Benefit shows Ian Anderson and crew striving to take a few
more chances with the music this time around. For the most part,
these experiments worked, but it’s a little off-putting the first
couple of listens. (I’m working off of the re-mastered version,
which includes four bonus tracks, and makes a minor shuffle of the
track listing I grew up knowing on vinyl.)
The opening number “With You There To Help Me” is exhibit “A” of
what is to come from Jethro Tull, both now and in their future.
With a backbeat that suggests both jazz and a touch of
adult-contemporary, Anderson almost creates a chant-like atmosphere
with the initial vocals before allowing himself and the band to
release some energy in the chorus. It’s an interesting mix, but one
that surprisingly holds up well.
The overall sound on
Benefit would have to be labeled “unstructured,” just
because of the jumping from style to style. From the rock-oriented
“Teacher” (still an incredible song) to an almost introspective
style on “For Michael Collins, Jeffrey And Me,” from the friendly
lecture styles of “Inside” and “Son” to a defiant stance on
“Nothing To Say,” the band is literally all over the board with
this one.
This, in the end, turns out to be the biggest hurdle the
listener has to jump. It becomes mentally exhausting to try and
keep up with each stylistic change that Jethro Tull tries to make
with each song, and while the works in and of themselves are solid,
after a while the listener almost feels overwhelmed by the whole
process.
The four “bonus” tracks are — at least to me — no surprise,
having heard them before on
Living In The Past. They do feel like natural additions to
the disc (even though I list “Teacher” as an original track on my
vinyl copy of
Benefit, while “Alive And Well And Living In” wasn’t on the
record originally), and blend right in with the musical
scenery.
Benefit sometimes feels like you’re running a marathon to
get through the disc, but in the end it turns out to be a
worthwhile excursion. Yet another of the “forgotten” discs in
Jethro Tull’s career, this is one which calls for people to dig
into their stacks of vinyl, dust it off and give it a few more
spins.
