BENEFIT

Having gotten this as a Christmas gift, it has been a good 25 years since I've listened to it and I must admit every song came back to me instantaeously. Right from the start, "With You There To Help Me" it has that early bluesy Tull sound, but Barre's guitar is gutsy and jazzy at the same time. Bunker bashes the heck out of his drums throughout and Anderson's voice changes from song to song, raspy at times, hushed other and soars if needed. I can honestly say that this almost matches the classic Aqualung song for song. The only track that bogs down the disc is the last. It's not bad, but lyrically I'm not loving it, (I do believe Mr Anderson is one of the greatest lyricists ever). What I really care about this album is the darkness and cynicism. According to Ian's writing inside the CD sleeve for the re-mastered edition, they came back to England following an exhausting US tour for "Stand Up" tired and a bit ornery. There's not too many dark Tull album's, maybe "A Passion Play" but for the most part this one is darker. Now, how to judge it. From a progressive perspective, it's a three. From a hard rock perspective with a bit of English blues and pub boggie it's a hands down fiver. Going for the middle ground, and seeing as it's more adult brother comes next I'll give it a solid four stars. A must have early Tull album for those who played the more classic ones to death...give it a go!