BENEFIT

There's really not a whole lot to say about this album, since not a whole lot goes in within. At its core, what we have here is a blues rock album with folky acoustic sections. No more, no less. This isn't a progressive rock album by any means. There are no virtuosic pyrotechnics, no elaborate song structures, no Khatrus or foxes on the rocks to be found. This isn't an inherently bad thing, of course.

That being said, there's more to my lackluster perception of "Benefit" than just its complexity. After all, some of my favourite albums are very minimalistic or compositionally simple. The thing with "Benefit" is that it just doesn't really gel into anything that flows. The music is very riff-based, with plenty of power chords chunking their way along, sometimes interspersed by uninspired flute flourishes. Ian Anderson's drab vocals don't help, failing to add any extra colour to an already dreary palette.

Having said that, the album isn't a total write-off. There are some really good songs on it, notably the dark, Whipping Post-like "With You There To Help Me" and the more spirited "For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me". So while some of the songs are enjoyable to listen to in isolation, this isn't really an album to be experienced 40 minutes at a time.

As such, I'll give "Benefit" a 2 star rating, since I believe it's a record that established Jethro Tull fans will really dig. But if you have only a passing interest in their later works, there's no real reason to listen to this.

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