BENEFIT

Less acoustic and less bluesy than the two previous albums, Jethro Tull´s third release shows the band in great form and, finally, reaching a pont where they were able to find their very own sound that we all know and loved. For years I kind of avoided this album because I read in an interview that Ian Anderson didn´t like the record. I really don´t know why he made this statement since I regard nowadays Benefit as one of their best. Ok, this is no Aqualung, Thick As A Brick or even A Passion Play. However, this is a great leap forward if you compare it to both Stand Up (good) and This Was (average).

The sound is definitly more rockier, with Martin Barre finally coming on its own and showing how good he is and how important he was into the making of the jethro Tull sound. This is the fisrt time too that keyboards player John Evans make an appearance on a JT CD, although here he was just a guest. Although the album does not have any epic like Aqualung, nor any really outstanding stuff in the same league as some of the classics they would eventually produce, it´s a great collection of Anderson´s songs and there is no weak track on the whole record, at least as far as I´m concerned. Some parts hint grater things to come (like Nothing To Say). Anderson was really gaining momentum here and his skills as songwriter were maturing fast. The band also was tighter than ever.

I´ve always liked To Cry You A Song, one of the few cuts in this album I´ve known for years, with its terrific riffing and simple, but clever, lyrics.But I really ewnjoyed this CD as a whole. I don´t have the remastered version with the additional bonus tracks, so I can´t comment them. But even my old Chrysalis version has an excellent sound.

Rating: something between 3,5 and 4 stars.