STAND UP

This is Jethro Tull's second album, but the first with Martin Barre (by the way, one of the most uderrated guitar players in all rock scene). And in my humble opinion, this is the finest of all Jethro Tull's offerings. It is still bluesy, as the first album (listen to "A New Day Yesterday" and "Fat Man", which features Ian Anderson playing balalaika - where the hell has he got the idea of playing the blues with a Russian instrument?), but also points to the gentler, folksy Jethro Tull of late seventies ("Look into the Sun", the marvelous "Reasons for Waiting") and to classical music ("Bourée", based on Bach, which is delightful - Keith Emerson should have listened to this one when he tried to adapt classical music to a rock context). The other Tull members were the great Glen Cornick on bass and the even greater Clive Bunker on drums. If you are interested in a truly masterpiece of prog rock, buy this album - check out for 2001´s digitally remastered edition, with four bonus tracks: "Living in the Past" (with an unusual 7/8 structure), "Driving Song", "Sweet Dream" (another bluesy tune) and the fantastic "17". So, if you want to hear Jethro Tull at its best, this must be one of your choices.