Stand Up (brighter) vs Benefit (darker)

Agree ,the best extra track is The witch´s  promise in my opinion.I prefer Stand up especially the live versions of Nothing is easy,Look into the sun,Reasons for waiting or We used to know in the nineteens.

Tough call - I voted for Benefit, if only because nothing on Stand Up quite matches up to To Cry You A Song. Stand Up is a superb album, but the different influences - blues, folk, jazz, classical - hadn't quite been resolved into a coherent musical style, which happened on Benefit and which was then taken to new heights on Aqualung. Having said that, Stand Up is a much more melodic and accessible set.

As for the bonus tracks, I'd say the crucial one is Witch's Promise.

Stand Up is Jethro Tull's best album, IMHO.

Stand Up is a far superior record IMHO. Quite simply these are some of the finest and in places most poignant songs Ian Anderson has ever written.

The triple salvo of Reason for Waiting, Look Into The Sun and We Used To Know never fail to make me shed a tear...these are really powerful songs.

Of course the prog snobs will look down on this album because of the last vestiges of the bluesy influence in Tulls music but they are all crazy!!

What matters is the melodies and Stand Up is crammed with great great melodies. While I enjoy Benefit, it is grinding and leaden in comparison to Stand Up, lacking the warmth and beauty of that album.

ALL HAIL STAND UP

The Miracle wrote: I prefer Benefit. It was my first Tull album, and I always liked it more than Stand Up. The songwriting is better, and as Ivan mentioned above, Stand up is more blues based and isn't that prog, while Benefit is more folk-based and proggier. Both great albums.

It was my first Tull album, a friend took it to my house to a recording session, but he left iyt aside because it was from his brother who left it on his house when he moved, my friend never cared to ask me for it.

Of course I never told him what a gem it was, because he was too happy with his Disco music.

Iván

I vote for Stand Up. While Benefit is a pretty good listen, Stand Up is better IMO.

 

I prefer Benefit. It was my first Tull album, and I always liked it more than Stand Up. The songwriting is better, and as Ivan mentioned above, Stand up is more blues based and isn't that prog, while Benefit is more folk-based and proggier. Both great albums.

I voted Stand Up, though I like both pretty much equally.

I like Stand Up because it is different.

STAND UP is a folk-rock album, with some jazz and blues moments; it's considered a PROG ROCK album because of the remaking of the classic BOUREE'.

In BENEFIT ( first album for the CHRYSALIS label ), ANDERSON starts changing band's style, from jazz / blues to the new PROGRESSIVE sounds that will be better explained in the next three works.