Review Summary: One of the best albums from the band. A step forward from their debut.
“Stand Up” is the second studio album of Jethro Tull that was released in 1969. The line up on the album is Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Glenn Cornick and Clive Bunker. The album had also the participation of David Palmer.
Jethro Tull is a British progressive rock band that was formed in Blackpool, UK in 1967. The leader of the band Anderson, who composes almost all the songs, sings and plays the guitar and flute, was the only permanent member of the band all over the years. We can say that Jethro Tull is a one man’s band. Autodidact, which he is, he has developed his very own style, allowing hissing and grunting sounds to flow into his playing, which makes many of the classically trained flutists throw up their hands over their heads. But, he is still well respected by many in the classical field, which can be seen in many of the live concerts of the band, like on “Ian Anderson Plays The Orchestral Jethro Tull” DVD.
“Stand Up” marked the first change in the line up of the band. The original guitarist Mick Abrahams departed due to musical differences with Anderson. He wanted to stay with the blues based rock sound of the previous album “This Was”, while Anderson wants to depart to more varied influences such as jazz, rock, folk, classical and ethnic music. So, “Stand Up” became a very important album in the musical career of Jethro Tull, because it represents a radical musical change into the music of the band and where Anderson takes the full control of the music and lyrics. It also marks the beginning of the new guitarist Barre, which had a less restricted guitar style than Abrahams, and that from that point, he would became the only band’s member to appear on all albums of the group, apart Anderson, in the next years.
“Stand Up” probably needs no introduction for Jethro Tull’s fans. It’s their first step in moving from the more traditional blues style of “This Was” towards the unique progressive sound which served them so well throughout the 70’s. This album is still heavily blues influenced, but Anderson’s writing talent was starting to blossom, and there are some real gems in this collection, many of which are still regulars in the band’s live set. It’s a spectacular release with many beloved numbers, such as the heavy blues rock “A New Day Yesterday”, the bands interpretation of classical “Bouree”, hard rockers “Back To The Family” and “Nothing Is Easy”, the whimsical fare “Fat Man” and “Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square” and the more adventurous pieces “For A Thousand Mothers”, “We Used To Know” and “Look Into The Sun”.
“Stand Up” has ten tracks. “A New Day Yesterday” is a classic of the band with heavy blues influence. It hasn’t complex arrangements, but it’s a nice track with great performance, especially Cornick’s aggressive bass line. “Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square” is another nice song. The use of a mandolin gives to it a folk style. It’s their first song more oriented to folk. “Bourée” is based on a piece of J. S. Bach. It’s an instrumental with some jazz influence. It has a nice flute solo and a great bass line. It’s one of the most popular adaptations of classical pieces for the masses. “Back To The Family” has diverse instrumentation with rock and folk chords and several elements at the same time. It seems to be a bit boring in the beginning but it turns fast and remains a great song. “Look Into The Sun” is a simple beautiful song. The interplay between Anderson’s acoustic guitar and Barre’s electric guitar is perfect. It should be noticed the soft flute and the sweet vocals. “Nothing Is Easy” is a fantastic rock track with several sections. It has fine drumming and the interaction between flute and guitar is perfect. The balance between power and elegance is perfect too. “Fat Man” is a happy fast song. The use of a balalaika gives to it a special atmosphere. It’s a typical classic Jethro Tull’s folk rock song. “We Used To Know” is a beautiful rock ballad. It has a superb blues/rock guitar solo by Barre that reminds me Jimi Hendrix’s style. It has also a good Bunker’s drumming work. “Reasons For Waiting” is a beautiful and calm ballad in the acoustic style. The flute and vocals are nice. The addition of strings and the beautiful arrangements of Palmer are delightful. “For A Thousand Mothers” closes the album in a great mood. It has a diverse and perfect mix of folk, blues, jazz and rock. These are basically the main elements that makes of Jethro Tull one of the best prog rock bands ever.
Conclusion: “Stand Up” is a great step into Jethro Tull’s music and a giant step from their previous debut studio album “This Was”. As happened with Genesis with their debut studio album “From Genesis To Revelation”, we may say that “Stand Up” is the first real Jethro Tull’s album. “Stand Up” represents almost what the band wanted to do in the near future. So, “Stand Up” is a much better album than “This Was” is, a better album than “Benefit” and that is very close to “Aqualung” in terms of musical quality. It’s perfectly clear to me why “Stand Up” is one of all-time favourite Jethro Tull’s albums to Ian Anderson. I have no doubt in saying that “Stand Up” is one of the best Jethro Tull’s studio albums. It’s true that it isn’t as good as some other Jethro Tull’s following albums, but it remains as an amazing work.
Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)
