Benefit (Album)

International: 42:49 (LP) 55:14 (CD with bonus tracks )

Occupation

Ian Anderson - Flute, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Martin Barre - electric guitar
John Evan - piano, organ
Clive Bunker - drums, percussion
Glenn Cornick - bass guitar

7.1 International Version 1970 ( excluding Sweden ) 7.1.1 Side A
7.1.2 Side B

7.2.1 Side A
7.2.2 Side B

Occupation

Jethro Tull played the album with Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Clive Bunker and Glenn Cornick and John Evan as a guest musician. The lyrics and compositions are, as usual, Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson, who along with Terry Ellis also produced the album.

History

The band recorded the album in December 1969 and January 1970. John Evan was present in some recordings as a guest musician and was subsequently a permanent member of the band. Jeffrey Hammond - Hammond, who in Titles For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me and Inside, as, mentioned by name on the previously published Tull albums, was in January 1971 bassist for Jethro Tull. The Benefit tour included a performance at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 where Jethro Tull played before 600,000 people. 1969 Jethro Tull had done three tours of the U.S. and became quite popular. With Benefit for the first time was also a Tull album in the U.S. with great success. There and in many other countries, a slightly altered version has been released, with Teacher held Alive and Well and Living In. Inside addition was made to the A side. Later, other versions were published. Thus appeared in the Federal Republic of Germany in1973 the British version.

Album

The pieces included in a varied sequence elements of rock, progressive rock and some of the folk. Martin Barre's electric guitar and Ian Anderson's acoustic guitar occasionally be heard simultaneously. Anderson uses the flute as a rock instrument. All pieces are written in minor keys. The lyrics are poetic and sometimes sardonic and correspond to more than on the previous albums, the singer-songwriter style that have the Tull texts since then. Several texts deal with the then circumstances Andersons, especially his relationship with Jennie Franks, his future first wife. The album name means something like, boon ', but can also benefit ' or ' mean income. The album has no title song. The only clue is the acknowledgment to a guest musician John Evan on the back of the record sleeve, whose Contribute is commented with ... for our benefit.

LP version

With You There to Help Me is a longer, rocking mid-tempo piece with a piano / flute intro. It's about Ian Anderson's longing for Jennie Franks, which he felt on the long tours abroad. But he is confident that the relationship with Jennie will be successful. Also rocking is Nothing to Say, only slower and with more conspicuous hook of the electric guitar, Anderson sings it, that it was better to remain silent and to reflect inward, as the company would still only zerreden his contributions and criticize.

In the play, Alive and Well and Living In initially dominated the piano; more instruments are added in the course of the piece. The harmonies in the prelude and the verses are not very catchy. It is about a woman (meaning again Jennie Franks ), which is often left to their own, but so is content. Occasionally, her boyfriend - so Anderson - because, they like to listen to and does not want to be alone. Son is initially a rocking piece, in which the electric guitar stands next to the vocals in the foreground. The middle part is song-like and is accompanied by the piano, the end is increasingly rocky. The song is told from the perspective of the father ( Ian Anderson ) and describes - as it was actually available - a difficult father -son relationship that is clouded by the numerous representations of the Father. For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me is at the beginning of a folky title, which is accompanied by acoustic guitar and piano. With the use of the electric guitar, the piece becomes increasingly rocky, but returns at the end to the beginning motif back. The play depicts the feelings of the Apollo 11 astronauts Michael Collins while circling the moon without his companions, as well as Anderson's own feelings of lostness and alienation.

The piece To Cry You a Song is about the singer himself, who is only on the flight back to London and finally at the front door, where his girlfriend is waiting for him. During this time, he thinks constantly of her and sing her a song. The piece is rock and falls on its hook and a solo, played by the electric guitar. A Time For Everything? begins folky, but is increasingly rocky. Only dominate flute and piano, then is the electric guitar in the foreground. Anderson - then 22 years old - sings as a 50 - year-old who looks back on his past, laments the waste of life and finds that no means " Everything has its time ."

In the play Inside tells Anderson that he travels a lot, but prefers staying in his own environment, with a cup of tea, friend Jeffrey and a woman (meaning turn Jennie ), with whom he finally goes dormant. The piece is a rather simple structure, characterized by high base speed and Anderson's flute playing. Play in Time is a single- piece hard rock in which the rock -blown flute is in the foreground. Ian Anderson describes his relationship with the Blues and explains why he, unlike before, his songs sings in his own style. Sossity; You're a Woman is an anthemic piece that is accompanied by acoustic guitar, flute, organ and percussion. It's about the company ( actually: society ), which is presented as aging, whiny woman in tight corset.

Bonus title

The starting in 2001 released CD versions included four bonus tracks. Singing All Day, Witch's Promise, Just Trying to Be and Teacher come from 1969 and were released only on singles and 1972 on Living in the Past. The original British version of the Teacher is the last piece on the CD albums.

Singing All Day is a song-like piece that is accompanied among others by the electric guitar and the flute. The singer sings all day "from nothing " and waits for a woman, but does not appear. The Witch's Promise is a folky piece that begins with acoustic instruments and increasingly more rock is, however, requires no electric guitar. The called party was seduced and betrayed by a "witch" and has thus lost his free will. In the second part of the text is "witch" advised not to wait for the man.

Just Trying to Be is a short song, accompanied by acoustic guitar and celesta. The singer appeals to a young man, not to become a follower, but to develop its own personality. Teacher is a rock song with a jazzy piece in which again dominate electric guitar and flute. A man who "teacher", visited the singer at home and persuaded him outwardly to have fun with him. The " teacher " here has its fun, but the singer is dissatisfied.

Cover

The cover shows on a stage, the four musicians of the former main cast as MonoBlocks while playing their instruments. Here Anderson is in his typical flute playing position on one leg. In the background, look at the four musicians - two on one side - by a two-part window on the viewer. The framework is provided above and on the sides of a stylized door frame, the center bears the name of the band above. Before Anderson also centrally standing figure, near the lower edge of the cover, is the word " Benefit".

On the back you can see the same photo of the four musicians who look through the windows; the figures we see now but from the back, as a white area, the bend each with the name of the performer and the note here ( wrinkle here ) is labeled. Before that there is a frame which is apparently identical to the other frame. Band name, album title and the information on titles and contributors are to the left in a column.

If you fold the album, one sees in the West German edition of 1973 black and white concert photo on the Ian Anderson is shown in two different positions while singing or playing the flute, while the remaining three musicians (without Evan ) and the audience without editing are shown.

Effect

The album reached # 3 in the UK and # 7 in the United States. In Allmusic the album received three out of five possible points. The music magazine Rolling Stone slating the album as "boring ", " played listlessly and mechanically " and the term " screaming mediocrity ".

Others

In the GDR, was published in 1978, the Jethro Tull album The Best with the same cover as Benefit, although on this album only Teacher and Play in Time of Benefit originate and includes the occupation of John Evan as a master musician, Jeffrey Hammond - Hammond and Barrie Barlow.