Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jethro Tull
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1970
Rating: 4.5/5
Before the release of their third album, Jethro Tull were already one of the most successful and promising bands in early progressive rock, thanks to the singles “Sweet Dream” and “Witch’s Promise”. “Benefit” is that hugely important album for the band, the one where they staked out their signature sound around folk rock and finally dropped almost all the blues elements. Mostly thanks to their unique rhythm line, built on flute and acoustic guitar. Over the years that became the band’s trademark and the foundation of the entire progressive folk rock genre. Ian Anderson made huge strides at this point, not only as a musician but also as a lyricist. His lyrics were getting more and more intelligent, and at the same time extremely cynical and biting. Along with that grew his image as a wandering sage, a sort of Frank Zappa of progressive folk rock. On “Benefit,” Ian started for the first time to skewer the same old everyday grind and the fake values that British society still rests on today, while the album’s title reflected the band’s wish at the time for a permanent home where they could retreat now and then from the eyes of the nosy media (the pressure of fame was growing bigger and bigger, and the band wasn’t ready for it). Musically speaking, unlike most of their albums, “Benefit” leaves noticeably less room for Ian’s flute, especially his energetic solos. This time the electric guitar of Martin Barre takes the lead, and it gives the band a much heavier sound than on “Stand Up” (1969). Barre also made big progress in his playing technique, and his solos sound completely different here than they did on “Stand Up”. On top of that, his guitar playing, with its many inventive and original solos and riffs, radiates much more confidence. Ian obviously wanted to prove that the band could make an excellent album even without constantly reaching for his trademark flute. An important addition to the band at the time was the arrival of the charismatic keyboardist John Evans (listed here only as a guest musician), the former leader of the John Evan Band, the group Jethro Tull grew out of. With his command of piano and organ, he took some weight off Ian, who had previously had to handle those duties himself. In short, on “Benefit” Jethro Tull already had their own recognizable identity, which only kept growing and getting more refined over the years. The overall atmosphere on “Benefit,” in contrast to its predecessor, is much darker and more melancholic.
The album opens with “With You There to Help Me”. After a flute intro, Ian’s acoustic guitar deftly carries the main melody together with Barre’s electric guitar, while Ian’s trademark flute passages weave in and out the whole time. In my opinion this is a hugely overlooked track that should rank among the band’s classics. “Nothing To Say” is steeped in melancholy and a sense of cynicism, conveyed above all by Ian’s wonderfully vivid vocals. Barre’s hard rock-leaning electric guitar parts add extra drama. Just when the listener expects the punch his guitar brings to ramp up even further, a really beautiful outro unexpectedly follows, marked by gorgeous Celtic melancholy and wonderful exchanges between Barre’s solos and Anderson’s acoustic guitar. Another forgotten classic. “Alive and Well and Living In” has the same extremely cynical spirit, reflected in the excellent harmonies between guitar, flute and piano. On the piano we can hear newcomer Evans’ skills for the first time. Ian’s flute arrangements are once again wonderful. “Son” opens with a snappy guitar tempo and Ian’s thoroughly cynical, downright mocking vocals. You can really hear how far his singing had come by then and how well the guy plays with his varied voice. One of the album’s best moments is undoubtedly “For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me”, yet another in a series of songs (after “A Song for Jeffrey” (This Was, 1968) and “Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Squarre” (Stand Up, 1969)) dedicated to future Tull bassist Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond. It’s obviously also dedicated to Michael Collins, the legendary Irish independence fighter. Ian’s vocals and the constant switching between fast and calm tempos on acoustic and electric guitar are the main charm of this wonderful track, which has everything it takes to be a Tull classic and is one of my favorites on the album. “To Cry You a Song” is at its core hard rock with classical elements, an almost metal Barre riff and his frenzied solo in the middle of the track. In the outro, the interplay between the two guitars is once again thrilling, and in places there’s a bluesy sound the band had shaken off on most of the other tracks by then. This is also one of the best compositions on the album, and it packs in the most progressive virtues too. “A Time For Everything?” calms the mood a little, although it’s still a pretty energetic creation. Again the classic Tull elements impress, namely the flute and especially Barre’s guitar, which gets even more room than usual here. “Inside” has a somewhat lighter mood and settles down nicely after the punchy tempo set by the previous tracks on the album. Of all the songs, mostly because of the blues-leaning guitar, it’s the one that most recalls their early work. “Play in Time” has a slightly psychedelic vibe. It features more of Ian’s energetic flute solos than any other track on the album. The varied arrangements and unusual sounds the band coaxes out of its instruments here are outstanding, and it’s definitely the most playful and upbeat track on the whole album, which makes it stand out quite a bit from the rest. Ian’s vocal cynicism then hits its peak with another excellent composition, “Sossity; You’ re a Woman”, where the combined rhythm of acoustic guitar and flute successfully replaces Bunker’s drums, which are completely absent this time. At the same time, the band once again proves its knack for working elements of classical music in with great success.
The reissue also includes four excellent bonus tracks. Most of them are completely different in mood from the original album. They were recorded before its release, which means they’re much less gloomy. That makes for a striking contrast when listening, and they fit in perfectly with the original tracks. “Singing All Day” is a playfully light, acoustic-driven number with plenty of Ian’s lovely flute. At a somewhat different pace is “Witch’s Promise”, a song of extremely intense atmosphere that also came out as a single. It blends traditional elements of classical music, folk and hard rock in a wonderful way. To this day it counts as one of their best-known and best-loved songs, even though the band hasn’t included it in their live repertoire for a long time. “Just Tying To Be” is a short, pleasant little number built mainly on Ian’s acoustic guitar. Right at the end is the British version of the single “Teacher”, which brought the band their first notable success outside their homeland. A hard rock classic that thrills mostly with Ian’s vocals, his fast flute playing, Cornick’s ever-prominent bass and Evans’ psychedelic keyboards. It’s obvious this is a fairly atypical and commercially minded piece of work, aimed at the American market, where it was destined to become their first hit.
Besides the better production, “Benefit” is above all a much more mature album than its predecessor. On it the band finally shaped their recognizable identity. So did Ian Anderson, who by then had become the band’s trademark not only with his playing and stage presence but also as one of the best lyricists in rock. With its heavier sound, “Benefit” can hold its own against the best British hard rock bands’ releases of the time. At the same time, thanks to its noticeably more complex songs, it marks the next step in the band’s progressive development. In short, this is an album that all the band’s fans can enjoy together, both those who prefer their harder work and those who see the band mainly as one of the leading names in progressive rock. That’s exactly why I can’t for the life of me understand why Jethro Tull so rarely include any song from this album in their live shows, so it remains one of their most overlooked works even on the band’s own part. After the album came out, a major change in the lineup followed. The excellent bassist Glenn Cornick left the band soon after the tour ended and founded Wild Turkey. Reportedly he was too much of a night owl and a hell-raiser compared to the other members, who preferred to read books in bed. He was succeeded by the previously mentioned Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, another excellent and charismatic musician (heh, that’s the tradition in this band), whom the band’s fans already knew well by then from the songs dedicated to him. Meanwhile, everything was already set for the next album, one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of rock music.
Line-up
Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar
Martin Barre – electric guitar
Glenn Cornick – bass guitar
Clive Bunker – drums, percussion
Guest musician:
John Evans – piano, organ
Production
Ian Anderson
Track list
1. With You There To Help Me (6:17)
2. Nothing To Say (5:12)
3. Inside (3:49)
4. Son (2:50)
5. For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me (3:49)
6. To Cry You A Song (6:12)
7. A Time For Everything (2:43)
8. Teacher (3:59)
9. Play In Time (3:48)
10. Sossity, You’re A Woman (4:30)
Album length: 43:19
Bonus tracks on the reissue:
11. Singing All Day (3:07)
12. Witch’s Promise (3:53)
13. Just trying To Be (1:37)
14. Teacher (original UK mix) (3:49)
