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Benefit (album)

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Benefit
Studio album by
Jethro Tull
Released20 April 1970
Recorded3 September 1969 – 25 February 1970
StudioMorgan Studios, London
GenreHard rock, folk rock, progressive rock
Length42:00
LabelChrysalis/Island (Europe)
Reprise (America, Japan and Oceania)
ProducerIan Anderson, Terry Ellis
Jethro Tull chronology
Stand Up
(1969) 		Benefit
(1970) 		Aqualung
(1971)
Singles from Benefit
  1. "Inside"
    Released: 24 April 1970[1]

Benefit is the third studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released in April 1970. It was the first Tull album to include pianist and organist John Evan – though he was not yet considered a permanent member of the group – and the last to include bass guitarist Glenn Cornick, who was fired from the band upon completion of touring for the album. It was recorded at Morgan Studios, the same studio where the band recorded its previous album Stand Up; however, they experimented with more advanced recording techniques.[2]

Frontman Ian Anderson said that he considers Benefit to be a much darker album than Stand Up, owing to the pressures of an extensive U.S. tour and frustration with the music business.[3]

Production

Guitarist Martin Barre said that Benefit was a lot easier to make than previous albums, as the success of Stand Up allowed the musicians more artistic latitude.[4]

Bassist Glenn Cornick stated that the band's intention was to capture a more "live" feeling as "I felt the last one sounded like a group of session musicians performing various songs. It was pretty cold."[5]

Benefit incorporated studio techniques such as reverse recording (flute and piano tracks on "With You There to Help Me"), and manipulating the tape speed (guitar on "Play in Time"). In a 1970 interview Anderson noted that the addition of keyboardist John Evan had changed the band's style: "John has added a new dimension musically and I can write more freely now. In fact anything is possible with him at the keyboard".[6]

Musical style

Ian Anderson said that Benefit was a "guitar riff" album, recorded in a year in which artists like Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin were becoming more riff-oriented. Anderson also noted that Benefit is "a rather dark and stark album and, although it has a few songs on it that are rather okay, I don't think it has the breadth, variety or detail that Stand Up has. But it was an evolution in terms of the band playing as 'a band.'" Overall, Anderson considered the album "a natural part of the group's evolution".[7]

According to Martin Barre "To Cry You a Song" was a response to Blind Faith's "Had to Cry Today", "although you couldn't compare the two; nothing was stolen ... The riff crossed over the bar in a couple of places and Ian and I each played guitars on the backing tracks. It was more or less live in the studio with a couple of overdubs and a solo. Ian played my Gibson SG and I played a Les Paul on it."[8]

Releases

The UK and the US release are different. The US version (with flute) of "Teacher" was placed on side two of the album, and the track "Alive and Well and Living In" was excluded. In the UK, "Teacher" was the B-side of the non-album single "The Witch's Promise", and was without a flute.[2]

In 2013, the Collector's Edition of Benefit was released. It contains bonus tracks mixed by Steven Wilson, a disc with mono and stereo mixes of rare and previously unreleased versions of tracks and singles and an audio-only DVD that includes a surround sound mix of the original album. The Collector's Edition also includes a booklet featuring an 8,000-word essay written by Martin Webb, as well as interviews with band members and a selection of photos, some previously unseen.[9]

For the 50th anniversary of the album, an enhanced edition was released in 2021, consisting of four CDs and two DVDs.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Christgau's Record GuideB–[12]
The Daily VaultB+[15]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[13]
Record Collector[14]

Critics were generally unimpressed with Benefit upon its release. Rolling Stone called the album "lame and dumb".[16] Disc and Music Echo was also unimpressed but recognized the band's quality: "This album doesn't advance by such a drastic leap as Stand Up did from This Was. It's more like the Jethro Tull we've seen and heard for the past year. It seems to be a remarkably long album, and shows what an exciting group this is. Exciting because they can have quite long guitar breaks and still retain a very tight and together sound".[17] The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau appreciated the riffs around which all the songs were constructed, but wasn't impressed by the lyrics that he judged hard to recall.[12]

Legacy

AllMusic and Record Collector's much-later reviews were more positive in accepting the album's style. Bruce Eder stated that: "Most of the songs on Benefit display pleasant, delectably folk-like melodies attached to downbeat, slightly gloomy, but dazzlingly complex lyrics, with Barre's guitar adding enough wattage to keep the hard rock listeners very interested. 'To Cry You a Song', 'Son', and 'For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me' all defined Tull's future sound: Barre's amp cranked up to ten (especially on 'Son'), coming in above Anderson's acoustic strumming, a few unexpected changes in tempo, and Anderson spouting lyrics filled with dense, seemingly profound imagery and statements."[11] Record Collector reviewer, analysing the Collector's Edition of 2013, praised the Steven Wilson remix and wrote: "Benefit forms the perfect bridge between the rolling, tumbling Tull of old and the tightly braided riffs and prickly lyrics presented by Aqualung."[14] Paul Stump, in his History of Progressive Rock, said that Benefit "maintained the invention (and sales) of its predecessor, once again teasing unexpected emotional reflexes from time-honoured voicings and rhythms to signpost something that, if not a wholly new kind of pop song, at least offered the listener new bearings in his or her search."[18]

Track listing

1970 UK release

All music is composed by Ian Anderson

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."With You There to Help Me"6:20
2."Nothing to Say"5:10
3."Alive and Well and Living In"2:47
4."Son"2:52
5."For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me"3:59
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."To Cry You a Song"6:09
7."A Time for Everything?"2:43
8."Inside"3:40
9."Play in Time"3:45
10."Sossity; You're a Woman"4:35
2001 CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Singing All Day"3:07
12."Witch's Promise"3:52
13."Just Trying to Be"1:37
14."Teacher" (Labelled Original U.K Mix, but actually US version)3:49

1970 US release

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."With You There to Help Me"6:15
2."Nothing to Say"5:10
3."Inside"3:46
4."Son"2:48
5."For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me"3:47
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."To Cry You a Song"6:09
7."A Time for Everything?"2:42
8."Teacher"3:57
9."Play in Time"3:44
10."Sossity; You're a Woman"4:31

2013 A Collector's Edition (3 Discs)

CD 1: Steven Wilson stereo remix of the album and associated recordings
No.TitleLength
1."With You There to Help Me"6:20
2."Nothing to Say"5:13
3."Alive and Well and Living In"2:48
4."Son"2:53
5."For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me"3:49
6."To Cry You a Song"6:16
7."A Time for Everything?"2:45
8."Inside"3:38
9."Play in Time"3:49
10."Sossity; You're a Woman"4:37
11."Singing All Day"3:07
12."Sweet Dream"4:03
13."17"6:20
14."Teacher (UK Single Version)"4:58
15."Teacher (US Album Version)"4:03
CD 2: Associated Recordings 1969-1970
No.TitleLength
1."Singing All Day" (mono)3:08
2."Sweet Dream" (mono)4:04
3."17" (mono)6:11
4."Sweet Dream" (stereo)4:04
5."17" (stereo)5:32
6."Witch's Promise" (mono)4:01
7."Teacher" (U.K single version - mono)4:51
8."Teacher" (U.S album version - mono)4:00
9."Witch's Promise" (stereo)3:51
10."Teacher" (U.K single version - stereo)4:51
11."Teacher" (U.S album version - stereo)4:00
12."Inside" (single edit - mono)2:43
13."Alive and Well and Living In" (mono)2:48
14."A Time for Everything" (mono)2:46
15."Reprise AM Radio Spot 1" (mono)1:05
16."Reprise FM Radio Spot 2" (mono)1:05
DVD: Steven Wilson 5.1 surround remix of the album and associated recordings
No.TitleLength
1."With You There to Help Me"6:20
2."Nothing to Say"5:13
3."Alive and Well and Living In"2:48
4."Son"2:53
5."For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me"3:49
6."To Cry You a Song"6:16
7."A Time for Everything?"2:45
8."Inside"3:38
9."Play in Time"3:49
10."Sossity; You're a Woman"4:37
11."Singing All Day"3:07
12."Sweet Dream"4:03
13."17"6:20
14."Teacher (UK Single Version)"4:58
15."Teacher (US Album Version)"4:03

Personnel

Jethro Tull
Additional musicians
Production
  • Robin Black – engineer
  • Terry Ellis – cover design, executive producer
  • Ruan O'Lochlainn – cover design, photography

Charts

Benefit was the first million record seller from Jethro Tull.[2]

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[32] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Jethro Tull singles".
  2. ^ a b c "Jethro Tull - Benefit (May 1, 1970)". Jethro Tull Official Website: JethroTull.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  3. ^ Morton, Tom (27 August 2001). "BBC Radio Scotland: Old Wild Men". Tull Press.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  4. ^ Wright, Jeb. "Forty Years Of Aqualung: An Interview With Jethro Tull's Martin Barre". Classic Rock Revisited.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  5. ^ Logan, Nick (21 February 1970). "Jethro Go For Live Feel On Their Next Album". New Musical Express. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  6. ^ "A Tull Story". Down Beat. 25 June 1970. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  7. ^ Scapelliti, Christopher (September 1999). "Tull Tales". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  8. ^ Rabey, Brian (May 1997). "Tull Tales". Guitar Legends. No. 22. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Steven Wilson remixes Jethro Tull's 'Benefit'". Steven Wilson Official Website. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Jethro Tull Benefit 50th anniversary".
  11. ^ a b Eder, Bruce. "Jethro Tull - Benefit review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  12. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 27 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  13. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  14. ^ a b Rathbone, Oregano (December 2013). "Jethro Tull - Benefit (1970/2013 Collector's Edition, mixed by Steven Wilson, 2CD+DVD/LP)". Record Collector. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  15. ^ Ray, Benjamin (2019). "The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Benefit". dailyvault.com. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  16. ^ Shadoian, Jack (6 August 1970). "Jethro Tull - Benefit". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Jethro Leaps - But Not Quite So High: Jethro Tull - Benefit (1970) album review". Disc and Music Echo. 18 April 1970. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  18. ^ Stump, Paul (1997). The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock. Quartet Books Limited. p. 51. ISBN 0 7043 8036 6.
  19. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3832". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Danish Albums Chart: Jethro Tull - Benefity". danskehitlister.dk. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jethro Tull – Benefit" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jethro Tull – Benefit" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Jethro Tull – Benefit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  25. ^ "Jethro Tull | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  26. ^ "Jethro Tull Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  27. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Jethro Tull – Benefit". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  28. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2021. 47. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  29. ^ "Jethro Tull Official Charts (UK)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  30. ^ "Dutch MegaCharts: Jethro Tull - Benefit". Dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  31. ^ "Suchen – insert Jethro Tull". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  32. ^ "American album certifications – Jethro Tull – Benefit". Recording Industry Association of America.
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