Search - Jethro Tull :: Stand Up

Stands Up

sealchan | Oregon, United States | 09/21/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Stand Up [Bonus Tracks] - Jethro Tull (3.14 stars)

Original Release: August 1, 1969



Songs:



A New Day Yesterday (4 stars)

Hard-rocking blues that reminds me of Jimi Hendrix. Lyrics portray a tragic figure who can't hold onto something good because something else drives him onward. With Martin Barre now playing guitar we have a lead instrument that is a match for Ian Anderson's aggressive flute.



Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square (3 stars)

Light song with coloful instrumentation. Lyrics portray one who is sneering at those that seem above themselves.



Bouree (3 stars)

Jazzy instrumental with flute playing the lead, reminiscent of the instrumentals on "This Was". The song picks up a funky strain in the middle. Like a good instrumental the song stays on the melodic side of thigs and avoids getting lost in improvisation. The melody is based on a work by classical composer Johann Sebastian Bach.



Back To The Family (4 stars)

Off-kilter melody combined with contrasting musical themes makes this song interesting. The Beatles used a similar song form for "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds". The lyrics match the two opposing moods of the musical themes which together describe a grass is always greener view of two contrasting lifestyles.



Look Into The Sun (4 stars)

The acoustic guitar and piano start off this wistful, bittersweet ballad about fateful chances you might have taken in life. Would it not be better to risk misery than to never achieve happiness?



Nothing Is Easy (3 stars)

Upbeat, smooth song which says don't worry, be happy...my way. Complex drums and instrumental solos conclude this song.



Fat Man (4 stars)

Exotic sounding song harbors a vicious stab at those who are overweight. It seems to me the lyrics do not rest on metaphor but on criticizing those with eating disorders. Despite the raw insensitivities of the lyrics, I still enjoy the music enough to rate this song with 4 stars.



We Used To Know (2 stars)

Relatively straightforward ballad in 3/3 time. Per Wikipedia this song was a direct inspiration for the Eagles' "Hotel California". This song didn't catch my interest very well.



Reasons For Waiting (4 stars)

Acoustic guitar and flute play softly. Sweetness and determination mix in this song like brief shining moments that serve to light the way for a thousand darker ones. The flute response after each set of lyrics suggests the darker element lurking behind the light that moves one through life.



For A Thousand Mothers (3 stars)

Driving rock rhythm echoes lyrics description of a determination that proceeds against misguided opposition. A nice coda brings joy briefly back into the mood where it was lacking elsewhere.



Living In The Past (3 stars)

Catchy, popish tune that sounds like it has been gone over a few times by a producer. Instrumentally simpler than the songs on the album proper.



Driving Song (2 stars)

Rock song with a funky melody which is otherwise fairly simple and not as interesting as the other songs found here.



Sweet Dream (3 stars)

More complex instrumentation and with changes in melody that anticipates the kind of complexity found in "Thick as a Brick" and "A Passion Play". Another teen sneaking out of the house risking what the parents have tried to preserve.



17 (2 stars)

Rock song that moves relentlessly in the same vein throughout. Lyrics attempt to impart perspective to the young one who is growing older.



Album:



Ian Anderson explores some early balladry in this second album from Jethro Tull. Instrumentation is interesting but has largely left behind the blues and jazz with the departure of the band's original guitarist. The new guitarist, Martin Barre, can play a good hard rock riff. No great stand out songs in my view but enough good ones to appeal to the Jethro Tull fan short of being a completist. The bonus tracks marginally add to the musical experience IMO.



MP3 recommendations:



Stand Up EP (4 stars)

1. A New Day Yesterday (4 stars)

2. Back To The Family (4 stars)

3. Look Into The Sun (4 stars)

4. Fat Man (4 stars)

5. Reasons For Waiting (4 stars)



Stand Up w/out Bonus Tracks (3.36 stars)



"

No other like tull

MBHK | NJ | 10/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tull is a joy from beginning to end... muscially surprising, poetically gifted. I love their concept albums, their debut work... From start to finish and everything in between. Instead of complaining, be glad you were alive in this time and place to hear them play. They're timeless, talented, and each song and album is a piece of art from our otherwise artless times and I treasure all of it... The only band in recent years that has come close to them in terms of originality, in my humble view and personal taste, is Muse.

"

British prog rock innovators

Scott Belcher Taylor | Windsor, CA | 01/21/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The early efforts by Ian Anderson

and his mates are marked by a fusion of

jazz, blues, rock, classical and celtic influences.

Odd meters made to feel straight, mixed with classical

melodies, jazz feels and hard rockin' blues (with a flute)make these early albums true fusion music before the term was even coined.

This pre-Aqua Lung era holds a much more eclectic mix of styles

and genres. Not to criticize the later efforts but Benefit and Stand Up are

my favorites due to the fusing of so many styles and use of odd meter.

With high caliber players even by today's standards, Tull

takes you on a trip and brings you back.

Ian Anderson is a true musical genius and succeeds

in fusing these styles in an accessible and even

commercially viable way. I call it brilliant

and timeless. It does not sound old or dated and

both Benefit and Stand Up have a mysterious and engaging quality ranging from

beautiful haunting melodies to jazz inflected hard rocking and swinging grooves. I was also reminded what a talented vocalist Ian Anderson truly is.

Mixing flute with hard rock is in itself an innovation that should be recognized. True progressive British rock with depth and substance.

Modern music could do well to take a page from the Tull songbook.

"