Benefit: Remastered

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Customer reviews

review by: Rock Dr. date: 2008-10-28 rating:
The guitar album
Tull`s Third album and still my favourite blimey can you count just how many this band have knocked out over the years , it must be at least twenty five or so and even now I find that the eight albums I have this is their best to my ears.. if you are thinking but he hasnt got them all so how does he know? . I have heard them all but only buy the few I really like. Benefit is Tull`s guitar rock album and its a scorcher great writing, musicianship, tounge in cheek lyrics a great package nicely wrapped up.

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review by: date: 2008-10-17 rating:
Really a gem
This album is 50% bliss. Half of the tracks are just good, but the other half are stunning. As was to become the norm with Tull you do need to get to know each track to appreciate it, but they really do repay the effort. Certainly the first three on side 1 are masterpieces. To Cry You A Song is also great. Sossity is beautiful and Play In Time is the answer to Blues.

Buy it now. When you receive it sit down on your own with some headphones on and play it three times. And really listen (really listen). People rave about Aqualung, but Benefit is sublime.

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review by: Underground man date: 2008-08-30 rating:
A time for change
The blues and jazz influences of the first two albums have all but disappeared, to be replaced with a gutsier rock style with very definite folky leanings. Sadly this was to be Glenn Cornick's final album (he is still my favourite Tull bassist).
Due to Tull's worldwide touring commitments they needed to release something special to keep the home fans happy (they were hardly ever in the u.k.) and this album went some way towards achieving that.
Martin Barre's guitar is prominent, replacing Ian's flute as the focal point for the majority of the songs, some heavyish riffing and quality leadwork, all made possible thanks to John Evan filling out the sound with his keyboards.
Favourite tracks? well that depends on the mood, but 'with you there to help me', 'nothing to say' and 'to cry you a song' are always worth a mention, but the rest are all top class.
Soundwise the remastering is ok except for 'inside', or have I got a naf copy?
A fine example of early Tull, if you've not heard it, then what are you waiting for, it's cheap enough.

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review by: Chris date: 2007-06-05 rating:
Review of Benefit
This, the third Tull album, followed This Was and Stand Up. In its time, Benefit as well-received and it sold well, although Stand Up did perhaps have a little more popular acclaim. Stand Up had been an album of rather more gentle melody but Benefit was a little harder-edged: an album with rather more electric guitar. Although not fundamentally a blues album as had been This Was, one can still hear that the band is really not that far removed from the blues, especially on the track 'to cry you song,' which is Tull at their best, and not in the least dated.
I always remember a contemporary 'top 100 of all time' list which contained a review of Stand Up and Benefit in which these albums were described as containing 'tight, riffy songs, full of melody and ripe with wit.' This is still the best description of Tull that I have ever heard, and one which I still retain in my memory. Without doubt, this was the fresh, golden age of the band. Benefit, for me, is still their pinnacle, and along with Stand Up, Living in th Past, Aqualung, Songs from the Wood and Heavy Horses, contains their best work. I regret tht I am not keen on the mediocre albums from the mid seventies ('Brick' Warchild, Minstrel and Passion Play), nor on the very heavy and muddy style found on Stormwatch and Broadsword. I do quite like the lighter and more clean melody of Under Wraps, but the rest of the eighties stuff leaves me cold. If you are starting to listen to Tull, go for Benefit, Stand Up and Living in the Past. These I have never tired of, not even after 35 years.


review by: mark shackelford date: 2007-02-19 rating:
Their finest moment - for our benefit
After the bluesy first two albums (which are fun but no better than the competition) comes this extraordinarily beautiful jazz/blues/rock music - Benefit.

This is the album which defined the Jethro Tull sound - flutes, guitars, piano and the wonderful bass and drums... Quite unique, especially with Mr. Anderson's tremendous voice.

Afterwards came Aqualung (almost as good - but a bit "preachy"), and then the wild worlds of "Thick as a Brick" and "Passion Play" - all truly wonderful, but not as ground breaking as this "Benefit".

All the tracks fit together so well (it reminds me of the perfection of the Who's "Who's Next") - it is a concept album in terms of sound, feel, style rather than any specific concept.

No outstanding track - they are all perfect. Oh, for those halcyon days of the early 70's - live them again here...

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