STAND UP

Although a very important change in the line-up took place for this album (namely Martin Barre took the command of the guitar and is still in the band for almost forty years) my perception of this record is not quite different than their first effort "This Was" released a year before.

The opener "A New Day Yesterday" is a heavy song with little inspiration. Next track "Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square" is the kind of filler I would avoid by all means. With "Bourée" of course we have a fantastic illustration of the brio of the band. I only have wished that there would be more of this type of songs on the album. They still play this tune in their live set (at least till 2001 when I last saw them, but I'll see them soon : in June in Brussels).

I have a mixed feeling about "Back to the Family" : boring during its first part, it turns out to be one of the best moments of this album in its second half : great guitar, rythm and flute playing (but still, this good moment only lasts for 1'30"). The accoustic "Look Into The Sun" is another filler (more to come).

"Nothing Is Easy" is a bit over average : typical Tull sound (Anderson and Barre set the tone).Quite (hard) rocky tune. "Fat Man" has oriental influences and definitely lacks of interest.

"We Used to Know" is quite better : Barre's job here is great. It is a really enjoyable track : it is a true indication of what will come next ("Benefit"). One of the (too) few highlights here. "Reasons For Waiting" is a mellow accoustic song, again no great stuff. The orchestra adds a classical touch but I am not quite convinced.

The closing number "For a Thousand Mothers" is also above average : good Tull compostion with great bass play in the background and nice flute. Since I purchased most of the Tull's catalogue in September / October 2004, I got hold of the remastered version and its four bonus tracks.

"Living in the Past" is probably the greatest track on this work : great riff, fantastic rythm and superb flute. "Driving Song" is quite bluesy and not my cup of tea at all. "Sweet Dream" is again a valuable bonus : a bit pompous with the brass part, but I like it quite a lot. "Seventeen" is absolutely awful. Noisy, sort of "hard rocking blues"(a new genre) ?

If ever you should by "Stand up" I really recommend this remastered one for those two very good songs. There are too few great (or even good) moments on this early release from Tull. I remind you, again, that I owe almost their entire catalogue (studio albums, live and a lot of bootlegs) and appreciate them quite a lot since 1971 (so, I can hardly be categorized as anti-Tull). Strangely enough, this album will be their only Nr.1 in the UK charts ! Two stars for the remastered version.