STAND UP

On Jethro Tull's second album, original guitarist Mick Abrahams left because of creative differences with Ian Anderson and was soon replaced by Martin Barre. "Stand Up" is quite a departure from the band's previous bluesy debut album "This Was". The band expands their musical palette and explores folk, Eastern rhythms and classical music. The album begins with "A New Day Yesterday", a bluesy rocker reminiscent of the debut. It's a good song, but a little bland compared to other things on this album. "Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square" is a calmer and laid back song. The drums are replaced with bongos and Barre's guitar and Anderson's flute weave in and out of each other with grace, making for an enjoyable, but short, listen. "Bouree" is probably the most famous song from this album. The band does an interesting folky arrangement of the original Bach composition. This is a fan-favorite for a reason. Following that is "Back To The Family" is another bluesy rock tune, but much better than "A New Day Yesterday". Barre's outro guitar solo is excellent, kind of reminding me of Jimmy Page. Or maybe it's Page's playing that reminds me of Barre...

Anyway, "Look Into The Sun" is a mellow and reflective folk ballad. Backed by just acoustic and guitar and piano, Anderson delivers a great vocal performance, all complemented by sparse electric guitar lines in the background. Things pick back up with "Nothing Is Easy", a driven and rocking "jam" song with excellent performances by all of the band members. I pretty sure it was an early concert favorite. "Fat Man" is a lighthearted affair and sees the band experimenting with Eastern sounds. Anderson plays a balalaika and the percussion is replaced by bongos. It's probably the most unique song on the album, especially due to Anderson's interesting vocal lines. "We Used To Know" is a slightly depressing rock song (especially compared to the previous "Fat Man) but slowly, over the course of the whole song, it builds up energy and culminates in an explosive ending with a beautiful wah-wah guitar solo from Barre. "Reasons For Waiting" is a lot like an updated version of "Look In To The Sun". Anderson's acoustic guitar dominates, but it backed by a quiet organ and more flute. In the second half of the song, some simply beautiful strings come in to create one of the most memorable songs on the album. Everything closes with the biting and edgy rocker "For A Thousand Mothers". It has a pretty catchy riff (even if it gets a little repetitive). The ending of the song features an excellent flute solo and guitar solo.

Overall, with "Stand Up", Jethro Tull immediately show they are not ones to be complacent in their song writing. The band's adventurousness really pays off as this is a very diverse and cohesive album- definitely not a sophomore slump.

Standout songs: "Bouree", "Nothing Is Easy", "Reasons For Waiting"