STAND UP

"Stand Up" is where Ian really finds his voice both lyrically and vocally. The band is incredibly tight for a second release. The music is loaded with complex changes of rythmns and melodies. As is usual with Tull, you get it all, a bit of blues, classical, celtic folk, jazz and rock. Ian is listed as playing eight different instruments (see list above). "Stand Up" is a feast of sound for the palate in your ears.

Favorite cuts; It wouldn't be right to chose. There all great for different reasons.

This album, Tull's second, has a blues-oriented feel on several tracks (especially on "A New Day Yesterday" and "For a Thousand Mothers," while other songs ("Fat Man," the essential "Bouree," "Look into the Sun," etc.) exhibit the sound that most fans associate with the band's heyday. That diversity is by no means a bad thing, but overall, I feel that Anderson's songwriting is not quite as strong as it would become on the next album, BENEFIT, and thus I give this very good disc a four-star rating. Nevertheless, STAND UP belongs in any Tull fan's collection.

This album will always hold a special place in my life, being my very first exposure to rock music at the tender age of 5, my father having bought the album on the strength of Bourée, but the whole album was spinning often in the living room, with yours truly being truly fascinated by the superb artwork and its gatefold pop-up. Gone is Mick Abrahams to found Blodwyn Pig, and in comes the ever-present Martin Barre who is still today with the band.

There is not one weak track on this little baby. "Look into the sun", "Noting is easy", "We used to know", "Thousand mothers", etc... As M. Abrahams left for Blodwyn Pig (a band I hope to see soon on this site) Ian had more space to develop his style and did he take advantage of it. Best known for Bourée, and often probably over-looked because of it, this album is incredibly tight and every number on it is a gem. My only regret is that they did not make another one like it before moving on. Every track is a real gem on here and choosing the better will make me select every single track here.

A New Day is a real dapper introduction, but the second number dedicated to Jeffrey and Fatman are the premises of the folk direction present in all future albums. Bourée is actually a duo of flute. We Used To Know has the best guitar solo on a Tull album, Reasons For Waiting is the first example of Tull utilising an orchestra and is it ever well done!!

The remastered version of the album holds four bonus tracks, three of which were released on singles but not available in an album before the Living In The Past collection. The LITP single is easily one of the highlights of Tull's career and its 5/4 beat for a single was revolutionary at the time. Driving Song would actually have been more fitting on their Benefit album, but since it was released before Stand Up... As for Sweet Dreams, it came two months after the album's release and boasts some brass section, a string section and intricate arrangements. The fourth track, 17, is a weird rarely made-available track that sticks out a bit too much out of context of the album, unlike the first three tracks. This slight flaw does not manage to dent this album's importance and the fact that it is absolutely essential to understanding the advent of prog.

A new "Legacy" version appeared in 2010 (I know, we're not on the Columbia label, but anyway) with the same bonus tracks as the previous remaster plus a few unneeded ditties, but with a the other two discs consisting of that famous 1970 Carnegie Hall concert, whose partial release on the Living In The Past (side 3) dates from almost four decades. A very fun concert filled with Anderson's quite-funny in-between-song banter to allow himself to catch his breath. I'd have made this a two-disc Cd+DVD-A affair, since the DVD disc hold the same material (despite a few neat enhancement tricks and a video interview) as the second (redundant) CD does. I still think the Mini-Lp version pays a better tribute to the original album, despite a few excellent previously-unseen pictures in this updated booklet

real big progress since 'This Was'. Band sounds much better than on debut album and songs are much better. A New Day Yesterday and Bouree, it's a classic but my favorite song of this lp is Back To The Family , it's like prelude to the next album. On Stand up we still have more blues influences than folk. But it works here, and this album is a must for every classic rock fan.

Definitely my favourite Tull's album, even more than Aqualung. "We used to know", "Look Into The Sun", "Reasons For Waiting" are achingly beautiful ballads, while "A New Day Yesterday" is still full of electricity after 35 years. Stand Up is rock, is blues, is folk, with a psychedelic-prog flavour that makes it unique.

A slight scuffle from A(BRAHAMS) to B(ARRE), during which Ian took the wheel. "Stand Up" follows their first album in most regards: explosive blues/folk, some psychedelic concessions in the instrumentation. The prime difference is a pronounced shift toward acoustic music; Martin BARRE arrived with no baggage and seemed pleased to pledge allegiance to the new lord of the manor. To those that found TULL's shift toward convoluted concepts distasteful, "Stand Up" is classic stuff, the likes of which wouldn't be seen again after "Benefit". Prog fans however sometimes find the band's first two albums tame and derivative compared to their subsequent masterworks. I admit, as a young man, I filed Stand Up alongside their first album as dusty arcana boasting but a few well preserved morsels. But I reminded myself of the talent in attendance and patiently played a tape of this on my way to work for a few months. As many would suspect, the album soon worked its peculiar magic. I found myself anticipating with pleasure the cranky insights of "A New Day Yesterday", "Look Into The Sun" and "For A Thousand Mothers", the tastefully orchestrated "Reasons For Waiting" and the bemused observations of "Fat Man" and "Nothing Is Easy".

Though "Benefit" balances the light and dark sections better, the small leap that "Stand Up" makes is not to be discounted. In fact, the album is important for introducing ANDERSON's lyrical insights: a vague dissatisfaction with the world around him, a cherishing of childhood, a bemused philosophical bent. As such, "Stand Up" clearly belongs to the same school of thought as TULL's later works. The band had settled on a slightly new course, choosing a different path in the woods, and that made all the difference.

This is the first album of Jethro Tull I've heard... I wasn't into progressive yet. It was the late 90's and I was looking for something new. Well, I found this "new" thing from 1969 and inmediatly loved it. Of course, best was just to come. But who will deny such wonderful songs as Reasons for Waiting, Look Into the Sun, We Used To Know and, of course, the marvelous Boureé based on Bach's. This is not an essential for a progressive rock collection, but I must give this album four stars, just because it's so tasty!

I knew this album after I got the "War Child" album sometime in mid 70s. Imagine how late I was to know the band. But STAND UP is really an excellent classic album. I just got the remastered CD (plus 4 bonus tracks, released in 2001 by Chrysalis) that's why I need to post this review to commemarate one of albums that coloured my childhood.

Listening to this CD reminds me to all the memories and glories of classic rock music in 70's. Rock music was accessible to vast majority of people at that time, even in my hometown at east Java, Indonesia. JT was less popular than Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin at that time but for sure some people knew the band really well. My all-time favorite track of this album since then untill now and later is track 8 "We Used To Know". It's a beautifully crafted track with a heavy influence of blues. Well, Tull was basically a blues band - especially their debut album "This Was" (1968). By that time I got only cassette format (boy, how could I afford an LP at that time - I was not from a rich family. I knew that my colleague in the capital city, Jakarta, was at that time collected the LP version of 70s rock groups.) . I had a habit to repeat this track many times and that's enough to cause my cassette rotten especially in the area of this track.

Other tracks are excellent as well. "Bouree" is an interesting instrumental piece with solo flute and great bass line. "Nothing is Easy" is another interesting track with stunning guitar and flute coupled with dynamic bass line. It's a rocking track! Other short cuts: "New Day Yesterday", "Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square" (with a great touch on trad music), "Fat Man", "Back To The Family", "Look Into The Sun".

The bonus tracks are: "Living In The Past", "Driving Songs", "Sweet Dreams", and "17". All are excellent. It's an excellent album and highly recommended! The album has been around us for decades and I am still amazed with it. GW, Indonesia.

A huge improvement from This Was, Stand Up is undoubtedly one of the finest Jethro Tull albums. While calling this full-fledged prog might be stretching it a little, these compositions are on a much higher level than what we saw on their debut. From the ideal blues-rocker "A New Yesterday" and the mightily fine sort-of-ballad "We Used To Know" to the Bach-inspired flute-piece "Bourée", everything about this album just spells classic. I won't go into detail describing the songs, but if highly sophisticated blues/folk-rock with some psych/prog overtones sounds intriguing, be sure to check this out. Ian Anderson had assumed control of the band at this point, which would definitely explain why this is a slightly folkier and calmer album than their hard-rocking debut. 4,5 stars.

First off - I am not a diehard prog fan. I am a 41 year old rock fan who enjoys some prog. I never really associated Jethro Tull with prog; they are more like 15th century minstrel rock. If they had rock music back then, it would sound like this.

With that said, I have to say one more thing - it's very rare that I would rate anything as 5 out of 5. Music, or anything else. But I can find no wrong with this record. I like all of the songs. My favorite is "A New Day Yesterday," where Tony Iommi jumped in and helped them write it (kidding of course). The song is heavy, it's fifteenth century minstral METAL! Of course "Bouree" is up there as well, and I enjoy playing it on my guitar, since I don't have a bass. All of the other songs are great too. There you have it, a rock fan's rating of Jethro Tull, sometimes known to me as Jethro Dull; you have to admit that they have released som really atrocious albums in the last twenty years. That's more than enough time to release at least ONE good album, Ian. Forget the award for "Crest of a Knave." I would imagine that the judges were paid handsomely for that one.

This is Jethro Tull's second album, but the first with Martin Barre (by the way, one of the most uderrated guitar players in all rock scene). And in my humble opinion, this is the finest of all Jethro Tull's offerings. It is still bluesy, as the first album (listen to "A New Day Yesterday" and "Fat Man", which features Ian Anderson playing balalaika - where the hell has he got the idea of playing the blues with a Russian instrument?), but also points to the gentler, folksy Jethro Tull of late seventies ("Look into the Sun", the marvelous "Reasons for Waiting") and to classical music ("Bourée", based on Bach, which is delightful - Keith Emerson should have listened to this one when he tried to adapt classical music to a rock context). The other Tull members were the great Glen Cornick on bass and the even greater Clive Bunker on drums. If you are interested in a truly masterpiece of prog rock, buy this album - check out for 2001´s digitally remastered edition, with four bonus tracks: "Living in the Past" (with an unusual 7/8 structure), "Driving Song", "Sweet Dream" (another bluesy tune) and the fantastic "17". So, if you want to hear Jethro Tull at its best, this must be one of your choices.

This one's soooo ignored, which is a pity since "Stand Up" is one of the best albums EVER, and Tull's second best. The bluesy opener "A New Day Yesterday" is a classic, but the best one is "We Used To Know", thanks to it's amazing solos. "Look Into The Sun" is an acoustic relaxing song with a pretty melody, "Fat Man" has some hindu instruments and it sounds great, "Bouree" is a good instrumental, and both "Nothing Is Easy" and "Back To The Family" are powerful. "Reasons For Waiting" is a ballad with strings which I really like for some reason. The other two songs are weaker, but still good. Get it, it's a classic. A forgotten one.

This is one of Jethro Tulls best CDs, the first tull record i bought (and it made me a tull fan right away) and its still its one of my favorites, all the songs are great and very funny some of em, my favorites are Reasons For Waiting, A New Day Yesterday, For A Thousand Mothers but realy they are all great. The new remastered edition have 4 great bonus tracks. This is an a must have Jethro tull album, i have heard it more then 100 times and still loves it.

Stand up is a good follow-up to This Was. Mick Abrahams left, and Martin Barre took his place, The sound didn't alter much with the new guitarist. Still Blues based folk rock in the style of Cream/Yardbirds, a bit smoother in sound than mentioned bands mostly because of Anderson's flute playing a mayor part in Tull's sound.

1. A New Day Yesterday (4:10) A classic Blues opener, very much a Cream-sound to it. great song, a bit to long though. 2. Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square (2:12) smooth rhytmic song, a lot of changes squeezed in two minutes, great. 3. Bourée (3:47) One of Tull's best known songs I think, always reminds me of Focus (Thijs van Leer), with an amazing flute taking the lead, and a great bass play to top it off.

4. Back To The Family (3:48) Again some Cream influences in the guitar play and the rhythm section, more edgy than usual for Tull at that period, but one of the best songs on this album. 5. Look Into The Sun (4:21) folky song, some nice harmonies, but nothing spectaculair happening. 6. Nothing Is Easy (4:26) Great blues song, fast tight rhythmic playing. And a fabulous guitar solo from Barre.

7. Fat Man (2:52) Great fun, lots of tempo changes, fabulous rhythms. 8. We Used To Know (4:00) Slower piece, builds up, and get's better with each passing second. 9. Reasons For Waiting (4:06) Nice song, some great flutes, and some orchestral arrangements giving it a bit a Moody Blues sound, just more intense because of the edgy flute of Ian. 10. For A Thousand Mothers (4:13) Great rhythms, fab. bass play and a great ending to this album. Really rocking.

All in all, this is again a great Tull album, not a big leap forward for the band, but a small step closer to what will become the Tull that will reach progressive fame with Aqualung, TAAB and A Passion Play. If I had to rate it on a blues rock scale I might give it five stars, but this is a progressive rock site, and there is better to come, so four stars will do for this great album.

Stand Up is the first JT album I bought and remains till now the most classical JT contribution to rock! Martin Lancelot Barre has repalced the guitarist Mick Abrahams developing his beautiful guitar stile to complement the varied musical notions which JT recorded during their long career. Stand Up is also a live favorite providing many great live performance songs and tunes in their concerts set today. The last time I saw them (Mantua 16th July 2005) they played also For A Thosand Mothers. In the Chrysalis 2001 remastered edition Stand Up is enriched with the first successful singles from JT: the perennial Living In The Past (recorded between New York and L.A.) and Driving Song; the great and strong Sweet Dream accompanied with 17.

This is a great album to start with if you are a JT novice. If you are not, you have to admit that Stand Up merits all the five stars I've rated.

The second work announced in 1969 "Stand Up". Work that Vorcal is bright. It is very fresh, and a sound like CREAM. The devised work such as "Bouree" is abundant. As for Vorcal, a peculiar style has already been completed. I feel a real ability in the power of expression of the voice. It is a unique rock. In the composition, all tunes are due to Ian Anderson.

A great step forward was made between the first two Tull albums. From the blues- oriented that could be heard on the first album, thanks to guitarist Mick Abrahams, it went to an album full of styles. Of course, the blues is not completely disappeared, especially on songs such as A new day yesterday, the album opener. Some sweeter songs are excellent, especially Reasons for waiting, with the orchestration from David Palmer. Ian Anderson starts to become his own, with a fresh and youthful side to the songs. Of course, he still does not have the cohesion of future albums, but this is what makes this album beautiful and really joyful. Martin Barre has not found his style yet and is really the weakest musician, as the rythm section is excellent and Anderson is up to himself as usual. But to Barre's defense, one of his greatest performance is on this album: Nothing is easy. One of the problem of this album is that there are mostly no songs thats stand out of the rest, except maybe We used to know, probably the strongest one. On the 2001 version, four excellent songs are included as bonus track and, with those four tracks, this is an excellent album. Recommended, not necessarily as a first Tull experience, but definitely a second or third one. 4/5

This is the first album which Martain Barre appeared on as guitarist, replacing Mick Abrahms who later formed Blodwyn Pig. Although Barre in my opinion is not as good as Abrahms on guitar, he certainly deliveres the power on the album especially on 'A New Day Yesterday'. This is the best track on the album. It has one of the best guitar riffs ever Supported by smashing symbols from Clive Bunker And Classic Ian Anderson vocals.

Ian Anderson's flute playing on Nothing is easy, is some of his finest. We Used To Know, Look into the Sun & For a Thousand Mothers Are excellent too. This album is much more on the progressive side than the album before it 'This Was'. A piece like Boure'e is an example of the change the band went through in the space of a year. The album still has a very Blues based feel to it. Even further changes to the Tull sound would occur over the years with albums like songs from the wood & Heavy Horses. The line-up changed a lot over the years too. The good material Still was delivered with the exception of A Passion Play. I think Stand Up & Heavy Horses are Tull's best albums. This is essential for Tull fans.

"Stand Up" is the masterpeice of progressive folk-rock "dinosaurus" - JETHRO TULL, and one of the best examples how efficiently and artistically relevant the mixture of acoustic and electric instruments could be. Starting with a wonderful heavy riff of "A New Day Yesterday" and ending with another powerful heavy number "For A Thousand Mother", the album is an explosion of creativity that the band would repeat only in rare moments in their later career, such as "Thick As A Brick" or "Songs From The Wood". Absolutely essential purchase for any music fan!

After "Thick as a Brick" this is the album that I like the most. Excellent songs like the remake of Bourée or Nothing Is Easy. With the special touch that the flute of Ian Anderson can give us.

Though this album isn't of the outstanding quality of "Thick As A Brick" we must show respect and admiration to this grand piece of prog music: Stand Up.

The thing I love most about this album is the packaging. I didn't buy this because of the cover. Heck, I didn't buy it at all, I was seven years old when it came out - my aunt gave it to me in the early 80's while she was going through a disco phase (I think I traded her a Wham! album for it). Anyway, the very intricate woodcut print is very exquisite and must have taken an incredibly long time to create. I can't imagine putting that much effort into album art work today. Also, the pop-up band figures (Stand Up - get it?) that leap at you when you open the bi-fold liner were probably considered to be quite clever thirty-seven years ago.

But the real treasure is the Warner/Reprise inner sleeve, which features an advertisement for the "Loss Leader" bargain album series of 1969. These were two- disc collections of mostly new songs by bands of the day that were intended to be samplers to drum up interest in the music. I spent many hours throughout the 80's sifting through used record store bins and garage sales looking for some of this music, and today many, many of these bands are represented on this site. It's hard to believe that these two-disc sets, most of which featured as many as 40 songs each, sold for only $2 (U.S.)! I won't spoil the surprise for anyone who hasn't read one of these sleeves, but if you can get your hands on one, it's a very entertaining and educational look at the state of the music industry at the close of the 60's.

As far as the album goes, I really don't listen to it all that often, and mostly only in the very late fall or winter. It's just that kind of music.

"A new day yesterday" is a heavily blues-influenced song, and also marks the introduction of Martin Barre's distinctive wandering guitar in the band. It works so well with Glen Cornick's aggressive bass, a sound that frankly I think Jeffrey Hammond² would spend several years trying to emulate after Cornick's departure. This isn't an overly complex arrangement, but looking back it does give hints at the sound that would make the band so well known in the 70's.

On "Jeffrey goes to Leicester Square" Ian Anderson kicks in with a bit of mandolin, giving the song more of a folksy feel. This is a really short tune, really just an interlude before the much more well-known instrumental "Bourée", which has much more prominent flute, bass, organ, and drum work than the first two tunes.

Anderson's voice is stronger on "Back to the family" than elsewhere on the album, but otherwise this is a rather forgettable tune in the band's vast catalog, although Barre's guitar work is quite edgy for an early Jethro Tull album.

The front side of the album closes with "Look into the sun", a song that I have heard numerous times over the years on classic rock and college radio stations. I don't know if it was ever released as a single, or if there is some significance to it that I'm unaware of, but late night disc jockeys seem to like it for some reason. It definitely has a very 60's hippy folk feel to it.

On the flip side, "Nothing is easy" also sports a blues rhythm, but aside from the flute this one is closer to early psychedelic than to folk or progressive. This is also the longest track on the album, mostly due to several extended bits of organ and drum. You know, I'm not a technically savvy music fan, but there sure seems to be an awful lot of prominent bass on this album, and particularly on this song.

When "Fat Man" opens it's hard to tell if this is going to be a calypso song, or what. I guess the drums are bongos, or at least they sound like bongos. There's also more mandolin, or maybe it's a balalaika, which the liner notes say Anderson plays, but they don't say on which tracks. While the music is quite different than elsewhere on the album, Anderson's voice retains that distinctive folksy lilt. This one has a really different sound than most of anything else Tull has done since.

"We used to know" sounds to me like it could have easily been worked into Aqualung somewhere, or possibly be mistaken for an out-take from that album. It's a bit more brooding than the rest of the album, and the only song where I can definitely hear some acoustic guitar.

"Reasons for waiting" is a bit of a jam song, just a little bit of pretty much every instrument on the album finds its way into this one. Here again the bass is surprising prominent for a folk album.

The album closes with "For a thousand mothers", mostly instrumental and again kind of sounds like just a bunch of ad-hoc jamming in the studio.

This isn't an essential classic as near as I can tell, although it probably would be considered one by Jethro Tull fans and probably progressive folk bands in general. It does seem rather well-crafted for a band that was so young and relatively immature at the time, so for that they get some credit. Also, the packaging and art work certainly merits extra consideration, as it gives a bit of a musical history all by itself. All told, it is a very respectable and well-produced work that I would probably give three stars to if it weren't a Jethro Tull album, and if the art work weren't so impressive. When I throw those two points in, the album jumps to four stars.

peace

I believe 'Stand Up' is the first Tull album to feature the raw talent of Martin Barre on guitar. Judging by the end result Barre was a more than competent replacement for the departed Mick Abrahams who left to pursue the blues.

'Stand Up' (given this title as the original pressings of the album came with a gatefold which showed the band members stand up on opening the album! Cute.) and its general contents stands (no pun intended) alone in the Tull discography, in that it features an impressive selection of songs that differ from one another and does not sound boring at all.

Martin Barre's guitar has a tone which is purely divine. Anderson's vocals are at their most sardonic best and the bass playing is also outstanding. I believe 'Stand Up' is the last JT album to feature a line-up not including keyboards, given that I am not familiar with the band's subsequent work up to Aqualung, and the combination of flute, guitar, drums, bass and an array of folk instruments render it an outstanding example of progressive rock, before the latter became pompous and grandiose.

The list of outstanding songs is hard to make as all the songs are pure brilliance, but 'Nothing is Easy', 'Fat Man', 'For A Thousand Mothers', 'Back to the Family', 'A New Day Yesterday' and even the instrumental 'Bouree' deserve the album a much higher status in the Progarchives 'chart' than it currently holds.

JETHRO TULL's second album is still sharing the raw hard rock-blues sound with the band's debut album, but the blues influences are not so significant anymore, although they are not totally absent. The replacement of Abrahams with Barre is perhaps one of the most important moments in the entire history of the progressive rock, along with the replacement of Barrett with Gilmour or Lake's acceptation to reinforce Emerson.

For the first time, The Tramp is rendering himself as an excellent songwriter, he is not inclined to pathetic solutions and he is arranging his works sensibly, from lovely ballads to loud hard rock. His flute playing enhanced a lot. The album is loaded with little gems, such are hippie numbers ("Fat Man" and "Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square"), beautiful ballads ("Reasons For Waiting, "Look Into The Sun") and savage hard rock utilising a flute ("For A Thousand Mothers"), the last one representing the milestone of what will later be know as a synonym for a band's opus - Aqualung.

Band's songwriting is still highly utilising blues at this stage, fact proved by "A New Day Yesterday" and "Nothing Is Easy", but without that certain pointlessness present on the predecessor. It's also worth mentioning "We Used To Know" (the tune that will be exploited by THE EAGLES in their most radiophonical hit "Hotel California" seven years later), excellent "Back To The Family" (surrounded by some DOORS-like atmosphere), and last but not the least, the inimitable "Bourée", and adaptation of the Bach's piece, maybe the most popular adaptation of the classical music for the masses.

The album is ornamented with sincerity, immediacy of Anderson's in-your-face style, beautiful melodies, and disappointing length. That is just one more proof that this album is a good one. More than good. No boring moments.

With Mick Abrahams leaving the band to form Blodwyn Pig and classically trained Martin Barre coming in Tull abandoned more and more with each subsequent album their original blues roots. This album must be considered the starting place for Tull's distinctive sound defined by a dynamic blend of Celtic folk, classically-oriented tonal structures and hard rock elements along with Ian's flute play, unique vocals and songwriting. Lyrically many songs here are about Ian's relationship with his parents, a subject that he would continue on "Benefit". "Fat Man" is considered to be a hint to Mick Abrahams and "Jeffrey Goes" is the second one of the series of songs devoted to Ian's old boyhood friend Jeffrey Hammond who would later join the band. Musically there isn't any flaw to be found on this highly versatile record with obvious highlights like "Bouree", "Look Into The Sun", "Nothing Is Easy", "Fat Man " and "Reasons For Waiting". Actually just the knowledge that they could do even better after that keeps me from giving the full score but ****1/2 really!

This is the first Jethro Tull album I've ever heard and also the first progressive rock album. That was approximately 6 years ago (I was 12 at the time) and instantly liked it. The combination of beautiful folk melodies, hard rock guitar riffs and blues orientated songwrithing, is the reason for this. There are no bad songs on this album, only the folky "Jeffrey goes to Leicester Square" and the goofy far-East influenced "Fat Man" are not on the same level as the rest of the songs. Many people think that "Fat Man" is meant to gibe the departed guitarist Mick Abrahams.

Musicianship on this album is perfect. Ian Anderson played eight instruments and sung, Glen Cornick did an amazing job on the bass guitar (especially on "Bouree") and Clive Bunker gave the rest of the band a solid groundwork with all manner of percussion. Martin Barre took over the guitars from Mick Abrahams giving them a less bluesy feel.

I recommend Stand Up to every fan of progressive rock. As for those who consider them self Jethro Tull fans this album is absolutely essential.

This is my favorite of all the Tull albums, and I think they are a truly great band. Stand Up had a unique sound that I don't think they ever matched again.

1)A New Day Yesterday Great guitar piece, and once you get used to Ian Anderson's voice, he sounds great, too. The drums are right on and I don't think this album could start any better. The flute just makes you melt. 10/10.

2)Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square This really lightens up the album. I'm not an expert, but it sounds like some exotic version of the guitar in the background and it is beautiful. 7.5/10.

3)Bouree Bouree is an absolute classic. The flutes playing off each other are great, but the base really sells the song. This is the best song on the album. I love how it changes the mood several times within itself. 10/10.

4)Back To The Family At the beginning it sounds like it will be a very slow, sad song, but it picks up quickly and is bouncy and light compared to the rest of the stuff on Stand Up. It just has nice little touches everywhere that you remember. 9/10.

5)Look Into The Sun This is the most ballad-y song. It is very slow, and depressing. I wouldn't listen to this song when you're in a great mood, but definitely listen when you're sad. Something about this song is healing for me. 8/10.

6)Nothing Is Easy This was one of Tull's big hits. The guitar and flute playing off each other is awesome in the beginning and then once Anderson comes in, it is a great, fast-pace song. 9/10.

7)Fat Man This is one you love, but don't know why. It's got that funky Indian-ish opening, but it really works with Ian Anderson's voice. Even the drums are something from the east, definitely not our standard drum set. 7/10.

8)We Used To Know This is a catchy, slow, sad song. It is really different from anything else on the album. 8/10.

9)Reasons For Waiting This has a memorable flute piece that most people recognize right when it starts. It's one of those in the back of your head that you have no idea where you heard it before. Sort of inspirational sounding, this song. 8/10.

10)For A Thousand Mothers This song never really caught on with me as a great song. It's just okay. 6/10

I also have the bonus tracks, and I would like to mention Sweet Dream, which is just as good as any of the songs on the original album. It is really spectacular. I fyou don't have it you should listen to it. IT is a 10/10.

Overall, this album is not perfect, but it is definitely an essential.

Back to 1969, Jethro Tull members were recording their second album and setting a strong musical style. With the addition of Martin Barre in replacement of Mick Abrahams, the influence of the new guitar player is easily recognisable. Not only are there new guitar sounds with distortion but also the mellow melodies and acoustic songs are great. At this point it is particularly clear that the band was about to take off thanks to the combination of Anderson and Barre's ideas. In comparison with their previous album, melodies and lyrics are more elaborate, leaving a bit behind the blues influences and turning more into the folk prog. Ian Anderson had a more complete participation in the record as an instrument player and completely fulfilled my expectations with the presence of his flute. When coming the time to choose which songs are the best it gets really difficult since they're all really good. The opening song A New Day Yesterday gives an excellent introduction of how the record will continue. Rearranged Bach's Bourée has become a Tull classic over the years. Reasons for Waiting is a brilliant mellow song with beautiful lyrics, I believe one of the most beautiful and touching lyrics written by Ian Anderson. Back to the Family, Fat Man, For a Thousand Mothers and Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square are great tracks. Clearly the first really good album recorded by JT.

This album contains a higher percentage of progressive content than TULL's debut (and previous) release, however the general atmosphere contains still a cluster of jazzy and bluesy tunes, although a bit different from their mentioned debut - now, rock holds sway, doubtlessly. Ian Anderson's voice and flute playing sound here in almost the same way we'd use to hear in the 70s. It's quite sure that JT got influences from other prog-rock/art- rock bands that were acting throughout the UK at the time. One living there in 1969 should say: promising, very promising!

'A new day yesterday' starts as follow-on to their previous album but as the song flows new flavors are added: fine flute accompaniment, some rock guitar riffs. That's the kind of music that grows increasingly at each hearing. 'Jeffrey goes to Leicester Square' is probably the first prog-folk track ever registered by JT in an album and the result is pleasant; the short song could be easily extended since the theme is catchy. 'Bouree' is the TULL's version for Bourée from Suite No. 3 by J.S. Bach. It became one of the most popular acts in the entire band roster - the cabaret-like environment exhaling from this version is amusing.

'Back to the family' is an average song with fair instrumentation, with rock and folk chords and elements. 'Look into the sun' brings again the folk spice, noticed by the soft flute, the acoustic guitar and the sweet vocals. 'Nothing is easy' provides a blend (fusion?) of jazz and rock which is attractive but not exceptional.

'Fat man' shows an exquisite Eastern spice; very tasteful to compound a short and audible track. 'We used to know' and 'Reasons for waiting' are two pleasant balladesque tunes, we can see glimpses of future JT's production. 'For a 1000 mothers' ends the album in a great manner; fine instrumentation, showing the band working as a real ensemble. Bonus tracks (CD 2001 remaster release) are good but out of context here.

"Stand Up" is, of course, a noticeable bridge between JETHRO TULL early efforts and their subsequent output. For providing this link it is, indeed, a good release almost touching the excellence height. Final rating: 3.

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.

In "Stand Up" Tull has shown quite a transition from the previous year's release "This Was". Along with the presence of Mick Abrahams went the pure blues sensibility present on that album. This one is more of a folk rock effort.

Barre was introduced to the band (After auditioning several guitarists including Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath) and is shown to be a competent but not overly talented guitarist here. Ian's songwriting is quickly picking up momentum, though nowhere near something like the magnificent "Thick as a Brick".

The album is very even, displaying the excellent quality control present on all of the first 6 albums. The lyrics have that trademark Anderson wit and insightful quality. The song's are warm and positive accentuated through the use of the tight song format.

Highlights: Bouree, Back To The Family, Nothing Is Easy, We Used to Know

Essential folk rock!

Is a exelent piece of rock/jazz/blues in one single album, all band is good, Anderson, Barre, Bunker and Cornick. I got the remastered version, in this version the album contains 14 songs. Well, when I obtained this disc first that I did was to listen to it and simply astonished to me and I listened to it again and again, are songs like "Bourée" or "We used to know" or "Seventeen" that really they enchanted to me. I do not know if this it is the best album of Jethro Tull but is in between the best ones and shares the place with Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, Minstrel in the Gallery, Benefit.

This CD is an absolute show of talent from each member of the band; it seems a bunch of songs (totally different in style each other) settled on an album; every track is played with all potential, as just Tull can do. In the other hand, his successor is more moderated, more sparing, and his predecessor is also full of power and talent, but under a bluessy concept. As Abrahams left the band, that bluessy concept dissapeared, reduced to a couple of songs (A New Day Yesterday & Nothing is Easy), and the album has a special (and necessary) "concept freedom": while the opening track is a hard-bluessy number, the next one is a refined and short folk song, that reminds me "Love Story", but less rocker; and the next one, a jazzy feature from Bach's "Bouree"... Permanently, the album is changing his way and direction, creating a style unique and enjoyable for any guy who likes the good rock in general.

Get it, if you are a new Tull fan.

P.D.: My english isn't the best. Excuse me.

Here comes the Prog. Not a totally prog music, but this is a good album in which you can see how the prog was borning. This is 1969 a key year in prog rock. Here you have since the blues to one of the first experiences with "classical music". Maybe the music still sounds so traditional in its melody and general structure, but not in its instrumentation. A group of several non traditional instruments are incorporated and played by Anderson in this record. It has also themes that overpass the blues or rock classidication, like Fat Man. And the same blues are more elaborated, mor complex. Just one year before, The Beatles made his White Album, where these characters are present. The birth of prog rock was not a one - group creation. Jethro Tull takes part in it since Stand Up. I think that 4 stars is too much, and 3 stars is not enough. I'll give it 3 stars, but are 3 and 1/2 stars.

(My first and last 4.5)

1969 was the year of one of the greatest early progressive minded albums ever, crafted by a young band that was on the way to becoming the greatest progressive minded group ever. I am, of course, referring to Court of the Crimson King; I'm not stupid. What? You thought I was talking about Stand Up here? Oh, it's only just as good, but essentially overlooked. Half of that is because it's overshadowed, of course. But the other half (I believe, what do I know) is because it's not as proggy as those cwazy Tullers were destined to become in a year or so (besides, although the songs aren't progressive, the album is. And the cover's awesome, arguably Tull's best). But is it good? Oh yes.

We kick off with "A New Day Yesterday." A blooz rocker that rocks the blooz outta everything off This Was AND Led Zeppelin I. I understand that Jimmy Page was in the studio, and his brain exploded. Yep. True story. Okay, about the song, yes. Great descending riff, fuzzy guitar attack from Barre, a creepy flute solo from one Ian.

After the powerhouse "New Day Yesterday," we get a couple of light songs. One, the Indian-esque "Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square," is bland and kinda throwaway. But the "Bouree" is a downright classic. It's a jazzy take on Bach's "Bouree in E Minor." Frantic flute and bass within and throughout, sort of an adult version of "Serenade to a Cuckoo."

"Back to the Family" is an angry rocker about life on home and on the road. It's kinda fun, but also kinda of sloppy. Not sloppy at all is the downbeat ballad "Look into the Sun," Ian's first shot at real beauty. And it works. The interplay between Ian's acoustic and Martin's electric guitar(s) is fantastic.

The rocker "Nothing is Easy" is a great jam band song, although its true potential isn't unlocked until it's done live. After so many intense rockers, the goofy lil' "Fat Man" comes off brilliant. Like "Leicester Square," it shows an Indian influence, but much more focused. It's also fun, with bouncy sitar/guitar, wispy flutes, and hilarious lyrics. And I don't even midn that there's a sitar in it! That alone is an achievement (although I THINK it might be a mandolin...damn that clever Ian!) My personal favorite song on the album is "We Used to Know," a depressing psychedelic rocker, with endless soloing and Martin's best wah-wahs ever. Supposedly inspired "Hotel California," but you already knew that. But I bet you didn't realize that this is proof of how DIFFERENT and INNOVATIVE Tull was: while everyone else's guitarist, from Fripp to Trower to Blackmore, was ripping off Jimmy Hendrix, Martin as wholly original; he was ripping off Eric Clapton. No one would be doing that for years. Ahead of its time.

"Reasons for Waiting" is another lush ballad, and it sounds suspiciously like "Look into the Sun," with the lyrics softer, and the musical emphasis being transferred to flute and a string quartet (David Palmer is already an unofficial member). Oh well, it's a great tune Ian ripped himself off with, and it's still gorgeous. Too bad it lasts a little too long. But "For a Thousand Mothers" should earn your trust back; it's a wrathful rocker with angry lyrics once again aimed at Ian's family. Brilliant soloing, and just when you think it's over, they slam you with a great coda.

Stand Up is a huge step forward for the Tullers from the debut album, and it has many things going for it: the flow is pretty good. You'd be surprised to think that something as beautiful as "Reasons for Waiting" runs into something as heavy as "Thousand Mothers," but it does. It's also remarkably diverse: the genres that are represented include blues, hard rock, jazz, psychedelia and folk (which is why I consider the album so progressive, if not the individual songs). Newcomer Martin Barre is also a bonus: his more diverse (and heavier) style of play leads the band like Abrahams never could. Even if he did forget his amplifiers from time to time...

But the real strength of Stand Up is simply that it has no really bad songs on it. Even the numbers that bore me don't insult me. It's a remarkably even listen, and quite possibly the best introduction to the band you can find (if you're not in for the marathon listen of a Living in the Past or Bursting Out). Everything that Tull ever could be is contained on this disc; Ian just hadn't started linking that into twenty-minute suites yet.

(Here's an interesting phenomenon. Stand Up gets a 4.5, right? Well, if an album has great bonus tracks, it gets bumped half a point. So...does that make the remaster a 5? We start with "Living in the Past," the haunty flutey thing with the cool descending bassline. Arguably the greatest prog rock single ever. Ever. Can you think of a better single? One that isn't just a section of a twelve minute suite off someone's latest album, but an honest to God single? Didn't think so. "Driving Song" is a blazing, forceful blues rocker with savage lyrics and savage soloing from Ian and Martin. "Sweet Dream" is a dizzying blend of hard rock and symphony with the cool coda and spooky vocal delivery. "17," is a spinning hard rocker with cool lyrics. It's sort of a Led Zep competition song, but with flute. And far less annoying singer. Yeah. All are great. Suffice to say that the remaster is quite possibly in 4.9 territory, for one hell of a listen, if not necessarily a flawless bit 'o prog rockin'. Certain other factors exclude it. But damn, it's close.)

And thus entered Martin Barre the most accomplished and effective guitarist to ever grace Jethro Tull credits. Stand Up is by far one of the best Tull albums. All these many years later it still holds a freshness to it. Just listen to ' Bouree' for any proof. It is quite refreshing listening to early Tull these days as the music has aged so well and Stand Up is a perfect example. Still having David Palmer as a guest, it manages to show his influnece on the album too.

Most enlightening tracks are definitely ' A New Day Yesterday', ' We Used To Know' and the poignant ' For a Thousand Mothers'. A nice classic progressive affair which comes highly recommended.

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"

This review is hard to do, as I left my cd at home, and failed to copy the mp3s to this computer. So I have to do this from memory, but trust me, I have listened to this album more than enough! This was in fact the first rock album I have ever listened to on my own accord, so this review may be just a little biased.

"A New Day Yesterday" starts off where THIS WAS left off - with a memorable bluesy riff and dynamics changing from soft blues to loud hard rock. One of the most recognizable Tull tunes, and it was covered by the modern bluesman Joe Bonamassa (and this album was also named after the song)! Who knew this early incarnation of Tull had a following among bluesmen?! The second tune (and the second installment in the "songs about a guy named Jeffrey" series), previews what Jethro Tull would do in the field of folk rock during the far distant 70s. "Bouree" is a great live showpiece. This is where Ian Anderson does his most famous antic - standing one on leg while playing the melody to this Bouree from one of Bach's lute suites. And he takes it pretty seriously, as he had broken his leg many a time while attempting this stunt! "Back to the Family" and "Look Into the Sun", are relatively unkown tunes but quite pleasant to listened to, especially the latter one, with its memorable melody.

The second side started with "Nothing is Easy", a great proto-hard rock burner. I regret that I can't listen to it right now and bang my head along. "Fat Man" is another folky number, and the next two are ballads. Especially the second ballad "We Used to Know" is very memorable, because it is really "Hotel California" 7 years before "Hotel California" came out! Unfortunately Jethro Tull messed up on one chord change and therefore didn't get the acclaim they deserved for their composition. It's remarkable that it took the easylistening country rock outfit EAGLES seven full years to seize the opportunity to cash in on this jem by changing one chord. "For a Thousand Mothers" ends the album in a very hard rockish manner. Great riffs and solos on this one!

BONUS TRACKS: Contained here are "Living in the Past" and "Sweet Dreams", very well known early singles from the band, and very good ones! "Driving Song" was a b-side I guess, also released on a compilation album 3 years later, and "17" is an obscure number, and very different from this original album, with a rather rough sound.

On this album the band started to expand more into folk and classical sounds, but the blues core still remained. A very charming album by the young naive rockers and an excellent addition to any prog rock collection.

This album, Tull's second, has a blues-oriented feel, with all that is a damn good one, at least i find it one of the best Tull albums, no doubt. Absolute every track is good is can gets, so i can't choose one to be the best. To me is one of the most sincere and honest albums i ever heared. A true classic of music, nothing more to add, just a must have not only for Tull fans, worth it, even if is more bluesy then prog but that is not a bad thing. 4 stars without hesitation. Among the best albums of the late '60.

THE ARRIVAL OF LANCELOT!

After the release of the excellent ''jethrotullized'' blues-rock album TIME WAS, it seemed evident that a conflict between the 2 heads of the band was looming as a deep creative divide separated IAN ANDERSON and guitarist MIKE ABRAHAMS. IAN wanted to evolve beyond the blues-rock genre as ABRAHAMS was more of the conservative type. I even wonder how they even started together in the first place.

One day, IAN ANDERSON came to the studio with demos of new songs which were not to the liking og tha guitarist-at all; so he quit and went to form the modestly succesful BLODWYN PIG ( reference to Ian??)

Entering MARTIN LANCELOT BARRE taking over guitar duty. And still around 38 years later; IAN ANDERSON found his perfect sidekick.GLEN CORNICK on bass and CLIVE BUNKER on drums stayed on board, having no problems with the direction IAN ANDERSON wanted to go with the new JETHRO TULL.

Let's be honest; On STAND UP there is hardly anything prog on this album; this is classic rock with already all the JETHRO TULL caracteristics; a zest of classical musicL the classic BOUREE still played on stage these days, a blend of folk like the great LOOK INTO THE SUN , some good rocking numbers like the opening track A NEW DAY YESTERDAY or NOTHING IS EASY. Evidently, the flute is omnipresent compared to TIME WAS and became already the trademark of JETHRO TULL music. Ian anderson proved that he can take charge of all the writing duties. He is also showcasing his multi-instrumentalist abilities as he is playing the flute,of course, but also acoustic guitar, hammond organ, piano, mandolin.....balalaika! and mouth organ. Did i forget to mention he sings as well! A lot of responsibilities for one man!!

The band sounds tight as the rythm section is definitely a very lively combo full of vitality. But the hero is definitely MARTIN ''LANCELOT'' BARRE who proved he was the right guy for JETHRO TULL; there is plenty of scorching sounding guitar all through the album, especially his wonderful special wah-wah solo on the great WE USED TO KNOW, the highlight of the album, which to this day, is still one of my 5 favorite JETHRO TULL songs.

This is a very good album; i can't think on one bad track on STAND UP; a good, great original rock album with good energy, good musicianship and already this unique JT athmosphere. The original LP was something of a kind with inside, a pop-up interior of the 4 members. I've never seen something like that anywhere else. Can't definitely not do that with CDs!

As with any remasterised JETHRO TULL cd, STAND UP comes up with 4 great bonus tracks---available also on LIVING WITH THE PAST, the original 2 LPs compilation. All of them are good , especially the song LIVING IN THE PAST and the great SWEET DREAM.

3.5 stars for the album; STAND UP has to be part of any respectable JETHRO TULL collection, of any rock collection for the matter. And with the good bonus tracks..........

4 STARS1 A

This it is the first album of Jethro Tull that I listened, it's the transition of Jethro of This Was (it's a very good album too) and Benefit (70), has got roots of progressive rock in the songs like "Look into the sun" and "We used to know", of course Driving song, "For a thousand mothers". The remastered versionb got the classic "Living in the past". it is the first album with the spectacular guitarist Martin Barre, the elements of Jazz end here, and restart with roots to branches. The folk song "Jeffrey goes to Leicester Square", and the arabbian song "Fat man" are this album special, it's not the best of Jethro but it's the best in the jazz years of Jethro. Don't forget the flute-jazz song "boureé" it is the second song played by them who are not composed by Anderson, the first are "Cat's squirrel" of Cream this song is from This Was. Is a good record, it's brilliant and numb.

A step in a new direction, Stand Up, was Jethro Tull's second LP release. The bluesy feel of This Was compliments new sounds such as hard rock, jazz and Baroque chamber music. Adding to the new, guitarist Marin Barre makes his Tull debut, and he shows flashes of the tone and texture which became his personal stamp on the Jethro Tull sound. Overall, Stand Up contains familiar sounds such as Ian Anderson's distinctive vocals and flute throughout, but there is much more in the mix than This Was.

"A New Day Yesterday" is loud and heavy. Glenn Cornick and Clive Bunker do their best John Paul Jones & John Bonham impersonations along with nice Jimmy Page-inspired riffing from Martin Barre."Bouree" by J.S. Bach is given the Tull treatment in that it remains faithful to the original in the soft passages, but it gets a nice kick in the pants in the loud sections. Cornick adds a tasty bass guitar solo as well. "Back to Family" continues the loud sonic assault, but things quiet down with the nice "Look Into the Sun". "Fat Man" is a dynamic folksy number while "For a Thousand Mothers" ends the LP with a diverse mix of folk, jazz, blues, and hard rock, basically all the elements which make Stand Up such an important album in the history of Jethro Tull.

Stand Up is essential for all Jethro Tull fans. If you can, get the LP with cardboard stand up, or the MFSL gold CD (if you can swng a couple hundred $). For fans of progressive music, it is a great addition to your collection and is highly recommended.

After the debut This Was, the blues pattern was mostly history considering Jethro Tull, though the influences were there all the way to the future. Mick Abrahams went his way and was replaced by Martin 'Lancelot' Barre, and the life of Tull would never be the same again. Clive Bunker is still behind the drum kit, and survives his task more than properly. Glen Cornick(Who departed after the following Benefit album and was replaced by Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond) delivers some magnificent bass lines, especially in the Bach-piece Bouree. And then we of course have Anderson, the crazy mastermind behind everything. The woodcovered cover featuring the band is a legendary one.

Stand Up is a fine, but a bit uneven album. It consists of many all-time Tull classics like Bouree with the astounding flute-bass co- operation. Johan Sebastian would be jealous. Nothing Is Easy, the superb We Used To Know that was eventually ripped of by The Eagles, the bluesy New Day Yesterday and Reasons For Waiting, that reaches it huge climas in form of flutes and strings The whacky Fat Man is like straight from some distand village carneval. The soundscape of the record is a bit muddy, which can be heard already from the Barre's opening riff on New Day Yesterday. Partly this works creating the a bit jazzy and gloomy athmosphere, and partly it doesn't. But that's enough hifi-wanking.

There are some songs like Look Into The Sun and Back To The Family and Jeffrey(Hammond-Hammond) Goes To Leicester Square, that don't stand out so well like their comrades. Good sons all the way, but Tull can manage much, much better. Majority of the songs are very, very folky and there's the trademark flute, mandolin, balalaika, bouzouki and stuff. Truly we are talking about prog-folk here, Stand Up really defined that element into Jethro Tull's music.

Back in the blistering hot summer of '70 the garage band I played in hired a new drummer named Tommy Cline. He not only had great technique but he also had great albums from groups that I had vaguely heard of but hadn't had a chance to listen to. One of them was Jethro Tull and once Tommy turned the whole combo on to them my bandmates and I couldn't get enough. Soon I had my own vinyl copy of "Stand Up" with the trippy pop-ups of the musicians inside but at some point in my semi-nomadic years that followed I foolishly loaned it to an acquaintance and never saw hide nor hair of it again. (The thieving rat's probably living on a Caribbean beach by now, listening to it at this very moment.) Anyway, I never got around to replacing it until recently when I purchased the remastered CD and I must say that I'm discovering the genius of Ian Anderson & Co. all over again. Like all those decades ago, I can't get enough of it. I had forgotten what a masterpiece this album is. Shame on me.

Picking up where they left off on their debut, "A New Day Yesterday" is a heavy, blues-riff-based song that features guitar, harmonica and flute played in a very ominous, Cream-like vibe that was perfect for the end of the 60s. On many of the album's tunes Ian writes about how the small degree of success they'd achieved with "This Was" and the demands that came with it affected his everyday life. Here he points out the irony of finally finding his lady love but then "I had to leave today/just when I thought I'd found you/it was a new day yesterday/but it's an old day now." They perform a drastic about-face with "Jeffery Goes to Leicester Square" and therein lies the true charm of this album. It's got a little of everything and everything is superb. This short song is an intriguing mesh of electric guitar fed through a Leslie speaker cabinet accompanied by flute and some small drums. Here Anderson addresses a gorgeous but conceited lass that probably publicly looked down her nose at "his kind" at some point. "You may fool yourself but you don't fool me," he sings jauntily, "I'll see you in another place, another time/you may be someone's but you won't be mine." And, since he was about to become a rock megastar, it's her loss, not his.

If my memory serves me correctly their variation on Bach, "Bouree," was the first cut that I ever heard from Jethro Tull. It floored me because no one else that I was aware of was doing anything remotely like it at the time. Its clever fusion of classical, jazz and rock sensibilities and Glen Cornick's deft bass solo still hold up splendidly even today. "Back to the Family" is an inventive track with a very dynamic arrangement as Martin Lancelot Barre's distorted guitar in the background gives the tune a soothing, dense texture. The humorous words describe wanting to get away from the hectic madness of the city "'cause I've had about all I can take," only to find that in the peaceful countryside "doing nothing is bothering me," whereupon he returns to the stressful urban environment and soon wonders "what the hell was I thinking?" The flute and guitar jam at the end is particularly hot and spirited. "Look into the Sun" is a wonderful acoustic guitar-driven ballad that relies on its melody and mood instead of flashy lead instruments to entrance the listener. Ian's voice is processed through a tremolo effect that might have been annoying but it only enhances his somber words as he sings "I had waited for time to change her/the only change that came was over me/she pretended not to want love/I hope she was only fooling me." It's a fine, fine song.

I love keyboards as much as the next progger but there's always been something fascinating about a power trio of guitar, bass and drums working like a big machine and that's what you get on "Nothing is Easy" (along with Anderson's fiery flute, of course). It defines the meaning of "group effort" while still letting each member of the band shine brightly and it was an absolute jaw- dropper when I saw them in concert in '70. Here Ian recommends that "if you're alone and you're down to the bone/just give us a play/you'll smile in a while and discover that I'll/get you happy my way/nothing's easy." Sage advice, my friends. Heed the man. The exciting, acoustic raga-romp that is "Fat Man" follows and it's one of my all time favorites. Drummer Clive Bunker really gets to show off his versatility on this cut as he tears it up on the bongos (rather than tablas). Someone must have commented on Anderson's ultra-slim figure (in those days he was as thin as his flute and, as my friend Kenny would say, "You couldn't hit him with a handful of corn!") because this song is a sly retort to that observation. He sings that if he were fat he'd have "no chance of finding a woman/who will love you in the morning/and all the night time, too" while admitting that if you "roll us both down a mountain/I'm sure the fat man'd win."

Okay, so there are a lot of similarities to be found in The Eagles' "Hotel California" and in the chord structure of "We Used to Know," but that would also apply to the Rolling Stones' "Angie" so I can only say that imitation indicates admiration in this case. Actually, it's not that strong a tune, though, so who cares? It's not bad by any means but it tends to drag on a tad and Barre's wah-wah guitar lead gets a little too frantic for my taste. Next is the beautiful "Reasons for Waiting," an extraordinary ballad that features organ, harmony flute lines and a lush orchestral score behind Ian's honest vocal. "Came a thousand miles/just to catch you while you're smiling" he sings. Melts your heart, don't it? "For a Thousand Mothers" was the original finale on the LP and it still kicks serious ass as a rockin' ensemble piece in 6/4 time. Punctuated by Anderson's ferocious flute-playing, he seems to be addressing all those naysayers (including his ma and pa) who told him "I'll never be what I am now/telling me I'll never find/what I've already found/it was they who were wrong/and for them here's a song." It also has a sneaky false ending that leads to a brief but furious reprise. It's prog heaven.

The remastered version includes four additional cuts. "Living in the Past" was penned around that same time period due to the urging of their manager to come up with a Top 40 single for the UK while they toured the states. Ian didn't think its 5/4 time signature gave it a snowball's chance in hell but he was dead wrong, it would seem, as it has become one of their most enduring hits. I still consider it one of Anderson's most memorable flute performances and his sarcastic, tongue-firmly-in-cheek lyric about burying one's head in the sand by "walking out/while others shout/of war's disaster/oh, we won't give in/let's go living in the past" always makes me chuckle. New to me is "Driving Song," a bluesy rocker where Ian laments "they tell me I'll be home someday/well, I doubt it if I continue this way/'cause this hard life I've led/is making me dead" and "Sweet Dream," a heavy and somewhat experimental tune (for them, anyway) with horns and strings that's ambitious, to be sure, but mediocre at best. I didn't think much of "17" at first but its uncharacteristic grungy, loose rock & roll feel and snippy words like "and now here you are/you're locked in your own excuse/the circle's getting smaller every day/you're busy planning your next 50 years/so stay the way you are/and keep your head down to the same old ground" has pulled me in and now I have a real hankerin' for it.

This is a bonafide masterpiece of progressive rock and if you don't know why Jethro Tull is considered to be a giant of the genre this album will provide you with all the answers to your questions. Like Yes, King Crimson, ELP, Genesis and Pink Floyd they broke ranks with the mainstream, took the path less traveled and created unique aural art, giving birth to the stimulating branch of music this site celebrates with passion and earnestness. "Stand Up" deserves to be admired and, more importantly, enjoyed on a regular basis.

For all of us living in the CD era, it's too bad we can't readily experience the why of the title, which of course was the pop-up on the inside cover of the album.

Though the coolness of the original LP cover is not available, the music still is, and it's generally good. Things kick off with A New Day Yesterday, which is a bluesy opening cut obviously designed to grab the listener's attention and/or get some FM airplay. Which is to say it's a standard blues-rocker of the era. But note the song's words, "it was a new day yesterday, but it's an old day now." This applies directly to the song, in terms of the music being presented, i.e., the bluesy JT was new, but it's old now. And that's pretty much the last we hear of the old on this album.

What follows is folk- or jazz-influenced to a large degree. It's successful to a certain extent, the high point being Bouree, with Cornick's excellent bass playing carrying the song. But much of the rest is largely derivative, e.g., the Eastern-influenced Fat Man.

So the original album is average. The remastered CD releases -- which have the incomparable Living In The Past (blows away anything on the original album) and Sweet Dreams (ditto) -- lift this above the average.

But taken in the context of JT's Stand Up vs. Blodwyn Pig's A Head Rings Out (which is Anderson's vision of the band vs. Abrahams' vision of the band), Abrahams wins hands down.

A brilliant follow-up to the sometimes flat debut, Stand Up was, in the great tradition of this band, a growth spurt completely unexpected. From the first few moments it revealed a group who'd seen the writing on the rock 'n roll wall, and were more than ready to show what was possible in a brave new musical world with no ceiling in sight. Well beyond the psych/blues quagmire of the period, in certain ways this represents Tull's finest moment and though not as ambitious as later releases, it is a beautiful album that heralded a grand new time. Not to mention a group able to compete with bigger kids like Sabbath and Zeppelin. The mix is a huge improvement from the first session as well, making 'Stand Up' one of the best records of 1969. Right to the meat is the hearty 'A New Day Yesterday' pounding a classic hard-blues riff into submission, quieting for Ian's pipings and harp. In 'Jeffery Goes to Leicester Square' we finally hear him dipping into his Celtic past and jester's heart, new member Martin Barre a blessing on guitar accentuating Anderson's compositions just right, Glen Cornick and Clive Bunker the ideal rhythm section as evidenced on classic 'Bouree'. Minstrel's tune 'Look Into the Sun' is good but 'Nothing is Easy' is definitive early Tull, a soft-to-hard jazz rocker that showcases Anderson's flute. Jiggy 'Fat Man', folk rock of 'We Used to Know', the warm 'Reasons For Waiting' with great guitar/flute duets, Bunker's hot percussion, a bit of organ and a string passage. And the almost symphonic 'For A Thousand Mothers' to end.

This is full blown progressive rock with all important elements a good year before Genesis and Yes had caught up. A prog album like no other and one of the first really serious, inspired and ostentatious recordings of the movement, and absolutely essential for any complete Prog collection. Maybe someday we'll get that pop-up interior... c'mon guys, we're waiting.

This is such a classic and it was the first Jethro Tull album I listened to. STAND UP caught my attention right away and it is as enjoyable today as the first time I listened to it. Mick Abrahams has been replaced by Martin Barre on guitar which is the only change in the lineup. Mick Abrahams was a more standard blues rock guitarist where Martin Barre is a bit more innovative.

The music has evolved from pretty basic blues rock on the debut album THIS WAS to rock music with a folky touch. Ian Anderson´s flute playing is omnipresent on STAND UP and was from this moment on their trademark.

The album starts with the classic A NEW DAY YESTERDAY which is one of the songs that are always played at Jethro Tull concerts along with the instrumental BOUREE which is also a Jethro Tull classic. Other stand out tracks would be FAT MAN with the wild percussion and REASONS FOR WAITING with the string arrangement ( something that Jethro Tull would explore further on later albums). But in truth there are only outstanding songs on this excellent album.

The sound quality is ok for the time, but it could have been better. It doesn´t take anything away from the album though and you have to remember that this was 1969.

This is one of the best albums Jethro Tull have made and a true rock classic. If it is a true prog rock album is up for discussion but the quality is not. It was innovative for the time though and fully deserves the masterpiece stamp. 5 stars for this essential album.

The Blues from the first album is gone, and along comes this unexpected collection of gems.

Ian Anderson stated in an interview once that this is probably his favourite Jethro Tull album, but he only composed the thing, so what does he know? Meaning: I don't really agree with his assessment. Sure all the songs are great, but personally I think there were far better things to come.

I don't want to go into line-ups, but in this case I do find it relevant that Martin Barre joined the band for this album and all subsequent recordings. Barre has left his distinct mark on Jethro Tull's sound ever since, but I can't quite see that the influence attributed to him is quite justified. He is a fine guitarist, but to my mind, nothing more (sorry!). What I mean to say is that I think that the change of Jethro Tull's sound and songs had much more to do with Mick Abraham's leaving and Anderson taking the helm, than to Barre's joining. Just had to get that off my chest.

Anyway, I don't intend to go into the individual songs, I'm sure that's been done somewhere else on ProgArchives, and I'd like to concentrate on what I perceive as the essence of the atmosphere on this album.

Diversity seems to be the word I'm looking for in describing this album. The compositions here are as far apart in style as any record of the era I know of ever attempted (except for Frank Zappa, of course, but his music and 'angle of attack' were completely different). They (the compositions) range from soft fragile songs (Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square) to all out ear-attacks (For A Thousand Mothers), but never does anything turn to mush.

It's amazing that a group of musicians (and their main composer) were able to turn out such a collection of incredible tunes at such a young age, refining them with unusual instruments, exquisite arrangements, and still never convey at any point at all, that there was ever any effort involved.

Seriously, the detail involved here is phenomenal, but it all blends into the structure of the individual songs so that it actually takes several listens before you start to wonder about the complexity of it all. After all, the year was 1969.

On the other hand, although I do rank this album higher than 'This Was', I find that sometimes it does sound a bit as if it could have done with more of the light-heartedness that was present on its predecessor.

A full four stars is very justified, I find.

Review 22, Stand Up, Jethro Tull, 1969

StarStarStarStar

Big smile Star

'I think about the bad old days... we used to know'

For someone who adores the classic 'prog' period of Tull, doesn't mind the 80s synths of Broadsword And The Beast, and hates Songs From The Wood with a vengeance, this album was a breath of fresh air. There are no pretentions at all, a light, slightly sarcastic feel and neatly merged blues and folk influences, and these all contribute to a great, fun album. Ian Anderson's vocals and lyrics aren't as good as they are later, but they usually suit the material and aren't terrible, and we get some good musicianship from all involved. A really enjoyable album, and an indication that pre-Aqualung Tull is not to be missed.

A New Day Yesterday begins with a pretty standard bluesy bass-and-drums riff, with some excellent additions over it from electrics, flute, violin (I think) and harmonica. Ian Anderson's vocals and lyrics, while not yet hitting their heights, fit it neatly. After some brief soloing, with the flute particularly standing out, a second variation of the main riff comes in with a slightly greater kick. Solid blues song.

Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square is my least favourite song from the album. It features eclectic bongo-drumming from Clive Bunker and rather harmless glimpses of Hammond or vibes, plus whimsical bass. The vocals are weird, but not particularly distinctive, and I can barely make out the lyrics. Not bad, per se, but I feel that the band didn't quite achieve what they wanted to.

Bourée is a unique instrumental with superb flute soloing and flute duets over a mobile bass-dominated background. The drumming is superb, holding up a beat and occasionally bursting out a little. There's also an excellent bass solo after a couple of minutes. After an illusory ending, the song picks up again into a second part, with an equally upbeat feel and an avant-garde bit of flute noodling.

Back To The Family is another odd piece, with more weird, but excellent drumming. The verses and the slight developments within them work very well with Anderson's near-nonsensical lyrics and strained vocals. The lead into the fairly hard-rocking sections is superb, with Martin Barre and Ian Anderson (on flute) both suitably soloing and dueting while the rhythm section gently move around. I'm not generally the greatest fan of fades, though, so the ending to this one doesn't leave me satisfied.

Look Into The Sun is an excellent, soft acoustic song with some small soloing from Martin Barre's electrics. Ian Anderson provides an emotive vocal, which, while unexceptional, does the job well. Martin Barre is the standout here, combining several styles of mini-soloing to good effect.

Nothing Is Easy begins with a bluesy jam and bursts of cheerful vocals, as well as lots of soloing from all involved. The song is particularly outstanding for the rhythm section, as Clive Bunker lays down an unexpectedly powerful drum part and both he and Glen Cornick provide very strong solos as well as highlighting Anderson and Barre's various parts. The climactic blues crescendo ending is always fun. Another very strong song.

Fat Man is, I think, a very successful bizarre piece, with enjoyable mandolin and bouzouki, accompied by weird drumming, including a classy solo. The humorous lyrics and sarcastic vocals work brilliantly with the unusual choices of instrumentation. Great song.

We Used To Know is my pick for Stand Up, with somewhat folky, developing acoustic verses and vocals well above Anderson's standard on most of this album combined with superb blues-rock guitar solos (including one of my all-time favourites), and undemanding, yet important, drumming from Bunker. The fade manages not to spoil it.

Reasons For Waiting rather focuses attention on the string arrangements, since the acoustics, flutes and vocals (with backing organs), while all perfectly nice, don't really stand out much. The string additions work well here and seem to be there for a reason. Pretty typical of the album: diverse, unusual songs.

For A Thousand Mothers is an attack on parents discouraging a musical career, naturally accompanied by excellent music. Most of the song is an ascending blues, though at one point Martin Barre even provides an almost Spanish-feeling solo at one point, as well as the ascending blues-rock styles that I love to pieces. The concluding, carnival-like flute riff, accompanied by some reminders of the main theme, is delightful. Perhaps the problem with this one is that a lot is going on at one time and it feels very dense and claustrophobic. Some bands are able to do a hell of a lot of high-tempo things at once, but I think Tull didn't pull that off too well here.

Onto the bonus material, all of which is pretty excellent, so will get mini-reviews.

Living In The Past has this unusual feel of an eclectic hit, with its odd timing emphasised by a rather prominent bass and vocals dancing along with it. Definitely quite acceptable, despite being odd. I like it. Driving Song is another blues with some highlights in the rhythm section, even if the flute could probably merge better. Sweet Dream is a great song with classy dramatic string arrangements and an unplaceable flamenco feel. Though there might be a few more repeats of the chorus than I'd like, the quality of the arrangement more than makes up for it. 17 is the only one of the bonus tracks which I think doesn't really hold up to the album proper, with it's distorted or multiple vocals annoying me enough that I try to ignore them and just listen to the classy percussion and guitars. Basically, I'd have preferred this song without such thick vocals.

Overall, the album, bonus material included, is extremely strong, with a couple of highlights and a couple of small lowlights. Even if Tull haven't moved onto their more widely regarded golden age of Aqualung/Thick As A Brick, they have succeeded in producing a classy, individual and quirky album that should have something for everyone. Two caveats: if you really hate either blues or weaker vocals, this might not be for you, and I naturally recommend that anyone new to Tull should go for the more impressive Aqualung/Thick straight away.

Rating: Four Stars (bonus material included)

Favourite Track: We Used To Know, with a nod to Bourée

A great album from a great band. This was the first Jethro Tull record I heard, after my dad had me listen to a 45 of Bourée. What a great listen, albeit maybe one of their more blues influenced records, it still has intense progressive hits. Bourée being a fine example of that. The flute playing is amazing and the drumming is wild and crazy. Nothing Is Easy features some pretty wicked drum fills. It's a shame Clive Bunker left so early. He practically vanished after Aqualung. Folkier points include Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square and Fat Man. This record is the record you should get if you want to get into Jethro Tull. It's easier to swallow than some of their later stuff.

4 stars.

8.5/10 Great

I rarely give this album a spin much when I look for some Jethro Tull to play. Really, because the band reached far beyond this, but that doesn't mean it isn't great music. This album has a few masterful tracks, and the rest don't do much for me. Anderson really couldn't write a bad song, so check this album out if you haven't even heard the band yet, it is worth that beyond anything! Every track is enjoyable and good, but standout tracks for me are Look Into The Sun, Reasons For Waiting, Fat Man and Back to the Family. Jethro Tull is still into the rockish sound on tracks like A New Day Yesterday and Nothing is Easy, this rocker style for them is great and fun, but nothing in comparison to their progressive ventures. Really, Reasons For Waiting is their best short track ever written, around 4 minutes, a complete masterpeice. Thankfully the band lends more toward this sort of melodic brilliance on later albums, which is what I really prefer to hear from them. Overall, though, this album is a good sample of their earlier works and much better than This Was. Anderson is a true genius and was on a great path when making this music, only to explode in the future. I wonder what it was like to listen and not know that this band would create Thick as a Brick and Aqualung!? Incredible...Check this album out for a less proggish but more rock/symphonic feel, it is a great one!

Jethro Tull is a band plagued by many average albums, and Stand Up falls right into that category.

The band is trying something new here. I like that and I respect that. However, their forays into progressive rock are at this point shaky and mildly juvenile. By Aqualung, they will have a much stronger grasp on this, but for this record we have to suffer with a few misses and some poor transitions. Also, on the whole, the music is fairly mellow and not particularly exciting. On the bright side, however, the flute is coming into play here a good bit more, giving the album more of a unique flair from an average rock band. The sound quality is also a fair step up from their debut, though they don't get a fair sonic treatment, I don't think, until Thick as a Brick.

There are a number of classy tracks on this album, still. The opener A New Day Yesterday might not be very progressive or feature much flute, but it's an interesting rock tune anyways. Bouree is the quintessential Jethro Tull instrumental, showcasing some wonderful flute. And speaking of wonderful flute, Back to the Family is clearly the leader on this album, with some absolutely terrific flute and guitar duet/interplay. Fat Man is the only song here with a whole lot of energy throughout, and I must say the lyrics are quite special. Living in the Past, the single included on the remaster, is one of the most famous Tull songs ever recorded, and it's a good 5/4 prog rock tune.

Some parts of this album stack up well against the debut, others don't, but in short, it's a pretty worthwhile album as well. Fans of the band should certainly check this out, but newcomers to them should start with Aqualung and Thick as a Brick and work their way in both directions.

Stand Up 5/5 Well let us start things off by saying that this album is equal to Thick as a Brick IMHO. On his band's second full length LP, Ian decided to write material for 9 of the 10 songs and give us one of the greatest covers and arrangement of a classical piece the rock genre has seen (no not Pictures at an Exhibition). The bonus tracks on this remastered are excellent, with the exception of '17'. Ultimately I can listen from tracks 1-13 without skipping a tune, meaning the original album is perfect in its arrangement, progression and songwriting all the way from the opening riff of 'A New Day Yesterday' to Ian's coda solo in 'For a Thousand Mothers.'

This album features Tull venturing into a wide range of styles, essentially creating the basis for their progressive rock masterpieces to come. The catch here is that this album is presented as a traditional rock album, with 10 songs ranging from 2 to 4½ minutes apiece, meaning it is quite similar to Aqualung in its structure but similar to Thick as a Brick in its depth and eclectic explorations.

'A New Day Yesterday' begins the album in true blues style, akin to Led Zeppelin or Ten Years After; what is amazing is how Tull masters the blues form with greater skill than the aforementioned groups. However, Ian was never content with playing just that style of music, the liner notes shed light on his desire to incorporate genres that he admires- from classical, jazz, eastern and folk music. 'Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square' is a fine example of the fusion of these multiple styles, notice the percussion and overall experimentation in instrumentation.

Then we move on to the classic that is 'Bouree', an adaptation of Bach's in E Minor. And is this song not the greatest thing to ones ears, with Ian going wild behind one the tightest jazz breakdowns. The tempo transition from the opening section into this instrumental jam into Cornick's bass solo back to the original theme is very dynamic for such a sort piece of music. Essential to any prog lover.

'Back to the Family' is another strong song, featuring an incredible Martin Barre solo to end the piece, sort of reminds me of the work Tony Iommi would do with Sabbath shortly thereafter (Rock and Roll Circus anyone?). The first side ends with 'Look into the Sun', one of Ian's finest acoustic folk tunes, Barre's versatile guitar work stands out again in this track- a very sublime and meditative piece of music.

'Nothing is Easy' features fine drumming by Clive Bunker, again the interaction between flute and guitar is predominant with a very powerful closing to the piece, notice the balance between Tull's strength and elegance in this piece. 'Fat Man' contains some very eclectic features to it, balalaika from Ian gives the piece a very unique sound; in terms of lyrics it is quite hilarious and classic Ian.

'We Used To Know' contains extraordinary guitar playing from Barre, here fusing a Hendrix-like solo in a manner that seems like something Terry Kath did with quite frequency in the late 1960's with Chicago. Awesome contrast between the acoustic verse and chorus and Barre's electric solo with my favorite section being Cornick's bass work towards the close of the piece. 'Reason for Waiting' provides another nice shift and gives us beautiful orchestration, similar to what we will see on the shorter acoustic numbers on Aqualung. The bridge with Ian on flute and the same riff on organ gives the piece needed tension.

Finally, we have 'For a Thousand Mothers', one of Tull's hardest rocking pieces and merging all the musical styles that Ian and company mastered on this album. Barre provides a strong riff and again, they finish the song off with an inspired jam- the music ending before Ian enters with a malicious flute solo (just pure aggression in this section) and he trades leads with Barre. 'Living in the Past', 'Driving Song' and 'Sweet Dream' are essential bonus tracks and to me necessary in listening to this album. I highly recommend this work and the music is among Tull's best. Enjoy!

Folk and blues dominates this early Jethro Tull record, and while the music is fairly good, there's not a lot to maintain my interest. Worse though, is that Ian Anderson sounds downright goofy singing as he does throughout many of the songs, almost as if he's deliberately being silly. At times the drums are hard-panned to the left, which really sounds irritating through headphones. This album is a mesh of smart blues rock and simple folk numbers, but nothing that is particularly progressive.

"A New Day Yesterday" This is a blues rock number close to old Led Zeppelin, heavy on the electric guitar, bass, drums, and harmonica. Anderson sounds completely unlike himself, as though singing in a most exaggerated way. His flute solo is rather bland also.

"Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square" A pleasing short ditty with some folk-like sensibilities that makes me think of Gentle Giant a bit.

"Bourée" The third track is a nice jazz instrumental that makes me think of some of Van Morrison's jazzier songs. It's one where Anderson gets to show his stuff as a flutist, and one can hear his trademark inhalations also. Glenn Cornick gets in a good bass solo

"Back To The Family" Anderson's back to the exaggerated vocal styling heard on the first track, but this song gets points for Martin Barre's subtle (and yet not-so-subtle) guitar work.

"Look Into The Sun" Easygoing acoustic guitar plays underneath Anderson's voice, which is laced with a tremolo effect. It's a pleasing enough song, perhaps closer to the acoustic-based content on Minstrel in the Gallery.

"Nothing Is Easy" An interesting rocker right out of the 1960s, this song has some impressive drumming and guitar lead, but it isn't as memorable as anything that came before.

"Fat Man" Middle Eastern and Oriental flavors make up this otherwise silly song.

"We Used To Know" A simple chord progression on acoustic guitar makes for a decent rock song, and Barre engages in a lengthy guitar solo at the end.

"Reasons For Waiting" This is a beautiful song with some strings and more acoustic guitar, very close to the music on Minstrel in the Gallery.

"For A Thousand Mothers" This is probably the closest thing to progressive rock, with its fairly complex rhythm and interesting flute jamming, and Clive Bunker really goes at it, but the music does sounds a bit primitive.

It may have been a new sound in yesteryear, but its an old sound now!

Like its predecessor, Stand Up too is a rather straightforward Blues Rock album. Even if it is in some respects an improvement over their debut album, this second effort too sounds somewhat dated and immature today; not only in comparison with the band's own later albums, but also in comparison with many other albums originally released in 1969.

Ian Anderson's distinctive flutes and vocals are again clearly recognizable here, and they sound better than on This Was, but apart from that there is not too much here to indicate what a great band they would soon become. The band's version of Bach's Bourée is, of course, essential. But this is not the definitive version of it. There are many live albums that hold better versions of it. The best track of this album is Fat Man. This may also be the song that most strongly points towards the future of the band's sound.

Like I said in my review of This Was, Prog fans should begin with Aqualung and ignore the three first albums at least until they have acquired most or all of the band's post-Aqualung output, most of which is better than these early albums. At least in this fans' opinion.

Recommended for fellow fans and collectors, but it is not the classic it is often held up to be

3.5 stars. A good album but there are too many tracks that for me are average at best. This did quite well for the band in 1969, and they even got to open for LED ZEPPELIN's first arena tour, which Ian thanks them for in the liner notes as it allowed the band to reach a lot of people. In fact Ian dedicates this remastered version to LED ZEPPELIN. He tells the story about having breakfast with Joe Cocker in New York and Joe telling him that "Stand Up" had just gone number one in the UK. Cool way to find out eh ?

"A New Day Yesterday" is a top three for me, in fact my favourite. Love the heavy Blues / Rock flavour of this track. Nice guitar before 2 minutes and the flute that follows. "Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square" is fairly light with percussion and vocals standing out early. The flute takes over for the vocals later. It's ok. "Bouree" is an instrumental with bass and flute to open with drums in tow. "Back To The Family" has a fuller sound with guitar after a minute as the contrasts continue.

"Look Into The Sun" is better with strummed guitar and vocals. Bass joins in too. Cool song. "Nothing Is Easy" builds with drums and flute and the guitar is prominant later. "Fat Man" I just don't enjoy. "We Used To Know" is a top three tune for me. A laid back tune that just works for me. It seems to build slowly. "Reasons For Waiting" opens with strummed guitar, flute then vocals. Some strings later. "For A Thousand Mothers" is the other top three. In fact this and the opener are the two I like the most by far. Both bluesy and heavier. I like the guitar to end it.

A significant album for the band as "Stand Up" showed the band steering toward the sound that made them famous.

Ladies and gentleman, please welcome, Jethro Tull!

Stand Up is the album where band Jethro Tull has achieved their classic, well-known sound. This Was already had some of the band's classic members, and even a few classic songs, but as soon as Martin Barre had joined the band, it had already achieved it's new style.

Starting with the part-classic A New Day Yesterday, to the sounds of Martin Barre's ultimate dominating guitar sound, evolving in a second into a classic Jethro Tull sounding track with Glenn Cornick's outstanding bass work and Clive Bunker's unimaginably good drumming, then to Ian Anderson's vocals, with Anderson doing an odd accent which is not even his original accent, and then to a fantastic flute solo. This song is classic Jethro Tull, as mentioned around 100,000 times in this review.

Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square is a mellow song, which most definitely is a showcase of Anderson's fantastic flute playing skills. Now we hear Anderson's true voice, which is a mark of progressive rock ever since then. Barre's guitar work is powerful even in such a little funny line he plays, synchronized with Anderson's flute.

Bouree is the first Jethro Tull classic which is really a classic on this album, doing a fine rendition Bach's, you know it, Bouree. Bunker's drumming on this track is amazing, like the rest of the album. Again, this track showcases Anderson's flute. Tull even goes into a bit of their own in this one, and it is sure to raise a grin on anyone's serious, classically-trained, face. This is one fine rendition that Bach lovers are sure to enjoy. A tiny break for a little Cornick bassline and back to the song, and back to the riff. A funny little thing here is Anderson's counting near the end which you can hear, if you get a little frisky with your volume.

Back to the Family is a song that is not a real classic, but anyone who already knows Jethro Tull already knows, or will like when he first hears it. This song has a famous Barre/Cornick riff but no part for Bunker until he enters in the chorus with his famous cymbolic (pun and misspelling intended) sound. This song is not exactly your Jethro Tull song, but in some parts of the song, the Tull do their thing. The song ends with a nice little improvisation for you Tull fans.

Look Into the Sun is not a really "known" Tull song, but it features a nice chord sequence, which isn't exactly the band's sound, but still pleases. The chorus is a very catchy sing-a-long, to anyone, and I mean ANYONE, who listens to music, even in general. It's one of those songs that catch you 'round the bend with their catchiness and sing-a-long-ness. This song features very little amounts of flute in it, so for the young ear it may be a little hard to hear in some cases. The song also features no drums whatsoever, not even in the slightest, but it doesn't stop it from being catchy and great.

Nothing is Easy is, like Back to the Family, a Jethro Tull fan classic, featuring a very famous chorus and guitar part. We're back to Bunker's famous shuffle-on-the-ride-cymbal drum parts, Cornick's I-follow-the-rest-of-the-bands-parts-so-good-it-sounds-so-much-better bass parts, and Anderson's flute solos which come every 2 seconds.

Fat Man is a song consisting of nothing but Anderson's acoustic guitar, balalaika, bouzouki, mandolin, flute and vocals and Bunker's percussion. The song has a few short percussion/flute, etc. solos, which are pretty nice, and also ironic as they don't sound empty, even on a song with such little instruments (or is it many?). It's a short song which isn't realyl versatile but still a great song.

Now comes We Used to Know, which in my opinion is the best track on this album. This song has a chord sequence similar to Hotel California, but only a "few" years before. The song gets louder and stronger every round of the sequence, transforming into many solos of many instruments, based only on this short chord sequence of Em-B-D-A-C-G-F#-B. Great song, and one of Jethro Tull's best, even outside of this album.

Reasons for Waiting, ahh. This song features Barre playing the flute alongside Anderson, morphing 2 very important bodies of Jethro Tull history on the same instrument, which is also, a very important instrument in Jethro Tull history. This song's chords sometimes sound like a mix of Look Into the Sun and Back to the Family, but nothing too obvious for the young ear. This song is beautiful, with it's very selective instrumentation in the beginning, but then having an orchestra join in closer to the end, making it even more beautiful and amazing.

Now comes the final song on the album, For A Thousand Mothers. It's drum opening is symbolic for heavy Tull fans, not to mention the riff, which is very famous in general. This is one of those classic Jethro Tull sounding songs, with Anderson's classic accent, flute solos all over the place, Barre/Cornick riffs, and Bunker's amazing ride-cymbal beats. The song doesn't leave its riff for more than 5 seconds, and literally, it doesn't leave its riff for more than 5 seconds. The song is actionful and mindblowing, with harmonies, overdubs, and transpositions. After a while it sounds like the song comes to an end, but then Bunker's drum opening starts it again and it goes back to the riff, and the ends with a proper, Jethro Tull ending. Nice song to end an album with!

This is a great album, and, in my honest opinion, one of Tull's very best. It features tight playing even when some of the bands members didn't join until the same year, and amazing songs written by people so young. 5/5, as this is a mindblowing album, especially as it is only their second!

This must be Jethro Tull's moodiest and most heartfelt album. It's not a progressive rock album by any definition but it has a lot of original and adventurous elements. Besides, Ian Anderson's impeccable song writing combined with the passion of this performance makes this my all-time favourite classic rock album.

I had come to know Jethro Tull through Thick as a Brick so this album came as quite a surprise. The difference in approach between both works (with just three years and two albums in between them) is amazing. But with songs rarely over 4 minutes and a sound still strongly rooted into blues, there's at first sight little reasons to defend it as a prog masterpiece.

Be not mistaken though. The year is 1969 and in the way of pushing rock's boundaries this album scores very high indeed. The simple blues rock of the debut is enriched with influences from classical music and folk and in doing so Jethro Tull achieved a sound you're not likely to find on albums preceding it.

Besides, all songs are perfect and very different in approach, rhythm, melody and instrumentation, nicely balancing between the dark and the playful, between heaviness and romantic lyricism. And such richness in quality and variation can of course only be found on a prog album. Right?

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)

The second Jethro Tull album is slightly more folky than the bluesy debut album. The music is still very much blues. The bluesy harmonica, guitars, bass and drums is very much here. But again; the flute is dragging the music headlong into folk music territory. But not long enough, in my view.

All the well known Jethro Tull ingredients, instrument wise, is here and the shape of things to come is starting to become clearer. The vocals are here too. There is even some symphonic prog elements here on the top of the blues/folk stuff. The second track Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square brings news about things to come from Jethro Tull. It is short, but it is still great. Bourée is also another break with the blues stuff from the debut album. Hard rock also comes into fore on this album. There is a lot of nice stuff on this album.

I see this album as a more or less transitional album and a snap shot of a band developing into a prog rock powerhouse. It is a good album.

3 stars

A beautiful precursor to the Jethro Tull progressive era.

In one swift cut, Jethro Tull had made a name for itself with a fine blues oriented album, then they were tasked with the followup. Fortunately for Tull, this so happened to be a grand scaled success.

Beginning with a bluesy guitar assault, A New Day Yesterday is brilliant and rocking. That catchy riff is splendid. This, however, doesn't set up the full tone for Stand Up. No, right after this, we get a soft paced Jeffery Goes To Leicester Square. This song is a more folk oriented affair, and softens the blow of the opening.

Leaping from this softer vantage point brings us to possibly the albums high water mark. Bouree, which is a reworking of Bach's classic is stately in its invigorating intricacies. The flute melody is winding and absolutely stunning. If it weren't for the wide variety and psychedelically winding compulsions of the album as a flowing piece, the surprises might well end there.

Instead, you get another spice of fiery blues rock in Back to the Family, which further implants Ian Anderson as a whimsical and flowering poet, instilling his vivid imagery into each song. Speaking of each song, the all separately offer something special to the listening, and never get boring. It also seems that a small pattern is forming. There is a powerful and fierce rock song followed by a relatively smoother and more altogether atmospheric song after it. Look Into The Sun is as hazy as the name furtively implies. In this haze, it is still allowed to be illustriously pretty.

And one can't discount the fantastic, and fantastically original, flute work dancing amidst the other instruments, making for some elegant melodic segments. Nothing is Easy is another biting rock track that has multiple solo sections where both the flute and guitar get to showcase their interplay.

I actually quite enjoy Fat Man. It shows much intimate personality from the band, in those deep lyrics and double meanings, the originality of composition and instrumentation, with vast folk edges, and the melodic overall nature. While not my favorite, it still manages to capture my attention with the seasonal instrument use. We Used To Know slows up the tempo and allows a folky trot of dream spaces and nostalgia. The singing Ian does on this album lets us see the growth he was capable of as a vocalist. The guitar solo to this song is stirring and reminiscent.

Not content to only embark on a musical journey of half emotion, Reasons For Waiting is a phenomenal uplifting cathedral account. The tripping organ stutters alongside strings and flute pastorals are riveting. Finally, For A Thousand Mothers closes with a sharp and shocking bang. The guitar glistens nect to the sighing flute, and the band waltzes on majestically.

Stand Up featured Jethro Tull at its highest peak in the early stages, and never lets up. From shocker to crooner, dancer to doom, each song has something that makes it shine. Pulling from a vast array of styles and personal influences, the band has crafted their own identity, and did it forcefully. None of the musicians can be cited as being lazy or weak. Everyone contributed dutifully. If but a few real criticisms can be waged they would be on how the band seems to slightly overdo the blues rock, and the flute sections seem a bit repetitive. However, the albums overall ingenuity and versatility, coupled with some truly wondrous melodies makes for a worthy addition to anyone's collection.

Best Song - Bouree, Look Into The Sun, or For A Thousand Mothers

Worst Song - Hard to say, maybe Fat Man.

**** Very strong Stars

This is the album where Jethro Tull really became the band that we knew for all those years. After the first album, This Was, guitarist Mick Abrahams left, and was replaced by Martin Barre, giving the group a much richer pallette, and Anderson more to work with. While the songs still mostly retain that blues base, there is much more folk influence, and much more of the prog that will define his music, and make this band a favorite to this day.

A New Day Yesterday and Nothing Is Easy are both explosive rock tunes with a hint of prog in their arrangements. Both of these became long time concert favorites. But the real gems are Bourée and For A Thousand Mothers, foreshadowing the greatness this band would soon discover.

4 stars, because of the historic aspect of the album, showing a band on the road to huge heights, and just because it's a damned fine album.

Jethro Tull's "Stand up" is one of my top hundred progressive albuns of all the times, and certainly a mark in J T story !!! The new approach of guitarrist Martin Barré turns the J T music more heavy in the eletric moments and very lyrirc when make a acoustic duo with Anderson ! Stand Up is an albun without a weak moment, and full of fantastic and unforgettables passages, like the Martin's wah-wah solo in "We used to know", the Anderson's imnprovisation on "Bourée", the Glen Cornick's bass solo on the same track and the magistral Clive Bunker's drums in "Nothing is Easy" and "For a Thousand Mother's"!!! My rate is obviously 5 stars !!!

There are many things in this world that I do not understand, and in the field of popular music, one of my greatest puzzlements is this: how is it that this album isn't universally regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, or even known about by a lot of music fans? Before I swore off classic rock radio, I never once heard any of this album's songs on the radio, and I know there are casual classic rock fans (and casual Tull fans) who aren't familiar with this album at all. And, heck, it doesn't seem to be rated that highly by the majority of Tull fans; at one point, the All Music Guide gave it 2.5 stars, which was less than what they gave to A (3 stars). Well, you know what? As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the greatest albums of the late 60's, and in my mind comes extremely close to such acclaimed works as Beggar's Banquet and Let it Bleed.

The first major difference between this and This is the guitarist. Due to various creative differences, Mick Abrahams left the group to bounce around various small bands for the rest of his career. After a short stint with future Black Sabbath axe-man Tony Iommi, the group picked up the terrific Martin Barre. This guy really is incredible - extremely versatile, with a full, rich tone, his very presence would bring a serious rock element to the band for the first time. Heck, he even played flute on a couple of tracks - what a cool guy.

The second difference, which is even more important, is that Ian finally discovered that he had an incredible songwriter within him. Of course, as a corollary to this, he became a complete despot from this time onward, and in later years it would've been nice to have an additional writer in the band to help out when Ian's talents began to wane, but for now it's all good. There are ten tracks on here, each one a gem, with only a small quibble here and there on my part. Furthermore, the sound of the album is just amazing, showcasing all of the best aspects of what I described in the band's introduction with none of the bad aspects.

Three of the tracks on here are complete and total classics, and are easily among the very best songs the group ever did. The first, the opening "A New Day Yesterday," is a blues song, but it's better than any blues on This Was if for no other reason than that it has a simply terrific riff accompanying it. My personal favorite part of it is the way Martin does that neat little slide at the end of each riff repetition, but it also includes a solid middle jam (featuring both great guitar and flute solos, with a badly needed sense of 'looseness' that would tend to get lost in later years), good lyrics, and a nice coda (something that a lot of songs on here have, by the way). The second, the best song on the album, is a rock, blues and classical fusion of a Bach number entitled "Bouree." Even if you've heard the original (and you probably have, even if you don't realize it), this cover version will simply blow you away (and the jazzy section in the middle will drop your jaw at how utterly wrong it is, as will the bass solo). And it's got another great coda, with Ian panting the same note on his flute over and over again until the band closes together. And finally, there's the first song of side two, "Nothing is Easy." WHY this is not playing on every classic rock station in the country every day (or at least on the ones in Chicago) simply blows my mind. The vocal melody rules, the jams between verses are great, and that coda is AWESOME. I do admit that I can see finding it a little cheezy; it's the kind of "rev up and rock it to the max" coda that has become a staple of live shows for thousands of rock bands around the world, and thus hearing it in a studio setting might seem offputting. Then again, Tull deserves a lot of credit for coming up with this kind of coda in the first place, and there is a terrific build of energy and intensity up to the very end of it, so I'll probably never get sick of it. I can say is that there is nothing in this world like banging your head to a flute and guitar jamming the same note again and again until it all stops (especially after it had been built up like this).

Don't forget the rest of the album, though. For instance, there's a couple more terrific rockers, "Back to the Family" and the closing "For A Thousand Mothers" (with a great album- ending jam following it). The former starts off alternating between a simple electric folksy- bluesy shuffle (with lyrics about being bored with family life) and a more intense bluesy section where Ian sings over loud repeated Barre power chords, with an exciting flute part in the breaks, and then accelerates into a frantic flute-and-guitar jam for a coda. Here's a tip; listen to the coda jam while crusing down the highway one day, and if you don't feel the pure creative energy and excitement that comes from this album in that moment, then you and this album just aren't compatible. And then there's the closing track, which has a GREAT riff, although the production leaves something to be desired. The lyrics are among my favorite on the album, about getting to sneer at those who tell you you can't do something when you then do it, and my favorite moment is when Ian sings, "It was they who were wrong and for them is a song," followed by a brief, aggressively sneering flute line.

Hey, there's even a couple of great ballads! Of course, "Look Into the Sun" and "Reasons For Waiting" do sound a bunch alike, but they're still simply gorgeous, and they're easily the best slow ballads that Ian would ever write (though a small number come close). The latter is also the first instance of David Palmer's association with the band, as he arranged strings for it in a wonderful way. Keywords for these are: rich vocals, crisp tender vocal melodies, logical chord progressions, gorgeous fluting. There's also a nice introspective quiet number called "We Used to Know," which has the chord progression the Eagles would use on "Hotel California." The best part of it, though, is that Barre does his best Clapton imitation, turning on the wah-wah and pulling off a simply wonderful solo. I've seen it accused of being the first power ballad, which I guess isn't something to be proud of, but it's an amazing song nonetheless, so whatever.

Finally, there's also a couple of 'grooves', and while they're weaker than the other songs of the album, they're still fairly well-written, and don't lower the album's rating. The first is a bizarre balalaika-driven number called "Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square," and while it's amusing, I'm glad that it's only two minutes long. The other is an Indian-tinged song called "Fat Man," where Ian laments about being, well, fat. The lyrics are hilarious, though, no matter which way you look at it.

So there you are. In my esteemed opinion, no decent rock collection is complete without this. And since it (like the rest of Tull's discography, which fully came back into print in the late 90's) is easy to find at basically any store, you have no excuse for not going out and buying it asap.

Stand Up was the first proper Jethro Tull release since it was their first record to feature a collaboration between Ian Anderson and Martin Barre. Even though the band's sound was still completely soaked in blues rock of their debut album the Jethro Tull managed to blend in new influences such as symphonic music and folk influences. Still it's difficult for me to consider Stand Up an excellent release since the band was still in an early development of their own style that would ultimately culminate on albums like Aqualung in a couple of years.

A New Day Yesterday is a nice opening track that, just like Nothing Is Easy a few compositions later, shows Jethro Tull in their comfortable state of blues rock sound. This is just one of the wide array of styles that are performed on this record. The album's biggest highlight comes in the form of a re-working of Bourrée in E minor by J.S.Bach., simply titled Bourée. This piece of classical music blends surprisingly well with the more contemporary rock sound, plus giving Ian Anderson the opportunity to show off his flute skills. Other highlights include melodically strong Back To The Family, We Used To Know and For A Thousand Mothers. The rest of the material isn't that spectacular to my ears. My least favorite moment comes with a short rhythmically driven Fat Man that, if I recall correctly, is also a bonus track on my copy of Aqualung meaning that I should have heard it enough times to start understanding the intricacies of this composition. Instead it had the opposite effect of driving me even further away from liking this track.

1969 was an important year in the development of prog and even if Stand Up might have suffered a bit due to the amount of filler material it still manages to show a clear distinction between the early Jethro Tull sound and the one that the band would become so famous for in the '70s. Unfortunately this release has never been one of my personal favorites which is why I will have to rate it accordingly.

***** star songs: Bourée (3:47)

**** star songs: A New Day Yesterday (4:12) Back To The Family (3:53) Nothing Is Easy (4:26) We Used To Know (4:03) For A Thousand Mothers (4:22)

*** star songs: Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square (2:12) Look Into The Sun (4:23) Fat Man (2:52) Reasons For Waiting (4:07)

Martin Barre joined the group at this point and stayed for the next decades and did a great job here on this one. Classic influences are easy recognizable on pieces like Bourée(a well known J.S. Bach composition) or Reason for Waiting(a very enjoyable and beautiful love song) and this is a big step forward from blues-rock sound of "This Was". Specific Jethro Tull sound is easy distinguishable starting with this release. Beautiful inflections of Anderson Voice combined with flute interludes.

One of the best songs here is "Fat Man". The song theme and lyrics are a bit funny for me and the music seems to indicate the same thing.

A drawback of this release is the songs length and this gives the impression of the collection of folk-rock songs only(4:25 being the longest track and 2:12 being the shortest track).A plus here is also the cover which shows a funny representation of the bands members in a woodcut style.

The lyrics are enjoyable and seems to be about certain day by day frustrations on some songs and past contemplations(A new day yesterday , Back to the Family and We used to know).All in one this is not a bad album with some great tunes without any bad or annoying parts and it's a good sign for the great releases which are about to come in the next decade.

Sitting down here.

STAND UP is Jethro Tull's second album and takes a vastly different approach than the previous THIS WAS. The debut is an interesting hybrid of blues, jazz and rock with loads of instrumental flair. This album takes a more lyrical approach, giving STAND UP a singer/songwriter feel despite many moments of instrumental upheaval.

At least STAND UP achieves relative consistency in the quality of the songwriting; the debut had a couple of blues things that were wastes. Even the weakest of tracks like ''Reasons for Waiting'' and ''Look Into the Sun'' have some high points instrumentally. Still, STAND UP lacks that spark that gave THIS WAS character. ''We Used To Know'' is cute for five minutes due to the chord progression being similar to the Eagles' hit ''Hotel California'', but the novelty wears off soon after.

''A New Day Yesterday'' is the only song that could tie in with the debut; it's a great jazzy-blues track had Ian not tried to imitate Kermit the Frog. ''Bouree'' is the only instrumental track that serves as a foundation for flute and bass dexterity. The foray into world music with ''Fat Man'' and the powerful ''For a Thousand Mothers'' are the best works here. The bonus CD has the complex single ''Living in the Past'' and the epic ''Sweet Dream'' that add to the highlights.

I feel a bit passive on this album; Tull would reach greater heights later with THICK AS A BRICK, SONGS FROM THE WOOD and others, but STAND UP isn't a bad starting point. Very hit-and-miss, but also non-demanding making it a bit easier to digest than other Tull records. My biggest gripe is that I don't own a vinyl version with that legendary pop-up gatefold sleeve.

While this may not be one of Tull's most ambitious or progressive albums, it is far and away one of their most enjoyable.

Things start off with a bit of heavy blues with "A New Day Yesterday", welcoming Barre to the band by giving him an outstanding lead plart in this simple but very soulful blues tune. The playful "Jeffrey Goes.." follows, with a dancing melody and subtle mood, leading into the even better "Bouree", a flute-led jam session with great dynamics, powerful soloing, and an exceptional performance by the rhythm section. Very cool! "Back to the Family" gives Anderson's vocals a chance to shine, and gives the band another chance to crank out some heavy classic rock, made subtely artistic through some songwriting finesse. A touching folk ballad, energetic jam session and tongue-in-cheek melody making keep the pace going strong, while the elegant "Reason for Waiting" brings the emotive tone of Stand Up to its peak, only to let the instrumentally ambitious "For a Thousand Mothers" end the album with a show of upbeat excitement. There isn't a weak track here... not by a long shot, and the album feels very much like a "band" effort, rather than an Ian Anderson solo album.

While the music on Stand Up doesn't show off the prog flourishes in some of Tull's later works, it is the clear winner for me when it comes to style and enjoyability. It's artistic, thoughtful, dynamic, and emotive, with outstanding vocal and instrumental performances.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 5 Lyrics/Vocals: 4 Style/Emotion/Replay: 5

This is a classic album. It was a 1969 release and doesn't sound quite as dated compared to the previous "This Was". I am very fond indeed of early Jethro Tull especially after the arrival of this album, the first to feature new guitarist Martin Barre.

Although this is a lot more of a folky album with tracks like "Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square" and "Fat Man", we have a more developed blues rock style with "A New Day Yesterday". Just like with the band's debut, there's quite a mixture, including some jazz elements. All the styles somehow seem to be knitted together and as I mentioned, the results = absolute classic!

Personal favourites include "Bouree", the beautiful "Look Into The Sun", "Reasons For Waiting" and "For A Thousand Mothers". In fact all the songs are great. It was a difficult album to rate and I almost went for 5 big smackers but the reason I didn't is because I believe some of the following Tull albums to be even better! 4.5 stars.

Review of the 2CD/DVD Edition

With the departure of Mick Abrahams (who would go on to form Bloodwyn Pig) Jethro Tull would usher in a new guitarist named Martin Barre for their second studio release.

Stand Up would find the group heading more to their soon to be realized progressive rock sound that started to take form.

Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, acoustic guitars, keyboards, balalaika), Martin Barre (electric guitar, flute), Clive Bunker (drums), and Glen Cornick (bass), pushed Jethro Tull to new heights with Stand Up. The blues-rock foundation was still there however new roads where being travelled and very successfully. "Fat Man" and a fresh take on the classical "Bouree" were some of the highlights this recording had to offer. As Ian Anderson comments on his interview with the DVD included in this set, Abrahams was not willing to progress and go in another direction with his style. He was content being a blues rock guitarist and that is where he wanted to remain. So with that as a starting point Jethro Tull started on a new adventure after having released only one album. The decision would be the most prolific in the band's short lived career, changing their sound and chemistry entirely.

This three disc set, 2 CDs, which includes tracks from their Top Gear BBC Radio session and 1 DVD, was meant to be released as a celebration of the Stand Up 40th anniversary last year. Well as they say, better late than never and it is quite an enjoyable set. It was worth wait. You get the remastered original album from 2001 and a 1970 performance at Carnegie Hall. On the DVD you can listen to the Carnegie Hall concert (audio only) in different formats. Your choices are 48/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS or 48/24 Dolby Digital which I chose to listen to after hearing the normal stereo version on the CD. It might seem like too many choices for some folks but everyone is different and has various listening options dependent on their stereo and computer systems, so in that sense it is good thing. The improvements are noticeable in sound quality and the concert was a great treat.

Stand Up was an amalgam of rock, folk, classical, jazz, and blues that distinguished JT from all the other bands. This would be the pre-progressive rock sound (as Ian says in his interview) that would eventually develop further with each successive release. Ian also explained how they were not the same type of band as ELP or Yes, they were more vulgar and would be comparable to bands that became popular during the 90's grunge period like Pearl Jam and so forth. This I thought was an interesting comparison because I never really looked at it that way. I always considered JT as prog rock but you have to remember from whence they came and the roots of all their music that brought them to a mature progressive sound on their Thick As A Brick release. All the albums prior to this were a developing and experimental stage that combined various elements to afford the band their own unique stamp, not to mention Ian's vocals, on everything they did.

Stand Up was clearly a step in the right direction for Jethro Tull and it is fitting that a new set such as this was released to document it. The trifold cardboard case unfolds and the band pops up (Stand's Up). A booklet is included as well featuring a write up from Ian. All things considered this is a prized possession for all JT fans.

Key Tracks: Fat Man, Bouree, Nothing Is Easy Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck

Review #4 Jethro Tull's 1969 album Stand Up

Was there anything this fresh and exciting released in early 1969? Maybe King Crimson's debut. The flute had truly come to the fore on this album; both in the heavy and soft progressive music genres. No other band had ever achieved this and for that matter no other band really tried to copy it. Although This Was had been released the year before, Stand Up really marks the beginning of the unique sound that was "Tull".

The opening track "A New Day Yesterday" in my honest opinion is the first grunge rock track ever recorded. Go on and play it and think Pearl Jam or Nirvana. Anderson relates the story of Eddie Vedder coming back stage to a Tull gig in the US in the 1990s clutching a "Stand Up" album and relating that Stand Up was *the* album of all time or something to that effect. Whether this is true or not, who knows but I can see how many of the heavier songs on Stand Up have a grunginess about them...these being "Back To The Family", "Nothing Is Easy", "We Used to Know" and "For a Thousand Mothers"...not to forget "17" which is found on both the 2001 and 2010 remastered CDs.

I suppose you can credit Martin Barre for this as his guitar playing brought a more heavy timbre than Mick Abrahams ever did; more versatility for progression and this was certainly the case as the next 40 odd years proves it to be.

I know the Beatles mentioned balalaikas in "Back In The USSR" but had anyone actually used balalaikas as part of a rock tune before Tull did on Stand Up? I know someone will tell me.

The acoustic tracks on Stand Up are classic; Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square, Look Into The Sun, Fat Man, Reason's For Waiting and Bouree (which isn't really acoustic; more jazz oriented).

I could go on for hours but I won't.

This album was Number 1 in the UK...it is number 1 for me as well.

Stand Up and give me 5 stars.

The 2nd album of Jethro Tull, titled "Stand Up" is a real surprise for me. Blues is still present (see "A New Day Yesterday" or "For A Thousand Mothers"), Jazz Rock is present in "Bourée" (Ian Anderson new arrangement of "Suite for Lute N°1 BWV 996 by J.S. Bach) and one song, "Fat Man", is a pure Tyrannosaurus Rex style song but in my opinion this album is full Prog, not proper Folk, as Folk Rock or Folk Prog is present. This album is, in fact, the summary of Prog in 1969 except for Psychedelic side of Rock and Prog. This album is important also because is the first album with Tull of Martin Barre, a good axeman. Returning to write about style of songs, in general flute is present in great manner with great partitures. And the music is not so hard or with tons of Prog attitude as in other albums and in this manner Tull are at the best, also if other albums are better.

Good is the 2001 remasterd version because beside "Bourée" are present as bonus tracks three of my preferred songs: "Living In The Past", "Driving Song" and the incredible "Sweet Dreams".

In definitive view, "Stand Up" is one of my preferred Tull's albums. Probably my favorite Tull's albums with "20 Years of Jethro Tull" compilation. And the 2001 remastered edition is great, for me.

This is the Tull album I listen to most and while I'm not going to say its their best album its the one that I enjoy listening to more than any other. The blues orientated sounds are still ever present, but for me that is not a bad thing, but an essential part of what JT is all about. Barre's quitar work here is exceptional, and adds the overall musicianship on this album is as close to perfection as you will find in 1969. My favorite tracks on this album are A New Day Yesterdeay, Boure, Nothing is Easy, and For a Thousand Mothers, but every track is superb thoughout.

Jethro Tull's much celebrated 1969 album is one of the early examples of progressive creativity. Some of the material contained herein has become part of prog folklore, and standards in the Jethro Tull live set. It begins with that wonderful riff and blues feel of A New Day Yesterday, introducing the pallid vibrations of Ian Anderson's vocals, and his trilling flute. The guitar riff is killer, and there is even an accomplished lead guitar solo from Martin Barre that sounds psychedelic. Barre even contributes flute on "Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square" and "Reasons For Waiting.

Bourée is one of the pieces that is much loved by Tullites as it is actually a reworking of Bach's Bourée in E Minor. As an instrumental it showcases Anderson's exuberant flute playing, and the bass solo of Glenn Cornick. It reminds me of Camel's Snow Goose in feel.

The wavering vocals of Look Into The Sun are worse than the bleating vocals of Family's vocalist, however Anderson settles down the vocal gymnastics as the album continues.

There are some quirky 60s things on the album such as Back To The Family that doesn't do much for me, apart from the choppy percussion of Clive Bunker, but there is enough on the album to warrant the high rating it consistently receives. Though it is nowhere near as good as "Thick as a Brick", "Aqualung" or "Benefit".

Nothing Is Easy is one of the Tull classics, featuring scintillating flute playing and a strong melodic beat, as is Fat Man, another song that appears on countless compilations. The instrumental break on Nothing Is Easy is a trade off between flute and lead guitar licks, a wonderful combination. The style exudes a sense of joy and good natured humour. Fat Man has that wild tempo, balalaika, and incessant flute. It is repetitious but mesmirising and totally different to other Tull tracks.

There are quiet moments such as We Used to Know, the obligatory acoustic based song, but this has a wah wah pedal driven spacey lead break. For sheer acoustic excellence there is Reasons For Waiting, a bit too slow for me though I love the flute interludes. The orchestra strings join in later and lift it to an epic romantic level.

The album ends with a rocker featuring many lead riffs and powerful flute playing at its best. For a Thousand Mothers has some excellent playing, the drums crash like jazz free form, and the breaks in tempo are jarring.

The Tull CDs have become renowned for the bonus materials and this CD is no exception. The 2001 digital remaster features 4 bonus tracks, Living in the past, Driving Song, Sweet Dreams and 17. Some good music amongst this especially the brilliant upbeat Living In The Past which is the same version found on all Tull compilations. Driving Song has a cool riff and some odd time sig changes.

Overall I enjoy listening to this album, it introduced the amazing talents of Martin Barre who would stay with Anderson from here on in, and it represents an era when prog was in its infancy, and Tull were one of the undisputed pioneers. 3 ½ stars.

I bought Stand Up in the late 1977; it was one of my first purchaise in the prog rock's field, and after 30 years, I am still listening this album with a great pleasure.

Even if this album lack of the homogeneity of a concept album such as the subseguent and more mature works, "Aqualung" and "Thick as a Brick"; It number amoung its songs some very masterpieces.

My favourite song of this album is "We used to know", that, thanks to the magnificent guitar of Martin Barre, is one of my favourite prog song ever too.

Other remarkable tracks are:

"Reason for waiting" a song with a gorgeous arrangement able to generate an enveloping dreaming atmosphere, based on the remarkable work of the Ian Anderson's Flute and Voice.

"Bouree" a superb interpretation of a classical Bach's sonata.

"Into the sun" an atmospheric and vibrant ballada embellished by the (again) magnificent skills of Martin Barre.

Maybe it's not a real five star record, but I decided to add 1 star, in consideration of the early year release, and also for my prog memories...(sigh) I am a romantic...

Timeless Tull classic.

"Stand Up" is probably my favourite Jethro Tull album ever. Not really a prog album, but sure it is an album full of different musical styles. The "bluesy" songs are still present, but compared to the previous album "This Was", here we also find clear references to folk, exotic music, classical and jazz. Compared to the early lineup the big news is the presence of new guitarist Martin Barre in place of Mick Abrahams, whose incompatibility with Anderson had reached a point of no return. Abrahams, in fact, wanted only to play a blues- derived rock, on the contrary Barre satisfying Anderson desire to experiment with new sounds, in particular, much closer to folk and classical.

Howewer, the heavy blues rock numbers are still present, and are of incredible quality. A New Day Yesterday, Nothing Is Easy and For A Thousand Mothers are timeless classics, that Tull continue to perform in concert today. The reinterpretation of Bouree by J.S. Bach is clearly the most popular song of the album, and also the one that aroused most turmoil at the time. After the famous flute theme the song continues with jazz-oriented solos and rhythms.

References to folk are everywhere, from the funny Fat Man and the magnificent Looking To The Sun, to the usual dedication to his friend Jeffrey Hammond - Hammond, Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square, and concludes with an episode more contemplative and relaxing, Reasons For Waiting, in which (unfortunately) appears for the first time a (useless) string section in an attempt to give more redundancy to the sound of the band.

The more conventional tracks? We Used To Know is very beautiful (if you've never heard it think of the chord progression of "Hotel California" by the Eagles: the harmonies of We Used To Know are more or less the same), although after a lot of listening can be a bit boring for pure proggers. Back To The Family, which alternates melodic moments to other, more aggressive, does not lower the overall quality of the album.

While not belonging to the period of the progressive band, whose beginning is usually identified with the recording of "Aqualung", this album shows how the band tries to get out of rigid patterns of blues to reach a more diverse and complex music.

Recommended to all lovers of classic rock. Rating: 9 / 10

5 stars.

Best Song: Looking To The Sun

When Ian Anderson decided to go solo, and abandon the group format following This Was, merely surrounding himself with virtual session musicians, albums like Stand Up should have prepared us for what lay ahead. Always charming vocals, quirky tunes, and lively flute, but cold meat on the bones, control substituting for fluidity, priceless arrangements instead of precious songs, perhaps peaking on Benefit, or arguably, Aqualung, before teetering off into vague projects and idiosyncratic obsessions that only fans could hang on to the caravan for.

Stand Up still seems to carry some of that original band flavour, a whiff of the ghost of Abrahams still pervading the atmosphere, though without the warmth or truth that Mick could bring to the party. Ian is a national treasure, but he who holds the winged joy does the winged life destroy.

The first Jethro Tull album following the departure of Mick Abrahams sees the start of an era of experimentation and searching for the band - they'd definitively decided to steer away from the heavily blues influenced direction that Abrahams had strongly advocated, but it seems at this point they hadn't quite embraced any particular alternative to that. New guitarist Martin Barre's talents seem, to me, to be slightly underused here, possibly as a reaction against Mick Abrahams' guitar work having such a powerful effect on the sound of the first album, and the songs range from psych-tinged folk rock to a full-on classical adaptation (like all the cool kids were trying). A fun album, but not a very cohesive one.

God I loved the little stand-up guys on my original album! While STAND UP is not a masterpiece in the class of THICK AS A BRICK, AQUALUNG, or SONGS FROM THE WOOD, it is an excellent Tull album nonetheless. In the all-time ranking, maybe somewhere near HEAVY HORSES or MINSTRAL IN THE GALLERY. And the extra nonus tracks included on the cd add to it's greatness, especially "17". (I have the 2001 release with only a few bonuses included). The blues influence is less than on the debut and the folky songs take a more center stage. No wasted vinyl to be found anywhere on STAND UP. 4 stars, maybe even 4 1/2. An essential piece in the Jethro Tull canon.

Jethro Tull - Stand Up (1969)

Now that's what I call wanting to make some exciting music. On Jethro Tull's second album the band already has a fully matured sound without loosing the banal energy that a successful rock act needs. At this time Jethro Tull was perceived as a heavy blues rock band, but already some progressive and folksy elements can be found in the music. This is by no means a miracle, almost all (heavy) rock bands were searching for ways to expand the music (think of Zeppelin, Purple, etc.).

The main attraction here is the rock energy (which soon became scarce on the following albums), the thick sounding bluesy parts, the great sounding and well played heavy rock drums by Clive Bunker, the melodic song-writing and the nice heavy rock grooves. The album as thick bass rock sound and the guitars sound great. The flute-playing of Anderson sounds less developed, but it really fits the blues rock style. The vocals of Anderson also sound less folksy and seem to have been influenced by soul and blues singers. Almost all track are attractive with either great melodic parts, great rock parts or both. The album also has some diversity, but this face of the album is best exposed on the second side. The album has only one real letdown, the song called 'We used to know', which is a sum of mistakes a complete band can make during a chord-progression that requires modulations in the melody. It's strange to see the band releasing a track like this, later on the band would be very intelligent when it comes to changing keys. Luckily it's follow-up 'Reasons for waiting' regains my full interest from the moment the song starts.

Conclusion. This is one of the most attractive Jethro Tull albums. Whilst it's less progressive, is does have groove, blues, melody, soul and a great thick sound. Great achievement, especially for '69. Four stars.

Jethro Tull's sophomore album was a transitional effort, and is still relatively underappreciated in the context of Tull's larger career arc. But in retrospect the album, and its 1970 successor "Benefit", shows exactly how strong a band This Was (sorry fans, I couldn't resist...)

With the departure of guitarist Mick Abrahams, Ian Anderson assumed complete control of the music, the scope of which grew considerably, and seemingly overnight. The band's debt to the Blues is acknowledged in the opening notes of "A New Day Yesterday", the title itself pointing toward a novel cross-mix of musical touchstones. But after that it quickly becomes obvious that Anderson isn't "Living in the Past" anymore, despite having a hit with the non-album single of the same name, also in 1969.

It's odd that the best known track here isn't even a Tull original: the J.S. Bach cover "Bourée", a concert favorite for decades to come. But elsewhere on the album are several hidden gems that didn't survive into the band's later set lists. "Look Into the Sun" is one of the lovelier Ian Anderson ballads; ditto the somewhat edgier "Reasons For Waiting", the latter integrating a string arrangement more effectively than on future Tull albums. Elsewhere a touch of late '60s psychedelia rears its head in "We Used to Know" (pity about the unresolved fade-out), and the hard-hitting "Nothing Is Easy" still has the best extended rock 'n' roll coda of all time.

Arguably the same, succinct energy of the 1969-1970 Jethro Tull wouldn't be heard again until the "Songs From the Wood" album, seven years later. The original "Stand Up" LP was supposedly hobbled by an uneven production (although the recent CD reissue sounds fine to these old ears), and new guitarist Martin Barre hadn't yet asserted his position within the newly configured line-up. But, growing pains aside, and without the conceptual baggage of future releases, the album does exactly what its title says, with renewed confidence and vigor.

Another Jethro Tull album that almost has (finally) the avaliation it deserves.

In 1969, one of the great characteristics of music as a whole was the blend of Blues, Jazz, Folk, Classical and the rock music itself, all together without being only one. Thats what is magical in albums around this period, very similar (in aproach, not in content) with "In the court of the Crimson King", but thats another story... Jethro Tull is playing fine and solid music. "New day yesterday", "Nothing is Easy" and "For a Thousand Mothers" are blown rock stamples with great dynamic from the group (and the other example being the jazzy-calssical "Bouree"). Meanwhile, such acoustic ventures as "We use to know", "Looking into the sun" and "Reasons for waiting" give a good breath between the previous cited.

Not a concept album, "Stand Up" has something to say, nevertheless. The band is Standing Up against the musical style that themselves have established. It is a artistic stand. And, with Anderson humour always present, the original vynil has a pop up of the band doing exactly that inside the sleeves.

The lyrics talk about "A Fat Man", problems with family and lost loves (?). Anderson poetry is dark, even when he was young. "Reasons for waiting" goes in a differente place where the music has let you. "Nothing is easy" show the bad times we all have, "We use to know"... Anderson is a poet. Period.

That is almost it. England was a mess in 1969 (a good mess), the period was tha landmark to what will be the progressive rock genre and producing in that circumstances, to make something out of the hat, different from the blues rock and psychdelic, preferably mixing it all... Stand Up is also a document for 1969.

Out with Abrahams and in with Barre on lead. A great deal of the bluesy style of the previous album has dissipated here and the Tull start to cement together the bricks that make up their true sound. There is a lot of flute work on this album and I enjoy that side of Anderson and Tull. I don't like the distorted vocals on "Look into the Sun" but the preceding tracks were 1969 rock brilliance. I really enjoy "Fat Man" - a really fun piece of folksy rock. "We used to know" for me is like Tull's version of "House of the Rising Sun" musically. "Reasons for Waiting" is a track that I like very much for the emotion in the music and for Anderson's delivery as well as for the orchestration. The album closer "For a thousand Mothers" brings the album to close on a strong note. For me, with this album, Tull came of age with a distinctive sound which was to become theirs - nothing else in 1969 sounded the same as Tull and their music was instantly identifiable. There were better albums to come from them, in my view, however this was a really strong foundation of a second album. A solid four star album to my way of thinking.

NEW THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ALBUM: Well, Stand Up is the only Tull album that I haven't bought yet, my feeling about this album was made years ago listening to the LP from a friend of mine. So, after my review, a reader told me to try again. And I tried, after many years. There's no weak track, for my surprise. It sounds like a new album for me, and very ecletic. The highlight of the album is Reasons For Waiting, because I really couldn't remember this acoustic track, and it's awesome!

OLD REVIEW: Heavier and proggish than before, but weak. Without Mick Abrahams, the band lose the smooth blues behind. Stand Up has two great moments: The first and promising track A New Day Yesterday, and the very popular Bouree. The instrumental of the whole album is very well done, but the songs are too much boring following a natural sameness of the rock from their decade. The special and unique point of the band is Ian Anderson flute, but you can find it in every single album looking at their catalogue. And particularly, I haven't found the Stand Up flute so well developed as before.

9/10, yet too young.

This for me almost beats Aqualung, but its kind imature and raw, they are not quite certain of what to do, but the result anyway is incredible.

A New Day Yesterday - 8/10

Nice, but too bluesy for me.

Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square - 8/10

Very odd number, looks like nothing else. I like it!

Bourée - 10/10

It's a summary of Tull's signature sound.

Back To The Family - 9/10

Great electric Tull.

Look Into The Sun - 8/10

Interesting piece with acoustic.

Nothing Is Easy - 8/10

Just a good and classic Tull song.

Fat Man - 8/10

Exotic one. With mandolin.

We Used To Know - 9/10

Terrific composition.

Reasons For Waiting - 8/10

Really remarkable soft non-electric song.

For A Thousand Mothers - 8/10

Rather exciting signature Tull!!!

Yes, very mutant album. Very curious too, their future direction is already molded and present here. Tull still had plenty of energy and creativity to offer as in here.

Leaps and Bounds ahead of their debut but nowhere near the mammoth that would be Aqualung.

At this point, Tull seemed to be in a transitional period in many ways, not only was the lineup fragile with the inclusion of new guitarist Martin Barre (and soon to change even more with the inclusion of John Evan and the departure of Clive Bunker and Glenn Cornick). What is the most striking change between the last album and this one is the gradual departure of blues.

This change doesn't seem to be an intentional one, but rather, a gradual shift of interest with the loss Mick Abrahams who was (to a large degree) much of the blues influence on the debut album. I don't think at this point you could justifiably call the band "Ian Anderson and co." but Ian's image for the band began to change and (lo and behold) so did the music. We see here a much larger progressive (though not fully implemented yet) and folky influence that we come to associate with later albums and, in many ways, the band.

As has been stated by many a reviewer this is a transitional album bridging the gap from what they were to what they would come to be. I don't want to go into individual songs, mainly because it's hard with such a varied and diverse album to rate each song fairly. I think it's right to say that there isn't a weak track on the album, not that I enjoy every track but that no track feels as though it's filler. My problem with the album however lies in this variety and in the fact that the album is so unfocused. It's a good album, at times a great album, but compositionally a mere shadow of albums such as Aqualung and TaaB which are soon to come.

This is an important album for Tull, an important album for those who want to understand and document and collect Tull but this is in no way a high point of their career (though it was what lead into it).

After the wrestling match between the band's original guitarist Mick Abrahams and Ian Anderson over musical direction, the winner as we all know was Ian Anderson who would from this album on steer JETHRO TULL into his own personal vision of band development leaving behind the full on blues rock and going more in a folk rock direction. This second album STAND UP is the transitional album that still retains a bunch of blues but the dominant sound here is in the folk realm. The original LP version opened up like a children's pop-up book and the whole band would stand up when you opened the album. Unfortunately my CD has no such accoutrements but it is remastered from the original recordings and even has a few bonus tracks.

This was one of my first TULL albums so I have a strong affection for this one, but despite that it holds up quite well in the melody department. This album may not be the album that rocks the most, is the most progressive, is the cleverest or any particular quality that makes it STAND UP and out amongst the future releases but it does offer one outstandingly beautiful song after another. Each track is the perfect blues rock and folk rock blend and this is the album where Ian Anderson's flute really starts to fit in with the song structure in a flawless way. His vocals are perfect for this kind of music. I really love every track on here but I particularly love the Bach turned TULL instrumental "Bouree," the space folk rockers "Back To The Family" and "Nothing Is Easy" and the lugubrious tone of "Look Into The Sun" where Ian seems to be lamenting the end of the hippie era and realization that the world is a more complicated affair where darkness abounds and sadness ensues. A great album and the first true TULL album after the debut oddball.

Tull had just parted ways with guitarist Mick Abrahams after their first album "This Was' (Abrahams went on to make a really good blues album "Ahead Rings Out" with Blodwyn Pig, by the way), and had chosen Martin Barre as the their new lead guitarist. Tull took a u-turn off the blues highway and went off-road and did some camping on this stunning folk-rock opus. More so than the more standard rock follow-up album "Benefit", "Stand Up" is the true precursor to Tull's "High Prog" era. Everything is there, except, of course, 42 minutes of continuous music. But too much of one thing is not good (see "Passion Play" released on the heels of "Thick as a Brick"). This release is about as startling a change from a debut album to a second album as you will ever hear.

I have long been of the thought that no one in rock really writes beautiful, reflective tunes anymore. Ian Anderson can turn them out by the bucketful but still rock on the same album. 'Look Into the Sun', 'Reasons for Waiting' and 'For a Thousand Mothers' are just beautifully rendered, mellow pieces; conversely, 'Nothing is Easy' (a personal favorite), 'A New Day Yesterday' and 'We Used to Know' rock along quite well. Top it off with what Anderson refers to as cocktail jazz 'Bouree', and the frenetic 'Fat Man' (another favorite), and one finds the direction Tull took was an important step in becoming one of the greatest prog-rock bands of all time. Or folk-rock band. Or concept band. You get the general idea -- if you get Tull.

Beyond the act of turning out excellent compositions, 'Stand Up' is an important album in the synthesis of several different musical elements and genres into the rock idiom: jazz, blues, classical, folk. "A New Day Yesterday" is heavy blues on the level of Zeppelin and Cream, "Nothing Is Easy" is jazzier blues (retaining the rock with a thunderous coda to finish), "Fatman" has both Celtic and Indian strains running through it, "Bouree" is classical Bach with a jazz twist, and "Reasons for Waiting" is the first instance of collaborator David 'Dee' Palmer adding strings to a Tull tune (and lovely they are). Name any other rock bands that have the artistic grasp to successfully fuse these disparate genres all into one recording. Take your time. Get back to me when you can come up with a few.

In conclusion, I would highly suggest getting the 2010 Deluxe Edition remaster, which also includes the rousing orchestral "Sweet Dream", the only rock hit in 5/4 time "Living in the Past", and an excellent recording of the wild and wooly 1970 Carnegie Hall concert of which only a snippet appeared on the 1973 compilation album "Living in the Past".

One of the best rock albums of the 60s, fair and square. Let's make a track-by track analysis on this one.

A New Day Yesterday: For my taste, one of the best songs in the entire rock History. Phenomenal groove, outstanding riff, orgasmic drumming... I always imagined a 10 minutes long version that could act as the ideal encore for a JT live concert. Superhuman quality by a precious band.

Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square: Medieval aesthetics on this rather simplistic song. I wouldn't put this one after ANDY, since it's totally different and it sounds odd. Nothing too important all in all.

Bourée (J. S. Bach cover): A famous recording, one of the most beloved live pieces for JT, and one that Ian Anderson still plays live today. Fantastic arrangement on a classic piece and an emphatic statement by Anderson regarding his love for superior musical art.

Back To The Family: Intelligent social-related lyrics on a musically interesting song, that displays a variety of rhythms and styles and closes with an impressive instrumental section. Not one of my favorites, but a good song non the less.

Look Into The Sun: Wonderful melody, ethereal vocals, trippy lyrics; less is more in this beautiful song that worms your heart. Splendid!

Nothing Is Easy: Boom! The song starts with a powerful, edgy flute riff, and climaxes through a rollercoaster of different rhythms and measures which constitute a hard rocker of the highest quality. Congrats guys!

Fat Man: Anderson grabs his mandolin and delivers a n "insulting" satirical masterpiece of the highest intelligence. Absolutely lovable.

We Used To Know: A sensitive song that could be classified as an early specimen of what we call power ballad. Barre's hard rock guitar solo elevates the song in a different level, creating yet another wonderful song in this album.

Reasons For Waiting: Maybe too close to Look Into The Sun, but... Violin addition, flute refrain, trippy harmonics! What's going on here? You definitely have "reasons for waiting" 'till this song unfolds it's greatness!

For A Thousand Mothers: Anderson makes a bold statement against his dissenters, calling out all the "mothers" that won't let people fulfill their dreams. A meaningful hard rocker that closes a monumental album.

RATING: One of the best rock albums of the 60s and a JT essential. Plenty of great ideas, skill, melodies, and surprisingly hard rock. Solid 4 stars, a whole class higher that its predecessor.

On their sophomore effort "Stand Up", Jethro Tull made a respectable progress from their debut with their original blues methods not being estranged, but made to shake hands with other influences, most notably folk and classical. John Evans is yet to join the band, all the (must admitt proficiently laid down) organ parts on the album are by Ian Anderson. Another personel change is Martin Barre, the Jethro Tull guitarist joining the band. Overall, I think this is quite an entertaining record. For "improved" blues numbers, the album opener "A New Day Yestarday" is highly recommended. For classical strains and more of a fresh sound for the band, "Bouree", a track inspired by J. S. Bach and baroque music is highly recommended. British folk music impact is also visible, notably on "Fat Man". This one, unlike their previous album manages to create a fairly interesting mood and what would later evolve to Jethro Tull we all know and love.

For all proto-prog enthusiasts and beyond! Recommended!

The best early Tull.

Stand Up is a great album, very consistently musical. It continues the bluesy feel of the first album, but channels the energy into a set of highly memorable, distinct and topical songs. The tunes vary considerably in style, from harder blues-rock of "A New Day Yesterday", to the folk of "Fat Man", to the jazz interpretation of Bach in the beautiful "Bouree" (very similar in style to 'Serenade to a Cuckoo' from the debut album). The album flows very well, and has very good sound quality. The songs are catchy. Anderson's voice and flute are in good form, and there are some great guitar solos. While Tull's approach to composition would evolve, this stands up as one of their best, and definitely the best of their early period. I give this album 8.6 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to solid 4 PA stars.

The keyword here: Excitement.

Mick Abrahams left the band in late 1968. Jethro Tull tried new guitarists, one of them being Tony Iommi a.k.a. Hand of Doom. For some reason it didn't work out, I believe Tony wanted to roll out with his silly hard rock group from Birmingham named Earth. To each his own. In late December Jethro finally found axeman of the future, Martin Lancelot Barre, and he decided to stick around for forty-something years. Good for him, good for Tull fans (and good for Earth). The new era started and nothing was ever the same.

Or maybe the new era started because Ian Anderson took over?

On "This Was", the band's direction was dependent on Mick Abrahams blues-heavy style and American influences. Ian was the leader, Ian was the frontman, BUT he wasn't the sole composer. Once Abrahams left and formed Blodwyn Pig, Anderson's creativity was unleashed and Jethro Tull's style started to blossom. "Stand Up" ingeniously displays how diverse his ideas really are - blues, hard rock, folk, classical/chamber music, historicism, ballads, traces of middle ages, renaissance and baroque... as well as sprouts of progressive rock.

"A New Day Yesterday" kicks off where "This Was" signed off. Ballsy, heavy blues rock with formidable drums and tasty harmonica licks. Bass guitar is pounding, Ian's vocals are cool and laid back, flute solo grabs attention. Solid starter, a worthy successor to "A Song for Jeffrey". Speaking of Jeff, the next song "Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square" brings sweet tones of clean channel with tad of chorus, tasty percussions (is it vibraphone and bongos? I can't tell, but it works fine) and positive feelings. Let's put a smile on that face!

And then we have "Bouree". Much has been said about this one, most fans see it as a perfect mix of Johann Sebastian Bach (Sonata in E minor, fifth movement, BWV 996) and rock music. What I like here, personally, is the utmost respect of Jethro Tull for The Master. You can hear it in simplicity and honesty of this fine arrangement - clean chords, gentle rhythm section and worthy flute performance (much improved from the debut) stay true to the spirit of original composition. There is a jazzy section in the middle, but it never spoils the atmosphere, blending seamlessly into Baroque form. That's what I like about best covers - they celebrate original authors AND introduce new ideas/attitude at the same time.

I think "Back to the Family", "Nothing is Easy" and "For a Thousand Mothers" form the backbone of the album. Brazen blues closing in rapidly on hard rock territories, rabid drumming and savage flute melodies - almost riffs once you take the impact - work each and every time, especially when the group is so excited and eager to play. And all three develop in quite different ways. "Back to the Family" starts modestly, but at 1:00 minute mark someone fires the gun and the band is let loose. "Nothing is Easy" time and time again goes solo, be it Barre, Anderson and even Bunker (for a brief moment), culminating with brittle, old school rock'n'roll outro. And if you're a fan of explosive codas, nothing really matches "For a Thousand Mothers" with its ballistic flute reprise and busy drumming. It's like you were leaving the alehouse at 3:00 AM and seconds later, the doors flung open, with all your folks, minstrels and jugglers inviting you to party some more!

The other side of the coin are more folksy, intricate, often softer tunes. "Look into the Sun" and "We Used to Know" are a couple of charming, almost romantic ballads (not all love songs are considered romantic by this here reviewer). The latter treads the well known path of nasal, passionate soloing on top of acoustic guitar tireless strumming, quite similar to Neil Young's output of the time. The former is more peaceful and rural. Mental image: sunny, frosty morning in mid-January, you go out of log cabin and cheer at your hounds playing in the snow, with a cup full of favorite beverage.

"Reasons for Waiting" evokes winter as well, and does it in fantastic fashion. Acoustic parts are top notch, flutes and Hammonds create oneiric undertones, Ian's really at his best. In the middle of the song we're treated with delightful string arrangements, courtesy of David Palmer. With that set of instruments, it's easy to fall in a trap, ending up with a sugary, pointless song - but this is not the case.

Almost forgot about "Fat Man"! That is another rustic tune, full of mandolins, balalaikas, jolly vocals and primal drums (don't ask, I'm no expert!). Lovers of "Songs from the Wood" will feel at home here; the composition isn't as advanced, perhaps, but definitely gives off similar vibes. Even more proof that "Stand Up" isn't a one trick pony.

Jethro Tull was full of ideas at the time. They matured considerably since "This Was" and the result was a melting pot of influences and musical genres. While no song in itself is wholly progressive in a "Roundabout" or "Fracture" manner, the band was already on a right track. "Stand Up" is varied, accessible, and outright fun - and makes me feel like joining a band of highwaymen: having good laugh, robbing the rich, sharing with the poor!

Well, occasionally. Embroidered jackets aren't cheap, folks.

Four stars easily, 4.5 really.

Review Nº 258

'Stand Up' is the second studio album of Jethro Tull and was released in 1969. 'Stand Up' was the album that marked the first change in the line up of the group. The original guitarist Mick Abrahams departed due to musical differences with Ian Anderson. He wanted to stay with the blues based rock sound of the previous album 'This Was', while Ian Anderson wants to depart to more varied musical influences such as jazz, rock, folk, classical and ethnic music.

So, 'Stand Up' became a very important album in the musical career of Jethro Tull, because it represents a radical musical change into the music of the band and where Ian Anderson takes the full control of the music and lyrics. It also marks the beginning of the new guitarist Martin Barre, which had a less restricted guitar style than Mick Abrahams, and that from that point, he would became the only band member to appear on all albums of the group, apart Ian Anderson.

The line up on the album is Ian Anderson (vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, piano, balalaika and mouth organ), Martin Barre (electric guitar and flute), Glenn Cornick (bass guitar) and Clive Bunker (drums and percussion). As on 'This Was', 'Stand Up' had also the participation of David Palmer. He conducted and arranged the strings.

'Stand Up' has ten tracks. All songs were written and composed by Ian Anderson. The first track 'A New Day Yesterday' is a classic song of the band with a heavy blues influence. It isn't a song with a very complex arrangement, but it results so well that it became a great track. It has a fantastic instrumental performance, especially the Glen Cornick's aggressive bass line. The second track 'Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square' is a fantastic and nice song on the album. The use of a mandolin gives to the song a more folk style and because of that it would became the first song of the group more oriented to the folk. This is also the shortest song on the album. The third track 'Bour'e' is one of the most recognisable Jethro Tull's tracks and it's based on a piece of music of J. S. Bach. This is an instrumental very interesting piece of music with some jazz influence with a great solo of flute and a fantastic bass line. This Jethro Tull's adaptation of the classical Bach's musical piece perhaps became as one of the most popular adaptations of classical pieces for the masses. The fourth track 'Back To The Family' is a strange song with diverse instrumentation and with rock and folk chords, and several elements at the same time. It seems to be a bit boring on its beginning but it turns progressively in a fast song and remains as one of best musical moments on the album. The fifth track 'Look Into The Sun' is a very simple, but it's also at the same time a very beautiful song. The performance of Ian Anderson's acoustic guitar and Martin Barre's electric guitar is perfect and the interplay between both is fantastic and results beautifully. It also should still be noticed the soft flute and the sweet vocals on the song. The sixth track 'Nothing Is Easy' is another classic Jethro Tull's song. This is a fantastic biting rock track with several musical sections and with incredible musical performance. It has fine drumming and once more the interaction between the flute and the guitar is predominant and perfect. The balance between the power and elegance in this music is wonderful. The seventh track 'Fat Man' is the second smallest track on the album. It's a very happy and fast song where the use of the balalaika gives to it a very special musical atmosphere. This is typically a classic Jethro Tull's folk rock song with a very unique sound. The eighth track 'We Used To Know' is a very beautiful song performed in a rock ballad style. It has also a superb and fantastic blues/rock guitar solo performed by Martin Barre that reminds me strongly the Jimi Hendrix's style, and it has also an important Clive Bunker drumming work. The ninth track 'Reasons For Waiting' is a beautiful and very calm ballad performed more in the acoustic style. The flute and the vocals on the song are nice and the addition of the strings and the beautiful arrangement of David Palmer are absolutely delightful and give to the song a perfect musical balance and ambience. The tenth and last track 'For A Thousand Mothers' is the song that closes magnificently the album. It's, in reality, an extraordinary song with a diverse and a perfect mix of folk, blues, jazz and rock. These are basically all the main elements that makes of Jethro Tull as one of the biggest bands of the history of the progressive rock music.

Conclusion: 'Stand Up' is a great step into Jethro Tull's music and a giant step from their previous debut studio album 'This Was'. As with Genesis with their debut studio album 'From Genesis To Revelation', we may say that 'Stand Up' is the first Jethro Tull's album and 'This Was' was their zero album. 'Stand Up' represents almost what the band wanted to do in the near future. So, 'Stand Up' is a much better album than 'This Was' is, a better album than 'Benefit' is and is very close to 'Aqualung' in its musical quality. It's perfectly clear to me why 'Stand Up' is one of all-time favourite Jethro Tull's albums to Ian Anderson. I have no doubt in saying that 'Stand Up' is one of the best Jethro Tull's studio albums. It's true that it isn't as good as some other Jethro Tull's albums, but it remains an amazing album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Stand Up is the 2nd album released what was then a rather fledgling of a band, Jethro Tull. It is also probably the best of the first 3 albums that pre-dated 'Aqualung', before most people in America had heard of them, but in the UK, it quickly became a number one album. There were a few milestones for this album, which also contribute to making it the most important of the first 3 albums. For one thing, it was the first album that guitarist Martin Barre would be on. The original guitarist, Mick Abrahams, had quit the band because he wanted the band to stay with the blues-oriented style that was evident in the first album 'This Was', while Ian Anderson wanted to explore other avenues, including folk rock. Barre, in the meantime, has been on every Jethro Tull album since.

Another milestone on this album is that it was the first time that Anderson would have complete control over the songs and the lyrics. Interestingly enough, except for occasionally borrowing some folk elements, this album would still focus on blues oriented songs, even though there are elements of other styles that really stand out on this album.

The band had a fairly fixed schedule they followed during the recording of their second album. They would get to the studio at 9 am and work on a few songs, then be done by 4 or 5 pm. Most of the songs were finished in the first day, except for at least one noteworthy track, the instrumental 'Bouree', (based on Bach's 'Bourree in E minor', proof of Anderson's desire to work with other styles), which had to be done in several takes before the band was satisfied with it. They ended up editing together the best bits from various takes.

Besides Martin Barre (who of course was lead guitarist and who also provided some flute backup on a couple of tracks), the rest of the band remained the same as the previous album; Ian Anderson on vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, organ, piano, mandolin, balalaika, harmonica; Glenn Cornick on bass; and Clive Bunker on drums and percussion. Cornick would end up leaving the band after the 3rd album 'Benefit', and Bunker would by with the band until after the released of 'Aqualung', but would go on later to work with Robin Trower, Steve Howe and Manfred Mann among others.

The blues-influenced rock is quite obvious in the heavy 'A New Day Yesterday', which is based around the now familiar guitar and harmonica riff. Barre really got to show off early on the album, showing that Tull wanted to let everyone know that even though he was a new guitarist for the band, that he meant business. The music is a bit rough compared to the slicker sound the band would come up with in the future. But that makes the blues riff even more authentic. This is followed with the more folkish and pastoral sounds of 'Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square', and it seems that the flute finds it's home comfortably into Tull's music, even though this is one of the tracks where Barre provides flute backup. Then comes the excellent 'Bouree', the jazz-classical mix, and Anderson now gets the chance to really show off. The bass quite adeptly takes the more complex bottom line, or contrasting counterpoint of the Back original, and turn it into a jazz standard. Of course, this track winds up being a concert and fan favorite. Now, the Tull is in the house!

The melodic and lovely 'Back to the Family' follows now, and the blues / folk sound comes to the fore here. The verses have the folk sound while the chorus, bridge and instrumental break go for the heavy sound, and the first semblance of their later progressive sound comes apparent, but the complexity of their later music is only hinted at here. 'Look to the Sun' has a more acoustic approach using the soft guitar and piano with little flute embellishments that are almost buried too deep into the mix. The band's desire to try out new things and effects are evident in Anderson's vocals here as there is an interesting warble to his voice on this track.

'Nothing is Easy' opens the second side of the album with a track that has a heavier rock edge. It is based on the band's experience of hard living they must have had before their real worldwide popularity. Again, the blues influence is still strong, as the band was not quite ready for a full transition yet. 'Fat Man' however, again shows the acoustic side of the band again, and also features Anderson playing the mandolin. Back in 1969, the mandolin was very rarely used in rock bands, so this was showing a big step towards the desire to try out new things. These days, a mandolin might not seem so cutting edge, because the instrument is used often, and that is usually a good thing. Here also is evidence of the use of lilting music for the band and incorporating that folkish vibe into rock music.

'We Used to Know' has a chord progression that is very similar to the later hit by the Eagles 'Hotel California'. Anderson never felt slighted by The Eagles use of the progression because he claims that it was probably used before Tull used it too, and also says that Hotel California is a better song anyway. There is a well balanced mix of acoustic and electric guitar here, but the music is once again more rock and blues oriented. There is also more proof of Barre's amazing guitar work during the instrumental sections here as he really gets to stand out. 'Reasons for Waiting' steps back again to a more pastoral feel with acoustic guitar and the flute playing the melodic theme, this time once again supported by Barre on flute. Anderson's vocals are very expressive on this one, and he does play some of the fancier flute passages however. It's a very nice song, but rather straightforward with some lovely strings later in the song. 'For a Thousand Mothers' ends the original album with a heavier track, again leaning towards a blues-influenced track with heavy flute and guitar.

The 2001 remaster then adds 4 more tracks. 'Living in the Past' is the non-album hit song that was released around the same time as this album. It was released in the UK just as Tull was finishing up it's US tour in 1969, but became more famous especially in the US in 1972. It does seem to fit in more with the music released later which is why many were surprised that it was released in 1969, as it has a tricky 5 / 4 rhythm. 'Driving Song' was the b-side to the original 'Living in the Past' UK single. This track is quite rock oriented based off of a repeating guitar hook and standard rhythm. 'Sweet Dream' is another non- album single released in the UK which has the distinction of being the first Chrysalis release in the UK. It was recorded during the same sessions as the Stand Up album. It has a familiar instrumental riff and the use of brass (which really stands out) and orchestra, again the music is very rock oriented and based around that riff, but both electric and acoustic guitars are well used in the track. '17' is the last of the bonus tracks, and is also the b-side to 'Sweet Dream'. It is a straightforward, yet interesting rock song. These bonus tracks only add more great music to the album, and they mostly fit in quite well with the music originally on the album.

This is my favorite of the original Tull trilogy. I find the music to be more interesting than the somewhat rough sound of the debut 'This Was' and more focused and complete than the rushed 'Benefit' album. The album has a great amount of variety, gives all the musicians time to shine, and goes farther in the development of a legendary band than either of the other two albums did. The songs are more memorable and almost every track has its own individual reason why it is important. Though it is better than the other two, I can only still give it 4 stars, because it hasn't quite reached that perfect or essential status that other Tull albums were able to achieve, but it is still one that I wholeheartedly enjoy to listen to.

JT's follow up to their solid debut That Was came screaming out of the gate with new guitarist Martin Barre's powerful Tony Iomi type riffs on A new day yesterday, a hard rocking blues opener. Jeffrey goes to Leicester Square is the first true folky number we will grow to love esp. In the 77-79 period. Great flute and acoustic guitar work. Bouree is a signature Anderson flute instrumental masterpiece and has been a staple of live shows through the years. Back to the family is a nice little folk rocker that gains a rough edge from Martin Barres licks, and ending with a very tasty solo. Look into the Sun is another song i had never heard until I bought the album, and was shocked ive never come across it before. The unsung hero on this album for me. It just flows beautifully with great dual acoustic guitars. Side Two starts strong with another bluesy live favorite, Nothing is Easy. Fat man is another favorite totally underrated JT classic imo. The last three songs are more folk rock that we will see on Benefit and aqualung to follow. A very solid and consistent album that I will round up to a four rating.

Review #59

JETHRO TULL's second album was considerably different than the first one. With Martin BARRE taking Mick ABRAHAMS' place in the band, the songs in here took a less jazzy and bluesy sound and went more into an electric Rock one with the unmissable folky acoustic touch that has always characterized the band.

Some songs like "Look into the Sun" and "We used to know" are mainly acoustic pieces; "Bourée" is a piece originally composed by J.S. BACH from his "Suite in E Minor" composed somewhere between 1708 and 1717, JT's version is a rock adaptation mainly leaded by ANDERSON's flute. "A new day yesterday" is a hard blues piece with a repetitive guitar riff and very strong bass and drums lines; "Fat man" and "Jeffrey goes to Leichester Square" are probably the flokiest songs in the album, I hear a lot of this album in later Progressive Rock bands such as COMUS, JAN DUKES DE GREY or THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND.

With this record JETHRO TULL started to build the classic Folk Rock that would later be the main plate in their albums. This was a transcendental piece of the band's career.

SONG RATING: A new day yesterday, 4 Jeffrey goes to Leicester Square, 4 Bouree, 5 Back to the family, 4 Look into the sun, 4 Nothing is easy, 5 Fat man, 4 We used to know, 5 Reasons for waiting, 4 For a thousand mothers, 4

AVERAGE: 4.3

PERCENTAGE: 84

ALBUM RATING: 4 stars

With a purported stylistic shift away from the Blues/Jazz-Rock of their debut album (This Was, 1968), Stand Up marked the beginning of Ian Anderson's taking of the creative helm, as he became responsible as the primary (and, here, sole) songwriter for the band. This was following the departure of original lead guitarist Mick Abrahams, unhappy with the changes in direction. This will be a review for the 2001 remastered edition featuring the four bonus tracks listed above.

Certainly, I would describe the opener, "A New Day Yesterday", very much as an of-the-time Blues Rock number. Like something out of the canon and tradition of Cream or early Deep Purple. Solid, straight-ahead number with nice soloing from new guitarist Martin Barre followed by Anderson on flute. Unsurprising Tull track is to follow in "Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square", a sort of troubadour-type ballad. Very cool, sparse instrumentation, in the form of distant, clanging guitars and simple percussion (like bongos or congas).

Next is the classical "Bourée", based on Bach's "Bourrée in E minor", which, though starting straight, goes into a very satisfying Rock groove approaching the middle. Simply put, this is classic early Prog, through and through. "Back to the Family" has a super classic sound. One of the nicer, less Andersonian vocal performances from Anderson (I can't say his voice ever helped in my already lacking draw to Jethro Tull). Real solid song, real classic early Prog once more.

"Look into the Sun" is very of the Psychedelic era, comparable in feel (though less sweet) to Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" to my ears. Next, we are back in a flute-fronted groove on the at-first quieted "Nothing is Easy". Solid performance here by drummer Clive Bunker. Then we're back to the more traditional percussion on "Fat Man". Not a whole lot happens here and the instrumentation just hits me as overly harsh...

A return to Blues Rock on "We Used To Know", a low and slow jam. And then a return to very personal sweetness on "Reasons for Waiting", which in all of that sweetness has an underlying heaviness. Loveliest things thus far as we approach the original album's end. Not sure what I have to say on "For a Thousand Mothers". It's lively, but I was pretty bored with this album at this point.

Onto the bonus tracks, we first have the very recognizable "Living in the Past", a surefire classic. This was released as a single prior to Stand Up. Then is the straight-ahead "Driving Song". It was alright. Then it was the single that followed the album, "Sweet Dream", which had a very interesting beat and had some very cool instrumentation, honestly. Finally was its B-side, "17", a very upbeat number. Decent song.

My mind follows strange paths: this morning I woke up with "A New Day Yesterday" in my mind, from an album that I've likely listened to 30years ago for the last time if not more. So it urged me to go back to it trying to understand why. I'm back to my original vinyl copy, so no bonus tracks, remixes and their likes.

Of course, the main riff of "A New Day YesterdaY" is catchy and being it repeated so many times it's like it has been designed to find its place inside my few neurons, but I don't know if it would have had the same effect without Ian Anderson's voice and harmonica. Bluesy, some may say, but even if this a progressive rock site, I love the blues.

Said so, let's see what else this album has to offer. First of all, Jethro Tull in 1969 are still a sort of blues revival band with strong British folk influences. Later folk will put the blues out of focus, but the path is already clear: the medieval atmosphere of "Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square", with bongos instead of drums and the flute marks the beginning of a trademark.

J.S. Bach "Bouree" arrangement combines baroque with a jazzy reinterpretation. It will become a constant presence in the live gigs as it gives Ian the possibility of improvising his flute performance. Anyway, it's mainly Glenn Cornick's bass line that makes the job.

"Back To The Family" is on the bluesy side but with a vibe that reminds a bit to Van Morrison and Donovan. The fact is that we are all very familiar with Ian's voice and flute, so he could even play the qua-qua dance and be still recognizable as Jethro Tull. Well, relistening to it after all those years I don't hear so much blues as I was remembering. Great instrumental riffs but, I would dongrade the rating for the fade-out. Something that was going on so well, truncated in that way. I hope an integral version has been published on the various re-release/remixes, but as I have said I'm basing on the original vynil only.

"Looking To The Sun" has again that late 60s feeling: acoustic, with folk influences with a touch of psychedelia enhanced by Martin Barre's guitar. Unfortunately this fades out, too.

Side B now... "Nothing Is Easy" opens it and is a full Jethro Tull track: signature changes, Ian's flute and a very interesting chord progression. Ok, there's a sort of chain of 5th, but it ahs also a jazzy bass, drums solos, and of course Ian's flute plus a very good but short (bluesy) guitar solo before the coda.

Percussion open "Fat Man". This is not too far from what Pentangle where actually doing. The bongos give it a hippy feeling.

"We Used To Know" has by coincidence the same chord progression of Hotel California and to my years sounds like the grandpa or the father of Aqualung. It also came out 7 years before the Eagles. Curiously, it may be the chord progression but some guitar passages seems to have been reused by the Eagles. In the 80s a similar progression will be used by Andy Latimer on Stationary Traveller.

Clean flute on "Reasons for Waiting". An acoustic song with just some organ in the background. The easiest way to describ it is "a british folk song". Not a traditional one, but in that vein.

A rock track closes the album. "For A Thousand Mothers" wouldn't be misplaced on Aqualung and the 5/4 signature will become typical of this kind of Jethro Tull songs. Heavy with some blues influence.

Is this an excellent addition? Yes, it is. Not yet a masterpiece but an excellent album, and two years after it we'll have Aqualung.

This was (no pun intended) my first Tull album, bought soon after its release. Whereas their debut LP "This Was" was bluesy this follow-up is a showcase for Ian Anderson's songwriting and goes beyond the bluesy feel on many songs. Martin Barre makes his debut as lead guitar because Mick Abrahams didn't like the less bluesy approach.

The album opens with "A New Day Yesterday" a bass-driven tune that is followed by "Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square" a short ditty on which Barre plays flute.

Both nice songs but the first gem comes next as they play "Bouree", an instrumental (apart from Anderson's breathy flute style) that's Bach-inspired and was originally my fave. A concert staple for years and needs no intro to Tull fans.

"Back to the Family" follows and the side ended with, for my money, its best song "Look Into the Sun", a lovely ballad.

But side 2 has come to the fore in time as its subtleties grew on me. It opens with "Nothing is Easy" an up-tempo tune that's followed by "Fat Man" originally my fave on this side. Anderson, a natural multi-instrumentist, plays a lively tune on balalaika here.

Now we come to the two real gems - "We Used to Know" a song about nostalgia giving Barre a chance to wah-wah a tasty solo and "Reasons For Waiting" a love song which starts with a lightly strummed acoustic guitar but develops with a string arrangement behind Anderson's voice. Two great tunes beautifully arranged and performed.

The faster "For a Thousand Mothers" closes the original album with style.

The 2001 remaster includes bonus tracks including Tull's 2 early singles "Living in the Past"and "Sweet Dream". They have completely different sounds to them as the first is jazzy, the second feels "big".

All in all, a great set of songs but not really prog as we know it. Nothing longer than 4 minutes(ish) but rather some proto-prog moments. The album is class rock through and through.

Tull's great epic "Thick as a Brick" was just a few years away and tops this one but "Stand Up" is still my second favourite in Tull's discographhy and deserves 5 stars (as does "TAAB").

Great advancement from their first album, which was fine, but nothing very special. Here, they take a major step forward, as they are still starting from a blues-based structure, but introducing more progressive elements, with more varied songwriting, instrumentation, and arrangements, and starting to show those unique Tull qualities that they would further develop on subsequent albums. The beginning of their great ability to go back and forth between acoustic and more rocking songs. A very good album from near the beginning of this great band. Best tracks: Look Into The Sun, Back to the Family, Reasons For Waiting, We Used to Know, Bouree. Rating: 4.0

Jethro Tull's next studio album, 1969's Stand Up, was a huge step forward in the band's musical progression. Due in part to that leap forward, Ian Anderson has cited this as his personal favorite Tull record. It was also their first #1 record, thanks in part to popularity gained by touring with Led Zeppelin in the US.

The opening track, "A New Day Yesterday", isn't that much of a departure from This Was. Martin Barre's playing style is distinct from Mick Abrahams's, but it's still a blues song. The second song, though, "Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square" offers a sharper contrast. It's a happy little folk number, featuring flute from Martin Barre (who also provided flute on one other track).

"Bourée", the third track, is a rearranging of J.S. Bach's Bourée in E Minor for Lute, and it's one of Jethro Tull's best-known songs. It transforms the airy lute piece into a driving jazz number, and it demonstrates just how far Ian Anderson had progressed in his flute skills between the first and second albums.

"Fat Man" is another example of the band testing out new ground. Jingling bells and jangling balalaika are the primary instruments. It's a jaunty, folky song with some slightly goofy lyrics. Following this is "We Used to Know", a slow-building, mournful song. The soloing from both Anderson and Barre is intense and emotive.

The unquestionable highlight, to me, at least, is the closing "For a Thousand Mothers". It's a charging, aggressive piece that moves a mile a minute. Clive Bunker's drumming especially stands out, channeling the madness of The Who's Keith Moon. Anderson plays his flute hard, giving it a biting, slightly distorted edge, and the main guitar riff drives the song with impressive power.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/07/25/deep-dive-jethro-tull/

Following the departure of Mick Abrahams after the release of "This Was", Ian Anderson took over the artistic and musical direction of Jethro Tull on "Stand Up", their second album. The Scotsman's intentions to expand the band's musical horizons, without abandoning their bluesy vein, lead them into folkloric experimentations with medieval reminiscences, which, combined with rock elements underpinned by the recently incorporated guitarist Martin Barre and the unmistakable sonority of Anderson's flute, delineate the beginning of the path that Jethro Tull would follow from then on.

Stand Up" develops with a more tight-knit band, starting with their original bluesy approach on the opening "A New Day Yesterday" and Barre's punchy guitar riff, and on the rhythmic "Nothing is Easy". But unlike "This Was", folk begins to occupy a preponderant place in the British proposal, as in the brief and cheerful "Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square" and Clive Bunker's bongos, or in the beautiful acoustic ballad "Look into the Sun" or in the arpeggiated melancholy of "Reasons for Waiting". There is also room for the energy of the incipient prog rock of "Back to the Family" and the stupendous solo with which Barre adorns the confessional "We Used to Know"; and even for the adaptation of baroque music in the luminous "Bourée", taken from the German classical composer Johann S. Bach's "Suite in E Minor for Lute" with a great bass solo by Glenn Cornick and converted over the years into a fundamental piece of the band's live performances.

The bluesy "For a Thousand Mothers", with Anderson displaying his enormous talent and particular histrionic flute playing, omnipresent as it is throughout the album, marks the closing of "Stand Up" as much as the opening of the band's definitive stage among the greats of the progressive genre.

A couple of details of the defining "Stand Up": it was number one for over a month in the British charts in 1969, and won the award for best cover design of the year, from the renowned New Musical Express (NME).

Very good

4 stars

Jethro Tull came out with their beloved second studio album 'Stand Up' in 1969, following up the bluesy and tight 'This Was' and preceding one of their heavier releases, the excellent 'Benefit', making this album simultaneously transitional yet pretty important for the development of the band's music, as it was the first album on which Ian Anderson was in full control of what was being produced, also resulting in an album full of very eclectic sounds, with the band trying out several different styles, ranging from their blues rock roots to more hard rock territory, also experimenting and introducing finally some folk rock affinities, mixed up with a bit of acoustic rock and even symphonic rock. The album was recorded over the course of one month, and features the drumming of Clive Bunker, Glenn Cornick's bass playing, and guitar player Martin Barre, who debuted right here and went on to become Tull's long-term guitarist.

Surely the period after the release of their debut album must have been rough, with some musical differences coming to the front, leading to the departure of Mick Abrahams, who played guitars in Tull originally and was more interested in developing their bluesy leanings, leading also to the famous trial with Tony Iommi, who felt he doesn't fit very well within the band, leading to the introduction of Barre, a guitarist seemingly much more open to experiment and to explore the possibilities of Tull's new direction. And, of course, 'Stand Up' is an album that spreads out to many different territories, in a way displaying snippets of everything that Tull were excited about musically, making it the very promising second album that does not, however, unfold the full potential of a band searching for its sound. The introduction of the folkier and acoustic songs on here is fantastic, the more hard rock-oriented numbers are also quite memorable, but of course, this is an album packed with classic Tull songs that have transcended the test of time. And while 'Stand Up' might be imperfect in several ways, it is also promising and unleashed, which is precisely what makes it so special, a necessary and crucial step towards the evolution of one of classic rock's most creative bands. Also, this is an album famously revered by many great musicians, including Joe Bonamassa and Joe Satriani, as well as being one of Ian Anderson's personal favorites, too, so it has to be needless to say anything else.