BENEFIT

Jethro Tull spent their first album ensnared in a conflict between Ian Anderson and original guitarist Mick Abrahams over the musical direction of the band, and then with Abrahams leaving and Martin Barre installed firmly in place spent their second album reacting against the Abrahams-inspired bluesy hard rock edge of their debut.

Benefit further tones down the blues influences, but feels able to crank the rock back up whilst keeping folk influences intact, as the band continue their meanderings and begin to hit on a new sense of purpose. The direction which would flower fully on Aqualung begins to become apparent here, on what is arguably the first album to really hit on the "classic" Jethro Tull sound. Benefit both closes the band's early chapter and sets the tone for what would follow, and is worth a listen for any Tull fan, even if some of the material here can sound a little straightforward if you are used to the Tull of Aqualung, Thick As a Brick, or A Passion Play.