STAND UP

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.