STAND UP

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.