Benefit [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [EXTRA TRACKS]

This recording still retains enough of the edginess and eccentricity that caused Jethro Tull to stand out during the band's early years and that caught my ear way back when. I would recommend getting the remastered CD more for the improved sound quality than the bonus tracks (which aren't bad though).

The CD kicks off with "With You There to Help Me". The opening flute and harmonized vocal are pure folk or blues, but when the bass guitar and lead guitar slowly increase their participation in the song, it becomes folk-rock. The harmonized vocals that are lead-ins to each verse are awesome. The riffs are very characteristic of Tull. Ian Anderson's vocals were so down-to-earth and fresh in 1970. The bizarre stylings of Anderson's flute are without equal, and they are used very effectively in this song. Near the end of the song the flute trades off with the lead guitar in a style that is unique to Tull.

"Nothing to Say" is less layered than the first cut, and has a more basic and raw sound. The music is pure rock with a harder edge than track 1. As usual though, the Tull sound is distinctive and unique.

The third song has more of the Renaissance sound that is often associated with Jethro Tull. "Inside" is a LOVE song, if you can believe it. It may not sound like a love song, but it is about getting a house and settling down. Lots of flute and vocals, nearly pop, but with the classic Tull sound that is nearly impossible to pin down as one particular category of music.

On the next song, "Son", a flavor of progressive is felt more strongly than on the earlier songs. However, before dismissing any of these songs as other than progressive, recall that this album was recorded in 1970, when progressive rock had yet to be truly defined. This song starts out as rock, a youth protest song. Then it transitions to the son's point of view, all mellow and laid back.

I haven't decided whether "For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me" is a lament that Ian Anderson didn't get to go on a moon walk, or whether he is lamenting the expenditure of time and money it took to get to the moon. The middle verse seems to be envious, but the surrounding verses seem a bit more satirical. Regardless of the meaning, solid song, good rock beat.

"To Cry You a Song" is a rock song that relies on impressionistic imagery rather than comprehendible lyrics. No matter, the solid rock beat and the sound of the words carry the song. Perhaps Ian Anderson was taking lessons from Jon Anderson regarding the use of word sounds rather than meaning to form lyrics.

"A Time for Everything" is much more straight forward. It's a song about thinking you have time for everything, when in fact if you waste time, you have time for nothing. An amazing lesson from a group of guys that were very young in 1970.

The next song is a standard for Tull, recognized by Tull fans everywhere. "Teacher" is a story about lessons learned in ways other than the classroom; solid rock with enough unusual elements to be borderline progressive. Anderson's flute is a key part of this song.

Sooner or later Tull has to talk to the audience. "Play in Time" is Tull, and especially Ian Anderson, talking to his audience. The song says that while he's trying to find a style, he's also trying to reach people with his music. Are you listening? This song is another rocking number; and that flute.

The last song is great. The song seems to be more about society, and the constraints of society, versus the story about the singer and Sossity that the song initially seems to be. The song appears to say that society tries to make people conform to a norm, putting up appearances for appearance's sake, and because of the way society behaves, it behaves as a woman. The style is mellow and laid back, a very strong folk-renaissance sound (though I've sometimes had a hard time defining exactly what that means, which means it's likely sort of progressive).

The music here is Jethro Tull at their non-commercial, classic, best. The sound has a raw exuberance to it. The lyrics run from plain to completely cryptic. The music goes from a hard-edged rock to acoustic folk. In short, this is the Tull we remember from their incredibly creative early days. If you are a fan of Tull's early music, this CD is a must have. If you object to the later release with the "extras" on it, look for the previous version without. Awesome music worth 5 stars.