Benefit as a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions, mastered direct to DSD by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab. All eleven tracks play in one sequence – from “With You There To Help Me” to “Alive And Well And Living In”.
Between band power and studio workshop
On Benefit, released in 1970, Jethro Tull give the guitars and the possibilities of the studio a bigger role. Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Glenn Cornick and Clive Bunker recorded the band’s third album at London’s Morgan Studios, with John Evan joining them on piano and organ. Even before Aqualung, you can hear the group seriously exploring the musical language that was taking shape.
Evan first took part as an additional musician; for Cornick, on the other hand, Benefit became his last Tull studio album. So the album captures a line-up in transition – yet it doesn’t need to be heard merely as a step towards what came next. “Nothing To Say” and “To Cry You A Song” carry their own dramatic weight, and according to the publisher, Ian Anderson spoke of a “harder, slightly darker feel” compared with the band’s earlier material.
A flute can run backwards, too
“With You There To Help Me” uses reversed piano and flute sounds, and “Play In Time” works with sped-up guitar. These interventions are part of the arrangements: they change the way an instrument enters a song and complement the band’s immediate interplay.
In the opening track, listen to how a single sound takes shape before it melts into the accompaniment. Then switch to the guitar figures of “To Cry You A Song”. The contrast makes the different ways of working tangible – without reducing the album to studio tricks or heavy riffs.
John Evan opens another door
Piano and organ give Anderson new possibilities as a writer – according to the publisher, he said of Evan: “John has added a new dimension musically and I can write more freely now.” The keyboards don’t have to stand out as solos to make a difference: their part lies just as much in connections, harmonic answers and a shifted balance within the accompaniment. Follow them beneath the vocals instead of waiting for a showcase moment.
The running order deserves your attention, too. This edition combines the American album sequence, including “Teacher”, with “Alive And Well And Living In” as an additional closing track – a song from the British version of the album. Eleven tracks bring the material together without blurring the differences between the original releases.
The hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions
CAPP 169 SA is a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions. According to the publisher, Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab mastered it direct to DSD from flat copies of the original U.K. and U.S. analogue master tapes. The SACD layer plays on SACD-capable players, the CD layer on any conventional CD player. The disc follows the original U.S. track listing and adds “Alive And Well And Living In” from the U.K. release as a bonus track.
You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and ship from Hilden.
Also in another edition: Benefit
Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe
Musicians
Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.
| Name | Instrument / role |
|---|---|
| Ian Anderson | Acoustic guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Flute |
| Martin Barre | Electric guitar |
| Glenn Cornick | Electric bass |
| Clive Bunker | Percussion, Drums |
| John Evan | Piano, Organ |
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