JETHRO TULL

People often forget that Tull started out as a forward-looking blues-rock unit not dissimilar to contemporaries like Cream and Led Zeppelin. While the blues influence is heard most clearly on the debut THIS WAS, its successor STAND UP still shows some of those traces. Tracks like "A New Day Yesterday" and "Nothing Is Easy" are the prime examples of this hard-hitting, bluesy riff-rock approach. Elsewhere, though, the boys begin to show some of the folk, jazz, and classical influences that would soon make them a leading exponent of progressive rock. "Bouree" is a flute-led instrumental track that combines Ian Anderson's improvisations with melodic bass work that's alternately jazzy and classical-influenced. The melancholy folk-rock feel of "Look Into the Sun" makes for an emotionally affecting, introspective ballad. The light-hearted "Fat Man" incorporates folk influences with an Eastern-sounding balalaika melody. STAND UP is a portrait of a band in transition, on its way to bigger things, but it's still eminently enjoyable.

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