Jethro Tull – Stand Up Review

No, Ian Anderson does not perform an hour of comedy on Stand Up, the second Jethro Tull album. It’s more a call to arms than it is a commentary on the comics of the time. The album cover is comical, though, that ugly drawing style street artist scammers will charge you a tenner for while you’re walking through Amsterdam on the wrong side of the city. But that means nothing to the music found on Stand Up, which was already showing signs of just how brilliant Jethro Tull could be. Outstanding vocals and instrumental brilliance from a band who were leading the charge in psychedelic rock and thrilling, innovative pieces of work just as much as the likes of Pink Floyd. They may have fallen a little behind David Gilmour and Roger Waters, but the brilliance of Stand Up can survive without comparison to other, better bands. Jethro Tull had a hot streak that few others would have across the late 1960s and 1970s. Hearing that is still a thrill, as Stand Up showcases.  

Opening track A New Day Yesterday has some of the best back-and-forth between electric guitar and drums you’ll hear from the progressive rock of the 1960s, while follow-up Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square is objectively awful as it means travelling to Leicester Square. It’s actually an excellent example of those flute-led charms Anderson would incorporate into the very best moments from the band. Bourée to follow it up is a very satisfying listen. Maddeningly brilliant, some groovy madness unfolding in all the right ways and the build of instrumentals makes for an inevitable yet satisfying big rock ending. Predictable, sure, but then Jethro Tull’s key strength across Stand Up is accepting that part of themselves as a rock outfit, and building from there. They do so in such wonderful ways too, with Back to the Family a startling piece of work. A lightning rod of quality which comes out of the blue, that slice of life piece thrown at the wall of instrumental class.  

Songs like Look into the Sun do a great job of highlighting how strong a lyricist Anderson was around this time. Pair it with the simpler flourishes of acoustic guitar, feed in a bit of contrast with some electric joys, and you have a sweet foundation for Anderson to jump from. It’s a delicate piece of work and borders on being one of the band’s best efforts. Jethro Tull would hardly sound better than Nothing is Easy either, a song that lends a conversational like tone to the flute and electric guitar. Spacing those instrumental layers out, giving them a chance to shine and eventually collaborate after a fantastic build, it’s sharp work from Jethro Tull that would continue long into the 1970s. This album never quite sinks itself fully into progressive rock, either, there’s plenty of variety to stop the dam from bursting just yet.  

From blues rock fundamentals to a tremendous bit of world music assimilation on Fat Man, Anderson and the rest of Jethro Tull sound truly excited by the ability to explore as many genres as they can. The last two tracks of Stand Up are Jethro Tull at their very best. Reasons for Waiting is a miraculous piece of work and the spontaneity, the absolute complete sound of album closer For a Thousand Mothers is the best track on the album. It’s a complete vision from the band in their formative years, but they would rarely capture this perfection again. Stand Up is a magnificent experience, where the band are not saddled by expectation and are merely creating to pursue a sound which could leave them better off for having released it. We are better off for listenng to Stand Up, this creative flow goes both ways for Jethro Tull.