Some Insights Into Jethro Tull's Stand Up Courtesy of Ian Anderson

[MylesBAstor]

One of my fave Tull releases.

[Bill Hart]

Mine too. When I spoke to him, he said the whole blues thing from the first album was really just a vehicle to get established, and that he was already writing the material that appeared on Stand Up at the time they were recording This Was. I think I posted the interview here earlier, but happy to link to it again. The most difficult part was trying to pin down in words exactly what he was doing with Stand Up- it had some of that minstrel acoustic stuff going on, but it clearly wasn't folk (though that movement was very strong in the UK at the time, from Bert Jansch and Renborn to Fairport Convention as the latter transitioned away from American to a sort of Celtic folk); but Tull was also very heavy rock and no one, to my knowledge, put the elements together quite like Tull/Anderson did. Stand Up is really the template for what Tull did best. Anderson couldn't label it either, other than to say, at the time he was doing it, it was "progressive." But as we know, that is a big umbrella that not only covers a lot of other styles; it is sort of an after the fact catch-all today for all kinds of music that sounds nothing like what he was doing. Roy Harper is, as I'm sure I've said many times, a sorely under-recognized artist--his Stormcock is one of the five records I would take to the proverbial desert island. It was later in Harper's work than the records that directly influenced Anderson, but it has the same characteristics- story telling, long form, heavy on contrasts and transitions, from acoustic intervals to heavy, driving rock (though it is mainly an acoustic album). This is, in my estimation, why Stairway- Zep's hard rock anthem- succeeds- the acoustic breaks, the low, slow wind-up, the crescendos that are dramatic, not because they are "loud" but because they resolve the tension. Anderson brilliantly anticipated much of that.
I don't know if the Steve Wilson remix of Stand Up has been released yet. My copy is an early UK pink label bulls-eye which appears to have been pressed at Orlake, and is as good sounding as pretty much any early UK Island pink label I've ever heard. If Wilson can deliver something comparable for a fraction of the price of the original UK pressing, it will be a winner.

[rbbert]

IIRC there is a newly remastered (and likely even remixed) version engineered by Steven Wilson coming this year.

[Rob]

SW is da man.

[JCOConnell]

Isnt STAND UP the album with the gatefold inner jacket that has the popup figures?

[rbbert]

The original LP release and some of the CD releases have had the pop-up figures. Most of the releases in either format have not, unfortunately.

[JCOConnell]

My LP copy must be early as it does have the popups.

[mkuller]

My favorite Tull.

[JCOConnell]

yup, Stand up and Aqualung.

[[email protected]]

Got a clean copy with pop up of Stand Up at local record store yesterday for $5. Looking for the classic records 200g reissue of aqualung

[JCOConnell]

great deal on stand up

[Bill Hart]

Got a clean copy with pop up of Stand Up at local record store yesterday for $5. Looking for the classic records 200g reissue of aqualung

FWIW, I did a shoot out of many copies of Aqualung, including the Classic 33 and 45rpm cuts, as well as a UK first, US first (including a couple WLPs) as well as a couple of early Reprise cuts, the old MoFi, the DCC, the Steve Wilson remix, maybe one of two others. The Classic was not, in my estimation, near the top of the heap among those I compared- that recording is pretty challenged. The Wilson remix for 20 bucks is a huge improvement, despite the digital transfer. The other bargain would be to find an very early US Reprise, not necessarily a WLP. I can give you a link to the piece or just look it up under my name on the web. Not that I'm the ultimate arbiter of what's right and wrong, but before you spend your shekels, it is probably worth reading....

[[email protected]]

Thanks bill, great info

[MylesBAstor]

Got a clean copy with pop up of Stand Up at local record store yesterday for $5. Looking for the classic records 200g reissue of aqualung

Be careful with purchasing the CR Aqualung reissue. CR Quiex Aqualung reissue wasn't known for their Q/C and many purchasers complained about the record being really noisy along with a host of other defects. There was also a 45 rpm Clarity release but don't know how that sounds. Given the prices it commands nowadays, I'd follow Bill's advice.

[[email protected]]

Roger that - thanks Myles

[Johnny Vinyl]

What do you guys think of "Stormwatch"? It may be my fave JT album!