So why is Jethro Tull’s Stand Up on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
When I’m a very particular mood, I’ll throw on Jethro Tull. And when I do – when those conditions are correct – I’m always fully delighted by the experience.
And Stand Up is the best of the Tull for my money.
I’m listening to “Living in the Past” (arguably one of Jethro Tull’s best known songs) while writing these words, and thinking about the collage of elements and influences that make Jethro Tull so unique: it’s kind of hippie rock, but there’s also hard rock and jazz and English folk music influence. But then throw in both the prog rock factor and the use of the flute, and we’re really in unique territory*.
* I go into a full blow defense of Jethro Tull against accusations of it being “pretentious crap” in the entry for Aqualung, #754 of best 1,000 albums ever.
And when I’m in that specific kind of mood, that vibe just really hits: it’s strange and groovy and wonderful.
“Bourée” is a spectacular number that shows off the flute work that Ian Anderson is known for, and it also blends elements of jazz and even funk into the Tull mix.
And going even further on this strange musical journey, the combination of “Street Dream” and “We Used to Know” remind me of the fantastic soundtrack to the musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar*.”
“Sweet Dream” kind of represents the big-sounding funk/hippie numbers from JCS like “Heaven On Their Minds,” while “We Used to Know” tracks really well with the wistful, yearning songs like “Pilate’s Dream.”
* The stage version of Jesus Christ Superstar premiered in October of 1971, two years after Stand Up was released, so perhaps the Tull directly influenced JCS!
Some stats & info about Jethro Tull – Stand Up
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Album Rock, Prog Rock, Hard Rock, Blues Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Stand Up released? 1969
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #451 out of 1,000
Jethro Tull’s Stand Up on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Jethro Tull’s Stand Up that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Let us close our eyes – outside their lives go on much faster. Oh, we wont give in, we’ll keep living in the past.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.