Today I'll be reviewing another album- in this case, Jethro Tull's Benefit. Interestingly, while researching this album, I just found that it was released (in the UK anyways) on my birthday, so that's a nice bit of trivia!
Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of this song. I've always found it a tad monotonous (probably not helped by the cheap earbuds I usually listen to it through, as I could hardly hear the bassline). Part of the chorus also sounds a little bit out of tune to me, and it feels a little rushed. That said, it's entirely possible this effect is desired- I'm not great at interpreting lyrics, as I've mentioned (quite regularly) in the past, but from what I can understand, the feeling I described fits rather well with them.
Again, not my favourite song on the album, for similar reasons to the previous one (namely the slightly monotonous sound, and the tone of the guitar). It's not a bad song, though, and I'm sure there's some really interesting commentary buried in the lyrics- as far as I can tell, it's to do with people looking to others for guidance, and people misusing this in order to gain power over others, but I might be completely off.
I've always liked this song- it's oddly relaxing. I believe it's a song about a couple, but I'm almost certain there's more to it than that. This song really contrasts the previous two in a lot of ways- it's significantly shorter, more relaxed and melodious, and (unless I'm completely mistaken), much more positive lyrically.
I quite like this song, for a number of reasons. It describes a not-so-great father-son relationship, with the father being (perhaps excessively) strict, and the son not meeting the father's expectations in terms of maturity (or to put it simply, he's a bit of a hippy). There are some great lines in the song, dripping with cynicism (one of my favourites is "Permission to breathe sir", though I also like "You're only turned thirty ... And when you grow up, if you're good we will buy you a bike"). I also really like how the style changes based on who is currently singing- it's very bluesy when it's the father, and a bit more experimental when it's the son.
A song about an astronaut (namely Michael Collins), who went to the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, but rather than going to the surface with them, stayed in orbit in order to rendezvous for the trip back to Earth. Technically, the song is more about humanity's desire to explore and leave their mark on everything they can, at least in the verses, but the point still stands. Supposedly, the song is also an analogy for the band leaving behind their friends when they started touring ("Jeffrey" in the title being Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond (who, funnily enough, ended up joining the band as a bassist in the future)). All that aside, it's quite a good song musically, with a good amount of dynamics.
Essentially, this song is about the trip home from a tour, describing the process of going through customs, flying, taking a taxi through London, and finally arriving home. I would assume the title (which is repeated throughout the song) is saying he intends to sing for somebody once he does return, but I might be completely off. This is one of my favourite songs on the album, actually- it's upbeat but doesn't feel too rushed, and it's also fairly catchy.
I honestly have no idea what this song is about- I do know that it's a pretty good song, though. It's also quite short- just four seconds shorter than the second shortest song, Alive And Well And Living In. The singing is a little monotonous, but the flutes and guitar riff make up for this well enough.
This is definitely one of my favourite songs on the album, if not my favourite. It almost feels out of place, just because of how relaxed and peaceful it is. I'm not entirely clear on the meaning, but it seems to be about living away from the outside world, trying to get away from stress and other similar issues and just enjoy life. Honestly, it's hard to really say much about the song- there isn't anything really outstanding about it apart from how calm it is, but it's hard to write exclusively about that. It is pretty short though, which is unfortunate considering how much I like it.
Something about this song is quite weird. The flute riff (and guitar, I suppose) feels like it's not quite lined up properly with the tempo, and the whole song feels slightly out of time (ironically enough (though that might well be the point)). The chorus is also a little on the creepy side, to be honest- the whole song is filled with a feeling of uneasiness, but it's done really well. To the best of my understanding, this song is just about trying to write and play music for the album. The first verse essentially describes the band being pressed for time trying to write and record, and getting little sleep, while the second is about trying to find a good style musically, as they stray further from the blues, to convey the messages they want to write about.
Supposedly, "Sossity" is a sort of nickname for society (as evidenced by how the words are used interchangeably in the chorus). The whole song seems to be a bit analogy for society, personifying and singing directly to it. It's an interesting song musically- it's very acoustic, but in a slightly odd key. When I first heard the album, I wasn't a big fan of the song, but it's since grown on me, and while it isn't one of my favourites, I definitely enjoy it.
Anyways, that's gonna be it for today- hopefully you enjoyed this post!
