If Steven Wilson’s remixes of albums by Yes and XTC aren’t enough surround sound excitement for you, then check this out: Jethro Tull’s third album, 1970’s Benefit, is being reissued as a 2CD/1DVD set featuring the talents of the Porcupine Tree frontman.
Benefit was, perhaps, the first step in Tull’s immersion in the greater world of progressive rock. The quintet moved away from the blues influences of their last two records toward a more heavier sound. Studio trickery was more present throughout, with some tracks, including some of Ian Anderson’s flute parts and piano playing by John Evan (listed as a guest on the album but a full-fledged member of the band through 1980) played backwards or at varying speeds. The success of the album paved the way for more great prog efforts by Tull, including follow-up albums Aqualung and Thick As a Brick.
The expanded Benefit – excitingly, one of the first titles from the Chrysalis catalogue to be reissued through Rhino (Warner purchased the Chrysalis assets from Universal after its acquisition of EMI earlier this year) – features nearly all of the album and single-only material from the era newly remixed by Wilson – the complete album, outtake “Singing All Day” and non-LP single sides “Sweet Dream”/”17” and both U.K. single and U.S. album versions of “Teacher.” (The U.K. A-side of “Teacher,” “The Witch’s Promise,” has not been remixed, as multitracks could not be located.) There will be new stereo mixes on the set’s first disc, and stereo and 5.1 surround mixes on an accompanying DVD.
Additionally, a bonus disc features original stereo and mono mixes of the non-LP material (several of the mixes released here for the first time) and some of the album tracks, as well as bonus radio spots. And the aforementioned DVD also features 96/24 khz flat transfers of the original stereo LP, able to be heard in its original U.K. or amended U.S. running orders. (Flat transfers of the single sides will also be included.)
Benefit: Collector’s Edition will be available on October 29; Rhino also promises a vinyl reissue of the album in the future. At present, only a provisional Amazon U.S. link is live, but it is after the jump with the full track breakdown!
Jethro Tull, Benefit: Collector’s Edition (Chrysalis/Rhino, 2013)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. (TBD)
Disc 1: Original LP (released as Chrysalis ILPS 9123 (U.K.), 1970) and bonus tracks – new stereo mixes by Steven Wilson
- With You There to Help Me
- Nothing to Say
- Alive and Well and Living In
- Son
- For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me
- To Cry You a Song
- A Time for Everything?
- Inside
- Play in Time
- Sossity; You’re a Woman
- Singing All Day (from Living in the Past – Chrysalis CJT 2, 1972)
- Sweet Dream (single A-side – Chrysalis WIP 6070, 1969)
- 17 (single B-side – Chrysalis WIP 6070, 1969)
- Teacher (U.K. Single Version – stereo) (single B-side – Chrysalis WIP 6077, 1970)
- Teacher (U.S. LP Version – stereo) (from Reprise RS 6400 (U.S.), 1970)
Disc 2: Bonus material
- Singing All Day (mono)*
- Sweet Dream (mono)
- 17 (mono)
- Sweet Dream (stereo) *
- 17 (stereo) *
- The Witch’s Promise (mono) (single A-side – Chrysalis WIP 6077, 1970)
- Teacher (U.K. Single Version – mono)
- Teacher (U.S. LP Version – mono)
- The Witch’s Promise (stereo)
- Teacher (U.K. Single Version – stereo)
- Teacher (U.S. LP Version – stereo)
- Inside (mono)
- Alive and Well and Living In (mono)
- A Time for Everything? (mono)
- Reprise AM Radio Spot #1 (mono)
- Reprise FM Radio Spot #2 (stereo)
Disc 3: DVD
- DTS & Dolby Digital 5.1 & stereo versions of all material on Disc 1 – newly mixed by Steven Wilson
- 96/24 khz Flat transfer of Original LP master in U.K. and U.S. running order (see below) and stereo versions of “Sweet Dream,” “17” and “The Witch’s Promise”
U.S. LP running order (Reprise RS 6400, 1970):
- With You There to Help Me
- Nothing to Say
- Inside
- Son
- For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me
- To Cry You a Song
- A Time for Everything?
- Teacher
- Play in Time
- Sossity; You’re a Woman
I’m delighted, since even Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson believed that the Chrysalis Records ownership change would mean that all Jethro Tull archival projects would have to be postponed until 2014. Steven Wilson is also working on similar projects for Jethro Tull’s “A Passion Play” & “The Chateau D’isaster” albums too.
Now, if only Chrysalis Records’ new owner Rhino could issue the “Aqualung” blu-ray audio disc outside of the “Aqualung’ CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/L.P. box , and in a newly remastered pressing that corrects the nasty digital static ticks that affect many copies of the existing blu-Ray audio disc….static ticks widely reported by Amazon reviewers…..static ticks that Chrysalis Records’ previous owner EMI was in denial about(they never did a corrected pressing after fans bought a large, pricey box set)
Very happy to see the info on “Benefit.” A terrific album, and I’ve loved Steven Wilson’s previous Tull remixes. As far as bonus tracks go, I don’t mind the inclusion of multiple alternate mixes. (Otherwise I wouldn’t have bought the deluxe Monkees’ “Head,” which is basically seven songs repeated over three CDs.) A disappointing omission, though, is the mono version of “Driving Song” that appeared on the B-side of “Living In The Past.” It’s noticeably longer than the stereo version available as a bonus cut on “Stand Up.” But I’m really looking forward to hearing “17” in stereo for the first time, and the mono mix of “Sweet Dream” so I can finally retire the version I de-clicked from a 45. The mono “Sweet Dream” appears to have an entirely different vocal track from the much more common stereo version. It’s curious that the multi-tracks for “The Witch’s Promise” are missing – they were still around as late as 1993, when a remix appeared on the 25th anniversary box set. Minor quibbles aside, this looks to be an exciting release to whet our appetites for next year’s expanded “A Passion Play.”