Jethro Tull
Benefit (The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition)

This review could easily have the subtitle: 'How to make a stellar album even more spectacular'. This is the reality in which one is transported thanks to this deluxe repackage. It is Benefit (The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition), a rather substantial deluxe edition, also because it includes no less than 4 CDs and 2 DVDs. This re-release was supposed to come out in 2020, the year in which the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the third Tull album was celebrated, but the pandemic disrupted plans, so the release of this repackage was postponed to 2021.

As far as I'm concerned, there's little to say: the album is spectacular, the Associated Recordings (the section that also includes the very first version of My God, a song that would later be included in the album Aqualung) are absolutely a must-listen, also because they allow us to understand how much work was required to record an album like Benefit.

But what truly makes this repackage stellar are the two concerts included, both from 1970: one in Tanglewood and the other in Chicago. And this is a huge step forward compared to the equally spectacular deluxe repackage Benefit (A Collector's Edition) released in 2013, as the 2013 re-release contained only studio material, while the repackage I'm reviewing now lets us listen to Jethro Tull in concert, in two absolutely spectacular live performances.

Let's get to the contents: on CD 1 there's the entire album and part of the Associated Recordings: absolutely stellar. The same goes for the very first version of My God, a song that, as I have already mentioned, was included in the album Aqualung. On CD 2 there's the second part of the Associated Recordings, whose description reads: Original 1969-1970 mono single mixes. Absolutely fabulous are, in particular, Singing All Day, The Witch's Promise, Inside, Sweet Dream which highlights the extraordinary arranging work of David (now Dee) Palmer, and the two versions of Teacher: UK Single Version and US Album Version (the latter already included as a bonus track even in the standard version of the album, released in 2001, despite the fact that in parentheses it says Original UK mix. In reality, it is the American version, as in the UK version there is no flute and it is a pure Folk rock track). These two bonus tracks, along with Singing All Day, Sweet Dream, and 17, were included in the deluxe re-release released in 2013.

CD 3, on the other hand, documents the concert at Tanglewood: truly splendid concert, with the only flaw being that the audio is slightly off-balance. CD 4 documents the grand and absolutely colossal concert in Chicago. Both of these concerts are from 1970.

As for the two DVDs, the first is an audio DVD and includes the entire album and five bonus tracks in the audio remix that was already included in the 2013 re-release) in Dolby AC 3 5.1 surround stereo 96/24 LPCM. It also contains the flat transfer of the UK and US versions of Benefit in 96/24 LPCM and three extra tracks: Sweet Dream, 17, and Witch's Promise. The second, however, is a video DVD documenting the Tanglewood concert (live show which is included on CD 3) with the Steven Wilson 2020 audio remix in DTS, Dolby AC 3 5.1 surround, and stereo 96/24 LPCM.