Midnight In Chicago

The release of the album Benefit in April 1970 confirmed Jethro Tull’s place in the front rank of British rock. Since Ian Anderson had emerged as the band’s chief songwriter and principal creative force after the departure of Mick Abrahams, he had led Tull away from the blues-rock of their formative years and towards a more idiosyncratic sound. Benefit was another chapter in Anderson’s musical evolution, with the increasing use of the studio and the addition of keyboardist John Evan drastically expanding the group’s range. This performance comes from the 1970 US tour, as Jethro Tull took to the stage at Chicago’s legendary Aragon Ballroom on the 16th of August, a show that was broadcast live on WXRT FM. In an electric set, with John Evan ably demonstrating just how important he was to the band’s new sound, Tull perform the standout songs from both Benefit and previous album Stand Up in an essential recording of one of the key moments in their extraordinary history.