Ten Years After – Positive Vibrations (1974)

Ten Years After are a British blues rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US Billboard 200. They are best known for tracks such as “I’m Going Home”, “Hear Me Calling”, “I’d Love to Change the World” and “Love Like a Man”.

The band’s core formed in late 1960 as Ivan Jay and the Jaycats. After several years of local success in the Nottingham/Mansfield area, they changed their name to the Jaybirds in 1962, and later to Ivan Jay and the Jaymen. Ivan Jay sang lead vocals from late 1960 to 1962 and was joined by Ric Lee in August 1965, replacing drummer Dave Quickmire who had replaced Pete Evans in 1962. Roy Cooper played rhythm guitar and sang from 1960 to 1962. The Jaybirds moved to London to back the Ivy League in 1966. In the same year, Chick Churchill joined the group as keyboard player.

That November, the quartet signed a manager, Chris Wright, and changed their name to Blues Trip. Using the name Blues Yard they played one show at the Marquee Club supporting the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons again changed their name in 1966 to Ten Years After – in honour of Elvis Presley, one of Lee’s idols. (This was ten years after Presley’s successful year, 1956). Some sources claim that the name was pulled by Leo Lyons from a magazine, advertising a book, Suez Ten Years After (referring to the Suez Crisis).

The group was the first act booked by the soon-to-be Chrysalis Agency. They secured a residency at the Marquee, and were invited to play at the Windsor Jazz Festival in 1967. That performance led to a contract with Deram, a subsidiary of Decca – they were the first band without a hit single that Deram signed. In October 1967 they released the self-titled debut album Ten Years After. In 1968, after touring Scandinavia and the United States, they released a second LP, the live album Undead, with a first version of the noteworthy song “I’m Going Home”. They followed this in February 1969 with the studio issue Stonedhenge, a British hit that included another well-known track, “Hear Me Calling”, which was released as a single (and was covered by the British glam rock band Slade in 1972).

In July 1969, the group appeared at the first instance of the Newport Jazz Festival that rock bands were invited to. On 26 and 27 July 1969, they appeared at the Seattle Pop Festival held at Gold Creek Park. On 17 August, the band performed a breakthrough American appearance at the Woodstock Festival; their rendition of “I’m Going Home” with Alvin Lee as lead singer/lead guitarist was featured in both the subsequent film and soundtrack album and increased the group’s popularity. In 1970, Ten Years After released “Love Like a Man”, the group’s only hit in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at #10. It was the first record issued with a different playing speed on each side: a three-minute edit at 45 rpm, and a nearly eight-minute live version at 33 rpm. The full studio version song appeared on the band’s fifth album, their most successful in Britain, Cricklewood Green.[8] In August 1970, they played the Strawberry Fields Festival near Toronto, and the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.

In 1971, the band switched labels to Columbia Records (US) and Chrysalis (UK) and released the hit album A Space in Time, which marked a move toward more commercial material It featured the group’s biggest hit, “I’d Love to Change the World”. In late 1972, the group issued their second Columbia album Rock & Roll Music to the World and, in 1973, the live double album Ten Years After Recorded Live. The band broke up after their final 1974 Columbia album, Positive Vibrations.

In the second half of the 1970s and early 1980s, Alvin toured with a new band he called Ten Years Later.

The original Ten Years After reunited in 1983 to play the Reading Festival,[10] and this performance was later released on CD as The Friday Rock Show Sessions – Live at Reading ’83’ .

In 1988, the members reunited for a few concerts and recorded the album About Time (1989) with producer Terry Manning in Memphis. They stayed together for their longest continuous period, until 2003, though without releasing new material. In 1994, they participated in the Eurowoodstock festival in Budapest.

In 2003, the other band members replaced Alvin Lee with Joe Gooch, and recorded the album Now. Material from the subsequent tour was used for the 2005 double album Roadworks. Alvin Lee mostly played and recorded under his own name following his split from the band. He died from complications during a routine medical procedure on 6 March 2013. Ric Lee was in a band called Ric Lee’s Natural Born Swingers, along with Bob Hall. In January 2014, it was announced that Gooch and Lyons had left Ten Years After. Two months later, veteran bass player Colin Hodgkinson and singer/guitarist Marcus Bonfanti were announced as their replacements. In October 2017, the band released its most recent studio album, A Sting in the Tale. (wikipedia)

Positive Vibrations is the eighth studio album by the English blues rock band, Ten Years After, which was released in 1974. Shortly after the release of this album, the band broke up. The album peaked at #81 in the US Billboard 200 chart. (wikipedia)

There’s not much happening here. By the time Positive Vibrations was released, Ten Years After had run out of gas. Leader Alvin Lee had already released two solo albums, “On the Road to Freedom” and “In Flight,” and the band was simply going through the motions on this album. The band broke up following its release. (by Jim Newsom)

In fact … this is Ten Years After’s weakest album, but the title trtack is a goofd song.

But  … on the bonus tracks we can hear the real Ten Yearts After … live !

Personnel:
Chick Churchill (keyboards, synthesizer)
Alvin Lee (guitar, vocals, harmonica)
Ric Lee (drums)
Leo Lyons (bass)

Tracklist:
01. Nowhere To Run (A.Lee) 4.01
02. Positive Vibrations (A.Lee) 4.16
03. Stone Me (A.Lee) 4.54
04. Without You (A.Lee) 4.01
05. Going Back To Birmingham (Penniman) 2.37
06. It’s Getting Harder (A.Lee) 4.25
07. You’re Driving Me Crazy (A.Lee) 2.25
08. Look Into My Life (A.Lee) 4.17
09. Look Me Straight Into The Eyes (A.Lee) 6.23
10. I Wanted To Boogie(A.Lee) 3.35
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11. Rock & Roll Music To the World (Live in Frankfurt) (A.Lee) 4-23
12. Once There Was A Time (Live in Frankfurt) (A.Lee) 3.22
13. Spoonful (Live in Paris) (Dixon) 6-24
14. I’m Going Home (Live in Paris) (A.Lee) 11.36
15. Standing At The Station (Live in Amsterdam) (A.Lee) 11.00
16. Sweet Little Sixteen (Live in Atlanta) (Berry) 4.51
17. Positive Vibrations Radio Advert (1974) 0.37

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More from Ten Years After in this blog:

The official website:

Pic of the day: Unforgotten …

… Mr. Alvin Lee, Ten Years After:

Ten Years After – Rock And Roll Music To The World (1972)

Ten Years After are a British blues rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition they had twelve albums enter the US Billboard 200, and are best known for tracks such as “I’m Going Home”, “Hear Me Calling”, “I’d Love to Change the World” and “Love Like a Man”. Their musical style consisted of blues rock and hard rock.

Rock & Roll Music to the World is the seventh studio album by the English blues rock band Ten Years After, released in 1972. It includes several Ten Years After standards, including “Standing at the Station”, “Choo Choo Mama”, and the title track. (wikipedia)

Here, Ten Years After expanded on their boogie base and continued the hits. The title cut was the hit, and while they continued to groove along in the boogie atmosphere, things on Rock & Roll Music to the World sounded a bit too tame for the thundering hordes to chant along to at the time. “Turned Off T.V. Blues” showed just how tiring touring was getting for the band, and there wasn’t much else here to bring out the beast to party with. A little too much of the same thing was starting to stunt this band’s growth, except in their wallets. (by James Chrispell)

After the inspired songwriting and more acoustic feel of A Space in Time, TYA got back to solid rock ‘n roll on this album. And while it’s true they’re not breaking any new ground with cuts like Choo Choo Mama, Tomorrow I’ll Be Out of Town and Rock ‘n Roll Music to the World, no one ever did boogie better than Alvin Lee and company, except maybe Savoy Brown. When you’ve got a first-class rhythm section like Leo Lyons on bass and Ric Lee on drums—as capable of occasional jazz stylings as of blues and rock—you can’t ask for much more. Chick Churchill turns in some of his best keyboard work ever on this album, pushing the boundaries with haunting barn burners like Standing at the Station and adding just the right ambience to Religion, one of Alvin Lee’s best lyrics. When it comes to blues, the band has never sounded so gritty and all-out as on Turned Off TV Blues; Lee pushes his voice to the limit, sounding more like John Fogerty than himself. And of course Lee’s blistering guitar work here keeps him firmly in guitar hero territory. This is a quintessential album for lovers of blues-based rock, one of the best of its era. (Sean Arthur Joyce)

Personnel:
Chick Churchill (organ)
Alvin Lee (guitar, vocals)
Ric Lee (drums)
Leo Lyons (bass)

Tracklist:
01. You Give Me Loving 6.31
02. Convention Prevention 4.23
03. Turned-Off TV Blues 5.13
04. Standing At The Station 7.09
05. You Can’t Win Them All 4.04
06. Religion 5.46
07. Choo Choo Mama 3.59
08. Tomorrow I’ll Be Out Of Town 4.28
09. Rock & Roll Music To The World 3.47

All songs written by Alvin Lee.

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More Ten Years After:

Ten Years After – A Space in Time (1971)

A Space in Time is the sixth studio album by the British blues rock band Ten Years After. It was released in August 1971 by Chrysalis Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in America. A departure in style from their previous albums, A Space in Time is less ‘heavy’ than previous albums and includes more acoustic guitar, perhaps influenced by the success of Led Zeppelin who were mixing acoustic songs with heavier numbers. It reached number 17 in the Billboard 200.

The third track on the album, “I’d Love to Change the World”, is also their biggest hit. By combining a melodic acoustic chorus with challenging electric guitar riffs, they managed to produce a sound that hit number 10 in the charts in Canada[citation needed] and number 40 in the USA.[2] Although this was their biggest hit, they rarely played it live. “Baby Won’t You Let Me Rock ‘n’ Roll You” also charted in the USA, peaking at number 61.

Billy Walker gave the album a generally positive review in Sounds. He noted the atypically soft sound of songs such as “Over the Hill” and “Let the Sky Fall” and approved of this “unexpected but pleasing dimension to the overall feel of the album”, while simultaneously praising “the old TYA excitement” of tracks such as “I’d Love to Change the World” and “Baby Won’t You Let Me Rock ‘n’ Roll You”.

He particularly praised Alvin Lee’s guitar work. However, he complained that a number of the tracks suffered from “lack of strength or projection of Alvin’s voice” and concluded “Ten Years After are a far better live band than their albums suggest; they get over much more of their charisma and excitement that has a job surfacing on their recorded work.”

Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said the album is one “in which the rock heavy comes of age with his toughest, fullest, and most coherent album. I like it in a way, but it does lack a certain winning abandon, and I’m not crazy about the heavy’s economic theories—fellow seems to believe that if you ‘tax the rich to feed the poor’ you soon run out of rich, with dire consequences.” (by wikipedia)

Personnel:
Chick Churchill (keyboards)
Alvin Lee (guitar, vocals, harmonica)
Ric Lee (drums, percussion)
Leo Lyons (bass)

US back cover:

Tracklist:
01. One of These Days 5.57
02. Here They Come 4.34
03. I’d Love To Change The World 3.44
04. Over The Hill 2.29
05. Baby Won’t You Let Me Rock ‘n’ Roll You 2.15
06. Once There Was A Time 3.22
07. Let The Sky Fall 4.20
08. Hard Monkeys 3.11
09. I’ve Been There Too 5.45
10. Uncle Jam 1.57

All songs by Alvin Lee except “Uncle Jam”, which was composed by C. Churchill, A. Lee, R. Lee and L. Lyons.

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Everywhere is freaks and hairies
Dykes and fairies, tell me where is sanity?
Tax the rich, feed the poor
‘Til there are no rich no more

I’d love to change the world
But I don’t know what to do
So I’ll leave it up to you

Population keeps on breeding
Nation bleeding, still more feeding economy
Life is funny, skies are sunny
Bees make honey, who needs money? monopoly

I’d love to change the world
But I don’t know what to do
So I’ll leave it up to you

World pollution, there’s no solution
Institution, electrocution
Just black or white, rich or poor
Them and us, stop the war

I’d love to change the world
But I don’t know what to do
So I’ll leave it up to you

More from Ten Years After:

Ten Years After – Cap Ferrat Sessions 1972 (2017)

To coincide with the Ten Years After’s eponymous debut release in 1967 Chrysalis Records presents a 50th Anniversary 10 CD Box Set. in 2007. This limited edition set includes a CD of previously unreleased material.

This set, limited to 1,500 copies worldwide, contains LPs which have been remastered from the original 1/4″ production master tapes along with the bonus disc entitled “The CapFerrat Sessions”, which consists of never heard before recordings from 1972, newly mixed by acclaimed record producer Chris Kimsey.

Continues Ric, “The box includes nine studio albums and a bonus CD that features the previously unreleased live album ‘The Cap Ferrat Sessions’.

Originally recorded in 1972 in the South of France using The Rolling Stones Mobile recording truck, the session tracks were gathering dust until now. I remember we recorded the live tracks in a villa in Cap Ferrat, South of France. Each of the instruments were recorded in a different room – drums in the ballroom. Between Chris Kimsey, our recording engineer and I, we managed to get one of the best drum sounds on any Ten Years After recording. Natural ambience from the villa’s acoustics helped tremendously. The session tracks were originally planned for the ‘Rock N Roll Music To The World’ album, but due to vinyl restrictions of the time, the tracks were not included in the final album release. More details are on the sleeve notes written for us by Chris Kimsey, who kindly agreed to mix the tracks for this boxed set release 45 years after they were recorded. This is a must-have collection for any avid Ten Years After fan, and any new fans that want to soak up the band’s recorded history.”

 

Ten Years After stormed the stages of rock, they created a sensation that stunned audiences and quickly won them a coveted place among the pantheon of great British groups. Alvin Lee – one of the most charismatic and admired guitar players to emerge from the British blues boom of the era and deservedly ranked alongside his contemporaries Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix – headed a powerful team of talented musicians, Leo Lyons, Chick Churchill and Ric Lee.

During an intense seven-year period, they embarked on marathon tours, conquering America, enjoying success round the world, whilst also unleashing a succession of ground breaking albums. Their 1967 debut “Ten Years After”was swiftly followed by pioneering live album “Undead” (1968) through the critically acclaimed “A Space In Time”(1971),featuring one of their finest songs ‘‘I’d Love To Change The World”, which is very apt in today’s world, ending with 1974’s ‘Positive Vibrations’.

“The Cap Ferrat Sessions” came as a result of a discovery by Alvin Lee’s wife, who found a box of recordings deep in the vaults of the studio in their house they shared in Spain. They originate from the “Rock N Roll Music To The World” album sessions, which were recorded at a seaside villa in Cap Ferrat, South of France and Olympic Studios in London. Chrysalis Records turned to world renowned producer Chris Kimsey (whose credits include the Rolling Stones, Bad Company, and Peter Frampton), who recorded and engineered the original sessions, to mix these tracks for the first time.

Revisiting the tapes, some 45 years later Kimsey added, “Alvin and the band were incredibly creative and abundant during this period. These re-discovered recordings were not rough demos, not rehearsals, but completed masters that did not make the album due to the time limitations of vinyl at the time. So these gems were left off. Mixing this in 2017 I began to study the parts, the playing, the response of each musician. It was amazing! It is what all great recordings are made of.“

For avid collectors and fans of the band, the legendary Cap Ferrat sessions will have a special appeal and will be an essential addition to their collection. This is a big deal for classic rock lovers and aficionados all over the world. (by bluesmagazine.nl)

Great album! Sounds really really good and clear. The songs are classic TYA bluesrock and it is beyond me how they didn’t make it onto the R&MttW album to be honest. (by Jeffrey81)

100% agree. It’s great to have some fresh early period TYA. Glad this wasn’t just lost to history. The green vinyl and cover art are cool too. Recommended to any TYA or Alvin fans.  (by Stuckcake)

Personnel:
Chick Churchill (keyboards)
Alvin Lee (guitar, vocals)
Ric Lee (drums)
Leo Lyons (bass)

Tracklist:
01. Look At Yourself (A.Lee) 4.21
02. Running Around (A.Lee) 5.33
03. Holy Shit (A.Lee) 2.59
04. There’s A Feeling (A.Lee) 3.30
05. I Hear You Calling My Name (A.Lee) 11.12
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06. I’m Writing You A Letter (A, Lee) 6.58
07. There’s A Feeling (A. Lee) 4.44
08. Rock & Roll Music To The World (A. Lee) 4.12
09. Slow Blues In C (Live in Frankfurt,January 1973) (A.Lee) 8.14
10. Spoonful (live) (Dixon) 7.41
11. I’m Going Home (live) 9.48

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Ten Years After – Ssssh (1969)

Ssssh is the third studio album by blues rock band Ten Years After, released in 1969. The album charted #20 on the Billboard 200 and #4 on the UK charts. (by wikipedia)

Ssssh was Ten Years After’s new release at the time of their incendiary performance at the Woodstock Festival in August, 1969. As a result, it was their first hit album in the U.S., peaking at number 20 in September of that year. This recording is a primer of British blues-rock of the era, showcasing Alvin Lee’s guitar pyrotechnics and the band’s propulsive rhythm section. As with most of TYA’s work, the lyrics were throwaways, but the music was hot. Featured is a lengthy cover of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl,” with reworked lyrics leaving little doubt as to what the singer had in mind for the title character. Also included was a 12-bar blues song with the ultimate generic blues title “I Woke Up This Morning.” Ssssh marked the beginning of the band’s two-year run of popularity on the U.S. album charts and in the underground FM-radio scene. (by Jim Newsom)

Ssssh (1969), the first of the trilogy of TYA’s LPs of their most fruitful period 1969-70 (i.e. Ssssh, Cricklewood Green, and Watt). Although quite short in total timing (33:35 min), it is laden with an incredible amount of blues-rock energy, distilled to the bones. High voltage, 100 carat gem. This very record was the basis for the future genuine, unmistakable sound of TYA. On the bluesy web, the power of 5 instruments is presented – Alvin Lee’s vocal (although with a limited scale, vigorous enough with lots of rock and blues feeling, and time-to-time, in the more balladic things, even somewhat soft and hollow, in contrast to its unbelievable strength in the shouting and screaming parts), Alvin’s virtuoso rock guitar playing legato in an extreme speed, releasing tons of energy all over, Leo Lyons’s jerky style of bass-guitar playing (probably he was the one closest to jazz among the foursome, his style being quite different to all other bass-guitar players in the big R`n’R bands). Then comes the superb keyboard playing of Chick Churchill, although inconspicuous, yet perfectly fitting to the sound. His classical rock & blues way of handling piano or Hammond organ is full of feeling. And last but not least, the vigorous, robust, but also highly technical drumming of Alvin’s brother, Ric, belongs to the same super class as e.g. that of Led Zep’s John Bonham or The Who’s Keith Moon.

It was 1969, the year of gross, prolonged, nearly jazzy improvisations and bulky soloing in rock, and also, of experimenting with the new sounds available in the studios of the time. All of this is notable on Ssssh. But (say, in contrast to the long improvisations of e.g. Cream or Grateful Dead of those years), on Ssssh, everything is highly controlled and subsides to the balanced sound and structure of the compositions. This is especially prominent on tracks 4 and 8 – the pieces that have been since quite regularly climaxes of TYA’s live shows (even after Alvin’s parting the group) – of course, with more abundant improvisations than on the studio-recorded Ssssh. These 2 compositions may serve as typical examples of TYA’s songs, with an opening guitar or bass-guitar riff (maybe we would describe it as hard rock if performed by Black Sabbath), with the main theme gradually dissolving into various improvisations with up going tempo and exaltation. Also typical for TYA, a country blues-like style song appears (track 2), as well as the boogie (track 7).

As the next typical feature of this and future records, some low- (or rather moderate-) tempo things are included (tracks 5 and 6), making the record pleasantly variable in style. Although track 5 starts like a balladic love song, it ends up in high tempo with full rock and blues power. Also, some new experimental sounds appear on Ssssh, but again, they are functionally built in the songs, without disturbing (this is in contrast with TYA’s previous album, Stonedhenge). Well, it is hard to describe. Better go into this – definitely if you like rock & blues of the turn of 60’s/70’s. No way you might be disappointed – Ssssh is a real gem. (by Jiri Schwarz)

In other words: One of the finest Ten Years After albums !

Personnel:
Chick Churchill (organ)
Alvin Lee (guitar, vocals)
Ric Lee (drums)
Leo Lyons (bass)

Tracklist: 
01. Bad Scene (A.Lee) – 3:30
02. Two Time Mama (A.Lee) – 2:02
03. Stoned Woman (A.Lee) – 3:30
04. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Williamson) – 7:01
05. If You Should Love Me (A.Lee) – 5:27
06. I Don’t Know That You Don’t Know My Name (A.Lee) – 2:02
07. The Stomp (A.Lee) – 4:35
08. I Woke Up This Morning (A.Lee) – 5:30

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Ten Years After – Undead (1968)

Undead is a live album by Ten Years After, recorded at the small jazz club, Klooks Kleek, in London, May 1968, and released in August of that year. The show combined blues, boogie and jazz playing that merged more traditional rock and roll with 1950s-style jump blues. The album “amply illustrates” Alvin Lee’s “eclectic” use of the pentatonic scale mixed with other modalities

Recorded live in a small London club, Undead contains the original “I’m Going Home,” the song that brought Ten Years After its first blush of popularity following the Woodstock festival and film in which it was featured. However, the real strength of this album is side one, which contains two extended jazz jams, “I May Be Wrong, But I Won’t Be Wrong Always” and Woody Herman’s “Woodchopper’s Ball,” both of which spotlight guitarist Alvin Lee’s amazing speed and technique. Side two is less interesting, with an extended slow blues typical of the time, a drum solo feature, and the rock & roll rave-up of “I’m Going Home.” (by Jim Newsom)

Put whatever it is your listening to down for a moment and check this out.
Ten Years After very wisely releases a live album for their second release, giving you all the band have to offer and an Alvin Lee.

Never was the biggest fan of Alvin Lee’s nasally vocal delivery, but absolutely zero of that matters either way, because the band cooks.
Alvin Lee is the star of the show, as with every Ten Years After show, completely commanding the atmosphere and mowing people down with his guitar skills.
One dimensional, yet lighting fast jazz/blues runs fronting a very capable ensemble (the organ for some reason though always got in the way for me) tearing through standards and originals.

Check out the original “Woodchopper’s Ball”, and then listen to what’s going on here…very interesting.
The feeling is intimate which always make for the best live albums, and you can feel the sweat through your speakers.
I’m guessing prior to their appearance at Woodstock, it was this album boasting “I’m Going Home” which made them.

This is very good golden age era rock to blast, and every fan of this era should be giving this a listen, if not owning it already. (by breakwind)

Personnel:
Chick Churchill (organ)
Alvin Lee (guitar, vocals)
Ric Lee (drums)
Leo Lyons (bass)

Tracklist:
01. I May Be Wrong, But I Won’t Be Wrong Always (A,Lee) 10.35
02. Woodchopper’s Ball (Herman/Bishop) 7.48
03. Spider In My Web (A.Lee) 7.38
04. Summertime (Gershwin) / Shantung Cabbage (R,Lee) 5.59
05. I’m Going Home (A.Lee) 6.38
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06. Rock Your Mama (A.Lee) 3.26
07. Spoonful (Dixon) 6.39
08. Standing At The Crossroads )Johnson) 4.10
09. I Can’t Keep from Crying, Sometimes / Extension on One Chord (Kooper/A.Lee) 17.05

 

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Ten Years After – Recorded Live (1973)

Recorded Live is the third live album by British blues rock musicians Ten Years After, which was released as a double LP in 1973.

This album, containing no overdubs or additives, was recorded over four nights in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Frankfurt and Paris with the Rolling Stones’ mobile recording truck and later mixed from sixteen tracks to stereo at Olympic Studios in London. The album was rereleased as a CD in 2014, with seven previously unreleased tracks. (by wikipedia)

It may not be the best live album in the world, but it’s certainly in the race for one, together with a couple dozen other notorious records – although as of now, it’s been somewhat overshadowed by the even superior Fillmore East. However, if you can’t locate that archive release or are upset with the price of the double CD, I’d strongly recommend any TYA novice to start here (that is, if you’re able to tolerate speedy, but lengthy guitar jams; otherwise, you’d be much better off with either Ssssh or Space In Time, although I actually doubt that otherwise you’d be interested in TYA at all), especially because not only does this record stand as a ‘great live’ record, it also stands for a ‘greatest hits live’ record. Just look at the track listing!

It’s interesting, too, to compare this record with Undead. You’ll see how ‘huge’ they have grown – almost in every sense. From a secluded club scene to large arenas in major European capitals; from a homemade lousy equipment to the Rolling Stones mobile; from half-hour gigs to extended concerts; from half-obscure jazz covers to international hits; finally, from the raw, unpolished, even though mighty energetic tones to a well-polished, professional, intoxicating ‘wall-of-sound’. Just compare the two versions of ‘I’m Going Home’ on both records and you’ll see the difference. Some may regret the loss of that original ‘raw’ sound, but I say I don’t mind. I like both albums, but Recorded Live is longer, has more songs and doesn’t have any embarrassments like the lengthy slow uninteresting blues of ‘Spider In My Web’ and the stupid drum solo on ‘Summertime’. Sure, it was recorded at a rather late period in the band’s career, when they were already almost spent creatively and on the brink of dissolution, but it is a well-known fact that live playing and “general creative state” are two absolutely different things.

Live playing and its quality depend on quite a few factors, including, simply speaking, the particular mood of the band’s members on the day of the gig, which, in turn, may depend on the weather or the expression on that guy in the front row’s face. Luckily, most of the performances on this album were drawn from moments when the band seemed to be in relatively high spirits.

For the record, the album does feature a lengthy run-through of their most driving and famous numbers. Practically none of them are superior to the studio recordings, but none are inferior, either. On the other side, the live performance does give them a ‘spontaneous’ edge which might make them more suitable for some listeners. They kick off with ‘One Of These Days’ (wow! but somebody cut down that ending jam, please!), only to continue with the unforgettable riff of ‘You Give Me Loving’: what a wise choice from their worst record so far, and I don’t even mind that Alvin messes up the lyrics because they were so convoluted in the first place. Later on, the band, as usual, breaks in some of the oldies, like ‘Help Me’ and ‘Good Morning Little Schoolgirl’.

On the way, Alvin displays some cute little tricks, like showing his prowess at classical guitar (‘Classical Thing’), resurrecting the ‘Skoobly-oobly-dooboob’ ditty (‘Scat Thing’) and just playing the fool (‘Silly Thing’). The two highlights of the show are, of course, a terrific fifteen-minute version of ‘I Can’t Keep From Crying’, which is again transformed into tons of different things on the way, including even a few lines from ‘Cat’s Squirrel’ and even ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ – sic!, and ‘I’m Going Home’. The former also was the central point for showing Alvin as a ‘guitar experimentator’ – in particular, he liked to tune his guitar and play it at the same time, which sometimes resulted in a truly awful, ear-destructive sound which I kinda like nevertheless. And the latter (‘I’m Goin’ Home’, that is) is predictably close to the Woodstock version, except that the various sections are interspersed in a different way and the drums are much more prominent. And damn the stupid audience that mars the opening chords with its silly applause! Otherwise, though, it’s simply a superb version: with all the ‘boo-boo-babys’ in place, and the old rockabilly classics medley in the middle. It does seem a bit worn off as compared to the Woodstock version, but you can excuse the guys: after all, the piece was like a stone around their neck, and it’s a wonder they were still able to do it with enough authenticity and patience.

For me, the only letdown on the album is the seven-minute ‘Slow Blues In C’. They should have left things like that to the Allman Brothers. But then again, it’s just a minor flaw in an almost flawless seventy-minute record! Be forgiving! This doesn’t sound like the Allmans at all! And I don’t have anything against the Allmans, I just don’t have a lot in favour of them doing similar things. They put me off to sleep. Berk. Ever heard ‘Mountain Jam’? How many times do you have to sit through these thirty minutes to dig it? Ah, if only everything these guys played were akin to their version of ‘You Don’t Love Me’… This record, on the other hand, is instantly amiable and friendly – and it features lots of guitar jams, too. But these kids are so frantic, so full of energy and they love the stuff they’re playing so much you’ll be sure to be caught in the fun. This is no Yessongs, either – just your basic love for dat electro guitar sound. And no ‘supergroup’ hype, either – they just play and they don’t give a damn. I like it when a record doesn’t have balls. (by George Starostin)

I can´t agree with this negative opinion to “Slow Blues In C” or to “MountainJam” by the great Allman Brothrs Band …

This album is one of the finest Ten Years After live albums ever recorded !

And enjoy all these bonus tracks … listen to “Standing At The Station” (featuring a long and wild organ solo by Chick Churchill or “Jam” (including a great bass solo by Leo Lyons !) or “I Woke Up This Morning” …  and you´ll know what I mean … that was the freedom of music in the Seventies …

The cover of Ten Years After’s 1973 album Recorded Live depicts a giant reel-to-reel recorder, which certainly captures the era when this double-LP set was recorded. Approaching the end of their run — only one more album would come, 1974’s Positive Vibrations — Ten Years After were deep into the thick of ’70s arena rock, so everything they played on-stage wound up stretching well beyond the five-minute mark, sometimes reaching upward of 11 minutes. Everything on this double-LP places improvisation over groove — a sentiment that is accentuated on the 2013 expansion, which winds up running 21 tracks over two discs, adding bonus outtakes to the original double-LP set. The best parts here are the improvisations, particularly Alvin Lee’s long, languid guitar solos, but this album — either in its original incarnation or in its expansion — is a distinctly ’70s creation: it’s unhurried and indulgent, reveling in its slow, steady march to a virtuosic, never-ending guitar solo. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Chick Churchill (keyboards)
Alvin Lee (guitar, vocals, harmonica)
Ric Lee (drums)
Leo Lyons (bass)

Tracklist:
01. One of These Days (A. Lee) 6.20 (Frankfurt)
02. You Give Me Loving (A. Lee) 6.10 (Frankfurt)
03. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Willamson) 7.27 (Frankfurt)
04. Hobbit (R. Lee) 8.36 (Frankfurt)
05. Help Me (Willamson/Bass) 10.49 (Amsterdam)
06. Time Is Flying (A. Lee) 5.36 (Frankfurt) (bonus track)
07. Standing At The Station (A. Lee) 11.51 (Frankfurt) (bonus track)
08. Jam (A. Lee/R. Lee/Churchill/Lyons) 18.09 (Amsterdam) (bonus track)
09. Help Me” (Williamson/Dixon/Bass) 12.06 (Paris) (bonus track)
10. I Woke Up This Morning” (A. Lee) 4.26 (Rotterdam) (bonus track)
11. Sweet Little Sixteen (Berry) 4.24 (Frankfurt) (bonus track)
12. Jam (A. Lee/R. Lee/Churchill/Lyons) 16.33 (Frankfurt) (bonus track)

13. Classical Thing (A. Lee) 0.53 (Paris)
14. Scat Thing (A. Lee) 0.57 (Paris)
15. I Can’t Keep From Cryin’ Sometimes (Part 1) (Kooper) 1.57 (Paris)
16. Extension On One Chord (A. Lee/R. Lee/Churchill/Lyons) 10.45 (Paris)
17. I Can’t Keep From Cryin’ Sometimes (Part 2) (Kooper) 3.12 (Paris)
18. Silly Thing (A. Lee) 1.09 (Frankfurt)
19. Slow Blues in ‘C’ (A. Lee) 8.14 (Frankfurt)
20. I’m Going Home (A. Lee) 10.54 (Frankfurt)
21. Choo Choo Mama (A. Lee) 3.21 (Frankfurt)

 

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Ten Years After – Same (1967)

Ten Years After are an English blues rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition they had twelve albums enter the US Billboard 200, and are best known for tracks such as “I’m Going Home”, “Hear Me Calling”, “I’d Love to Change the World” and “Love Like a Man”. Their musical style consisted of blues rock,and hard rock (???)

 

The band’s core formed in late 1960 as Ivan Jay and the Jaycats. After several years of local success in the Nottingham/Mansfield area, known since 1962 as the Jaybirds and later as Ivan Jay and the Jaymen, Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons founded Ten Years After. Ivan Jay (born Ivan Joseph Harrison, 1939, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, died in April 2009, USA) sang lead vocals from late 1960 to 1962 and was joined by Ric Lee in August 1965, replacing drummer Dave Quickmire (born David Quickmire, 1940, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire), who had replaced Pete Evans (born Peter Evans, 1940, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire) in 1962. Ray Cooper (born 11 November 1943, Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire) played rhythm guitar, vocals from 1960 to 1962.

In 1966, The Jaybirds moved to London to back The Ivy League. In the same year, Chick Churchill joined the group as keyboard player. That November, the quartet signed a manager, Chris Wright, and changed their name to Blues Trip. Using the name Blues Yard they played one show at the Marquee Club supporting the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. They again changed their name, to Ten Years After – in honour of Elvis Presley, an idol of Lee’s.[10] (This was ten years after Presley’s successful year, 1956). Some sources[which?] claim that the name was pulled by Leo Lyons from a magazine, advertising a book, Ten Years After The Suez (referring to the Suez Crisis).

The group was the first act booked by the soon-to-be Chrysalis Agency. It secured a residency at the Marquee, and was invited to play at the Windsor Jazz Festival in 1967. That performance led to a contract with Deram, a subsidiary of Decca — the first band Deram signed without a hit single. In October 1967 they released the self-titled debut album, Ten Years After.

Ten Years After is the debut album by the English blues rock band Ten Years After. It was one of the first blues rock albums released by British musicians. The album is also low on original material in comparison to the band’s later works which were, in most cases, entirely composed of Alvin Lee’s songs.

It features “Spoonful”, a Howlin’ Wolf song (written for him by Willie Dixon) that the British blues rock group Cream covered as well (on their albums Fresh Cream and Wheels of Fire). (by wikipedia)

Rare pic of Alvin Lee with a fender guitar !

Melody Maker, October 21, 1967

Amazing. Where it all started. Almost completely devoid of all the blues/rock clichés of their later albums. Stylistically impressive. And dig that crazy cover. (by Emilio Gironda)

This was the start of one of the findest blues-rock groups from the late Sixties … listen to “I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes” and “Help me” and you will definitly know what I mean … !

Personnel:
Chick Churchill (organ)
Alvin Lee (guitar, vocals)
Ric Lee (drums)
Leo Lyons (bass)

Tracklist:
01. I Want to Know (Sheila McLeod as pseudonym Paul Jones) 2.15
02. I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes (Kooper) 5.25
03. Adventures Of A Young Organ (A.Lee/Churchill) 2.37
04. Spoonful (Dixon) 6.07
05. Losing The Dogs (A.Lee/Dudgeon) 3.07
06. Feel It For Me (Alvin Lee) 2.42
07. Love Until I Die (A.Lee) 2.08
08. Don’t Want You Woman (A.Lee) 2.39
09. Help Me (Bass/Dixon/Williamson) 9.51

 

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Ten Years After – About Time (1989)

About Time is a 1989 album released by blues rock band Ten Years After, the final studio album released featuring Alvin Lee, their singer and most prominent songwriter since the band’s creation. It was also their first studio release in fifteen years (since Positive Vibrations in 1974).

About Time peaked at #120 on the US Billboard 200. (by wikipedia)

The 1989 reunion album About Time was released in a year rife with reunions, comebacks and 20th-anniversary-of-Woodstock hoopla. But while other bands seemed intent on cashing in on their fans’ nostalgia, Ten Years After made a good, straightforward album, exactly the one you would expect them to make in 1989 after changing with the times. The music of Ten Years After translated well to the digital age, certainly updated but not diluted. Terry Manning’s clean-and-loud production made them sound a bit like ZZ Top, but nothing was really compromised. Lee was still not the greatest lyricist — the most memorable lyrics here are about “Working In A Parking Lot”, a song that Lee had no hand in writing — but his distinctive voice and guitar playing are unmistakable.

Only the keyboard-dominated “Bad Blood” sounds uncharacteristic, but not in a negative way. If all reunion albums were as good as About Time, such albums would not have a bad name. (by rarebird)

This is a fantastic album. I bought it following a live show at the old Hammy Odeon in London after TYA got back together in 1988. It really captures the flexibility of the band moving smoothly from rock and roll to blues through the genius of Alvin Lee’s exciting, fluid guitar work. I do not like all of TYA’s 60’s compositions many of which now sound dated, but this album is instantly recognisable as TYA but is also very modern. (Heartzin Waleson)

And “Victim Of Circumstance” is one of the finest tracks Ten Years After ever recorded !

Personnel:
Chick Churchill (keyboards)
Alvin Lee (guitar, vocals)
Ric Lee (drums)
Leo Lyons (bass)
+
Nick Carls (background vocals)
Jimi Jamison (background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Highway Of Love (Gould/A.Lee) 5.13
02. Let’s Shake It Up (Gould/A.Lee) – 5:14
03. I Get All Shook Up (A.Lee) 4.38
04. Victim Of Circumstance (A.Lee) 4.29
05. Goin’ To Chicago (Hinkley/A.Lee) 4.22
06. Wild Is The River (Gould/A.Lee) 3.53
07. Saturday Night (Gould/A.Lee) 4.06
08. Bad Blood (Crooks/Lyons) 7.09
09. Working In A Parking Lot (Crooks/Lyons/Nye) 4.52
10. Outside My Window (Gould/A.Lee) 5.47
11. Waiting For The Judgement Day (Gould/A.Lee) 4.30

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“Victim Of Circumstance”:

This world is driving me crazy.
Things goin’ on make me mad.
Waiting in the dole queue for money to come down.
No wonder this boy turned bad.
I’m gonna write my M. P.
Say what the fuck’s goin on,
All my life I’m runnin’ on empty,
Watchin’ everybody else have fun.

I’m a victim of circumstance, a victim of circumstance.
This boy never ever stood a chance, I’m a victim of circumstance,
whoa – yea!

See the big fat rich man in his Rolls – Royce;
Squeaky clean kids by his side.
I get the shit, they get the chances.
I get to walk, they get to ride.
You know I’m your problem boy,
I never even stood a chance.
Pent up frustrations runnin’ inside me now,
I’m a victim of circumstance.

I’m a victim of circumstance, a victim of circumstance.
This boy never ever stood a chance, I’m a victim of circumstance, ow!

What you doin’ for the workers?
What you doin’ for the unemployed?
Keep dishin’ out money for all those jerkers,
Can’y say I’m over-joyed.
So don’t mess with my life,
I’ve had to scrape and fight.
Just give me some hope it’s gonna get better,
Maybe I can sleep at night.

I’m a victim of circumstance, a victim of circumstance.
This boy never ever stood a chance, I’m a victim of circumstance,
Ow! Victim of circumstance, victim of circumstance,
This boy never ever stood a chance. Ah!