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
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 is the third live album by British blues rock musicians Ten Years After, which was released as a double LP in 1973.
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 (???)
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).
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).
On a hot summer night Alvin Lee, Leo Lyons, Chick Churchill and Ric Lee took the stage to a capacity crowd at Orlando Sports Stadium in Orlando Florida. Here is the audio of this set.
When Ten Years After hit the road again in 1973, the band retained the high-energy sound they were well known for. In January, they recorded a double-live album in Frankfurt, Germany that captured the group in full flight. When the tour hit the United States, arrangements were made to record the band again for a King Biscuit Flower Hour broadcast. Here for the first time is an expanded edition of that performance featuring all the songs featured in that original August 1973 KBFH broadcast, in addition to two songs that, due to time limitations, were not included.
