Review by Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
4 stars out of 4
Ten Years After and their music still hold up very well today along
with many of the legendary blues-rock players. Alvin Lee was an energetic
guitar player that was part of the British blues-rock phenomena that
started sweeping the U.K. and hitting big here in the states in the
late sixties. Now, after over thirty years it's defined as resurgence.
TYA was there at Woodstock, which served as turning point for many
artists, including Santana, Hendrix, The Who, and countless others.
They deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as all of these groups.
And yes, they are rock 'n' roll legends. This compilation is the like
the prime rib of TYA collections. There is no doubt that enough care
and thought went into the selection process for songs on this two
disc set. There are 26 tracks of rockin' kick ass blues that tell
the story. This is some fine blues and rock music, in fact it smolders.
All the classic tracks are here..."Good Morning Little Schoolgirl,"
"50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain," and the all-time classic mega hit
which served as an anthem for an era, "I'd Love To Change The World."
After listening to "I'm Comin On" I suddenly realized how groups like
Foghat got their motivation, Wow! What a steaming blues rocker that
song is. These two CDs are just jammed packed with music like that.
It will start fire in your soul that you won't forget.
As far as compilations go, for the most part they are predictable
and often boring, not this one. The upstart Hip-O label does an excellent
job with the packaging of this set. The liner notes and pictures are
superlative. All the extras serve as a perfect companion to all of
the great music that you will hear.
The longer I am on this earth listening to music the more I am reaching
back to the past to hear when the great music was made. This is not
to condemn the current generation of artists, there are many good
ones, and I am simply pointing out that there was a cache of great
rock and roll bands from the sixties and seventies that remains unrivaled.
I guess I am getting older, more selective, and less tolerant of crap
that is considered talent in this day and age. This is the real deal
people. That's the best part about great music, it's timeless, magical,
and it never dies. There ain't nothin' like the real thing baby.
Ten Years After - Producer
Chick Churchill - Keyboards
Alvin Lee - Guitar, Vocals, Producer
Ric Lee - Drums
Leo Lyons - Bass
Dave Thompson - Liner Notes
CD One
1. I Want to Know (MacLeod) - 2:09
2. I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes (Kooper) - 5:22
3. Spoonful (Dixon) - 6:03
4. Help Me (Bass/Dixon/Williamson) - 9:50
5. Portable People (Lee) - 2:14
6. The Sounds (Lee) - 4:11
7. Rock Your Mama (Lee) - 2:59
8. Spider in My Web (Lee) - 7:12
9. I May Be Wrong, but I Won't Be Wrong... [live] (Churchill/Lee/Lee/Lyons) - 9:46
10. Going to Try (Lee) - 4:46
11. Woman Trouble (Lee) - 4:39
12. Hear Me Calling (Lee) - 5:44
13. Boogie On (Lee) - 14:25
CD Two
14. I Woke up This Morning (Lee) - 5:31
15. If You Should Love Me (Lee) - 5:21
16. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Williamson) - 7:06
17. I'm Going Home [live] (Lee) - 12:00
18. Me and My Baby (Lee) - 4:10
19. Love Like a Man (Lee) - 7:39
20. 50, 000 Miles Beneath My Brain (Lee) - 7:38
21. I'm Coming On (Lee) - 3:48
22. My Baby Left Me (Lee) - 5:22
23. One of These Days (Lee) - 5:51
24. Here They Come (Lee) - 4:32
25. I'd Love to Change the World (Lee) - 3:44
26. Let the Sky Fall (Lee) - 4:20
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