Ten Years After - Their First Album (1967) {2002 Remaster}
Details
Year.......................: [1967/1968] 2002
Genre.....................:Rock/Blues
Comment................: Remaster + Bonus tracks
Label....................: Deram 8828972
Type......................: Studio
Tracks
1. I Want to Know
2. I Can't Keep from Crying, Sometimes
3. Adventures of a Young Organ
4. Spoonful
5. Losing the Dogs
6. Feel It for Me
7. Love Until I Die
8. Don't Want You Woman
9. Help Me
10. Portable People [Mono Single Version][*]
11. Sounds [Mono Single Version][*]
12. Rock Your Mama [**]
13. Spider in My Web [**]
14. Hold Me Tight [***]
15. Woodchoppers Ball [#][*]
[*] Bonustrack - Prev. unreleased on CD
[#][*] Bonustrack - Prev. unreleased
[**] Bonustrack - Export only
[***] Bonustrack - Prev. featured on Alvin Lee compilation
Line-up
Chick Churchill Organ
Alvin Lee Guitar, Vocals
Ric Lee Drums
Leo Lyons Bass
Technical Credits
Mike Vernon Producer
Gus Dudgeon Producer, Engineer
Ric Lee Liner Notes, Photo Courtesy
Phil Smee CD Package Design, Packaging
Mark Powell Reissue Producer, Tape Research
Paschal Byrne Remastering
Reviews/Notes
Amazon
UK remastered reissue of the British blues-rock quartet's 1967 album includes six bonus tracks, 'Woodchoppers Ball' (prev. unreleased), 'Portable People' (A-side), 'The Sounds' (B-side), 'Rock Your Mama' (A-side), 'Spider In My Web' (B-side) & 'Hold Me Tight'. 2002.
Ten Years After actually started out as more of a fast jazz band: Leo Lyons was certainly a jazz bass player, and Alvin's fast'n'furious playing really fitted the jazz pattern much more than standard R'n'B. The track that opens their first album, McLeod's 'I Want To Know', really says it all: magnificent, entertaining, swift, funny guitar lines, a jazz rhythm and Alvin's nasal vocals quickly set the scene for an absolutely self-assured, tight and very raw bunch of covers and 'originals'. And I do mean these quotes: Alvin's contributions to this album are just standard blues melodies set to a different set of, often misogynistic, lyrics. In fact, the only problem the record suffers from is an obvious lack of songwriting skills. Besides that, the production is somewhat lame: the engineers, including future Elton John starmaker Gus Dudgeon, were probably told not to bother very much with this 'experimental' band. So it ends up sounding like a lot of this stuff was recorded with just a hand-held tape recorder, and the production is just as muddy and dizzy as the album cover. All the better: this really gives the effect of a raw, young, happy, energetic and powerful band letting go - unlike the later, much more polished records.
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