When fans of British rock think of guitar heroes, the names Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and maybe even Peter Green often come to mind, and, even though he was American, Jimi Hendrix cut his teeth, made his name, and became the ultimate guitar hero in England. Another name that should be on the list is Alvin Lee.
Lee is best known for his band Ten Years After and their incendiary performance of “I’m Going Home” in the Woodstock film. While that commercial peak is iconic, the music Ten Years After made before and after is considerable. Though often pigeonholed as strictly a British blues rock band, the group went through many phases in a relatively short period.
Their self-titled debut album in 1967 was a psychedelic classic in that seminal year of the “Summer of Love.” The group’s 1968 Undead album was a live album recorded at the tiny, legendary London club Klook’s Kleek and reflects a wide variety of styles.
Stonedhenge, also in 1968, continued the psychedelic sound, with a grittier blues attack. Ssssh wasn’t necessarily the album that broke the group wide open, but it was already recorded and scheduled to come out after the group’s performance at Woodstock in late August of 1969.
Their next album, Cricklewood Green, released in 1970, also benefited from the Woodstock appearance, as it came out just as the Woodstock film was hitting theaters. But in many ways, the album was even more confident than Ssssh.
Tracks such as “Sugar The Road” and especially “Love Like A Man” were staples of FM radio. And, although the album is credited as being produced by the group, engineer Andy Johns helped the band craft a studio-tight sound at the famed Olympic Studios without watering down their sizzling live energy.
This new reissue of Cricklewood Green perfectly captures the magic of the original analog record. Deftly mastered and cut at AIR Mastering, it’s a wonder why more rock reissues aren’t mastered and cut there. This is easily one of the best-sounding rock reissues I’ve heard in a long time.
Making this reissue even better is a bonus disc of the group’s second set from their February 27, 1970 performance at the Fillmore East, in New York. Two songs here were also included with the bonus disc of the previous Ten Years After reissue of the Ssssh album: “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” and “I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes,” which was written by Al Kooper and is best known from the Blues Project version from Projections.
The live album here closes with “I’m Going Home.” The standout performance is of “Love Like A Man.” The sound on the bonus live disc is equally superb.
This is a gatefold package that replicates the iconic cover. Custom sleeves include extensive liner notes, previously unreleased photos, and memorabilia. This is yet another excellent Ten Years After reissue.
Also worth checking out, along with the Ssssh reissue, are the vinyl reissue of “A Space In Time” and the companion CD reissues of Ssssh and Cricklewood Green. It would also be nice if more of Ten Years After’s earlier albums were reissued. Their early albums are very hard to find on vinyl in good condition for affordable prices.
