Ten Years After Album: “Essential [Chrysalis]”

This is a single disc anthology of the Chrysalis recordings of Ten Years After 1970-1974. Ten Years After made their reputations by playing such high profile festivals as Woodstock and Isle of Wight. The band was highlighted by the quick and inventive blues/jazz guitar riffs of Alvin Lee. The interplay between Alvin Lee and organist Chick Churchill was both exciting and fun. Bassist Leo Lyons and drummer Ric Lee were no slouches either. The music is a combination of rock, blues/boogie and jazz. Ten Years After were one of the most inventive British blues/rock bands from this era. Highlights of this disc are many and include a live version of their show stopping "I'm Going Home" (unfortunately not the version from Woodstock). Other highlights include the hits "Love Like A Man" and the anti-war radio favorite "I'd Love To Change The World." This compilation contains most of my favorite tracks from this period. Two of my personal favorites "One Of These Days" and "You Give Me Loving" were omitted however. I wish someone could compile a box set anthology which includes their Chrysalis material and also their earlier excellent Decca material. This is an excellent overview of a great band. Highly recommended to fans of excellent guitar work and British blues/rock. You will probably also want to pick up their first two Decca albums both of which are excellent if you enjoy this anthology.

This is the definitive anthology of Ten Years After. Granted, there are a few not-so-great songs on this one, but its great ones overpower them. What you thus have is a terrific slice of the late 60s/early 70s English sound. This is one of the roots of both metal AND fusion.

TYA is a bit like Rodney Dangerfield, they never really got a lot of respect. They came along at a time when they were eclipsed by big names like, Zepplin, Clapton, Deep Purple, etc. If you accept them for what they were, a British boogie/blues quartet from northern England, I think they fare very well with their better known mates.

There is nothing fancy or pretentious about the songs. Musically, they are as tight a band as there was during that era. A few people are aware that Alvin Lee was one of the best guitarists playing in the 70's, however, Leo's bass, Chick's organ and Ric's drums were all very solid. They could flat out jam! Alvin's solo's can tend to be a bit one demensional at times but if you are a guitar affecionato, he can send goose bumps up your spine. IMO, he was everybit the equal of Page and Clapton in pure technique (no one was in Hendrix's league but that's another story).

This Best Of CD captures the essance of TYA's body of work. Crank up the CD player and pop open your favorite beverage. Ten Years After still rocks in a major way Thirty Years After.

MV Ferraro

One of the reasons I bought this was after reading a review on Amazon, someone wrote that the live version of "I'm Going Home" was from Woodstock. It is not. Just like Big Brother's live version of "Ball and Chain" from Monterey, it is impossible to re-capture a signature live performance. The Woodstock version of "I'm, Going Home" is not matched here.

I've been a fan of Alvin Lee since I saw him play on the movie about the Woodstock Music Festival. This CD has all of his best songs from the 1960s and 1970s. His dexterity with the guitar is dynamic and the rhythm of his music is so upbeat I enjoy hearing it over and over again.

Essential CD has all the songs that has made Ten Years After famous from Woodstock and other songs that one will want to continue to listen to for years.