Ten Years After - Recorded Live

List Price: $5.68
Our Price: $5.64
You Save: $3.26 (36%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.98 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases

Music CD Cover

Free Music Notes for Recorded Live

Free Music Review: Caveat Emptor! Don't get the one w/out "Hobbit!"
Hit: 5 Stars

For those interested in such trivia, Big Red was acquired by Alvin in the early 60's for around 45 pounds, case included! Being an amateur boffin(guitar tech), Alvin removed the pickup covers and installed a single coil pickup in-between the bridge and neck humbuckers "to give it more top end". Suffice it to say that the tones and controlled feedback that emanate from this heavy duty axe border on magical.

The many decals that decorate Big Red were passed along to Alvin at Woodstock and other venues and "just got slapped on". The guitar was re-laquered after being repaired(the neck got broken), and the decals became permanent fixtures, "which is fine" as Alvin put it.

A good view of one of Alvin's ES-335's(not Big Red though...it has a Bigsby!)is on the back cover of the A SPACE IN TIME album, laying atop a pinball machine with the strings in disarray.

For those lucky enough to witness TYA live, we have the memories of a so-tight band in full swing. Leo Lyons has to be the most energetic bass player on the planet. He bobs, he weaves, he seemed to be in perpetual motion for the whole show! Chick Churchill's excellent keyboard work layed down the rhythmic foundation along with Leo and Ric for Alvin's jacked solo's and smooth riffing.

This "official TYA bootleg" was culled from performances during nights in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, and the sound quality of the live recording is just fantastic(I noticed that some other reviewers had actually critiqued the varying sound quality of the different released versions, so you may want to read up a bit before making your decision).

The song selection ran from cuts off of the very first TYA album, up through ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC TO THE WORLD. Sadly, no cuts were offered from the most excellent CRICKLEWOOD GREEN album. I agree with another reviewer that the version of "I'm Going Home", although fantastic, pales in comparison to the benchmark, which was of course from Woodstock.

For the sake of proper running order, it is "Extension on One Chord" that is sandwiched between the intro and outro of "I Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes". The blistering guitar pyrotechnics during this extended jam are just awesome. Alvin slides, scrapes, chicken picks and plays with reckless abandon on this jam. Note Alvin's tuning down of the low E string during one part to play some tasty bass, including a rocking send up of the "Peter Gunn" theme. At one point, a brief cover of the main riff from Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love" gets a big applause from the audience. The intro to this medly, where Alvin does fast scat vocals along with his guitar picking is a joy, and the way he slides into "Cryin'" from this is a master stroke.

All in all, a jolly good show, and IMHO one of the best live albums of the era, along with the Who's "Live at Leeds", Allman Bros. "Live at the Fillmore East", Humble Pie's "Rockin' the Fillmore" and The Stones "Get Your Ya Ya's Out".

Recorded Live Poster