Search - Alvin Lee & Ten Years After :: Pure Blues

A BLUES/ROCK GEM

deepbluereview | SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA USA | 05/05/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU MUST HAVE BEEN GUIDED HERE BY A BLUES DEITY AND YOU SHOULD THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS--5 OF THEM. THIS CD IS A COMPILATION OF ALVIN LEE'S BEST BLUES/ROCK NUMBERS OVER THE PAST 28 YEARS AND DEMONSTARTES ALVIN LEE'S MUSICAL TALENTS AND VERSATILITY. ON VARIOUS TRACKS MR. LEE SINGS AND PLAYS BASS, PIANO, DRUMS, GUITAR AND VOX NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT ALL BUT ONE SONG, "HELP ME" ARE ALVIN LEE ORIGINALS. AS AN ADDED BONUS, THREE TRACKS ALSO FEATURE GEORGE HARRISON ON THE SLIDE GUITAR. SINCE THIS BAND ORDINARILY PLAYS ROCK MUSIC, BLUES FANS WOULD HAVE TO LOCATE AND BUY 8 OF THEIR CD'S/ALBUMS TO OTHERWISE HEAR THESE GEMS AND YOU WOULD STILL BE MISSING :OUTSIDE MY WINDOW" WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED. A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BUY!"

Good intro to Alvin Lee

FairiesWearBoots8272 | USA | 01/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Pure Blues is a good sampler of Alvin Lee's music, both with Ten Years After and solo. It looks like a standard compilation, yet it concentrates solely on blues-based material. Ten Years After, though, was not just a blues-rock group. They were deeply rooted in '50s rock and roll and jazz in addition to blues, so this compilation really only shows one part of the Alvin Lee picture. But if you're a major blues lover like me, that's okay. It starts with the acoustic "Don't Want You Woman" from Ten Years After's self-titled debut (currently out of print). Other highlights are the heavy riff-driven "I Woke Up This Morning", and "The Stomp" (both from the SSSSH album) and two killer live tracks, "Slow Blues in C" and "Help Me" from the Recorded Live album. This is a nice sampler, but don't make the mistake of letting this be the only Alvin Lee/Ten Years After CD you check out. If you like this, further listening should be: Undead (1968), Recorded Live (1973), and last year's release of Ten Years After Live at the Fillmore East.If you're looking for a good Ten Years After compilation, the ideal choice would be the new Ten Years After Anthology 1967 - 1971. It covers all the sides of TYA's music, from rock to blues to jazz."

The very best Alvin Lee/Ten Years After compilation album

deepbluereview | 10/20/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An absolute must-have CD. Guitar legend Alvin Lee selected these tracks from his favorite recordings done with his seminal blues/rock band Ten Years After and others throughout his long career. Excellent tracks, excellent guitar playing, excellent blues."