Search - Ten Years After :: Live at the Fillmore East

Ten Years After Live From The Vaults

J. E FELL | Carterville, Illinois United States | 10/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I read about this new cd in "Ice" magazine and I had to find a copy. This is a 2 cd import set recorded live at the Fillmore East during 2 nights in New York City. Ten Years After are an interesting band mixing elements of rock, blues, and jazz. The jazz elements are even more evident when they performed live in concert. This enabled Alvin Lee and company to stretch out and improvise within the framework of their songs. This release follows on the heels of two other excellent live albums "Undead" and "Recorded Live". This cd contains live versions of a number of songs not included on the previously mentioned disks. Among the those cuts are a live version on their single "Love Like A Man", and the rarely played Chuck Berry cover "Roll Over Beethoven" found in tandem with "Sweet Little Sixteen". The set list spotlights two cuts from their (unreleased at that point) "Cricklewood Green" album. These are smoking renditions of "Working On The Road" and "50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain". The second disc includes "Woke Up This Morning" and the rarely played by this time "Spoonful". Alvin's faster than light speed runs are spotlighted on "Help Me" and the inevitable "I'm Going Home". The underrated bass techique of Leo Lyons is featured on "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", while Ric Lee's drumming is featured on the "Hobbit". The collective improvisational skills of the entire band are highlighted in "I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes" which also contains brief bits of "Cat's Squirrel" and "Sunshine Of Your Love". The cd booklet descibes the concert experience at the Fillmore and is penned by drummer Ric Lee. This is a welcome addition to my collection and is in heavy rotation. Rumor has it that their individual albums originally issued on Chrysalis are scheduled to be remastered with the addition of bonus tracks. I am already chomping at the bit if this release is any indication of what goodies are left in the vaults."

Incredible Lost Treasure

Bluematter | Colorado | 09/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Every Ten Years After fan in the world should rejoice with this release. A stellar performance remastered to near perfect sound quality ensures the listener a feast of Alvin Lee and the boys. Great liner notes from Ric Lee with a host of photos from the event just add to the CD. The musical selection is what sets this live performance apart from other TYA releases. The band brings out material from Crickelwood Green and a number of never before released live takes from the past as an encore. The live take of "I woke up this morning" followed by "Spoonfull" is worth the price of admission alone. Bottom line on this CD is quality performance. A must have for any Ten Years After fan."

Best Guitarist of his Day?

ALAN L KAPLAN | Nicholasville, KY United States | 09/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are at all a Ten Years After fan, you owe it to yourself to get this 2 disc set. Not only is it the best TYA performance I have heard (makes the Recorded Live CD completely obsolete), but the sound quality is just phenomenal. The remastering makes it sound like it could have been recorded last month. Just to give you an idea of the type of performance it is, out of 12 songs, only two or three are under 8 minutes long (several are over 15 minutes long). Soloing is the order of the day, with Alvin Lee turning in his best stuff yet available. The 16 minute version of Help Me is alone worth the price of the discs (he throws in some slide guitar, which I don't think I've ever heard from him). In the late 60's, I always thought that Hendrix, Clapton, and Alvin Lee were the three best guitarists of their day. Interestingly, I enjoy listening to Alvin Lee more than the other two. That ability of sheer speed while still staying within the structure of the song is something that Clapton and Hendrix never accomplished as well as Alvin Lee. They somewhat meandered while Alvin Lee and his rhythm section stayed in the flow. It takes a recording and performance like the one on these CDs to prove that point."