Consumer Guide Album

Ten Years After: Rock & Roll Music to the World [Columbia, 1972]
I remember when this was a promising group--that Alvin Lee, he sure could sing and play, and those other guys sure did get it together behind him. But in four years and then some, all they've accomplished is to get it together some more. As unslick as ever, they're nevertheless a lot tighter in the commercial sense, and the speed and brevity of such cuts as "Choo Choo Mama" exemplify Alvin Lee's rockabilly approach to blues. On his own terms, this is mature, impressive work. But I suspect that the next time I feel like hearing TYA--in eight months or so--I'll put on Undead. It's pretty crude, but you know about old time's sake. B