This superbly recorded double disc (the original engineer was
Eddie Kramer, best-known for his work with
Hendrix) captured over a weekend worth of dates in February 1970 at the venerable New York City venue catches the Brit
boogie quartet at the peak of their powers. These shows were sandwiched between their triumphant
Woodstock set and the release of
Cricklewood Green, generally considered the band's best work. They find the group primed through years of roadwork, as well as obviously excited to be playing in front of an appreciative N.Y.C. crowd. Kicking off with one of
Bill Graham's patented individual-member intros, the group winds their way through the ominous riff of
"Love Like a Man." Mixing extended and rocking versions of
blues standards -- like
Sonny Boy Williamson classics
"Help Me" and
"Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," as well as
Willie Dixon's
"Spoonful" -- with two
Chuck Berry covers and some nuggets from their own catalog,
Ten Years After burns through this show with enormous energy and infectious enthusiasm.
Alvin Lee and his flying fingers stay firmly in the spotlight, but the remastered sound is so immaculate you can finally appreciate the contributions of the other, generally overlooked
TYA members:
Chick Churchill on keyboards and especially
Leo Lyons' fluid bass work, along with
Ric Lee's jazzy drums. The songs shift into overdrive on the jams -- the longest of which pushes
"I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes" to 20 minutes -- and amazingly stay interesting for the majority of that time thanks to
Lee's sense of flashy dynamics, as he quotes liberally from
Hendrix and
Cream licks. Detailed liner notes from drummer
Lee describe the scene, not only in terms of
Ten Years After, but also of the musical camaraderie of the time. Some of this is almost embarrassingly dated -- the drum solo-laden
"The Hobbit" is particularly guilty, as are the often-interminable guitar gymnastics -- and the
Chuck Berry numbers might have been live crowd-pleasers but don't add much to the originals. Still, this is the best
Ten Years After concert album (of the three in the catalog), and proves just how vibrant these
boogie boys could be when inspired by the crowd and each other on a perfect night. ~ Hal Horowitz