Ten Years After
A Space In Time

In 1971, many bands released some of the most memorable and glorious albums in the history of rock, of any type. Obvious examples include Aqualung by Jethro Tull, The Yes Album by Yes, In the Land Of Grey And Pink by Caravan, Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin… and so forth.

A Space In Time by Ten Years After is certainly no less. In fact, perhaps tired of treading the well-known paths of blues, which they knew inside out, Ten Years After turned towards Blues-Rock, or Hardrblues. But in 1971, the music changes, a new wind is blowing. Alvin Lee, guitarist-leader-singer of the band, decides to seriously pick up the acoustic guitar, displaying creativity equivalent to that shown with his Gibson. A Space In Time is a thoroughly successful experiment in all its parts, a (unfortunately temporary) look towards new directions, but without forgetting the past and their roots.

An example is the opener One Of These Days, with its exceptional rhythm, where Alvin Lee sings with his usual pleasant nasal voice and proves his skills on the harmonica. The first of the acoustic pieces is titled Here They Come, featuring a beautiful arpeggio that serves as a riff and chords that support the chorus, with usual sound effects produced by Chick Churchill's keyboards. The twist at the end is also nice. The highlight of the album is of course I'd Love To Change The World, the same simple four chords, sure, but placed there in a genius way, arpeggiated, with the customary change of rhythm in the chorus. The bass and drum parts are simple but in harmony with the piece: Leo Lyons and Ric Lee seem to be having fun. This is the only track on the album where Alvin Lee does one of his super-fast solos and one must say it fits perfectly here. Then we come to a small masterpiece, Over The Hill, again with an acoustic guitar in the foreground and even a string quartet creating a great atmosphere. Radio tuning effects lead us to the album's playful track, Babe Won't You Let Me Rock'n'Roll You, an amusing Chuck Berry-style rock'n'roll, which brings a smile to your face. Once There Was A Time is initially an acoustic blues, but it transforms into a song rich with chord changes, where the electric guitar takes over later on.

Let The Sky Fall somewhat mirrors Good Morning Little School from Sssh, but it's still a decent song. Hard Monkeys offers a stunning melodic line, wonderful vocals, good piano by Chick, and a brilliant re-connection from chorus to verse. Just like those in Over The Hill, the lyrics of Hard Moneys also condemn drug use. I've Been There Too also features a powerful vocal part, one of the best in the album, truly compelling, with a driving momentum and ironic lyrics. The album closes with Uncle Jam, along the lines of Woodchopper's Ball, an instrumental jazzy piece that frankly feels a bit like filler, but showcases the band's grittiness when they "jam".

This is essentially the band's most original work, perhaps also the most refined, and (needless to say) misunderstood by most fans at the time. Yet, A Space In Time is the Ten Years After album that best withstands the test of time, while others might be deemed more dated. Today, even Alvin Lee speaks of A Space In Time with a note of disdain, calling it "the bluesy acoustic stuff". From this point onwards came albums considered mediocre, but in my opinion, they are actually more modern, more polished, and less clinging to the same old four blues chords. Leaving aside the horrendous pseudo-compilation Alvin Lee & Co., Rock'n'Roll Music To The World and Positive Vibrations are two fine albums. But this was not understood at the time and the band broke up in 1974 "for lack of ideas".

Change was often seen as "betrayal", or perhaps Ten Years After had gone out of fashion with the end of the Woodstock era and the Hippy utopia of Flower Power, marijuana, and floral shirts.