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Rating: Often, very often in fact, while surfing the web or consulting various books about rock and blues, one comes across not only the discography but also the history of the band Ten Years After. It seems truly incredible, but almost everyone attributes the breakup of this great band to a lack of ideas and originality that, according to many, marked their later works, so much so that the same band members, Alvin Lee first among them, expressed this line of thought. Undoubtedly, it is true that the third-to-last work, the bland "Alvin Lee And Company," was merely a commercial speculation carried out by their old record label, Deram, which still possessed unreleased material, as Ten Years After had amicably moved on to Chrysalis Records.
And yet, generally going against the current compared to everyone, including Ten Years After themselves, I believe the last two albums represent an example of enlightened rock, particularly the penultimate studio effort before everything ended, namely "Rock & Roll Music To The World" from 1972.
The originality is indeed there. The biggest novelty is certainly the introduction of a more massive use of synthesized keyboards, such as the extraordinary organ solo first and then synth in the track Standing At the Station. Even Convention Prevention is a fantastic track, endowed with an incredible rhythm, here too featuring the novelty of synthesizers, which are also heard in the excellent Religion, with lyrics critical of religion (I never really understood religion / Except it seems a good excuse to kill). Some consider this new use of keyboards out of place, so much so that Ten Years After themselves felt constrained and in the subsequent album abandoned the synths. But it is undeniable that they bring a breath of freshness to the band's sound.
Sure, the start of the album is in classic Ten Years After style with You Give Me Loving, while the blues filler is not lacking (Turned Off T.V. Blues), but that is a trademark of every one of their albums. Great crescendo with Rolling Stones-like atmospheres in You Can't Win Them All. But the last part of the album is very deserving, with three excellent rock'n'roll tracks with very personal tones, namely Choo Choo Moma, Tomorrow I'll Be out Of Town, and the title track. There is no trace of a band in a compositional crisis, perhaps Alvin Lee himself used this excuse to avoid saying that his great personality was too confined in a band like Ten Years After (look at the cover to believe it... who is that little man with a guitar seen in the drum snare? Exactly!). It's no coincidence that the solos of the then fastest guitarist in rock find less space.
The sales, therefore the eternal and cursed money, seem to be the real reason for the slow downward trajectory, as they did not do justice to the album it is.
Ten Years After will fade into the background. No one will pay attention to them anymore, especially after the release of the live album "Recorded Live." Sure, perhaps the subsequent "Positive Vibrations" is a bit underwhelming compared to the present album reviewed, but not enough to justify the band's breakup. As for "Rock & Roll Music To The World," we are facing an album of fine workmanship.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
06 Religion (05:34)
I never really understood religion
Except it seems a good excuse to kill
I never really could make a decision
I don't surpose I ever really will
I can't relate to any power structure
Where ego is the driving energy
I let mine go long, long time ago, now
When I decided that I would be free
Only thing I understand is living
The biggest sacrifice to make is death
Once you're dead, there's noting left for giving
The life means fighting your every breath
07 Choo Choo Mama (04:00)
Choo choo moma, wont you ride the train?
My life without you is just misery and pain, come back to me
Ill treat you best I can
Choo choo moma, you should have a choo choo man
Choo choo moma, wont you ride a rail?
I need your loving, cant you hear me wail, come back to me
You know I love you so
Choo choo moma, wont you get a choo choo home?
Choo choo moma, wont you ride the track?
I need your loving, wont you bring some back on home to me
I need your loving, babe
Choo choo moma, dont you know you drive me mad?
Choo choo moma, youre a cheery thing
I love you, baby, cant you help me sing, come back to me
I want you back again
Choo choo moma, wont you get a choo choo train?
08 Tomorrow I'll Be Out of Town (04:20)
You know, tomorrow I'll be out of town
Baby, before the sun goes down
There's an agent and he's made a bet
That I'll be sitting on a jumbo jet
Baby, I'd like to stay here
Baby, I'd like to play here
But I made a deal
And though it don't seem real
Just another day
I'll be three thousand miles away
I got to pay my dues
You know I sing the blues
Got to do my thing
All I do is sing rock and roll
You know, tomorrow I'll be on my way
Flying through an other day
Places turn into a dream
I can't remember where I've been
Baby, I'd like to stop here
Baby, I'd like to drop here
But in a month or so
Then I will have to go
But it does no good
Still it's in my blood
I got to pay my dues
You know I sing the blues
Got to do my thing
All I do is sing rock and roll
Man must do what a man must do
No time to sit and wait
One day he's gonna realize
That it is too late
You know, tomorrow I'll be on my own
Flying through an other zone
Faces turn into a dream
I can't remember who I've seen
Baby, I'd like to lay here
Baby, I'd like to stay here
But there's an other show
And I just have to go
Still keep coming through
Don't know how I'll do
I got to pay my dues
You know I sing the blues
Got to do my thing
All I do is sing rock and roll
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