Ten Years After

Charisma and blinding speed made guitarist-singer Alvin Lee a standout at Woodstock -- especially in that tie-dyed context, the boogie fever and early rock & roll swagger of all 13 minutes of "I'm Going Home" were mightily refreshing. But while Lee and keyboardist Chick Churchill were better players than, say, Savoy Brown, TYA now sounds like one more middling English blues band, lacking even the crude distinctiveness of Humble Pie.

Not a strong vocalist, Lee never developed an interesting style of nonsinging, either -- and while the faster, grittier TYA is punchy, few of the ballads work, and the blues the band made is wearisome. "I'd Love to Change the World," TYA's big hit off A Space in Time, is melodic, but its lyrics creak with an odd mixture of grumpy conservatism and hippie defeat. Cricklewood Green stands as the band's most cohesive album -- again, though, it's really only Lee's guitar that smokes. Essential is a decent greatest hits, and includes the entire epic of "I'm Going Home." Live at the Fillmore East is probably their most representative set, stage rather than studio work being their raison d'être. (PAUL EVANS)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide