805520240406
090771415417

Undead (EX - Indie Exclusive Yellow Vinyl)

Ten Years After

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Format: LP

Cat No: LPSUND5267C

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Format Details: EX - Indie Exclusive Yellow Vinyl

Release Date:  27 January 2023

Label:  Proper Records

Packaging Type:  Slip Sleeve (CD or Vinyl)

No of Units:  1

Barcode:  805520240406

Genres:  Blues  Rock  

Release Date:  06 May 2022

Label:  Sundazed Records

Packaging Type:  Slip Sleeve (CD or Vinyl)

No of Units:  1

Barcode:  090771415417

Genres:  Blues  Rock  

  • Description

    Known initially as The Jaybirds, and then Blues Trip, Ten Years After was formed by Alvin Lee, Leo Lyons, Chick Churchill and Ric Lee in 1966, allegedly taking their name from the fact it was then a decade after Elvis Presley had burst onto the scene - The first act signed to the Chrysalis agency, the group built a fearsome reputation for their live act, with leader Alvin Lee dubbed 'the fastest guitar in the west.

    It was frequently said that the real magic happened for Ten Years After on stage, so it was with little surprise that the group's second album, Undead, was just that – recorded live at Klook's Kleek, the club above the Railway Hotel in West Hampstead – right next door to Decca's studios. Cables were passed back from the pub to the studio, and the band were captured at an early peak. It is a unique marriage of blues, rock, with elements still of trad jazz to be heard – none moreso than on their eight-minute version of Woody Herman's Woodchopper's Ball.



    This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1968 Deram Records UK stereo release and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.

    Description

    Back in print, now on yellow vinyl! Immortalized on the silver screen, Ten Years After's landmark performance of ''I'm Going Home' at Woodstock galvanized their reputation as road warriors capable of rousing large crowds, such as the 400,000 festival-goers mesmerized by Alvin Lee's white lightning on his bright red Gibson ES-335.

    'I'm Going Home' could also light up a room as small as Klooks Kleek in London, as heard on their second album, 1968""s Undead. But while it was the first recording of the song (with wires running from Decca Studios next door to capture it), it hardly came from nowhere. Alvin Lee and bassist Leo Lyons learned the value of extended jamming as far back as 1962 while playing Hamburg in the Jaybirds, and not long after they began covering Gene Vincent's 'I'm Going Home (To See My Baby)' in Ten Years After, it was reworked into something entirely original. Or more specifically: stripped down, repainted, rebuilt and retooled into a drag racer that would scorch crowds for years to come. Undead was the first recorded evidence of that live legacy. Condensed to the best five of the May 14, 1968, set, the album sees the band do further long bluesy jamming with 'I May Be Wrong, But I Won't Be Wrong Always,' 'Spider in My Web,' and pound Gershwin into submission (courtesy drummer Ric Lee) on 'Summertime/Shantung Cabbage.' And on a killer cover of '(At the) Woodchopper's Ball,' the band's jazzy blues is hot enough to turn Woody Herman's classic into sawdust, replete with Alvin Lee and organist Chick Churchill trading solos. Rightly regarded as one of the best live albums of its era, Undead is reissued here in its rare mono mix from the original U.K. masters. Featuring primo sound and the beautiful negative-image original cover, Sundazed proudly presents the searing guitar of Alvin Lee & Chick Churchill's haunting organ textures as they were meant to be heard!

  • Tracklisting

      Disc 1

      Side 1

      • 1. I May Be Wrong, But I Won't Be Wrong Always
      • 2. (At The) Woodchopper's Ball

      Side 2

      • 1. Spider In My Web
      • 2. Summertime / Shantung Cabbage
      • 3. I'm Going Home

    Tracklisting

      Disc 1

      Side 1

      • 1. I May Be Wrong, But I Won't Be Wrong Always
      • 2. Woodchopper's Ball
      • 3. Spider In My Web
      • 4. Summertime/Shantung Cabbage
      • 5. I'm Going Home