2012 – The Last Show and the Final Studio Album Release

May 28, 2012 – Ribs ‘n’ Blues Festival, Raalte, Holland

Alvin Lee, Pete Pritchard and Richard Newman play their last show together… released on CD the following year.

(C) Peter Mand

(C) Brigitte Scholz

(C) Peter Mand

(C) Brigitte Scholz

(C) Brigitte Scholz

(C) Peter Mand

(C) Brigitte Scholz

(C) Peter Mand

(C) Peter Mand

(C) Brigitte Scholz

 

 

 

Evi’s memories of the last show

While working on the release of ‘The Last Show’ I have been thinking back, remembering more and more details about the show in Raalte and the whole trip.
As usual, Alvin and I fly in the day before, a Sunday, as it is Pentecost and the Monday a holiday in many European countries. We stay in a hotel on the outskirts of Amsterdam and have a quiet meal, sitting at a table on the pavement and looking at people strolling in the balmy evening air or whizzing past on their bicycles.
The band is not able to travel the day before due to other engagements and has to catch a nine o’clock flight from London, which means for some of them to get up as early as 4am!
The minibus picking them up from Amsterdam airport stops by the hotel so Alvin and I can hop on. Chatting during the 2 hour journey to Raalte we manage to catch up with everything that has happened over the last nine months since the previous gig.
By the time we arrive in Raalte bands are already playing on both stages, which means there is no chance to do a sound check. Nevertheless Steve our sound-man needs to familiarise himself with the available equipment and make sure the backline is working ok. Rich has to build his drum kit and Pete check out if the supplied double bass had been correctly strung with the required nylon strings and tune it. There’s no need for Alvin to hang around backstage and get bothered by questions and autograph requests, so he decides to stay in the hotel room, put a new set of strings on his stage guitar and get himself ready for an early show. He likes to arrive in the dressing room ideally 15 minutes before going on stage, just enough time to give the guitar a final tune and change into his stage outfit – although you wouldn’t notice much of a difference to his normal street clothes! Just something he could take off afterwards as it all would be sweat soaked. Pete and Rich are still in their travelling clothes as they had expected to get back to the hotel and change during the afternoon, but as the whole town appeared to be at the festival the journey would have been taking too long through congested back roads, so they decide to go on as they were. Pete now regrets that, as the check shirt and old jeans would have not been his choice to wear for what turned out to become such a memorable show. Rich had the opportunity to be sorry about it straight after the show as his shirt was sopping wet and no spare t-shirt could be found for him backstage!
When we arrive at the venue we are both very pleased to see Gerry McAvoy still backstage after the earlier show with his ‘Band of Friends’. Gerry was Rory Gallagher’s bass player for many years, another guitarist I’m a big fan of. Alvin toured the US in the mid-90’s with Gerry and his then band ‘Nine Below Zero’. We became very well acquainted with the boys, spending those weeks together on the road – which also happened to be my first tour on another continent! We have the chance to talk for a few minutes and get introduced to his band mates who we hadn’t met before, notably Ted McKenna who was Rory’s drummer in the early days.
The stage is located in a big circus tent with ‘standing only’ on the main floor and there appears to be a balcony upstairs with seats. The changeover on stage is done with efficiency, expertly directed by Steve who is responsible to plug in Alvin’s transmitter and amp with the usual settings. Also to mike up the speakers and the drum kit. Steve asks Alvin in the dressing room to give him a twang through the Marshalls to hear if the guitar is hooked up correctly, then heads through the audience to the front-of-house mixing desk. The festival’s conferencier introduces the band in Dutch, then Pete walks up to the mic and says ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the legendary Alvin Lee’. The band launches into ‘Rock & Roll Music to the World’; the traditional opener for many of Alvin’s shows. The band concentrates on getting the monitor levels correctly adjusted so they can hear what they play through the on-stage speakers pointing at them. Steve gets the sound for the audience sorted in record time – and still manages to have by the end of the song a very respectable mix for the recording of the show he is running on the side. Usually he would record the show onto minidisc for Alvin to listen back home and analyse his playing. This time he uses a Zoom H4n handheld recorder and records in a different format – how lucky is that for us now! This seems quite ironic when I think about it, as these recording devices are usually the choice of people in the audience to bootleg a show illegally. The advantage in this case is that the audio is recorded on two stereo tracks, one direct line-in from the desk and the other through the recorder’s built-in microphones.
The sound -and to a lesser degree the playing- on R&RMTTW was not considered good enough for a release when Alvin heard it and therefore it is not included on the CD. ‘Hear Me Calling’, which followed, gains momentum after the first half minute or so, and ‘Can’t Keep from Crying’ still manages to capture me completely when listening. Pieter Kentrop, a loyal fan who travelled to most of Alvin’s shows over the last ten years, describes the show quite comprehensively in the liner notes featured in the CD booklet, so I won’t go into too much detail, especially as I often get distracted with things to take care of backstage. In ‘Writing You a Letter’ Alvin comes off stage during the drum solo to tune up and relate anything that he cannot communicate to me while on stage. On this occasion I don’t remember anything that needed fixing, so the second part of the show shapes up to be more relaxed for me. Another personal highlight is as always ‘Slow Blues in C’.
I don’t know how many of you noticed it – but Alvin starts actually singing the wrong song at the beginning of ‘I’m Gonna Make It’, realises this when getting to the chorus and slides -more or less smoothly- into the correct lyrics.
I don’t want to omit the little anecdote (also featured in the CD’s liner notes) where Alvin sees a sign held up in the audience and reads it out aloud: “will you sign my … tits … ?” followed by a little laugh and “I‘m sorry mate!” as it’s a guy holding it! Actually it spells tshirt and Dennis Ruesink sadly never got his autograph.
By the time the band plays ‘Woke up This Morning’ the stage manager approaches me and points out that according to a piece of paper pinned up backstage the curfew will be in ten minutes. This is contradictory to information received a few weeks earlier where Alvin had 75 minutes scheduled for his set. I try to defuse the situation by saying there are only two songs left in the set (failing to mention that they usually add up to over 20 minutes, plus at least one encore). Apparently somebody on the other side of the stage is also signing to the band because Alvin comments “… a guy saying here we got five minutes to go” … no way … The festival normally very strictly adheres to the curfew imposed by the town hall, but other than shutting down the sound system mid-song there is no stopping Alvin when he is having that much fun! Fortunately they don’t resort to such drastic action and even permit an encore – in for a penny, in for a pound. There isn’t much choice anyway with the audience yelling for more!
Alvin walks off stage with a big grin on his face, exhausted, exhilarated, and knowing to have given the audience his best that evening.
Back to the dressing room to change clothes and after a quick well deserved glass of red into the catering tent as we’re all starving. The event’s name ‘Ribs & Blues’ unfortunately doesn’t extend to the backstage food, not a rib in sight! Anyway, something resembling hot food fills the gaping hole in our bellies and we head back to the hotel in which mostly bands and crew are staying. In the courtyard there is a little acoustic jam happening but we’re only interested in dropping our bags and equipment in the rooms. A big table outside is already occupied by Gerry and band, so we sit down to enjoy the warm evening. We listen to everybody’s tour stories and contribute some of our own. The hours fly by and very unusual for Alvin as incredibly moderate drinker he enjoys himself nevertheless. I have no such restraint but the less said… Pete, Rich and Steve actually are beat – not very surprising after their early start – and very sensibly retreat after an hour, but the rest of us sit well into the dark. This evening’s conclusion is now a treasured memory for me.

 

Evi ‘helping’ Steve Rispin set up the stage

 

 

 

July 2012 – Press release for Alvin’s final studio album

GUITAR LEGEND ALVIN LEE
STILL ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM
WITH NEW SOLO ALBUM

Famed Woodstock Ten Years After front man offers sequel to
his 1973 On the Road to Freedom LP with
wide-ranging collection of new songs

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — More than four decades have passed since Alvin Lee stood front and center at the famed Woodstock festival with his band Ten Years After and told half million or so fans, “I’m Going Home . . . by helicopter.”

Forty-three years later, Alvin Lee hasn’t arrived at his destination yet, as the title of his new solo album, Still on the Road to Freedom, available August 27, 2012 on Rainman Records, will attest. “I don’t think I ever will,” he laughs.

Recorded at Space Studios 3 in Spain, Still on the Road to Freedom finds Lee returning to his original inspirations. Longtime band members bassist Pete Pritchard and drummer Richard Newman, along with keyboardist Tim Hinkley, join Lee in a musical travelogue that is a tribute to the roots music that first influenced him.

“I got my start in music listening to my dad’s jazz and blues 78s when I was eight years old,” says Lee, who continues to follow his inspirations. “It’s about the freedom to make music of my own choice without worrying about what other people thought or expected,” he writes in the album’s liner notes.

Still on the Road to Freedom nods to country-blues, embodied by Alvin’s gutbucket harp on “Save My Stuff” (“I was a big fan of Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee”) and the delta stomp “Blues Got Me So Bad” (“My blues name is Deaf Lemon Lee”). He evokes a folksy feel in the stark acoustic “Walk On, Walk Tall,” perfects the sensuous slow blues of J.J. Cale in “Nice and Easy,” and strums south-of-the-border Mexicali rhythms in the instrumental “Song of the Red Rock Mountain,” a song he made up on the spot while testing a microphone and wasn’t able to improve.

Lee continues to explore that creative freedom with the tribal African drums of “Listen to Your Radio Station,” which includes a sample loop from the late Ian Wallace, the gospel organ of “Midnight Creeper” and the surprising funk of the rousing “Rock You.”

The album also features “Love Like a Man 2,” a remake of the song on the band’s 1970 album Cricklewood Green, inspired, according to Lee, by New Orleans R&B player Smiley Lewis’ “I Hear You Knocking,” with a nod towards seminal influence Chuck Berry.

Asked how he’d describe himself, Lee pauses: “A musician . . . who leans towards blues, but likes rock and roll, country, funk, jazz — anything with a guitar in it.”

After all these years, Alvin Lee’s still going home.

Tracks – all written by Alvin Lee:

1. STILL ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM
2. LISTEN TO YOUR RADIO STATION
3. MIDNIGHT CREEPER
4. SAVE MY STUFF
5. I’M A LUCKY MAN
6. WALK ON, WALK TALL
7. BLUES GOT ME SO BAD
8. SONG OF THE RED ROCK MOUNTAIN
9. NICE & EASY
10. BACK IN 69
11. DOWN LINE ROCK
12. ROCK YOU
13. LOVE LIKE A MAN 2 (plus ANA)

 

 

 

Guitarist magazine – ‘Perfect 10’

 

 

Roy Trakin’s Interview with Alvin Lee – July 2012

Last July, Roy Trakin sat down with Alvin Lee in conjunction with the release of his album Still on the Road to Freedom

Do you still play much live?
I still do a handful of European festivals each year just to keep my hand in and to stop me feeling like a retired accountant. I just performed at a Dutch festival.

For many you are indelibly remembered singing “I’m Going Home” 43 years ago at Woodstock. Have you gotten there?
I don’t think I ever will.

This album is kind of like the sequel to On the Road to Freedom.
When I first released that album, my fans were not happy. They kept saying, “This is not Alvin Lee, the hot guitarist from Ten Years After,” It wasn’t until much later, maybe ten years after, that people started saying, “Hey, this is a really good album.” It still is one my best-selling solo albums to date. It just keeps selling because it’s kind of timeless. It’s the same with this album. I’m not playing all hot-shot guitar all the way; I play more acoustic guitar, a little more tastefully, although I’m probably not the one that should be saying that.

You weren’t trying to be the fastest guitarist alive?
Being Captain Speedfingers, the fastest guitarist in the West, was never a title I encouraged. It’s better than some other things. I didn’t set out to be that. I just got excited and played a lot of notes. I remember doing the London sessions with Jerry Lee Lewis, did the first song, straight in, no rehearsal, I played the solo and he said, “Why do you play so fast, man?” And I said, “I can’t help it. I just get excited.” The second take, we did “Memphis, Tennessee,” and I did a real tasty guitar solo, and he said, “Now you’re talking. Now I hear you.” I’ve always had the two sides. I listen to everyone from Joe Pass to J.J. Cale, and there’s a vast difference in those two guitarists.

Tell me about “Nice and Easy.”
That was the first track we recorded. I actually wrote it almost three years ago. It definitely is a J.J. Cale influence. I like him because he plays so little… I actually put on a J.J. Cale CD the other day and played along with it, and when the solo came, vowed to try to play less notes than he would. Come the solo, I played around six notes and he’s only played two.

You’ve never bowed to commercial or public pressure.
I don’t sit around and try to copy what’s popular now. That’s not a musician; that’s a pop star. For me, I have to like it. If I like it, and nobody else does, then I’m happy. If I like it and other people do, I’m even happier. But if I don’t like it, what’s the point? If you do a commercial track and it’s not a hit, then that’s really embarrassing. I just never played that game. I make an album I like and hope other people like it, too.

This album seems to express your own musical tastes, along with the roots and influences of your music, from down-home blues to ’50s rockabilly like “I’m a Lucky Man.”
Scotty Moore was my big hero in the early days. I remember joining the Elvis Presley fan club not because I was a fan of Elvis, because I wanted a picture of Scotty Moore with his guitar. This is my hobby, and I suppose it’s my career. But I don’t look at music that way. It’s just something I do. This is a homemade album. It’s me and my mates, who just happen to be the best musicians in the world. I work out of my home studio on the bottom floor and take my time doing it. Lots of experimenting. I wrote 33 tracks for this album, and had a great deal of trouble trying to bring them all along together. So I cut it down to the best 13.

Tell me about “Midnight Creeper.”
The midnight creeper used to visit my house and creep around… but I can’t tell you who it is.

How about the country blues and honking harp of “Save My Stuff”?
I was a big fan of Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee…that sort of thing.

“Walk On, Walk Tall” sounds like a nod to Johnny Cash.
That’s actually a personal song to a friend of mine, but it fits everybody. I was always keen on Chet Atkins and Merle Travis as guitarists… Reggie Young. They are all fantastic.

“Blues Got Me So Bad” is a delta stomper.
That’s a real down-home blues. My blues name is Deaf Lemon Lee.

“Song of the Red Rock Mountain” has a neat south of the border sound.
I was just testing a microphone, and that’s what came out of nowhere. I planed to try to do it again and make it better, but I never did. It was sort of a magic moment. It just came out like that. And I thought, “Where did that come from?” That’s what I like about writing songs. I’m just the medium. They seem to come from someplace else. You can’t always tell where they come from.

“Back in ‘69” has that Bo Diddley “Not Fade Away” beat to it.
Actually, the working title for that song was “Bo Did” for a long while, looking back on the ’60s ideals of peace and love. They’re not totally lost, but I think generally, when you look at the situation today, there’s not much peace and love around, is there? Not as much as there should be, anyway.

“Rock You” is funky.
I don’t say “all night long,” do I? It’s about rocking you with my guitar, but it never only means one thing, and people see different stuff. That’s what I like about music. That’s what makes it interesting.

“Down Line Rock” is a traditional rockabilly train song.
It’s great driving music, as long as there’s not a speeding cop around.

“Love Like a Man 2” is a new version of the classic song from Cricklewood Green.
 It’s a different treatment. There’s a chug-a-lugga rhythm to it, like New Orleans R&B player Smiley Lewis’ “I Hear You Knocking.”

Any regrets for the way your career has gone?
I had to turn away from playing those big venues. I was playing clubs like the Fillmores, the Aragon Ballroom, the Boston Tea Party, great specialized blues venues, to 3,000 people. They were the best gigs. After the Woodstock movie, I was playing the Houston Coliseum, and there was no comparison. Just keep your mouth shut, take the money and laugh all the way to the bank. But to me, that wasn’t right. Even then, I had to play what comes naturally. And it wasn’t happening. The music I played turned into arena rock. I didn’t care to play that music. A lot of it was the people around me. I found myself spending more time with lawyers and accountants. It was all going in the wrong direction for me. To get away from that, I was doing everything possible to numb my brain, which certainly wasn’t good for me. I’m anti-celebrity. I became a rock star and a celebrity and I hated it. It didn’t suit me. It was like pretending to be someone, like Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis. It wasn’t me. I’m a musician. I lean towards blues, but I like rock and roll, country, funk, jazz… anything with a guitar in it. Hopefully, I’m getting pretty good at it by now. I don’t know. It’s up to other people to say, isn’t it?”

What’s in the future for you?
I’ll continue to put out albums until the day I die, and will continue to play the odd festivals. Rumors of my retirement are totally untrue. I’ll do my last gig when you come to my funeral, how about that?

 

 

 

Rock Square

August 27, 2012
Interview: Alvin Lee talks about his new album, Ten Years After, and how he’d still love to change the world
By Stephen Humphries

At age 67, guitarist Alvin Lee still has faster fingers than a pickpocket. For an example of Lee’s dexterity, listen to the title track of his new album, Still on the Road to Freedom. Over the space of four minutes, the guitarist’s fingers hopscotch across the fretboard for several exciting, blues-based solos in which he shows off his formidable technique of stinging vibrato, wailing bends, and nimble pull-ons and pull-offs.

But then, Lee always was a fleet-fingered fellow. When the Nottingham-born guitarist founded Ten Years After during the British Blues Boom of the mid 1960s, his virtuosity was remarked on even back then. Yet, when modern rock writers recall that halcyon era, they sometimes neglect to mention Lee’s name alongside the likes of Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Peter Green. The sleeve notes to Still on the Road to Freedom offer one possible explanation for why that is. “In 1972 after Woodstock had catapulted Ten Years After into the Rock Arenas, I decided to take the road to freedom rather than the road to fame and fortune,” writes Lee.

It was a courageous move. Between 1968 and 1974, the blues-rock band released popular albums such as Undead, Stonedhenge and Cricklewood Green and scored hits such as “I’d Love to Change the World,” “Hear Me Calling,” “Love Like a Man,” and I’m Going Home” (the latter immortalized during the band’s star-making performance at Woodstock). But Lee was less than enamored by record company pressures and the more pop-oriented direction the band was pursuing. In 1973, Lee stepped away from his day job to collaborate with southern gospel singer Mylon LeFevre for a country-rock record On the Road to Freedom, an album that featured guest players such as George Harrison, Ron Wood, Mick Fleetwood, Jim Capaldi and Steve Winwood. On the Road to Freedom heralded the end for Ten Years After, though the band did release Positive Vibrations in 1974 and, later, during one of its handful of short-lived reunions with Lee, it attempted a comeback album in 1989 titled About Time. (Since 2003, the remainder of Ten Years After has continued to record and tour without Lee.)

Following his tenure in Ten Years After, Alvin Lee has released over 20 albums, most notably Zoom, I Hear You Rockin’ (a.k.a. 1994) and Alvin Lee live in Tennessee, a 2004 recording that included a guest appearance by Scotty Moore, the guitarist whose work with Elvis Presley inspired Lee to become a musician. (Ten Years After was established in 1966, a decade after Elvis’s breakthrough—hence the band’s name.)

Still on the Road to Freedom, released August 28, isn’t exactly a sequel to On the Road to Freedom. Though the album touches on that album’s country blues on “Save My Stuff,” the new record’s 11 tracks are truly diverse and reflect Lee’s wide-ranging musical interests. It spans from the flamenco-tinged instrumental “Song of the Red Rock Mountain,” to the traditional ’50s rock ’n’ roll of “I’m a Lucky Man,” to the funk of “Rock You,” to the 21st century techno-blues of “Listen to Your Radio Station.” Much of the album will appeal to fans of Mark Knopfler and J.J. Cale. On songs such as “Midnight Creeper” and “Nice and Easy,” Lee’s sweet-twang guitar sashays gently to the shuffling grooves of bassist Pete Pritchard and drummer Richard Newman. Still on the Road to Freedom also includes a vibrant remake of Ten Years After’s “Love Like a Man,” during which Lee plays several fluid guitar solos that will leave listeners foaming at the mouth.

In the sleeve notes, Lee accounts for the record’s diversity by explaining that he had 33 songs to choose from. “I am never sure which direction my music is going to take,” writes Lee, “but I do know that to be worthwhile it has to be a natural progression. It has to evolve freely. For me it has to be instinctual and not commercially premeditated.”

Rock Square contacted the guitarist via email to ask him about Still on the Road to Freedom, his career with Ten Years After, and how he’d love to change the world by bringing back the values of 1969.

Still on the Road to Freedom is striking for its wide stylistic diversity—how did the record shape up that way?

As the 33 songs I had written developed and evolved, I picked out the ones that showed the most promise. As I continued to work on them, I realized that they pretty much went through most of my musical influences and styles over the years. So the time warp concept just appeared out of the blue with no premeditated plan.

Still on the Road to Freedom is a very disciplined record in that it clocks in at 42 minutes—almost vinyl length—rather than the sprawling length of 80 minutes of so many CD albums. Given that you had 33 songs written, was it difficult to stick to the discipline of releasing a succinct album rather than cramming as many of those 33 songs onto a CD?

For me the CD has a beginning a middle and two ends and works as an entity from start to finish. I never even timed it until it was finished, it just seemed the right length. Guess I was born to make vinyls.

Elvis and early rock ‘n’ roll was such a big inspiration for you. Both “I’m a Lucky Man” and “Down Line Rock” revisit that sound—who were the guitarists who most influenced you early on and which of today’s players do you most admire?

Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Ralph Willis, Lonnie Johnson, Brownie McGhee and the three Kings—B.B., Albert and Freddy. Jazz wise, I listened to Django Rheinhardt, Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel, and Wes Montgomery and a bit of Segovia’s classical and Juan Serrano’s Flamenco on the side. I listened to the country playing of Merle Travis and Shit Hotkins [Chet Atkins], and for Rock and Roll it was Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry and Franny Beecher.
These days I like to listen to J.J. Cale, the king of laid back, and Mark Knopfler—he has a unique style. Tommy Emmanuel, who has obviously been practicing far too much and there’s a new guy Jeff Aitchison, who is doing amazing things on the acoustic guitar. Stanley Jordan deserves a mention, he has an amazing style which is more related to keyboards than guitar and I also like George Benson’s jazz work, but not the muzak for swinging secretaries. Check out Billie’s Bounce with Billy Cobham on drums and Herbie Hancock on piano.

“Listen to Your Radio Station” has a surprisingly contemporary edge with its drum loop sample by the late, great King Crimson drummer Ian Wallace—where did you find that loop and did the song evolve out it?

This is a kind of cross between blues and hip hop. Blues-hop or Hip Blues if you will.
The original recording was done to a click track, and I later found Ian’s drum rhythm which fitted perfectly. Myself, Ian Wallace, Boz Burrell ,Tim Hinkley and Mel Collins had a jamming band we called “The Gits.” This was from one of the many jams we did between ’71 & ’75

The album was recorded in Spain—is that why the improvised “Song of the Red Rock Mountain” has that Latin classical guitar sound to it?

That tune is another one that just came out of the blue. It has a Flamenco leaning as I have been studying Flamenco guitar.

“Nice and Easy” has a laid-back, J.J. Cale sort of shuffle to it was Cale an overt influence on the song?

Yes, I was definitely in Bradley’s Barn mode when I recorded this.

What’s the lyrical message of “Back in 69” about?

What happened to Peace & Love?

You’ve roped in the great keyboardist Tim Hinkley on the album. What makes him your go-to guy for keyboards since the early 1970s?

He is the best, he has the right feel for me and he does not play too many notes. It’s all about understanding the groove and he understands and understates.

What inspired you to re-record “Love Like a Man” for this album?

I liked the rhythm and the song fitted, just jumped out of my head.

Are there other Ten Years After songs you look back on and wish you could re-record them with today’s recording techniques and production?

I haven’t really thought about it but it’s a definite maybe for the future. “Working on the Road” springs to mind. I’ve always liked the line, “I’ve seen the world and it’s seen me/ In a strange kind of way I guess I’m free.”

In the liner notes, you wrote that you “decided to take the road to freedom rather than the road to fame and fortune.” Have you encountered any bumps in your journey down the road?

There are many bumps holes, forks and snakes on the road to freedom but freedom is a relative thing and it means different things to different people depending on the circumstances. Think of your own form of freedom and how to achieve it, and you will find there are a lot of sacrifices to make which are not easy. But it’s worth it if you follow your instincts and find the flow.

When you parted ways with Ten Years After almost a decade ago, was that because of your journey down that road—and what’s your assessment of the band’s legacy?

I actually parted with TYA in 1975. There were a few reformation gigs which did not add up to much. Any legacy that exists for me, is on the recordings between 1967 and the release of the Woodstock movie in 1970. After that the spark was lost when it all got too corporate and commercial.

To the best of my knowledge, Ten Years After never performed its biggest hit, “I’d Love to Change the World,” in concert. Why was that?

It’s a great recording but it’s no fun to play live, it’s too restricting. Duplicating songs live has never been something I wanted to do.
There are songs I like to listen to, songs I enjoy creating and recording and songs I like to play live. The live songs must have room to expand and evolve….and be fun.

Finally, do you reckon Spinal Tap ripped off Ten Years After’s Stonedhenge?

No, I was never into the mysticism of the henge, I just liked the “stoned” part.

 

 

 

Interview Boomerocity 

Randy Patterson talking with Alvin Lee – August 2012 – Still On The Road To Freedom

It’s been forty-four years since the Alvin Lee and Ten Years After battalion of the British invasion of the U.S. took place. In fact, it was forty-three years ago this month that Mr. Lee and the band made their history-making six song performance at the Woodstock festival. It was there that he famously introduced the bands song, I’m Going Home, by saying, “I’m going home . . . by helicopter”.

Since those days, there have been many tours, bands and albums. How many albums? Alvin told me, “I honestly don’t know. Twenty or thirty, I guess.”
Whether it’s the 20th or the 30th, Lee’s soon-to-be-released album, Still On The Road To Freedom, delivers the same level of musical excellence that he did when first landed on our shores those many years ago. It was because of this album that I had the privilege and opportunity to ask Lee a few questions about the album and music in general. I found it especially interesting that the interview with this rock and roll icon marks the 100th interview for Boomerocity as well as the weekend of the 43rd anniversary of Woodstock. Neither was planned. It just happened that way.
I mentioned to Alvin that, in the liner notes he wrote that the thirteen songs were taken from a batch of 33 songs he had written since the release of his last album, Saguitar. I was curious as to what the decision-making process to cull out those great tunes from such a body of work that, undoubtedly, contained equally as great of work.
“It’s a process of evolution. As I work on each track, I will maybe try another vocal, another bass or guitar, maybe change the words – whatever I feel it needs. Some of the tracks improve as I do this, some don’t, and some arebest left in their original form so as they evolve it becomes apparent which ones are going somewhere. Apart from having a good basic song that is saying something, I am looking for a rhythm or feel that inspires me to play interesting solos and fills.”

With so many albums under his belt, I asked Alvin how was this album different for him to record than his first album, Ten Years After, and what is easier and harder now.
“What’s easier now is I just do what I feel and don’t have to explain or justify to anybody what I’m trying to do. The only harder thing is deciding what it is I want to do. With Ten Years After, it was a story of lies, deceit, clashing egos, and backstabbing but you wouldn’t be interested in that.”

Artists can never (or won’t) pick a favorite song from their work. It’s always seen almost like a parent picking a favorite child. I knew that Lee couldn’t pick a favorite song from this album but I asked him if he were to pick one as a “calling card”, if you will, that would sell people on wanting to buy the whole album, which song would he pick?
“I suppose it would be the title track, but I don’t think there is any one track that represents the whole album. It’s all about variation and visiting my influences over the years.”

With a career that spans seven consecutive decades, Alvin has seen and weathered a lot of changes in the music industry. What have been the biggest changes, positive and negative, in the music business, which he has witnessed?
“From my perspective, I miss the major record companies from the good old days (late 60’s). They used to send limos for you and shower you with gifts and generally show you a good time. That was when there was lots of money flying around and everybody was happy. Also there was an element of adventure. It was all new and there were no rule book to follow. You had to make them up as you went along.“FM radio stations used to have one usually stoned out guy doing the whole thing and we would walk in and start playing our favorite records and rapping for hours. These days it’s got so corporate they have administrators and programmers and the DJs can’t even play what they want. It’s all about advertising and making money. Where is the groovy DJ who just plays good music?”

One question I’ve asked many veteran artists is: If you were made the music czar, what would you do to change the business, or would you? Lee’s answer didn’t surprise me in the least.
“To be honest, I have never been interested in the business side of music. To me, they just don’t mix. I’ve met with Clive Davis and Ahmet Ertegun and the further I am away from all that the better.”

With the wealth of accomplishments behind him, I wondered what hasn’t Alvin Lee done or accomplished yet that he still would like to do. His response was short and to the point.
“Go to south India and make an album in Chicago with local musicians.”

Lee has jammed with some of the biggest names in music history. I was curious if there was anyone who he hasn’t jammed with whom he wishes to.
“Not really, I’ve been very lucky and jammed with most of my heroes and great players. I’ve even jammed with Damon Hill. Chuck Berry is someone I’ve never jammed with but it’s often disappointing meeting your heroes and with Chuck it could be damn right dangerous. They said the same of Jerry Lee, but I got on with him real fine during the London sessions.”

As we were wrapping up our chat, I asked the Woodstock and rock and roll veteran what was up next for him this year and in the next few years.
“I’ve got a few festivals and I’m already writing new material for whatever my next project turns out to be. The songs will lead me in the right direction although I still don’t know where they come from.”

And the next the next five years?
“To continue surprising myself and to write the world’s greatest riff.”

I had time for one more question so I asked Alvin how he hopes to be remembered and what he hopes his legacy will be.
“Who knows? Who cares? I only hope somebody doesn’t make a cheesy movie of what they think was my life with Justin Bieber playing me as a young boy.”
Then, in an ever-so-slightly more serious tone, he added, “Remember me as a guitarist who raised a few eyebrows, that’s good enough.”

You can keep up with Alvin Lee as he “travels the road to freedom” by visiting his website, www.alvinlee.com.
Of course, you’ll want to be sure and catch Alvin live when he appears in your city so check his website often for tour updates.

 

 

 

Rolling Stone magazine (France)

 

 

GUITAR AFICIONADO

By Damian Fanelli

From a guitarist’s perspective, the 1970 Woodstock film, which documents the highs and lows of the August 1969 Woodstock Festival, has several highlights.
There’s Jimi Hendrix’s immortal take on “The Star-Spangled Banner”; a lengthy, mind-blowing performance by newcomers Santana; and Pete Townshend’s high-flying Gibson SG acrobatics with The Who, to name just a few.
But for a full-on blues-rocking experience, there’s no beating Ten Years After’s adrenaline-fueled reading of “I’m Going Home.” The performance, an intense nod to vintage blues and ’50s rock and roll, featured the lightning-fast fretwork of Ten Years After frontman Alvin Lee.
“The solo on the movie sounds pretty rough to me these days,” Lee told Guitar Aficionado late last week. “But it had the energy, and that was what Ten Years After were all about at the time.”
The performance made stars out of the British band, which led to more festivals, a label change and their biggest hit, 1971′s “I’d Love to Change the World.” Although the band still tours, they do it without Lee, who has found happiness as a solo artist, carefully choosing a handful of festival performances per year.
Lee is releasing a new studio album, Still On the Road to Freedom, August 27 via Rainman Records. The title is a reference to his 1973 album with Mylon LeFevre, On the Road to Freedom.
Lee recently took some time to discuss his new album and his gear over the years, including his famous Woodstock-era “Big Red” ES-335.

GUITAR AFICIONADO: How often do you pick up a guitar and play these days?
Pretty much every day. I write and record all the time; it’s my hobby and my passion. I have a Spanish gut-strung guitar, a Dobro resonator and a Line 6 Variax hanging on the wall, and they all get played regularly. The new Variax is very impressive.

Your new album covers a lot of ground, revisiting the past, looking to the future and offering a myriad of different sounds. Was that intentional?
It kind of evolved from luck and circumstance, as if it were trying to get out on its own. I originally had 33 songs to choose from. As they developed and evolved, I picked out the ones that showed the most promise. As I continued to work on them, I realized they pretty much went through most of my musical influences and styles over the years, so from then on it became a time-warp concept.

What gear did you use on the new album?
Mainly a Gibbo [Gibson] ES-335 and a Martin acoustic. I used a Wal bass and a Gretch baritone guitar for bass, as well as Pete Pritchard’s Music Man and a doghouse double bass called Charlie Boy.
Amp-wise, I used a Wem 15 Dominator and a very old Yamaha I bought from Mick Abrahams. I also used the original Pod, which is better than the new ones, as a pre-amp into a Fender Champ and Mustang. Plus Guitar Rig and Amplitude and too many others to mention.
On “Listen to Your Radio Station,” I used the Metalizer pedal Leslie West gave me. It’s quite radical and has to be tamed, as the slightest finger twitch comes blasting through the amp. Leslie came up to me at the Night of the Guitars sound check and said, “Alvin, you’re a damn fine guitarist, but you’re not loud enough.” He then proceeded to give me loudness lessons. I like Leslie’s playing. He has excellent rock and roll phrasing.

What is some of your more prized gear, the things you’d rush to save from a fire, for instance?
My Martin acoustic. I bought it in New York in 1970, and the guy gave me a receipt for $150 for the customs. I walked into the “something to declare” channel and showed the guy the receipt. He opened the case and said, “A Martin guitar with Grover machine heads for $150?” I had only found the musical instrument expert customs man.
Four hours later, I walked out with my Martin having paid a fine, a penalty and having had to buy it back. Ever since then, I’ve used the “nothing to declare” channel.

On the album opener, the title track, you can immediately tell it’s Alvin Lee on guitar — not just because of your note choices but also your sound. How would you say your sound has evolved over the years? Are you still using that Woodstock ES-335?
I’ve still got the original Woodstock 335, but, sadly, I don’t use it these days as it has become too valuable. She’s now in a vault since some loony offered me half a million dollars for her.
Sound-wise, I never use pedal effects on stage and seldom in the studio. I prefer to get my overload sustain from having the Marshall cranked up high, then by turning the guitar down to 5 or 6, you get a nice clean jazz sound. The crunch comes in around 7 or 8. What else do you need?

How involved were you in the creation of Gibson’s Custom “Big Red” Alvin Lee ES-335?
That all came about because of Pat Foley at Gibson. He asked me if I’d be interested, and I said of course, it’s a great compliment. So he came over to England to photograph and measure Big Red, and Gibson pretty much took it from there. I had no involvement until I got the first prototype. Then I made a few changes, which resulted in my getting several more prototypes. Now I’ve got a whole bunch of them — a gaggle of Gibsons.

Who were your favorite guitarists when you were growing up?
My favorite country blues player was Big Bill Broonzy. City blues was Freddie King, but I liked them all — Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Ralph Willis, Lonnie Johnson, Brownie McGhee and the three Kings, B.B., Albert and Freddie. Jazz-wise, I listened to Django, Barney Kessel and Wes Montgomery. Charlie Christian, Benny Goodman’s guitarist, was a great influence on my swing phrasing.
My all-time favorite rock and roll players were Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry and Franny Beecher, and I listened to the country playing of Merle Travis.

Did you admire the other great fast bluesman of the time, Johnny Winter?
Strangely enough, I wasn’t into fast guitarists. I preferred Peter Green’s subtle touch. I saw him with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers at the Marquee Club in London and was very impressed. He was the only guitarist I’ve ever seen to turn the volume control on his guitar down during a solo.

What kind of delay/reverb, amp and overdrive did you use on the solo on “I’d Love to Change the World”?
As far as I remember, it was a Wem Dominator used as a pre-amp into the old Marshalls. I had the Wem 15-Watt power amp padded down to guitar input level. The echo was an EMT plate.

The first time I saw the Woodstock film, I was completely knocked out by Ten Years After’s performance of “I’m Going Home.” I remember thinking I’d never seen a blues/rock guitarist play that fast before, at least in the context of 1969. And then there was the intensity of the band. It was a bit chaotic yet completely hemmed in by a rock-solid beat. Where did that come from?
You’re obviously a man of very good taste! Seriously, though, I never really tried to play fast. It kind of developed from the adrenalin rush of the hundreds of gigs I did long before Woodstock. They called me “Captain Speedfingers” and such, but I didn’t take it seriously. There were many guitarists faster than me — Django, Barney Kessel, John McLaughlin and Joe Pass to name a few.
The solo on the movie sounds pretty rough to me these days, but it had the energy, and that was what Ten Years After were all about at the time. However, I often wonder what would have happened if they had used “I Cant Keep From Crying” in the movie instead of “I’m Going Home.”

Anything else you’d like to add?
Rush out and buy Still On the Road to Freedom!

 

 

 

Classic Rock Magazine —  December 2012

– click to read entire article –

 

 

 

Guitare Extreme (France)

 

 

 

Album Reviews

 

 

Bman’s Bluesreport:

Alvin Lee... yes the real Alvin Lee, has just come out of the studio and is ready to release a new cd, Still On The Road To Freedom, on August 27, 2012. To say that I am a long time Alvin Lee fan is a tremendous understatement. I was a young kid when I heard Alvin Lee for the first time and it was an eye opening experience. I had never heard such music. The song was I Woke Up This Morning from the SSSH album and it was on an obscure radio station that my older teenaged sister had on in the family car. My musical interests are forever changed. This new recording with 12 new tracks and one remake that is totally unrecognizable from it’s original form shows that lee is still exploring uncharted territory. The first track, the title track, Still On The Road To Freedom, follows a lot of previous jazz/blues influenced rock tunes by Lee and there is absolutely no question that Lee can still sing, write and play with the effort of a feather. Great song. He has undeniable form and tone. By the way, I have been asked before what classic guitar amp tone is.. I mean…identify it I point to SSSH. Some things never change. Listen To Your Radio Station is up next with Lee experimenting with beat and soloing, not at all unlike Jeff Beck. I would never compare the two superstars because they are so different, but I am only stating that Lee on this particular song too to a Beck formula and played great guitar riffs over a solid drum riff…. very cool. (Now don’t buy this and complain it doesn’t sound like Jeff beck…it doesn’t…it sounds like Alvin lee!) Midnight Creeper gets a smooth bass/drum rhythm going and Lee plays guitar and sings over this basic drive pattern. This cd has quite a bit less structure than many of his compositions of the past.It gives Lee a much less structured framework in which to work and is quite tasty if you can set aside your TYA expectations. Save My Stuff catches Lee on harp and doing a polished little blues track but maintaining his basic rock structure as in more recent solo efforts. I’m A Lucky Man explores Lees early country (rockabilly if your prefer) roots … if you really listen you can hear Porter Wagoner as much as Chuck Berry…. that’s what is great about real music… it defines definition and blurs lines. Sound Of The Red Rock captures a unique side of Lee which I have seen. It has a bit of a Spanish flare to my ear and a melody that is very strong. Nice and Easy really captures the style of JJ Cale with the laid back voices and biting guitar work. Back In 69 takes a clue from Bo Diddley but anyone hearing it would definitely peg it for Alvin Lee not only because of his recognizable hooks and distinctive voice but his unmistakable guitar playing. This song features riffs that I have never heard from Lee and is the most experimental track on the cd. I really like it. Rock You see’s Lee tromping around in funky territory. Lee’s voice still sounds as fresh as it did the day that I first heard it. Remarkable. Lee wraps the recording with, as I alluded to before, a remake of one of my favorites, Love Like A Man, but it is really pretty unrecognizable as the same track unless you are really listening. It takes the stance of a heavy bottomed Texas blues with a touch of swing and a rock twist. It’s really quite interesting and then to top it off with Lee using not only signature riffs but multiple pinched harmonics like I never heard from Lee. Alvin Lee’s creative juices are still flowing strong. This recording is not only going to delight the thousands of fans that I encounter each day but will certainly capture many many more. Oh Yeah…and don’t take the cd off too fast…there’s a nice acoustic track at the end of the cd.

Alvin…great to have you back!

 

 

Michael Doherty’s Music Log

Monday, July 30, 2012
Alvin Lee: “Still On The Road To Freedom” (2012) CD Review
You probably know Alvin Lee from his work with Ten Years After.  That band will be forever famous for its wild set at Woodstock, immortalized in the documentary film (that version of “I’m Going Home” is one of the film’s highlights), as well as for the song “I’d Love To Change The World” which reached #40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In some ways, Alvin Lee’s new album, Still On The Road To Freedom, feels like a reaching back, a looking back to the late ’60s. But this is not a nostalgia record. It is not an attempt to recapture an earlier success, but seems more like a way to show the connection between the past and the present (and to explore both), something acknowledged in the album’s title.  And there is a freedom this album takes to move along the musical time line and use whatever seems right. The album definitely has a heavy blues edge. (One of its tracks, “Blues Got Me So Bad,” has these wonderful lines: “I said I’d die for you, babe/She said, that’s what I want you to do.”) But this is not strictly a blues album. There is a lot more going on here.  There is rock and rockabilly and folk, and it all comes together well. (By the way, “Nice & Easy” sounds like T. Rex meets Dire Straits.)

All of the album’s songs were written by Alvin Lee. As for the idea of going back, there is a track called “Back In 69,” (but it is more about the present than its title might suggest), and the final track is a remake of a tune from Ten Years After’s 1970 album Cricklewood Green.  Some of these tunes are pretty short. Tracks 2, 7, 8, 11, and 12 are all under two and a half minutes. There is a hidden song which starts at 5:33 on track 13 (it’s a very short acoustic instrumental tune).

“Still On The Road To Freedom“

: Still On The Road To Freedom opens with its title track, which finds Alvin Lee journeying “for a distant land where it all began.” And yes, Alvin Lee’s guitar still has that great late ’60s, early ’70s sound. It has that drive, that reach for new territory, an interest in exploration and expression that characterized a lot of the best music of the time. And the guitar is given the freedom to stretch out here, in the song’s best section toward the end.  The only thing I could do without is the echoes of “freedom.”

“Listen To Your Radio Station“

: “Listen To Your Radio Station” is a bluesy tune that is nearly an instrumental.  The opening vocal section, which begins “Listen to your radio station/Coolest music across the nation,” ends with “Let’s play some blues on this guitar” a little more than a minute in. The rest is instrumental.  This song is an interesting mix of blues with a bit of a techno feel.

“Save My Stuff“

: “Save My Stuff” is straight blues with that fantastic, powerful harmonica. Like a lot of the best blues, it features simple, straightforward lyrics, in this case about riding the train home to the woman he loves. And then, “I’m gonna save my stuff for the woman I love.”  There is nothing complicated here, but this is a song you can immediately get into.  You’re on that train too, itching to get back to some woman, and enjoying the journey.  A very cool blues tune.

“I’m A Lucky Man”

: Perhaps the most surprising song on the album is “I’m A Lucky Man,” a fun rockabilly tune with a definite 1950s style, particularly in the guitar, but also in the vocals. This song is a total joy. And while clearly revisiting an earlier form, the song feels like Now, more in its ability to change our perception of the Now than in trying to update the music to fit some idea of what’s going on currently. I’m really just trying to say it’s real, authentic, true. And that of course is timeless.  And there is some great stuff on guitar.

“Walk On, Walk Tall”

: Alvin Lee follows the rockabilly tune with a pretty acoustic song titled “Walk On, Walk Tall.”  This one too has very simple lyrics. It begins, “Walk on, walk tall/Be strong, don’t fall/Walk on to the end/Be my friend.” Simple, and wonderful. I really love the guitar in this one too. It’s what makes this track one of my favorites.

Instrumentals

 – This CD features three instrumental tunes.  The first, “Song Of The Red Rock Mountain” is a really nice acoustic instrumental. It somehow manages to feel simultaneously intimate and cinematic, creating a vivid landscape, taking me out of my normal surroundings (which is appreciated). This is one of the CD’s short tracks (at just over two minutes), and it feels like it ends a bit too abruptly.

 The album’s second instrumental, “Down Line Rock,” features a country rock rhythm mixed with blues, and then a seriously groovy short drum solo, with a bit of funky bass. Very nice.

 The third instrumental is the hidden track, a sweet acoustic number that ends too soon.

CD Track List:
Still On The Road To Freedom
Listen To Your Radio Station
Midnight Creeper
Save My Stuff
I’m A Lucky Man
Walk On, Walk tall
Blues Got Me So Bad
Song Of The Red Rock Mountain
Nice & Easy
Back In 69
Down Line Rock
Rock You
Love Like A Man 2

Musicians on this album include Alvin Lee on vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, bass, keyboards and drums; Richard Newman on drums; Pete Pritchard on bass; Tim Hinkley on keyboards; Alvar Brune on backing vocals; Alexander Wolfe on keyboards; Trevor Morais on drums; and Ian Wallace on drums.

 

 

Something Else!

Posted by Nick DeRiso
Titled as if its a sequel to Alvin Lee’s all-star 1973 debut album On the Road to Freedom with Mylon LeFevre, this new album from the Ten Years After frontman actually works as a more direct, personal statement.
Instead of flashy guest musicians like George Harrison, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Mick Fleetwood and Ron Wood, Lee lets his own roving muse do the talking. Instead of the initial project’s country-rocking gospel influences, Still on the Road to Freedom unfolds as a kind of travelogue — taking in Lee’s history, both thematically and musically, even while moving (as the title implies) ever forward.
The album — due August 28, 2012, via Rainman Records — started, Lee says, as a stockpile of 33 songs written over the last four years. In whittling them down to 12, along with one key cover, Lee has not only ensured that his best, most complete thoughts are shared here, he’s given Still on the Road to Freedom a layered, ever-intriguing sense of narrative propulsion.
The title track recalls the dreamscape blues of standout moments like “I’d Love to Change the World” with Ten Years After, while “Save My Stuff” and “Blues Got Me So Bad” simply leave off the “dreamscape” part — going deep into a dusky Delta groove. Lee isn’t done mixing and matching styles: He samples a loop of drummer Ian Wallace on the rumbling “Listen to Your Radio Station,” and then unfurls a loose, Memphis-soaked jam on “Down Line Rock.” He adds some Latin spice for “Song of the Red Rock Mountain,” a simmering instrumental, then channels the So-Cal roots rock vibe of Eric Clapton’s early solo work on “Walk On, Walk Tall” and “Nice and Easy.”
Best of all, perhaps, is “Back in 69,” with its flinty Bo Diddley cadence and damning indictments of those who let go of the 1960s era’s most important dreams. Then, in a move that brilliantly connects the end to this project’s opening song, Lee updates “Love Like a Man,” a funky New Orleans R&B-inspired number from Ten Years After’s 1970 album Cricklewood Green — giving Still on the Road to Freedom this finely tuned sense of closure.
Author: Nick DeRiso Nick DeRiso has explored jazz, blues, roots and rock music for Gannett News Service and USA Today, Blues Revue Magazine, AllAboutJazz.com, Rock.com, Popdose, Living Blues magazine, the Louisiana Folklife Program and NoDepression.com, among others. As a longtime newspaper editor, he was named columnist of the year five years in a row between 2003-07 by the Associated Press Managing Editors of Louisiana/Mississippi, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and the Louisiana Press Association. DeRiso, who oversaw a daily publication that was named Top 10 in the nation by the Associated Press in 2006, also worked for a decade in radio, and has owned his own live music venue.

 

 

BlindedBySound – General Jabbo

In 1969, the Woodstock Music & Art Fair catapulted Ten Years After and their young guitarist, Alvin Lee, into the spotlight. Seemingly overnight, the band went from playing clubs to arenas and, by 1973, Lee had had enough of the lifestyle and of being expected to produce hits. He was tired of being just product. That year, he released his first solo album along with Mylon LeFevre, the star-studded On The Road To Freedom. Now, nearly 40 years later, Lee is back with a sequel of sorts, Still On The Road To Freedom.
The album leads off with the title track, building slowly from an acoustic intro as Lee adds layers of fine guitar work to the song. With its bird chirping sounds and blend of acoustic and electric guitars, the track fits in stylistically with Lee’s late 60s/early 70s heyday. Lee invokes a swamp groove on the next track, “Listen To Your Radio Station,” which adds some modern production touches before going into a jazzy interlude. While the combination may seem odd on paper, it works well for the track.
Tim Hinkley’s organ adds a Booker T. and the M.G.’s feel to the bluesy “Midnight Creeper” with Lee adding tasteful, understated leads to the song. Lee invokes the Bo Diddley Beat in “Back in 69,” a humorous ode to how the hippies of the 60s had to grow up and face real life. Lee’s solo blends Billy Gibbons with some jazz before the song veers off into a brief funk break. Lee’s playing throughout has shown no signs of age as he easily switches between musical styles. “Down Line Rock,” for instance is a 50s-styled instrumental rocker that is just screaming for some Jerry Lee Lewis piano breaks.
Lee revisits his old band with a cover of “Love Like a Man,” now titled “Love Like a Man 2.” While similar to the original, the new version has a decidedly harder edge to it with Lee’s guitar in particular showing more bite than before.
Lee has followed his own muse for many years now and is still putting out excellent music. His latest release shows that he is Still On The Road To Freedom.

 

 

Splash777

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Boomerocity – review by Randy Patterson:

It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than forty years ago since Alvin Lee rocked out a crowd a half a million strong with his band, Ten Years After, at the historic Woodstock festival and, as he was leaving the stage told them, “I’m Going Home . . . by helicopter.”

As they say in the glorious south, Lee hasn’t gotten back to the house yet and he sings about exactly that on his new solo album, Still on the Road to Freedom, returning him to his musical roots.

This album is a royal treat on so many levels:  melodically, lyrically, musically and just the fact that Lee is still producing great and memorable music. He’s joined on the album with bassist Pete Pritchard, drummer Richard Newman (Rory Gallagher, Steve Marriott, Mark Knopfler) as well as keyboardist Tim Hinkley (Humble Pie, Bad Company, The Who, Thin Lizzy).

“I got my start in music listening to my dad’s jazz and blues 78s when I was eight years old,” says Lee, who continues to follow his inspirations. “It’s about the freedom to make music of my own choice without worrying about what other people thought or expected,” he writes in the album’s liner notes.

There’s no freakin’ way that one can pick a favorite off of this 13 tune treasure trove of inspired music.  However, I’ll randomly pick three:

Love Like a Man 2 is a remake of the song on the band’s album, Cricklewood Green, inspired, according to Lee, by Smiley Lewis’ I Hear You Knocking.  This tune alone is worth the price of the entire CD.  No foolin’!

The title cut, Still on the Road to Freedom, would have fit in quite nicely into Lee’s performance at Woodstock.  Gutsy, bluesy, fluid.  This song will have you slapping the repeat button until it can’t be slapped any more, it’s that good.

Finally, Listen to Your Radio Station, cool and funky with some great African drum work backing up Lee’s silky smooth guitar work.  This song could have been times longer than it’s recorded two minutes and twenty-four seconds and I still wouldn’t think it was long enough. I’d love to catch Alvin performing this tune live at one of his gigs and watch him take it as far as it will go.

You have to have this CD in your collection whether you don’t remember being at Woodstock or just wish you had.  This disc will wind up being on your “desert island” list of albums you can’t ever live without.

 

 

* classic rock about com