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Ten Years After: A Space In Time (1971) 
Reviewer: sydburnz | See all reviews by sydburnz
Section: Reviews | Category: Music | Area: Kansas | Topic: Music
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 Ten Years After: "A Space In Time" (1971)
Alvin Lee -- guitars
Chick Churchill -- keyboards
Leo Lyons -- bass
Ric Lee -- drums
Psychedelia was considered by many as blues in technicolour. Never is it more apparent than this album. Alvin Lee and company make a tight mix of space rock, psychedelia and blues-rock. A Space in Time was the most commercially successful TYA album thanks in part to the strength of their FM-orientated single, "I'd Love to Change the World". Ten Years After never leaves blues-rock behind while they were experimenting with spacey elements and studio trickery.
"One of These Days"is a straight out rocker, much like their guitar riff-laden "I'm Going Home" from Woodstock. Alvin Lee hits the guitar solos very heavy on the beginning tune from A Space in Time. Other all-out, no-holds-barred rockers on this album are "Baby Won't You Let Me Rock n Roll You", "Hard Monkey's" "I've Been There Too" and "I'd Love to Change the World". Baby Won't Let Me Rock n Roll is a rockabilly tune and probably the poorest track on here. Hard Monkey's starts out slow, but then soon rocks out to Lee's riffage. He uses a little fuzz techniques reminiscent of Hendrix or Clapton, yet he doesn't show any sign of looking bad doing it. I'd Love to Change the World starts out as a ballad with gentle, acoustic guitar strumming, then it turns into an all out rocker. Alvin Lee shows his prowess as a songwriter on this song about social change.
Like I stated previously, there are moments where they intersperse space-rock into blues. Some great examples of this are "Here they Come" and "Let the Sky Fall". Both contain weird, hypnotic sounds that are kind of reminiscent of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows". Alvin Lee uses alot of backward tape loops of guitar riffs.
The best song on this album has to be "Over the Hill", an acoustic ballad about drug addiction. It has a beautiful melody and some rather touching string arrangements. This is their least bluesy track on the whole album. There isn't any electric guitar prominent on this track whatsoever.
A Space In Time was an experimental period for Ten Years After. All of their previous efforts just stayed in the blues genre, but this made the group spread out in different directions. This was also their most polished recording up to this point. Very crisp and clear, not muddy like their previous albums. The overall production is what makes this album. If you like the British blues, this is a must get, since it is indeed one of the best of the genre.
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Visitor Comments about Ten Years After: A Space In Time (1971)
Posted by Railjumper on 2004-02-19 23:10:51
My Score: 
Comment: Ten Years After was my first concert, and have liked them ever since. This is probally one of thier best albums. All the songs are first rate. It''s hard to believe the band broke up. Alvin Lee does still perform with other people and still puts out some great blues tunes. Check out TYA''s Watts album and thier double live..Later
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Posted by Pressed_Rat on 2002-02-10 15:57:41
My Score:
Comment:
''Here They Come'' is my favorite song on here. I love the eerieness of this track. I like every song on the album, really, save maybe one or two tracks. There is a little filler on here, but just a small amount. ''Baby Won''t You Let Me Rock and Roll'' could have been left off this album, in my opinion. It doesn''t flow good with the other songs on the album. It sounds too rednecky as well. ''Hard Monkeys'' is yet another kick-ass song. Like I said, every song on here is great for the most part. This is my favorite TYA album.
for those who enjoyed this album, let me also recommend ''Cricklewood Green.''
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Posted by Tarl on 2002-02-09 17:05:47
My Score:
Comment: I love Ten Years After. They have been my favorite band for years. My two favorite songs are "I''m going Home" and "I''d love to change the world".
Since I am leaving for Thailand soon, I''m getting rid of all of my stuff in storage. I have two nice TYA collectors records in mint shape, if anyone is interested:
Ssssh Ten Years After and Classic Performances by Ten Years After. If interested, make me an offer. (I can ship them from Canada, which is cheaper).
Tarl (imgod2@hotmail.com)
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