Pure Blues

Pure Blues is a good sampler of Alvin Lee's music, both with Ten Years After and solo. It looks like a standard compilation, yet it concentrates solely on blues-based material. Ten Years After, though, was not just a blues-rock group. They were deeply rooted in '50s rock and roll and jazz in addition to blues, so this compilation really only shows one part of the Alvin Lee picture. But if you're a major blues lover like me, that's okay. It starts with the acoustic "Don't Want You Woman" from Ten Years After's self-titled debut (currently out of print). Other highlights are the heavy riff-driven "I Woke Up This Morning", and "The Stomp" (both from the SSSSH album) and two killer live tracks, "Slow Blues in C" and "Help Me" from the Recorded Live album. This is a nice sampler, but don't make the mistake of letting this be the only Alvin Lee/Ten Years After CD you check out. If you like this, further listening should be: Undead (1968), Recorded Live (1973), and last year's release of Ten Years After Live at the Fillmore East. If you're looking for a good Ten Years After compilation, the ideal choice would be the new Ten Years After Anthology 1967 - 1971. It covers all the sides of TYA's music, from rock to blues to jazz.