Ten Years After - Cricklewood Green (Deluxe Edition) [2LP]

Ten Years After's Cricklewood Green lands as a 2LP deluxe edition, the 1970 album that pointed Alvin Lee's lightning fingers toward somewhere stranger and spacier.

Fresh off their blistering set at Woodstock, the British blues-rock quartet were suddenly one of the hottest live acts around. Rather than simply cash in on speed, they used Cricklewood Green to stretch out, adding studio effects, psychedelic textures and a touch of jazz to their blues foundation. With Leo Lyons on bass, Ric Lee on drums and Chick Churchill on keys, the band sounded tighter and more adventurous than ever.

"Love Like a Man" rides one of the great riffs of the era, a swaggering groove that refuses to let up. "50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain" drifts into cosmic territory, while "Me and My Baby" swings with jazzy, finger-snapping ease, and "Working on the Road" barrels along with road-weary charm. This deluxe edition pairs the album with a live set captured at the Fillmore East in 1970, the band stretching out on stage in the same year.

Here is a band confident enough to experiment without losing its fire.

Studio adventure on one disc, sweat and volume on the other: few snapshots of Ten Years After at their creative peak are this complete.