1960′s Historic & Classic Rock Albums . . . . . . . . . . TEN YEARS AFTER – Debut Album – 10/27/67 . . . and the 50 Year Old Mystery of the Weird Fifth Face

EXPERIENCE ROCK HISTORY!
TEN YEARS AFTER – Debut Self-titled – 10/27/67 – Deram DES 18009

Ten Years After – with a very sci-fi, futuristic, doomsday, paradise, premonition, undead, band name that begged the question, Watt?  It soon became clear that the TYA name meant a Psychedelic Blues Rock Band and Vibe that delivered with a distinct, unique sound and style.

Coming into the first year’s end of 00individual’s first year of getting high, Ten Years After released a very impressive time-stamp imprint of a space in time that served as an introduction to a vast new world of sound on the horizon.  By 1967, British bands were plumbing the depths of American Blues with electrifying results.  These sincere “tributes” to the Blues created a solid genre of British Blues Rock.

Led by Alvin Lee’s righteous Blues vocals and incindiary guitar, Ten Years After were  blessed with the Rockin’ precision of Leo Lyons’ bass, Chick Churchill’s organ, and Ric Lee’s (no blood relation to Alvin) drums.

TYA had the Psychedelic aspects of the Blues ingrained from the start, including a very LSD influenced album cover that continued with Undead and then to make sure they got their psychedelic point across TYA let Rockers know that they too were Stoners with the title of their next studio album, Stonedhenge.  Alvin Lee and Company were right there, on the scene at every milestone of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Highway during the Classic Rock Era.

There were two tracks that really resonated with 00individual and stone Blues Rockers everywhere; I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes and Help Me.  These two alone speak volumes of  the passion and intense smoldering casual ambience of ’67/’68/’69 – and if you can dig it, up to the present.

TEN YEARS AFTER
Side one
“I Want to Know” (Sheila McLeod as pseudonym Paul Jones) – 2:11
“I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes” (Al Kooper) – 5:24
“Adventures of a Young Organ” (Alvin Lee, Chick Churchill) – 2:34
“Spoonful” (Willie Dixon) – 6:05
“Losing the Dogs” (Alvin Lee, Gus Dudgeon) – 3:03
Side two
“Feel It for Me” (Alvin Lee) – 2:40
“Love Until I Die” (Alvin Lee) – 2:06
“Don’t Want You Woman” (Alvin Lee) – 2:37
“Help Me” (Ralph Bass, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson) – 9:51

The 50 Year Old Mystery of the Weird Fifth Face
. . . what’s with the weird fifth face peeking over Chick Churchill’s shoulder?

It is obvious that who or what is peeking was not in the original shot as all others are equally over-exposed and saturated and the tilted semi-motion blur that is uniform with TYA runs opposite with the Peeker.

Definately a pretty clean 1967’s paste-up job, but not as good as the infamous February 21, 1964 Life magazine cover of Lee Harvey Oswald – the conflicting shadows and lighting, the proportions, the stance – horrendous by today’s discerning eyes, but back then it was real.

What really begs the question is: Were TYA aware and was it done with their approval? Was this an art department prank that stuck? Was this an inside joke?  Or was this just another accepted step in psychedelia that was expected; something to trip on – as the cover’s text and the image are both very LSD influenced. Or was it a ghostly apparition only seen when the film was developed?  Yeah, the last one.

Bottom line, Trippy Far Out 1967 Psychedelic Blues Rock record and cover!

Ten Years After would make Rock History with their next two albums ’69’s “Ssssh” and  ’70’s “Cricklewood Green” – both Iconic ’70’s Rock.

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