Ten Years After – Vinyl Re-issues

Proper Records are delighted to make again available the first three albums from the much-loved Ten Years After. Originally released on Deram between 1967 and 1969, these records – Ten Years After, Undead, and Stonedhenge – capture the beginnings of the British blues boom band who shot to world fame at 1969’s Woodstock Festival.

Known initially as The Jaybirds, and then Blues Trip, Ten Years After was formed by Alvin Lee, Leo Lyons, Chick Churchill and Ric Lee in 1966, allegedly taking their name from the fact it was then a decade after Elvis Presley had burst onto the scene. The first act signed to the Chrysalis agency, the group built a fearsome reputation for their live act, with leader Alvin Lee dubbed ‘the fastest guitar in the west.’

All three titles are presented with scrupulous attention to the detail of the original UK first pressings and available in audiophile 180gm vinyl. Whether replacing much-loved originals, or adding to a collection afresh, these are a superior way to enjoy such enduring and influential music.

Ten Years After
Ten Years After
Release Date: 24 February 2023
Barcode: 805520240390
Catalogue Number: UMCLP039
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Their debut album, Ten Years After, was released in October 1967. In the year when the album came of age, the group produced a fine collection of covers – such as Willie Dixon’s Spoonful, and Al Kooper’s I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes – and originals. Produced by Mike Vernon and Gus Dudgeon at Decca’s West Hampstead Studios, it was one of the most assured blues-rock debuts of the 60s.

Undead
Ten Years After
Release Date: 27 January 2023
Barcode: 805520240406
Catalogue Number: UMCLP040
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It was frequently said that the real magic happened for Ten Years After on stage, so it was with little surprise that the group’s second album, Undead, was just that – recorded live at Klook’s Kleek, the club above the Railway Hotel in West Hampstead – right next door to Decca’s studios. Cables were passed back from the pub to the studio, and the band were captured at an early peak. It is a unique marriage of blues, rock, with elements still of trad jazz to be heard – none moreso than on their eight-minute version of Woody Herman’s Woodchopper’s Ball.