Stonedhenge

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Stonedhenge
Studio album by
Ten Years After
Released7 February 1969
Recorded3–15 September 1968
StudioDecca Studios, West Hampstead, London
Genre
Length35:48
Mike Vernon
Ten Years After chronology
Undead
(1968) 		Stonedhenge
(1969) 		Ssssh
(1969)

Stonedhenge is the second

Mike Vernon at London's Decca Studios
in September 1968.

Believing that the group's live album

marijuana and the ancient monument Stonehenge
, the latter of which is illustrated on the psychedelic album cover.

On release, Stonedhenge was the band's biggest album yet, reaching number six on the

bonus tracks
in 2002.

Background and recording

After forming in 1965, Ten Years After were distinguished from hardcore

Colin Larkin, the album "spread the word" that frontman Alvin Lee was "not only an outstanding guitarist, but the fastest by a mile."[2] It was their first record to chart in the United Kingdom[5] and United States.[4]

Lee was so pleased with Undead, considering it to have captured the group's sound perfectly, that he conceived Stonedhenge as a radical change in direction. He recalled: "I was so happy with [Undead]. When I first heard it I thought, what are we going to do next? After that my attitude was, 'Let's go into the studio and experiment, because we've already made the ultimate album'."

British blues pedigree, having worked with Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac.[9] Baker is also credited for the "special sound effect" on "No Title", while Smith is credited for providing the "train effect" on "Speed Kills".[8] Alvin Lee's credits include "Chinese fans" ("Skooby-Oobly-Doobob"), clog stamping ("Hear Me Calling"), and a "steel on steel effect" ("No Title").[8] The musician recalled that there were "[p]ipes and stuff like that all over the place" during the recording,[3] and described the process as being defined by "not particularly what we wanted to do, but the way we did what we happened to do".[10]

Composition

Stonedhenge features seven songs written by Alvin Lee, along with a song each from bass guitarist

jazz-rock album with "a blues core."[16]

Alvin Lee wrote that the album was frequently "very experimental" as he was into his "

tape manipulation.[12]

The record is

blues-rock could get", writing that its "structure—beginning as near silence, with instruments being added until it turns to a harsh electronic wail—isn’t far from the studio art that the likes of Brian Eno would popularize later on."[22] "Speed Kills", the closing song, returns the group to a more familiar, rocking sound,[12] although it features a "surprise ending".[22]

Title and artwork

The title refers to Stonehenge, which is also depicted on the sleeve.

The title Stonedhenge, described as a "not-so-subtle" choice,

American counterculture."[11] Correlating the music and the site, journalist Rory O'Connor says that that Stonedhenge "seemed to be an attempt at tuning in cosmic vibrations, perhaps because [Alvin] Lee has a feeling for the strange atmosphere that the ancient Druid ruins at Stonehenge reportedly has hanging round it. Hence the name of the LP."[25]

The artwork, described by Harkins as

hippie movement."[24] Stonedhenge also pre-empted Hawkwind's frequent use of the site on their sleeves.[23]

In 1985, archaeologist Christopher Chippindale borrowed the title Stonedhenge for his review of that year's ill-fated summer solstice celebrations at the stone circle and the Battle of the Beanfield.[23] In 1999, Adam Sweeting of The Guardian described the album title as "uncannily far-seeing", due to the emergence of an academic theory that Stonehenge was designed as a venue for worshippers to enter "shamanistic trances" to "travel through time and space to visit their ancestral spirits."[26]

Release and promotion

The Woodstock stage, where Ten Years After played in August 1969

Stonedhenge was released on 7 February 1969 by

London Records,[30] the album reached number 61 on the Billboard Top LPs chart,[31] becoming their first album to reach the top 100.[11] The album was one of many London releases at the time that combined for the label's strongest ever sales, and it joined other successful albums by the Moody Blues, John Mayall and Savoy Brown in helping London succeed in what Billboard called "the hard rock derby".[32] In 1993, Andy Smart of Evening Post wrote that the album "sold millions".[33]

Music critic Hugh Fielder wrote that Stonedhenge "set up Ten Years After for a momentous year."[3] The release of the album coincided with the band beginning to regularly play in the US,[25] and the record's strong sales won the group an invite to play at the Woodstock festival in New York (state) in August 1969.[34] According to The Daily Telegraph, the group's "energy and good-natured performance generated a strong audience response".[34] According to Rough Guides writer Chris Coe, the inclusion of their performance of "I'm Going Home" in the companion film Woodstock (1970) catapulted the band to "superstar status".[1] Alongside Woodstock, Ten Years After played five other festivals that summer, including the Seattle Pop Festival, Texas International Pop Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival (in the only year that rock bans were allowed on the bill).[3] The group's touring of the US, and their "direct, prolonged contact" with the country's music scene, influenced their subsequent album, Ssssh (September 1969).[25]

Critical reception

Contemporary reviews

In a contemporary four-star review,

New Musical Express writer Allen Evans deemed Stonedhenge to be "a most ear-worthy effort, varied in content and all self-written", and contended that the group "could go places". He praised the scat singing on "Skoobly-Cobly-Doobob" and Lyons' bass work on "Faro", while describing Churchill's organ and piano solos as "real knock-outs".[18] The 'pop panel' at Melody Maker deemed it a "magnificent" album where Ten Years After advance their music "several stages further" from Undead, which they considered one of the best British blues albums. The reviewers praised the group's musicianship and their "use of dynamics and the way they hold themselves back so that when all the stops are pulled out it has some meaning and great dramatic effect", considering the resulting music to be "impossible to classify" but, with help from Vernon's production, "totally effective". They concluded that it was one of the year's best albums.[13] Alan Jones of Lincolnshire Echo called it an "electrifying" album that showcases the band's talents, including Alvin Lee's "lightning guitar solos".[35]

In the US, Wayne Harada of

The Edmonton Journal considered the record to be as bad as Undead, calling them "sleeper" albums, and wrote that while the title and artwork are interesting, the music falls "just short of being excellent, and in the rock music business, that classifies them with the bad, or worse, with the mediocre." While adding that the music is occasionally unique and groovy, he contended that the group should "stick to blues...they have great potential if they would concentrate on one particular area and develop their music, their vocals, their sound in general."[37]

Retrospective appraisal

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[38]

In an article for The Tampa Tribune, Rory O'Connor called Stonedhenge "probably the best example of the varied influences in Ten Years After's music. But once again the band got hung up on repeating themselves."[25] In his book Sixties Rock: A Listener's Guide (1985), Robert Santelli writes that while the album does not feature any of Ten Years After's most popular songs, it is "the best example of the group's jazz and blues flavor", and described "Going to Try" and "Hear Me Calling" as "intriguing tracks since they incorporate an odd assortment of blues and jazz riffs that never really settle into one mold."[39] Reviewing the record for AllMusic, Hal Horowitz emphasised the group's attempts to broaden their sound, and wrote that while it does not always gel – singling out the four solo pieces as "an interesting idea that ends up as a distraction" – the album "boasts some terrific performances by a group that was hitting its peak." He also praised the panning and tape manipulation for being impressive.[12]

In a piece for

Ultimate Classic Rock ranked "A Sad Song" fourth, calling it one of the group's "most haunting tunes" and singling out its "brutally sparse arrangement", and "Hear Me Calling" third, comparing its "bouncey bluesy groove" to Status Quo.[40]

Legacy and reissues

In a 2016 interview with It's Psychedelic Baby! Magazine, Lyons reflected that he enjoyed Stonedhenge in 1969 but found it "certainly very strange" to listen to contemporarily, believing "Hear Me Calling" to the best song and adding that the album is "probably best listened to stoned."[17] Ric Lee enjoys the album for being "very experimental for its time."[41] In 1972, "Hear Me Calling" was covered by Slade.[20]

In December 1970, Stonedhenge was one of four Ten Years After albums released on

Universal) and 2015 (Deram).[45] In 1972, Deram released the outtakes compilation Alvin Lee and Company; described by Zoo World as among the "most eagerly awaited albums" of its time, the album was dismissed by Alvin Lee as comprising "inferior material for the Stonedhenge album. It didn't get put on, and because we left Deram after Watt they put it out themselves."[46] According to Alvin, the group tried to prevent the album's release, but found that the issue of such a collection was permitted in their contract with the label.[46]

Track listing

All songs written by Alvin Lee, except where noted.

Side one
  1. "Going to Try" – 4:52
  2. "I Can't Live Without Lydia" (Chick Churchill) – 1:23
  3. "Woman Trouble" – 4:37
  4. "Skoobly-Oobly-Doobob" – 1:44
  5. "Hear Me Calling" – 5:41
Side two
  2. "A Sad Song" – 3:24
  3. "Three Blind Mice" (traditional, arranged by Ric Lee) – 0:57
  4. "No Title" – 8:15
  5. "Faro" (Leo Lyons) – 1:13
  6. "Speed Kills" (Alvin Lee,
    Mike Vernon
    ) – 3:42

2002 CD bonus tracks

  2. "Hear Me Calling" (single version) – 3:44
  3. "Woman Trouble" (US version) – 4:48
  4. "I'm Going Home" (single version) – 3:34
  5. "Boogie On" – 14:44

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes of Stonedhenge.[8]

Ten Years After
Additional personnel
  • Roy Baker – sound effects on "No Title"
  • Martin Smith – train sound effects on "Speed Kills"
  • Simon Stable (credited as "Count Simon (Stable) de la Bedoyere") – bongos on "Going to Try"
  • Mike Vernon
    – backing vocals on "Hear Me Calling"

Charts

Chart (1969) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[47] 6
US Billboard 200[48] 61

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-85828-457-0
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 1-85227 745 9
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fielder, Hugh (August 2003). "Ten Years After". Classic Rock. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b Deming, Mark. "Ten Years After Biography by Mark Deming". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Ten Years After". Official Charts. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  6. ISBN 9780789446138
    . Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  7. ^ Stonedhenge (liner). Ten Years After. Deram. 2002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ a b c d Stonedhenge (liner). Ten Years After. Deram. 1969.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ a b c Sexton, Paul (22 February 2023). "'Stonedhenge': Ten Years After's Monument to the Late 1960s". UDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b c "Ten Years After". Beat Instrumental. December 1969. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e Harkins, Thomas E. (2019). Woodstock FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Fabled Garden. London: Backbeat Books. p. 217. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Horowitz, Hal. "Stonedhenge Review by Hal Horowitz". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  13. ^ a b MM Pop Panel (22 February 1969). "Magnificent! The Only Word for Ten Years After" (PDF). Melody Maker: 22. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  14. ^
    ISBN 9781933237398
    . Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  15. ^ a b Arganbright, Frank (19 July 1969). "Listening on records". Journal and Courier: 28. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  16. ISBN 9780809254392
    . Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  17. ^ a b Bleznikar, Klemen (14 February 2016). "Ten Years After / Leo Lyons / Interview". It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d e Evans, Allen (15 February 1969). "LPs Reviewed by Allen Evans" (PDF). NME: 11. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Clubs: Rock & Pop". LA Weekly: 124. 17–23 September 1999. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  20. ^ a b c Clayson, Alan (22 March 2013). "Goodbye Alvin". Record Collector. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  21. ISBN 9781473541771
    . Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  22. ^ a b Milano, Brett (8 March 2013). "Alvin Lee Goes Home – And His Toussaint Connection". OffBeat Magazine. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  23. ^
    ISBN 9781443815536
    . Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  24. ^
    ISBN 9781317546665
    . Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  25. ^ a b c d O'Connor, Rory (7 November 1969). "Ten Years After". The Tampa Tribune: 80. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  26. ^ Sweeting, Adam (11 May 1998). "It sounds great. Whatever it is". The Guardian: 19. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  27. ^ "Melody Maker" (PDF). Melody Maker. 25 January 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  28. ^ A Sad Song (D-1053) (liner). Ten Years After. Deram. 1969.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. ^ Perrone, Pierre (8 March 2013). "Obituaries: Alvin Lee". The Independent: 57. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  30. ^ Easlea, Daryl (17 April 2015). "Something different, but strong: A Brief History of Deram Records". Loudersound. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  31. ISBN 0898201179
    .
  32. ^ "London's Album Sales Exploding". Billboard. Vol. 81, no. 17. 26 April 1969. p. 6. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  33. ^ Smart, Andy (27 February 1993). "Ten out of ten". Evening Post: 17. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  34. ^ a b "Alvin Lee". The Daily Telegraph. London: 31. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  35. ^ Jones, Alan (21 April 1969). "New Discs". Lincolnshire Echo: 7. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  36. ^ Harada, Wayne (6 February 1969). "On the Record". The Honolulu Advertiser: G-6. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  37. ^ Harvey, Bob (21 March 1969). "Records". The Edmonton Journal: 39. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  38. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8
    . Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  39. ISBN 9780809254392
    . Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  40. ^ Swanson, Dave (19 December 2015). "10 Best Ten Years After Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  41. ^ Daly, Andrew (22 January 2021). "An Interview with Ric Lee of Ten Years After". vwmusic. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  42. ^ Sanders, Charles H. (26 December 1970). "Tapes for the new equipment". The Argus Roundup: 10. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  43. ^ Jasper, Tony (2 August 1988). "Golden oldie time". Manchester Evening News: 30. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  44. ^ "Albums". Chicago Tribune: 80. 9 June 1989. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  45. ^ a b "Stonedhenge – Ten Years After Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  46. ^ a b Esposito, Jim (3 February 1973). "Ten Years After: Alvin Lee & Company". Zoo World. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  47. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  48. ISBN 0898201470
    . Retrieved 10 October 2023.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stonedhenge&oldid=1218799786"