Stonedhenge – TEN YEARS AFTER***

Going To Try/I Can’t Live Without Lydia/Woman Trouble/Skooby-Oobly-Doobob/Hear Me Calling/A Sad Song/ Three Blind Mice/No Title/Faro/Speed Kills

On the disappointing album Stonedhenge Ten Years After are guilty of too much experimentation and not enough of the fast and furious blues rock they do best. (US:61 UK:6)

"Their second studio album was Stonedhenge. This is basically a half blues rock, half psychedelic rock release and I like it a lot. Though this is not as marvellous as their amazing debut, this still includes many neat tracks."

"This is a strange album in that it's really psychedelic, but the music isn't psychedelic rock. The instrumentation is still strictly blues rock, but the atmosphere of the album is an obvious attempt to mimic the odd lyrics and trippy studio experimentation that psychedelic bands commonly used. Something seems to be missing in every song."

"I take as my comparisons Led Zeppelin, Hendrix and Jethro Tull. This album doesn't remotely compare to the standards those artists achieved at that time. Directionless, meandering, sparse instrumental passages and little resembling a song here."

"A real mixed bag. It sounds like they had no idea what they were going to do in the studio. Taking an immense three weeks to produce in the studio, this is very much the product of too much twiddling of dials."

"There are some fine tunes (Going To Try, Hear Me Calling and No Title) mixed with utter rubbish. Is there anyone out there that likes Three Blind Mice when played on drums, or even thinks it sounds like a good idea? A failed experiment for fans only."

"Ten Years After were still in the difficult process of getting an album together and with Stonedhenge they produce a very uneven and half hearted effort. Besides the filler and trash are some good songs with the best of the bunch being Woman Trouble, Hear Me Calling and No Title. These are all good solid well composed rock songs where Alvin Lee exercises his guitar playing ability as well as his knack at crafting memorable tunes. However, the album is peppered with mindless throwaways and it can be very hard to ignore the fact that it is very hit or miss. Short little instrumentals by each member simply show how average the band really were as a collective unit."