Alvin Lee came to fame fronting British blues-rock band Ten Years After. Heroes of Woodstock, TYA became a hot live attraction, releasing a string of well-received albums in the very late \u201860s and the first half of the 1970s. The band\u2019s tight musical approach and Lee\u2019s searing, proto-shredder guitar playing were the big draw, but Lee and TYA had good songs, too.<\/p>\n
Not long after releasing a 2012 solo album, Still on the Road to Freedom<\/em>, Lee died due to complications during routine surgery; this writer was one of the last journalists to interview the guitarist<\/a>, mere months before his untimely passing at age 68. Here are five standout tracks featuring the guitarist and singer.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Goin\u2019 Home\u201d by Ten Years After from Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More<\/em> (1970)<\/strong>
\nThanks to Ten Years After\u2019s bravura set at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, Alvin Lee earned the sobriquet \u201cthe fastest guitar in the West,\u201d a label he disliked. But there\u2019s no denying the fire and fury of his playing on this cut, spitting out rapid-fire guitar licks in front of the assembled masses. Ten Years After\u2019s performance of \u201cI\u2019m Going Home\u201d would be a highlight of the Woodstock<\/em> film and its soundtrack, and whether he liked it or not, Lee would include the song in subsequent TYA concerts.<\/p>\n