Added: 4 years ago
From: commandocody328
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  • Does anyone else feel like this guy is completely overlooked?

  • LEGENDARY!

  • whats the  point of all this speed ...

  • Whew! I'm exhausted.

    I am suprised his guitar doesn't combust playing at that speed.

  • god damn

  • Oh,my dear Alvin,why are you going in pension so early?

  • one of greatest ever

  • ALVIN LEE IS AN ANIMAL !! ON THE NECK OF A GUITAR !!!!!!!!! [[[HOW COULD TEN YEARS AFTER GO ON TOUR WITH OUT HIM?? """IT IS ""NOT"" TEN YEARS AFTER WITH OUT ALVIN LEE!!!]]]

  • this guy rocks hes as fast as jimmy page used to be a proper guitar legend

  • I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, moved there in 1965. I was 15 when I saw my first Live Rock and Roll show at Bill Graham's Fillmore West, 1968, Ten Years After, Spirit with Randy California and a local band. In those days each band played 2 sets, it was GREAT. After that I never missed them through the 60's, 70's and part of the 80's, Alvin always tore the place up!! He always changes it up and makes each performance fresh and unique. Hope to one day see him again!! Rock on Alvin!!

  • I love Alvin. Ten Years After is a great band. And that's a slick ES335(?) with the Trem added

  • Excelente !

  • VIRTUOSSO!!!!!:D

  • excelente amigo,nunca se pierde el talento y virtuosismo

  • Alvin Lee for president haha xD

    His guiat is amazing! And his playing is amazing, too

  • first shreder!

  • simply terrible....thats why hendrix, page, blackmore and so many others are gods of the guitar...lee shreds....

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  • @brmoogma You are aware that Page shreds all the time, right?

  • @Explosiveelm LOLOLOLOLOL@@@@ Page.....Page is one of the most overrated guitarists of all time...he couldn't tune Alvin's guitar or many other greats like SRV, Beck, Santana and others...Check out Danny Gatton (Redneck Jazz Explosion) if you want to see what real guitar genius is. Get real!

  • @Explosiveelm Yes, it's a nasty habit (kinda like picking your nose in public) that he's been trying to overcome for years. He usually uses the excuse that "Well, it's the fans, they expect it, don't they..." But he's really trying to just play good guitar and not shred anymore. Kudos for that Jim, you can do it.

  • Alvin Lee is a BADASS MO'FO

  • @MrCockSlut Dang for sure! Wow! He is BAMF! Damn!

  • iv se him life,  affsome

  • I'd say Alvin Lee had the best technique of rock guitarists in the 60's and early 70s, No rock guitarist had the speed AND clean playing at the time of woodstock 1969 where he played I'm going home.

  • @BigRed4231 What about Alex Lifeson? The things he did with his ES-335 and a Fender amp in the mid 70s most shredders can't do now with their 5000 channel high gain amps and ESP guitars or whatever the shredders use. So this guy could play fast, tap, and use a whammy bar. That doesn't make him the best.

  • if you haven't heard, or seen him live you missed it.

  • So Alvin is still playing, wow!! Always thot he was one of the cleanest and fastest of the best. So clean and accurate! Plus, a natural sense for hard, soulful pickin'.

  • @ themikeaustin: I doubt anyone here cares what you think!! did you come here just to insult Alvin Lee???? I am a good guitarist too, and i have no doubt that Alvin can out play both you and your so called "guitarist friend" at the same time with his two big toes!! Pull your head outta your arse, and STFU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Alvin Lee was shredding back in the sixties along with greats like Roy Buchanan and Barney Kessel. These virtuosos didn't just shred scales and modes like most of todays players who are interesting for about fifteen minutes. No, the best players heard music in their heads and played what they heard. That's why no one can play like Roy and that's why Alvin is still shredding. True talent perseveres.

  • Can't get anyy better than Alvin

  • Eddie Van... who..? ;)

  • i love this song!

  • What a guitarist - the spedd of the man's fretwork is amazing and his accuracy unerring!

  • Remember that this was a single appearance within a show. He didn't have time to use the dynamics of volume and time here. He was trying to show a lot of licks & tricks that would usually be spread out throughout some great songs. I recognized some of them from the two shows I saw in the mid '70s. Some of you mention players that are technically more proficient. There is a lot more to great music than that. His shows leave you in a dazed, altered state. It's an experience.

  • Always my favorite guitarist..there can never be another Alvin Lee

  • Gentleman, Ladies, boys and girls; there is NOT ONE guitarist that can perform this virtuoso as this man; yes, he is sloppy at times in other songs, but there is not ONE man or woman that I have witnessed able to duplicate this impeccable display; I have respect for the greatness of Van Halen, Satriani, Vaughn, Beck, Page, Vai, West, Winter; but, please, for simplicity purposes, let me see another guitarist mimic this display of speed and clarity; it is a class unto itself. Thank you.

  • Favorite Guitarist

  • A friend of mine reccomended that i listen to Alvin Lee and i must say that there is only so much time in the day and i chose NOT to spend it by listening to AVERAGE at best playing. Go check out Micheal Bloomfield to hear somthing WAY better that this soso playing

  • @bluesmuzikluver I have to agree. I saw Ten Years After right after the Undead (?) album came out and I and my guitarist friend were blown away. However, the more I listened to Alvin Lee, the less I liked him. Like many guitarists who play fast, he plays "within a box" and repeats himself to the point where it painful to listen to. Listening to this clip, he sounds like a good Ted Nugent. (I think Ted Nugent is one of the most overrated guitarists ever.)

  • 1 to 10 scale I'd rate this performance an 8.. but during his prime between 67 and 69 he was faster than hendrix and cleaner than jeff beck. in my opinion maybe the greatest compliment any guitarist could ever hope to get. don't bother arguing i've seen them all right though van halen. [beyond eddie i wouldn't know their names anyway..got married in 80! lol

  • Still very good but not nearly as clean as he was in the late 60/early70s.

  • Alvin,you will not read this - but can someone tell me that he is still alive and in tune - and why he is not playing with his fucking old band - anyway noone will send a f--ing answer - I am used to that so what .. I will still play this f.. rok& roll music Uwe Guitar player from South Germany

  • One of the most underrated guitarists in history, but I've love to change the world.

  • Amphetamine Boogie! thats' what they used to say about Alvin Lee's playing... Man, do I miss seeing this guy!

  • bought ''Night of the Guitars'' on vhs vol. 1/ vol. 2 many moons ago ....found the double l.p. in Yorshire,England in 89' while traveling..... A TRUE TREASURE!!!!  on of mu favorite cuts....

  • Where is the peace sign on the guitar? Used to see TYA every chance I got. Saw Ten Years Later Too. Haven't seen Al since he left TYA.

  • This is what its all about. Has anyone who's put a negative comment here actually played lead guitar live in front of an audience?? I guess not. The strings, guitar, amplifier, band, venue and audience all become variables that take on a life of their own and dictate how you come over. There's nothing like it in the world. When it clicks together its the best feeling ever. But, you don't have to be technically brilliant. You've just got to find a groove and communicate. Especially to the women !

  • Alvin Lee doesn't just play the guitar, it's like an extension of his body. And I don't even say that about Jimmy Page.

  • Alvin Lee has always been regarded as one of the fastest guitar legends. Not as clean as Clapton, Page, Knopfler etc. but certainly Mr. blue lightning. Saw him in St. Louis a few years back and he did not disappoint.

  • Lee is just all downstrokes, thats why hes so limited and redundant

  • I hate it when guitarists wank on stage!-where's the tune????

  • Where's the tune??

  • Clapton has already said Lee is the best HE has ever heard. Dont diss Clapton. He has done more with his career than Lee. I do agree that Lee is just as good.

  • cornered my market on sexy

  • Albert Lee aint keen on 'im

  • Basszus!

  • ..Oh Alvin is a very good guitar player! absolutly! (1.28 - riff from Rolling Stones´song: "Bitch")

  • clapton sit down and shutup !

  • call me a wet blanket but that was very unimpressive... i mean it was just pentatonic repetitiveness

  • @jimzer

    Yes of course it was, but most people can´t hear it. They would think Joe Pass is a lame duck in comparism to Alvin Lee.....

  • @jimzer

    ooh yeah you are the best guitarist ever

  • shredinnnn

  • that guitarsound is ear orgasme.

  • dirtydeck, your last sentence says it all, very will stated. I could never say it better. It's not how many notes you play, it's the feeling and emotion in your fingers as you finess each note from way down in your soul, while each string poors out the message from your heart. Clapton and Lee had more soul and feel in one note, than most now have in a complete lead solo. Long live Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee, and FREDDIE KING God rest your soul.

  • Alvin Lee is the *best* EVER!! Period. The End. Love him. A master of guitar and music and rock and roll.

  • WOW! :) thanks for posting! Lee is one of the greatest. Without. A. Doubt

  • affen geil

  • one of the best solo I ever seen

  • I was there! He was the best of a very good bunch that night.

  • He is a master!!

  • nunhej wer will chattn ich ben so gelangweilt ^^ wer will meldet sich

  • I remember when I played this for a co worker he about went crazy!! Rock on Alvin!!

  • Saw Alvin in the early 70s. Went not knowing who he was. I found out. He sounded just like he does on Recorded Live. And EXTREMELY loud.

  • Eric had thought enough of Hendrix that he procured a guitar for him (don't remember the model but it was a left hand job) and was preparing to give it to him when he learned of his passing.

  • Alvin looks like he is taking care of himself too. Nice to see he is still super fast. Great guitar player.

  • It would be a tall order to blow Alvin Lee of the stage. Never heard of it being done.

  • Don't know about blowing him off the stage, but Yngwie Malmsteen is pretty quick. Check out arpegio from hell on youtube

  • @luvblues100 speed doesnt matter though

  • @wickedblonde96 never. that is right.

  • I read in the local Detroit papers that Nugent blew Lee off the stage in a one on one Detroit Battle of the Guitars. This was in the 70s and I read this the day after. Possibly Nugent promotion ??Any one here know of  this story or believe Nugent reigned supreme that night?

  • nugent could not come close to alvin don't believe it for a second.

  • I thought that might be the case I will e mail nugen...t if I get his address.. and gingerly broach the subject whether any such thing happened. Thanks for the reply!

  • @lpvcrcd 100% Bad Fiction.

  • @lpvcrcd No I don't know. They are both very good guitarists born of the 60's. But i Do know This: Alvin Lee grew up in Scotland and Ted Nugent grew up in , uh where was it again, oh yeah I believe it was D E T R O I T !? ,,, Lol

  • @kacoll3 what do you think about Leslie West?

  • pretty much sums up his idea of music in the intro - it's about the playing. best pure jam guitarist ever. it's all guitar , amp and feeling - no effects.

  • What an awsome guitar player.

  • Great video, but I wish someone would upload this with proper audio.

  • That is what I call Rock. No bullshit locrian, phrygian and romanian mode tapping, whammy bar diving crap.

  • what is the romanian mode?

  • @brownbigb Maybe, but even old Blackmore had some of this scales in his repertoire. other players to.

  • @gillan5 what scales are you talking about?

  • @gillan5

    That u talking about might be metal...

    Alvin Lee is Rock

  • I also TYA many times in the L.A. area.

    At the Rose Palace TYA filled in for Mayalls band

    since they couldn;t make the show on time. A double dose of Alvin Lee...always good.

  • Which song does he play before sunshine of your love?

  • That sounds like "Bitch" by the Rolling Stones

  • does alvin use that riff that starts at :20 in any of his songs ? id like to play that on guitar sounds cool

  • Que grande guitarrista es!

  • yes Alvin Lee is one of the few living legends that just gets better with age ( like leslie west as well)

    hes fantastic and always was..

    One of my big influences as a guitarist.

  • This man is awsome! He plays brilliantly and his tone is amazing. How come I've never heard of him untill today.....

  • Saw TYA at the Fillmore East in Aug. 1968 !!!!

  • think I saw TYA more than any other band at the Fillmore, though Mayall runs a close second. those were incredible nights.

  • Exactly. He was the real thing back in the day and he 's only gotten better.

  • this is the real ten years after! hes got riffs i still cant figure out. Amazing.

    This is the blues!

    Hot rod blues!

    love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • first saw TYA in 1973 in Rome

  • AlvinLee "is" AN Original ! He's one of the most" Vibrant Cleanest Guitarist " ever:He will change Horses in a Blink and know where he 's taking you so hold tight/ Theres No need for comparisons,He has always been Highly respected /I feel players now are in his shadow/ HE is The Light -Bros.

  • Wow, he sure hasn't lost much! I was lucky enough to see Ten Years After in 69' at the Aragon in Chicago. I loved TYA from the first time I heard "Undead". One of the first 'mouth agape" guitarists I ever heard. TY Alvin Lee.

  • alvin in an earlier time was noted bounty hunter johnny rainwater -texas-1873-1877-23 tried him and not one of them made to 1878-fasted man with a 45 long colt-and now rock and roll fastest hands

  • One of the best guitarists to come from Clifton Nottingham England. The other is Richie Dury front man of Tightrope.

  • Holy shit!! I've never seen anything like it. I guess it's safe to say he got better with age.

  • at about 2:11 it most have been atlest 6 fingers on his left hand :)

  • 1stevie ray

    2 alvin lee

    3...mmm... any other lol

  • I love Alvin's playing. I saw him on the Detroit Diesel tour. He was fantastic.  I started playing guitar because of him.

  • anyone has this video with stereo sound??????????

    Alvin ROCKSSS

  • Woodstock c'était bon, mais ça a 40 ans

    Les démonstration de guitare ça soule! démodé!!

  • donde puedo bajar este dvd?? alvin lee uuuu yeah! TYA mucho maestro

  • check my riffs

  • Sure, he stays a lot in the pentatonic box. But search for Woodchopper's ball by ten years after and you'll see something.

  • ....what the hell !!!!!!

  • respect

  • what country is he from??

  • England

  • He is fucking Hot!

  • I like he ~ 30 yrs ago. Thanks for share!

  • Yeahh..I didn't really mean it in a bad way. LOTS of guitar players from that era did most of their playing out of the pentatonic scale. So did Stevie Ray for that matter. Alvin Lee was THE reason I bought my first ES-335!

  • with Kahler tremolo arm and nut lock for good measure!

  • Another story comes to mind: I was on a TYA concert in Germany back in the 70s, and when I left the venue accidentally through an unofficial back exit there was Alvin's peace-logo Gibson 335 on a guitar stand right next to the exit door... unattended! What a temptation. Security was not very tight back then. No need to tell I resisted.

  • The problem here is that he's playing his same (great) licks as 40 years ago, but on a some sort of modern amp with way too much distortion and muddiness. When we heard the TYA Live Album "Undead" back then, we thought that his sound was really distorted, but if you compare it to today's standards it is really quite clean with just a hint of overdrive. maybe there's a lesson for guitarists to be learned here....

  • FIRE

  • should NOT be repetitive Faste?

    Repetition builds tension - I don't get your point. Great guitar!

  • HOLY PENTATONIC, BATMAN !!!

  • "HOLY PENTATONIC, BATMAN !!!" Dude, that's one of the best comments ever! I like Alvin, but he doesn't really stray from that scale, does he? Maybe he needs to go to Gotham City and find some new scales!

  • your a fag

  • Peddant..you dont know zilch....Alvin Lee is one of the all time greatest guitarist ever, untill you heard all his stuff, you aint worthy to comment on his musical talent..

  • @Bree3e Very hard for any band to keep up with him! The bass player is totally lost. Lee's music is incredible!

  • Fuckin' BADASS!

  • This clip deserves a sixth star, in my opinion. What a great guitarist..

  • since I have a neuro disease I can't play like Alvin,but in my next life Im coming back to play.Great stuff.

  • hahaha 0.50, the bass players loving it

  • cant believe i just found this! i remember watching this az a kid on a sat nite!

  • Alvin Lee has forgot more than most aspire too. The Absolute Scale Master.....

  • ho...ly...sh...it.....

  • alvin was one of my biggest influences growing up

    he was an inspiration

    talking of which, check out my new music channel! brand new, and i have videos already up, and for inspiring me to play guitar i have to thank Alvin, Richie Blackmore and Eric Clapton

  • the beast!

  • is this skoobly-oobly-doo-bop?

  • YOU FUCKING ROCK.. sorry my inner self needed to get that out. WOW so fucking awesome shredddddddddddd

  • All I know is right now in my cd player are 2 mountain cds with leslie west and a best of fron my man alvin lee and ten years after. with either of these guys if you hear it you know who it is.

  • I thought Alvin was so cool in the "WoodStock" documentary, easily the fastest guitarist there...but yeah...he lacked something...soul?...don't know, but I know one thing...he brought a smile to my face when I watched this video.

  • All you pinheads are always argueing about whos better.They are all good,it's just a matter of personal preference,and opinion.I personally think Walter Trout blows them all away.Alvin comes close,and hendrix died before he really had a chance to grow and keep writing,same with Rory.There are a lot of great guitarists,Joe Bonamassa,Gary Hoey,Roy Buchanan,Leslie West,Rik Emmit,Steve Vie,and a bunch more,it all is opinion,everyone has one,and everyone thinks theirs is right.

  • ah no cabe duda, es por lo menos d elo 5 mejores!!!

    come eso jimmy hendrix

  • the question was "what does Clapton think..." not what do YOU think?

  • rory gallagher is fast????!!! are you kidding, listen to Greg Howe or Guthrie Govan my friend. And what about Danny Gatton, one of tthe old guys, man those were awsome players. Eric gets boring with his pentatonic up and down blurring. Man it's a fact

  • Rory Gallagher mightn't have been the fastest thjere ever was but I'd listen to him over guthrie govan any day. It ain't al about speed my friend. My opinion is that too many guitar players these days treat it as a sport rather than an art. Really its about the music.

  • and who sad that eric plays slow?? well often but he plays fast to in some solos, the thing is that he plays boring no matter if he plays faast or slow. boring sequenzes, boring phrasing, boring scales I mean boring SCALE, boring chords, power chord power chord and again power chord. Don't get me wrong, i like eric's music, great songwriter but uninteresting guitarist

  • nice posts joe i once saw peter green doing the business and he was so fast it was blurry

    live

  • ...wonder what clapton thinks of alvin?...

  • clapton is shit compared ro alvins skills on the guitar

  • saying clapton is "shit" compared to alvin suggests a closed mind and an inability to think both critically and maturely. i saw both guitarist when they first arrived in the us. lee is/was a musical gymnast whereas clapton conveys melody and feeling in his guitaring while lee is a bit sterile - fast and great, but lacking in spiritual resonance. if speed is your need, listen to rory gallagher

  • that eric plays with feeling is the worst argument I have ever heard as I professional guitarplayer. That Eric plays with feeling is no excuse that he is a low skilled guitarplayer in technical way. Well, to me Eric is more a great songwriter than a guitarist. As a guitarist he is way to overrated. the most overrated guitarplayer in human history. and who sad that playing fast and virtuos means that you play without feeling?? feeling is relativ and can not be defined

  • Awesome post! Godamn, I love the old school muscle- wicked picking attacks and pentatonic shreds! Alvin is a killer player, and he stakes his claim right up there with the greats like Jimi, Jeff, and Jimmy!

  • I guess it's all relative when it comes to who the best guitar player is. Chances are the one you think is the best is probably the one you like the best, style, persona, etc. I play some guitar but never got anywhere. But my ability to play guitar has help me to enjoy the great guitar players in the world and appreciate the unique talent they have. I'd be a happy man if I can play like Alvin Lee.

  • Maybe one can like other guitarists, but it's inevitable that Alvin Lee is a superb virtuoso. Up to now I can't think of anybody else who could equal Alvin Lee. Of course there are also other players that I admire, but they operate in another field, Elmore James, Robert Johnson, Memphis Minnie were all fantastic players with their own recognisable styles just like Alvin Lee, Keb Mo, Thorogood, Trout etc..

  • that is some skill ... speed with melody is ... spectacular! any guitarist's dream!

  • Hendrix wasn't worthy of wiping Alvin lee's ass.

  • phenominal..im 19, and my dad talks about him being the greatest guitarist around when he was growin up..more people listened to tya than hendrix

  • Sloppy but still good. His playing has charm.

  • Got it, jazz doesn't 'get' rock, your name says it all.

  • Coltrane is my sir name. Well worked out Colombo.

  • You mean 'sur' name, right Watson? :)