Sunday, February 17, 2008

Paleo-rock Sunday

Today's old rockers: Ten Years After, an English blues band fronted by Alvin Lee who was said to have - and perhaps still has - the fastest fingers in the west. This performance of "Goin' Home" was at Woodstock.



Ten Years After also recorded what may be, even if it was not so intended, the greatest conservative rock song of all time, "I'd Love to Change the World." The band never performed the song live, although here is a recent version by a reconstituted Ten Years After without Alvin Lee. Not quite the original, but not bad.

2 comments:

Mike Plaisted said...

"I'd love to change the world/But I don't know what to do/So I'm leaving it up to you"...how is taht a conservative song? Apathetic, certainly. I thought the guy was just stoned. Wait, you aren't saying...say, what were you guys smoking at the Lincoln Day dinner?

Anonymous said...

Probably pays to look at all the lyrics, then, which open with:

Everywhere is freaks and hairies
Dykes and fairies, tell me where is sanity
Tax the rich, feed the poor
Till there are no rich no more
Id love to change the world
But I dont know what to do
So Ill leave it up to you

Seems more sarcastic than apathetic: think you got all the answers? guess again.

But for whatever it's worth, I'd nominate The Who (meet the new boss, same as the old boss) for Mr. E's accolade. Or perhaps that one belongs in a subcategory, Greatest Libertarian Rock Song.