A Space in Time

A Space in Time is the sixth studio album by the British blues rock band Ten Years After. It was released in August 1971 by Chrysalis Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in America. A departure in style from their previous albums, A Space in Time is less 'heavy' than previous albums and includes more acoustic guitar, perhaps influenced by the success of Led Zeppelin who were mixing acoustic songs with heavier numbers. It reached number 17 in the Billboard 200.[1]

Not to be confused with Spacetime or Space and Time.
A Space in Time
Studio album by
Ten Years After
ReleasedOctober 18, 1971 (1971-10-18)
StudioOlympic Studios, London
GenreRock
Length37:26
Label
ProducerChris Wright
Ten Years After chronology
Watt
(1970)		 A Space in Time
(1971)		 Alvin Lee and Company
(1972)

The third track on the album, "I'd Love to Change the World", is also their biggest hit. By combining a melodic acoustic chorus with challenging electric guitar riffs, they managed to produce a sound that hit number 10 in the charts in Canada and number 40 in the USA.[2] Although this was their biggest hit, they rarely played it live. "Baby Won't You Let Me Rock 'n' Roll You" also charted, peaking at number 61 in the USA,[2] and reaching number 54 in Canada.[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB–[5]
The Village VoiceB+[6]

Billy Walker gave the album a generally positive review in Sounds. He noted the atypically soft sound of songs such as "Over the Hill" and "Let the Sky Fall" and approved of this "unexpected but pleasing dimension to the overall feel of the album", while simultaneously praising "the old TYA excitement" of tracks such as "I'd Love to Change the World" and "Baby Won't You Let Me Rock 'n' Roll You". He particularly praised Alvin Lee's guitar work. However, he complained that a number of the tracks suffered from "lack of strength or projection of Alvin's voice" and concluded "Ten Years After are a far better live band than their albums suggest; they get over much more of their charisma and excitement that has a job surfacing on their recorded work."[7]

Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said the album is one "in which the rock heavy comes of age with his toughest, fullest, and most coherent album. I like it in a way, but it does lack a certain winning abandon, and I'm not crazy about the heavy's economic theories—fellow seems to believe that if you 'tax the rich to feed the poor' you soon run out of rich, with dire consequences."[5]

Track listing

All songs by Alvin Lee except "Uncle Jam", which was composed by C. Churchill, A. Lee, R. Lee and L. Lyons.

Side one
  1. "One of These Days" – 5:52
  2. "Here They Come" – 4:36
  3. "I'd Love to Change the World" – 3:44
  4. "Over the Hill" – 2:28
  5. "Baby Won't You Let Me Rock 'n' Roll You" – 2:16

Side two
  1. "Once There Was a Time" – 3:22
  2. "Let the Sky Fall" – 4:19
  3. "Hard Monkeys" – 3:10
  4. "I've Been There Too" – 5:44
  5. "Uncle Jam" – 1:57

Charts
Chart (1972) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 18
United States (Billboard 200) 17
Canada (RPM 100) 21[9]

Personnel

Credits
  • Recorded at Olympic Studios, London
  • Engineer – Chris Kimsey
  • String arrangement on Over the Hill by Del Newman
  • Front cover photograph – Ed Caraeff
  • Back cover photograph – Alvin Lee
  • Executive producer – Chris Wright

References

All song and personnel information gathered from the liner notes of the album A Space In Time (Copyright © 1971 by Chrysalis Records, Inc. F2 21001), as issued by Chrysalis Records in the U.S.

  1. A Space in Time USA chart history, Allmusic. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  2. Ten Years After USA chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  3. "RPM Top 100 Singles - March 4, 1972" (PDF).
  4. "A Space in Time - Ten Years After". Allmusic.
  5. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  6. Christgau, Robert (October 14, 1971). "Consumer Guide (19)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 14, 2013 – via robertchristgau.com.
  7. Walker, Billy (28 August 1971). "Ten Years After Today". Sounds. Spotlight Publications. p. 6.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 307. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "RPM Top 100 Albums - October 9, 1971" (PDF).
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