…were deep into the thick of ’70s arena rock, so everything they played
on-stage wound up stretching well beyond the five-minute mark, sometimes
reaching upward of 11 minutes. Everything on this double-LP places
improvisation over groove — a sentiment that is accentuated on the 2013
expansion, which winds up running 21 tracks over two discs, adding bonus
outtakes to the original double-LP set. The best parts here are the
improvisations, particularly Alvin Lee’s long, languid guitar solos, but
this album — either in its original incarnation or in its expansion —
is a distinctly ’70s creation: it’s unhurried and indulgent, reveling in
its slow, steady march to a virtuosic, never-ending guitar solo.
