Greater than a half-century in the past, Ten Years After sat on the vanguard of British FM rock, mixing blues boogies with the solos of guitar star Alvin Lee. A vital a part of the band’s assault got here from bassist/producer Leo Lyons, whose steamroller strains fueled the Woodstock show-stopper “I’m Going Residence.”

Right this moment, the 80-year-old Lyons remains to be on the highway, main the group Hundred Seventy Cut up with guitar ace Joe Gooch, and selling a brand new album, Movin’ On.

 All through Movin’ On, you actually let Joe off the leash as a singer and guitarist.
You’ve hit the nail on the top. He’s an awesome participant and vocalist and, in my view, not even reached his full potential. As a producer, I would like guitar solos to be memorable, and Joe understands that idea. He’s inventive with solos and has an awesome really feel for a melody. I take no credit score for that; if the ship’s crusing on the suitable course, I don’t seize the wheel.

He takes a scorching solo on “Black River.” How do you utilize your bass to make the soloist shine.
I needed to precise the temper I felt in regards to the track, so the bass elements throughout his solo passages are an improvisation over the vocal melody. I sang “Black River” in my head while preserving my bass strains in sync with the drums. Drummer Damon Sawyer and I’ve constructed a stable musical partnership over the previous 11 years.

What gear did you utilize on Movin’ On?
On most songs, I used my Bass Centre Woodstock signature bass, although I used a semi-hollow Warwick Star on a number of. My strings are roundwound Bass Centre Elites, and other than a few tracks, I used a Kemper amplifier modeling my three favourite rigs – a Gallien-Krueger 1000RB, a Genz Benz GBE 1200, and a Warwick LWA 1000.

While you performed with Alvin Lee in The Jaybirds, earlier than Ten Years After, was he already a fiery guitarist?
Alvin and I started enjoying collectively in late 1959 or 1960, in a band referred to as the Atomites; he joined a few week after I did. He was a superb participant and a musical magpie; he may hearken to a document and study the guitar elements in a short time.

We each significantly appreciated Chuck Berry and the early Elvis information minimize at Solar Studios. Alvin pretended to be Scotty Moore and I pretended to be Invoice Black, who was an enormous affect on me. I attempted to emulate Invoice’s sound and magnificence by plucking the strings and hitting the fingerboard in a sure method.

What was Alvin like as a guitarist?
I’d say he was an thrilling participant and an awesome showman, in addition to most likely the quickest and most-impressive rock guitarist of his day. By his personal admission, he was self-taught and performed intuitively; Alvin as soon as stated, “I play from the hip like a gunslinger.” We’d start enjoying a track and it will take us off on a musical journey that usually ended up as a duel between bass and guitar.

What’s the important historical past of the ’62 Jazz you performed at Woodstock?
We’d performed a gig in Norfolk, and to my shock the man within the native help band had a Jazz Bass. We agreed to a swap – my Precision and £15 for his Jazz. The man was Ian Hunter, who went on to kind Mott The Hoople, and he nonetheless has that 1960 P Bass.

The Jazz has been with me since then, and most of the people bear in mind it from the Woodstock film. Even Jimi Hendrix performed it, and it’s been used on the information I produced, together with UFO. Lately, it’s too precious to tour with, so I hold it locked up, introduced out for particular events.

There’s additionally a 1955 Precision you discovered with Billy Gibbons.
This was earlier than ZZ High was well-known, someday round 1969/’70, in the midst of a U.S. tour. I visited a pawn store in Houston with Billy and Dusty Hill, and there was this ’55 Precision within the window. The neck appeared post-1955, however a Fender knowledgeable advised me that at Fullerton they had been mixing and matching elements. There’s a movie someplace of me enjoying it on the 1970 Isle of Wight Pageant. I gave it to my son, Tom, a number of years in the past, as he appreciated it a lot.

What retains you going after 60 years as an expert bassist?
I’ve thought of retiring many instances, however I’m a musician, and I simply can’t assist choosing up my bass one final time. Music is a strong drug, and I like what I do.

This text initially appeared in VG’s January 2024 challenge. All copyrights are by the writer and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.