Ssssh
| Ssssh. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 September 1969[1] | |||
| Recorded | June 1969 | |||
| Studios | Morgan, London | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 32:44 | |||
| Label | Deram | |||
| Producers | Alvin Lee, Ten Years After | |||
| Ten Years After chronology | ||||
| ||||
Ssssh is the third studio album by the British blues rock band Ten Years After, released in 1969. The album peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200[2] and No. 4 on the UK charts.[citation needed]
Reception
[edit source]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Rolling Stone | (negative)[4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [5] |
| The Village Voice | B[6] |
In the band's native United Kingdom, the album spent 18 weeks in the top 100 of the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number four. In the United States, it reached number 20 on the Billboard 200, becoming the band's first album to enter the top 40 of the chart.[7] The Japanese first pressing LP (DL-16) was released on 10 January 1970 and peaked at number 42 on the Oricon LP Chart, which began compiling rankings that year.[8]
Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Jim Newsom awarded it four out of five stars, describing it as "a primer in British blues rock" that highlights Alvin Lee's flamboyant guitar playing and the band's driving rhythm section. He also noted that, as with many Ten Years After albums, the lyrics are unremarkable, but the music remains highly energetic.[3]
Eduardo Rivadavia of Ultimate Classic Rock praised the album as a significant step forward from the band's earlier work, arguing that it reduced much of the psychedelic aimlessness common at the time and established the more focused blues rock direction that would later become a defining characteristic of Ten Years After's sound.[9]
Track listing
[edit source]All songs composed by Alvin Lee, except where noted.
Side one
- "Bad Scene" – 3:20
- "Two Time Mama" – 2:05
- "Stoned Woman" – 3:25
- "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" (Sonny Boy Williamson) – 6:34
Side two
- "If You Should Love Me" – 5:25
- "I Don't Know That You Don't Know My Name" – 1:56
- "The Stomp" – 4:34
- "I Woke Up This Morning" – 5:25
Personnel
[edit source]Ten Years After
- Alvin Lee – guitar, vocals
- Leo Lyons – bass guitar
- Ric Lee – drums
- Chick Churchill – organ
Charts
[edit source]| Chart (1969–70) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] | 17 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[11] | 14 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] | 6 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[13] | 16 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts)[14] | 4 |
| US Billboard 200[15] | 20 |
Certifications
[edit source]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[16] | Gold | 50,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
[edit source]- ↑ "Album Reviews" (PDF). New Musical Express. 27 September 1969. p. 10. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ↑ "allmusic ((( Ssssh > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- 1 2 "Ssssh - Ten Years After". AllMusic.
- ↑ Gerson, Ben (18 October 1969). "Records". Rolling Stone (44). San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.: 42.
- ↑ Nathan Brackett; Christian David Hoard (2004). The new Rolling Stone album guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 807. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (11 December 1969). "Consumer Guide (5)". The Village Voice. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ↑ "Ten Years After Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- ↑ 『オリコンチャート・ブックLP編（昭和45年‐平成1年）』（オリジナルコンフィデンス／1990年／ISBN 4-87131-025-6）p.210
- ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo (30 August 2014). "45 Years Ago: Ten Years After Release 'Ssssh'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Loudwire Network. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
- ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Image 6087". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 15, 2025. [dead link]
- ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ten Years After – Ssssh." (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Ten Years After – Ssssh.". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 12/10/1969 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ "Ten Years After Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Ten Years After – Ssssh". Music Canada.
