I'd Love to Change the World
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| "I'd Love to Change the World" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Ten Years After | ||||
| from the album A Space in Time | ||||
| B-side | "Let the Sky Fall" | |||
| Released | September 1971[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:44 (album version) 3:11 (single edit) | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter | Alvin Lee | |||
| Producer | Chris Wright | |||
| Ten Years After singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"I'd Love to Change the World" is a song by the British blues rock band Ten Years After. Written by Alvin Lee, it is the lead single from the band's 1971 album A Space in Time. It is the band's only US Top 40 hit, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a top ten hit in Canada.[2]
The song was written and sung by Alvin Lee and features a folk-inspired chord pattern to support the melody. It discusses the confused state of the world, covering a wide variety of societal complaints, until it finally addresses the Vietnam War.[2]
Release and reception
"I'd Love to Change the World" was the band's highest charting single. It peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971.[3] When it was released, "I'd Love to Change the World" was a staple of both FM and AM radio, a rarity for the time.[citation needed]
Billy Walker of Sounds wrote that the "acoustic guitar, echoing vocals, and electric guitar build up the tempo with very good cool electric passages by Alvin [Lee], and while there's nothing new developing it's a very nice track".[4] Matthew Greenwald of Allmusic highlighted Lee's guitar work as the "most expressive—and most tasteful—electric guitar performance of his career", and added "if there is a single song that can describe the overall vibe of the counterculture in 1969/1970, this may very well be it. The band and Lee never quite matched the song's supple power in their later efforts, but this song is representation enough of their awesome artistry."[2]
Use in other media
The song was featured in the films Crossing the Bridge, Apollo 11, Slums of Beverly Hills, Outside Providence, Fahrenheit 9/11, Tropic Thunder, The Last Supper, Our Brand Is Crisis, This Is Not Berlin and Minamata.
The song was also used in the episodes "Robbed a Stoner Blind" of the NBC series My Name Is Earl, "The Break" of the CBC series Caught, "Six Feet" of the TBS series Wrecked, "The Protean (No. 36)" of the NBC series The Blacklist, "Returning Point" of the AMC series The Walking Dead: World Beyond and the episode "Panopticon" of the CBS series Person of Interest, and the Supernatural prequel The CW series The Winchesters "Pilot".
In Greece, the song was used in commercials from 2009 until 2012 by telecommunications company Cosmote.
The song was featured in season 3, episode 7 of the British TV series Britannia.
The song was featured in the trailer for Death by Lightning, a 2025 American historical drama produced by Netflix.[5]
Personnel
- Alvin Lee – guitar and vocals
- Leo Lyons – bass
- Ric Lee – drums
- Chick Churchill – keyboards
