Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Yardbirds "Think About It"

When Jeff Beck made his final departure from the Yardbirds, there didn’t seem to be much discussion about the future of the band. They were back in the studio three weeks later and then back to the US for more tour dates. 1967 should have been a big year for the Yardbirds. The West Coast was exploding with music, much of it influenced by the innovative sounds the Yardbirds had produced over the previous two years. Sadly they were eclipsed by these very same bands, and the new crop of British bands like Traffic, Cream, The Who and certainly Jimi Hendrix.
Jimmy Page suggests they bring in bit maker Micky Most to handle production. Most had done well for the Donovan, The Animals and Herman’s Hermits. The band had already attempted to record You Stole My Love with Paul Samwell-Smith at the helm. He wasn’t pleased to learn he’d be rerecording a song he’d already produced for the Mocking Birds. We wouldn’t hear the results until it appeared on the Little Games Sessions and then the short lived Cumular Limits.  
Little Games/Puzzles
Epic 5-19156 April 3, 1967
The Yardbirds first effort with Most was a fair size hit and not a half bad song. Little Games had a lot going for it; an aggressive beat, and interesting arrangement and some meaty guitar. Just months after Happenings Ten Years Time Ago, it seemed a serious step backwards. This was the only one of the last four singles they’d play live when I saw them. Live version can be heard on the BBC Sessions and the Stockholm broadcast. The B-side was a very good original powered by Page on 12 string guitar. It’s a shame Puzzles wasn’t added to the Little Games album. It might have helped.
Ha Ha Said The Clown/Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor
Epic 5-10204 July 17, 1967
Non- stop touring was the order of the day in 1967. Another single was released early in July. The Tony Hazzard tune, Ha Ha Said The Clown had been released as a single by Manfred Mann, who enjoyed chart action in the UK and Europe with it. I suppose Micky Most figured it hadn’t been heard in the US so why not give it to the Yardbirds. This novelty number might have suited Manfred Mann, but it didn’t help the Yardbirds declining stock. This time we didn’t even get a unique killer B-side. Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor would appear on the Little Games album three weeks later.  I do remember hearing Ha Ha Said The Clown as we drove up to SF to see the Yardbirds at the Fillmore. Needless to say, they didn’t play it that night.
Once again, the four piece Yardbirds played a fab show to a large enthusiastic audience. Richie Havens and James Cotton were also on the bill. Cotton with his authentic Chicago blues band made a strong impression. He had Sam Lay and Luther Tucker in his band that night. The real deal. The Yardbirds set was made up of the hits with several songs from Little Games added. The title track, White Summer, Drinking Muddy Water and Smile On Me were performed with plenty of enthusiasm.
Much has been said about the Little Games album good and bad. It’s been repackaged several times now. A mono release is being prepared for release as we speak.  In reality, the album suffered from extreme neglect on the part of the producer and the record labels. There are some good songs to be found. The only real dog is a cover of the old jug band number Stealing, Stealing. Smile On Me and the heavy psych piece Glimpses are standouts. The alternate version of the latter on the Little Games Sessions and More double CD is stunning. The rushed nature of the recording sessions and the brutal rough mixes left the album sounding flat. Not a good thing in a time when the album was the format to display your art. The shoddy cover didn’t help much either. EMI didn’t feel the need to release the album in the UK. Most of the material was remixed for the Sessions album, and a few other bits and pieces were gathered up to fill out two CDs. This rehabilitation has at least given the album a bit better sonic appeal. Serious fans will want to seek out the now out of print Cumular Limits which add a few more fragments from the final sessions. Sadly, no lost gems are to be found, it’s just the last efforts of a band whose time has run out.
Yardbirds - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago Live 1967
Taking a look at the landscape of that famous summer, it’s pretty clear that the Yardbirds are no longer considered the cutting edge. Montery Pop had taken place just a few weeks prior to this Fillmore gig. The only “old school” British Invasion band to perform at that historic event was Eric Burdon’s new Psychedelic Animals. In one weekend Hendrix and The Who had changed the game. Cream had also been invited to perform, but Robert Stigwood didn’t think it that important. There was no doubting Page’s musical abilities, but the Yardbird’s rhythm section was looking a little long in the tooth in the face of Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell and Jack Cassidy.

Ten Little Indians/Drinking Muddy Water
Epic 5-10248 October 16, 1967

Jimmy Page has said how much he disliked their next single. A song by Harry Nilsson looks like a good idea on paper, but the nursery rhyme lyrics of Ten Little Indians didn’t impress the band. Page made the most of it, layering bowed guitars and backwards echo. EMI didn’t bother releasing this one in the UK either.  The B-side was again taken from the Little Game album.
Goodnight Sweet Josephine/Think About It
Epic 5-10303 April 1, 1968
1968 saw the Yardbirds back in the US for another two and a half months of touring. One more single was recorded before the band hit the road. Another Tony Hazzard tune was selected, Goodnight Sweet Josephine. The results of the first attempt were not satisfactory, so Page went back and cut a new track with session musicians. The song was a lot like Ha Ha Said The Clown, only not as good. It’s the B-side that caused a stir. Think About It was classic Yardbirds and a hint of things to come.
Yardbirds - Think About It Live 1968
Yardbirds Fillmore Auditorium
May 1968
By the time the band left for what would be their last tour, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty had decided they wanted to move on to something different. Page knew exactly what he was going to do next. The show I saw in May 1968 was a blueprint for Led Zeppelin. Sadly the Live At The Anderson Theater album shows you very little of what was heard in the spring of 1968.  Dazed And Confused was a feature as were two long pieces which included Waiting For The Man, Hey Gyp, How Many More Years and Smokestack Lightning. When Page returned with Led Zep seven months later, it was a very similar set, with a version of For Your Love dedicated to Keith Relf.
Historical note:  The Jeff Beck Group made their famous Fillmore debut just a couple of weeks later.

2 comments:

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  2. Thanks for this Ronald. It is interesting how many commentators downplay the influence of the Page Yardbirds, no doubt largely as a result of the awful singles. However they continued to evolve and were obviously a great live band. Did you see them at the Fillmore in May 1968?

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