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.

Yardbirds "Jeff's Boogie"

Jeff Beck joined the Yardbirds in March of 1965. Over the next 21 months he recorded a scant two dozen released tracks. Nevertheless, that was enough to turn the Yardbirds into one of the most important bands of the 60’s. The period with Clapton established the group as a great live act. With a substantial hit on the charts and the more cooperative Beck in the lineup, the Yardbirds embarked on a two year run of hits which did much to turn the music world on its ear. The effects are still felt today.

Heart Full Of Soul/Steeled Blues
Columbia DB 7594 Released June 4, 1965

A single and an EP were recorded in quick succession during the first weeks after Beck joined. The Yardbirds again tapped the song writing talents of Graham Gouldman for the A-side, Heart Full Of Soul. The original idea was to have a sitar play the main riff, but this was quickly abandon, and Beck reminded them why he was hired. The intro riff sizzles in Beck’s hands, and the slide guitar solo shows his keen sense of melody. The flip, Steeled Blues, shows how advanced Beck’s playing was when he joined the band. He’d already made a name as a guitar slinger, fronting the popular live act, The Tridents.

The Crescents with Jeff Beck "Pink Dominoes"

Five Yardbirds EP
Columbia SEG 8421 Released August 6, 1965

More Jeff Beck flash is heard on the Five Yardbirds EP. My Girl Sloopy seems like an odd choice, but it was a proven hit in the States, so it probably seemed like a good idea. Mose Allison’s I’m Not Talking is taken at breakneck speed. The mad solo is light years beyond anything Clapton had done to that point. There is probably more than a little bit of Les Paul influence, but it’s cranked up to 11. Ain’t Done Wrong is a Keith Relf rewrite of the Elmore James number Done Nobody Wrong. The song is played with a bit of aggression, and then it gets to the machine gun middle section. They change gears again for a stunning solo. Beck has already been pealing off blues licks through the verses. He switches to a moody slide figure as the song winds down. These three songs would appear on the US only album, For Your Love.

Evil Hearted You/Still I'm Sad
Columbia DB 7706 Released October 1, 1965

Once again, the Yardbirds recorded a Graham Gouldman song for the A side of the new single. An innovative original, Still I’m Sad graces the B-side, though it receives plenty of airplay. Evil Hearted You doesn’t stray too far from the formula. A good riff a double time bridge and a hot guitar solo. Listen for the lick Beck plays midway through the bridge. Where did that come from? The Gregorian Chant influenced Still I’m Sad was often copied, but never equaled. These two sides lay the cornerstone for everything psychedelic that would follow. In the States, 100,000 garage bands would attempt to capture the fuzzed out eastern sounds of the Yardbirds.

I'm A Man/Still I'm Sad
Epic 5-9857 Released October 11, 1965

A studio version of I’m A Man replaces Evil Hearted You as the A-side of the fall release for the US market. The basic track had been recorded a month earlier at the famous Chess Studio. A live version with Clapton had appeared on the Five Live album. The single version frees Beck from any “pop song” limitations. Any sense of melody is replaced by aggression and violence. It’s easy to see why the Yardbirds were big favorites of the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol. The San Jose band Count V would borrow most of the arrangement for their own hit single Psychotic Reaction. 1966 was a banner year for the Yardbirds.



Shapes Of Things/You're A Better Man Than I
Columbia DB 7848 Released February 25, 1966

 The release of Shapes Of Things in February was the first shot in what would become a devastating barrage by the end of the year. For the first time, the A-side was a band original. The strong “state of the world” lyrics probably owed a little to Bob Dylan. The previous singles were far heavier than their pop tunesmith origins, but this one was downright brutal. When the guitar solo kicks in, all bets are off. The UK B-side, You’re A Better Man Than I had already been released in the US three months earlier on the Having A Rave Up album. This American only release gathered together four UK single sides, four Clapton era recordings from Five Live, a killer version of Train Kept A Rolling and the studio version of I’m A Man. The last two never got an official UK release during the bands existence.



Shapes Of Things/New York City Blues
Epic 5-10006 Released March 28, 1966

 Again in the US we got an exclusive track for the single B-side. New York City Blues is a rewrite of Eddie Boyd’s Five Long Years, which had was also on Five Live. One only has to compare this blistering performance with the more subdued live recording to see how far they’d come with Jeff Beck in the band.

Over Under Sideways Down/Jeff's Boogie
Columbia DB 7928 Released May 27, 1966

The follow up was released just three months later. A reminder of how productive bands were expected to be in the 60’s. Over Under Sideways Down wasn’t as revolutionary as Shapes, but it was plenty exciting and keep the band on the charts. Over Under is in fact based on the rock classic Rock Around The Clock. The album track, Jeff’s Boogie was picked for the B-side in both the UK and US. This is an amped up version of Arthur Smith’s Guitar Boogie and something Beck probably still plays live.

The second Yardbirds album, and the only one Beck was involved in, was released shortly after. In the US the single became the title track. It wasn’t included on the UK release, simply title “Yardbirds”. Epic saw fit to drop two songs along the way; a Slim Harpo rewrite, Rack My Mind and the Elmore James inspired Jeff Beck feature, The Nazz Are Blue.

The Yardbirds - "Dust My Broom" Live On The BBC

Historical Note: On August 30th, 1966, just four weeks after the Over Under Sideways Down album was released in the US, I went to see the Yardbirds for the first time. Before the tour started, it was announced that Paul Samwell-Smith had left the band and session guitarist Jimmy Page would be stepping in as bassist. Just before the curtains parted at the San Jose Civic Auditorium, the promoter came out and announced “Jeff Beck, the bass player is ill, but the band will perform as a four piece”. We’d heard a few warm up notes from an unseen guitar that had sounded an awful lot like Beck. There wasn’t time for disappointment as the curtains parted and we were hit with the most amazing sounds I’d ever heard. The look of the band was unlike anything I’d seen on stage up to this point. It was a 22 year old Jimmy Page armed with Beck’s sunburst Les Paul and a double stack of Jordan amps that was responsible for the incredible guitar. I seem to remember a fair number of the hits being played, including some from the new album. Lost Woman was a highlight. Also played were Scratch My Back and The Stumble. Opening the show were the E-Types and Chocolate Watchband. When I saw the Watchband a few months later, they played the Stumble, and Dave Aquilar quoted Keith Relf as he introduced Mark Loomis as “Jimmy Page”. Several years ago, Sundaze released a live E-Types album. The photo on the front cover was taken at the Yardbirds show. If you look close, you can clearly see the back of my head, and my groovy checked mod shirt. The tour was completed as a four piece.

Happenings Ten Years Time Ago/Nazz Are Blue
Epic 5-10094 Released October 31, 1966

Beck did rejoin the band in the September and recorded the third 1966 single release, Happenings Ten Years Time Ago. Most will agree, this was the pinnacle of the Yardbirds recorded output. Beck and Page trade licks through the verse, and then meet up for the explosion in the middle section. Even today, this record carries the same impact. The UK B-side Psycho Daises promised more than it actually delivers. Jeff Beck’s tribute to his girlfriend Mary Hughes, sounds like a throwaway recorded to make Jeff happy. In the States we got the missing album track Nazz Are Blue. This song turned out to be very influential. Two bands named themselves after it, Todd Rundgren’s Nazz, and a band from Arizona which became Alice Cooper. There are plenty of garage band cover versions. The Chocolate Watchband’s rewrote it as Sitting Here Standing for the Riot On Sunset Strip sound track. At the end of the US tour in December 1966, it was announced Jeff Beck was leaving the Yardbirds to form his own group.

Yardbirds "Got To Hurry"

In their brief career, the Yardbirds made some of the most innovative records of the era. Yet the Yardbirds discography is in fact pretty slim compared to most of their contemporaries. During their existence, only three albums were released. One of those was not even released in the UK. Epic Records managed to assemble four albums, while Columbia/EMI only saw fit to release two. Eric Clapton wasn't even credited on either of the US albums he appeared on. It wasn't until he had joined up with John Mayall that any us press bothered to mention he'd been in the Yardbirds.

The contractual mess that dogged the Yarbirds career is also responsible for the complicated release situation. Giorgio Gomelsky, the band's original manager produced the first records, but was eventually ousted and replaced by Simon Napier-Bell and then Micky Most. Bassist, Paul Samwell-Smith also sat in the producer’s chair as well. Napier-Bell and Micky Most were only concerned with producing hits, and had little interest in the band’s own ideas. The Yardbirds weren’t the most prolific writers and always looked to outside material or resorted to rewrites of blues standards. In the early 70’s a handful of Gomelsky era demos surfaced and have remained in circulation since. Most of the catalog has been endlessly repackaged in various compilations, often of dubious origin. These shoddy packages have done little to further the bands legacy. The most reliable source for the authentic recordings is still the original UK vinyl releases, the two albums and singles released between 1964 and 1968. The mono editions of the first three US albums and the Greatest Hits collection also offer a fairly complete collection of recordings and add a few US only releases. Surprisingly, the best served material is the Jimmy Page era.



I Wish You Would/Certain Girl
Columbia DB 7823 Released May 1 1964

 British beat and r&b bands did a good job of searching out choice tunes to cover. There were plenty of Bo Diddly tunes to go around for everyone. For their debut 45, The Yardbirds chose to cover the Billy Boy Arnold tune, I Wish You Would. You get a taste of their signature "rave up" style on this solid cut. An alternate version appeared in the early 70's compilation Remember The Yardbirds. The single verison is more focused and a better indication of things to come. The B-side, A Certain Girl comes from the pen of Allen Toussaint, though it's credited to Naomi Neville, one of his writing pseudonyms. The original version was recorded by New Orleans great, Ernie K-Doe. Clapton gets a ripping solo on this one. Both tracks appear on the US only For Your Love album.

Good Morning Little School Girl/I Ain't Got You
 Columbia DB 7391 Released October 30 1964

The Yardbirds chose a song titled Good Morning Little School Girl for their second single release, though it’s not the familiar Sonny Boy Williamson tune, but rather a cover of the 1961 Don & Bob hit of the same name. Like A Certain Girl, this is not a pure blues number, but rather a rockin’ dance tune. Clapton sings on the version which appears on Five Live. The flip side, I Ain’t Got You, is the first Yarbirds recording that fulfills the promise of this band. Clapton again cranks it up for the solo and plays with real fire.

On the heels of this release, the band records a live album which attempts to capture their stage sound. A story has been told that after playing a blistering set, Paul Samwell-Smith managed to erase the tape while attempting to listen to the playback. The album is probably a fair representation of the band at the time. Three more contemporary recordings have surfaced since, but Five Live remains the best document.

Yardbirds - "Let It Rock" Live 1963

For Your Love/Got To Hurry
Columbia DB 7499 Released March 5, 1965

When the Yardbirds returned to the studio at the beginning of 1965, there was a certain amount of pressure to produce a hit. Eric Clapton lobbied for a cover of an Otis Redding song, but was overruled, and For Your Love was chosen as the next A-side. Despite Clapton’s protests, this was a wise decision, and proved to be the breakthrough hit the band was looking for; four of them anyway. The flip side was Clapton’s send off and the key to his future. Got To Hurry is just a shuffle, with a killer guitar solo over the whole track. The band sounds relaxed and grooving, something they didn’t always master. John Mayall apparently heard this in a motorway café and knew straight away the hapless Roger Dean was out of a gig.