Over under sideways down (The Yradbirds) (LP 4630 - 4632)

The Yardbirds  Roger the Engineer (CD, Mushroom Records, 1966, reissue 1995) ****  

The Yardbirds  The Very Best of The Yardbirds (CD, Union Square Music, 2005) **** 

The Yardbirds  The Best of The Yardbirds - Shapes of Things (2CD, Music Club Deluxe, 2010) **** 

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, second bookshop in Waipukerau)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Happenings Ten Years Time Ago

Gear costume: The Nazz Are Blue

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I've previously included a post on my four Yardbirds singles, now it's time to feature their albums, but that's tricky.

Given the revolving door of genius guitarists (Clapton > Beck > Page) the idea of being a stable band is a luxury the band never had. The other problems were: starting with a live album (Five Live Yardbirds); having albums released in America but not the UK (For Your Love and Having a Rave Up); not having a Lennon/McCartney type writing presence; plus having a string of hit singles! But that was the early sixties for you!

All that said, The Yardbirds occupy a special place in rock history. Simply put - no one sounded like their unique blend of the blues, R&B and pop smarts.

The Yardbirds band members: Chris Dreja (rhythm guitar, bass), passed away last year; vocalist/harmonica player Keith Relf passed away in 1976; while Paul Samwell-Smith (bass) and Jim McCarty (drums) are still alive and well. Of the famous guitar trio - Jeff Beck passed away in 2023; Eric and Jimmy are still going strong.

Roger the Engineer (A.K.A. Yardbirds; A.K.A. Over Under Sideways Down) is their 1966 album that sounds like it was recorded yesterday (or 1977). It is a superb amalgam of all their talents (Jeff Beck being the guitarist du jour). It contains all original material which is often forgotten, and while being a bit inconsistent, it is still their best album.

Aside from Roger the other two albums are, more or less, essential compilations. The Very Best of The Yardbirds takes a largely chronological approach (Stroll On from Blow Up is tagged onto the end - no complaints - I love that song and film), Therefore, it includes amongst its 20 songs a number of early live tracks, belters like Train Kept A Rollin', For Your Love and Jeff's Blues, but also contains the terrible Hang on Sloopy.

The Best of The Yardbirds - Shapes of Things doubles the song count over its 2CD format. That expansion obviously gives a fuller picture of the band and as it largely ignores the live tracks, the two CD compilations work well together.

Where do they all belong? Under Jimmy Page's stewardship, the band would eventually become The New Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin, and so it's great to see the progression to that seminal band via these albums.