THE YARDBIRDS: Before There Was A Zeppelin

THE YARDBIRDS: Before There Was A Zeppelin

Dave DiMartino

Probably no other band shaped rock ’n’ roll as-we-know-it in the way the Yardbirds did. The band’s contemporaries—and remember, in 1963, when the Yardbirds formed, “contemporaries” meant the likes of the Beatles, Stones, Who and Kinks—for the most part, they’ve all received the credit due them. And the Yardbirds... well, they’ve sort of faded from the picture, these days. Historical artifacts and all that. Nice, but not particularly memorable.

Think about it. Beatle albums? Stones albums? Who albums? You want ’em? Go to the record store and buy ’em, friend, because they’re all still in print, even the ones almost 20 years old. Not all the Kinks albums, true, but then that’s another sad story entirely. Just consider this: in 1980, a measly two Yardbirds albums are available in this country—both reissues, and botched reissues at that. Two albums, and someone at Epic Records even managed to stick the same song (“I’m A Man”) on both of them.

Somehow, it figures.

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A bit of history: the Yardbirds formed just outside London in late 1963, when English kids spent their time in record shops, searching out the latest from Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King. Among those kids were Keith Relf, Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, and Anthony “Top” Topham, Five Live Yardbirds who managed to get even livelier when Eric

“Slowhand” Clapton joined in, replacing the wandering Topham, who ended up backing Christine Perfect and then fading into thin air.

And these Yardbirds made a hell of a name for themselves, playing and reshaping the work of the American bluesmen they listened to until they created a music almost entirely their own. The “rave up”: Keith Relf, alternately singing and playing harmonica; “Slowhand” Clapton, building the legend, on electric guitar; Chris Dreja on rhythm guitar; Paul Samwell-Smith on bass; and Jim McCarty, drummer and

fledgling songwriter who, years later, no longer fledged. Five Live Yardbirds who recorded Five Live Yardbirds, a debut LP that just happened to be live and just happens to be one of the most exciting albums of the 60’s. That it was never released in its entirety in this country typifies Epic Records’ gross mishandling of the band; unfortunately, things were to get worse instead of better. Instead, four tracks from the Five Live set ended up on the second side of Having A Rave Up With The Yardbirds (Epic LN 24177/BN 26177), the second American Yardbirds LP. [Oddly enough, the remainder of Five Live, with some bonus overlapping, surfaced years »later on a 1975 Springboard Records f cheapo titled Eric Clapton And The » Yardbirds (SpringboardSPR-4036).]

Meanwhile, new guitarist Jeff Beck—recommended to the Yardbirds by guitarist and chum Jimmy Page, who himself had turned down an offer to replace Clapton— began to make history. With Beck, the Yardbirds took traditional blues roots and applied them toward the wholly untraditional: “Heart Full Of Soul,” another Gouldman track with that “far eastern” sound; “Over Under Sideways Down” with the most electrifying memorable guitar intro imaginable; and the now-standard “Shapes Of Things,” oozing with feedback and only a hint of what was to come. The Yardbirds-with-Beck period is probably best represented by Over Under Sideways Down (Epic LN 24210/BN 26210), the band’s third American album. Unfortunately, both “Rack My Mind” and “The Nazz Are Blue” (the latter with a rare Beck vocal), both present of the LP’s British counterpart, are nowhere to be found—again, an example of Epic’s piecemeal thinking.

But Eric Clapton never even managed to get his picture on any American Yardbirds album. Instead, the debut For Your Love LP (Epic LN 24167/BN 26167) displayed new guitarist Jeff Beck—seated, inappropriately enough, at a harpsichord of which he could play not a note. And, some say, it was the indirect presence of that very instrument that led to Clapton’s becoming an ex-Yardbird. With the band’s first major hit, Graham Gouldman’s“For Your Love,” the Yardbirds’ basic blues had developed into something considerably more sophisticated; so sophisticated, in fact, that Brian Auger ended up playing harpsichord on the track while a disgruntled Clapton found himself playing a meager dash of rhythm guitar. Displeased with the Yardbirds’ new “pop” direction, Clapton left for bluesier pastures—soon joining John Mayall, forming Cream and eventually Blind Faith, onward through a sit-in period with Delaney & Bonnie, the formation of Derek & The Dominoes, “Layla,” and, finally, a decade-long solo career that has made him a very rich man.

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Never a particularly stable individual, Jeff Beck suffered bouts of moodiness during his Yardbirds stint that often made him extremely difficult to work with. Some attributed it to a bike accident he’d suffered while a teenager, others called it a case of swollen ego, but—in either case—his tantrums and occasional walk-outs made a difficult situation even more strained. An added bit of stability came along when bassist Samwell-Smith decided to leave the band and pursue a career of studio production. The replacement? Jimmy Page, who’d known the band and the material for years—and whose years as an ace studio musician could provide the stability the Yardbirds greatly needed.

Once credited as having played on “50 to 90 % of the records released in Britain in the 1963-65 era” by a critic who’d obviously gotten carried away, Jimmy Page fit in perfectly. When the time came, Page gave up his new bass-playing duties to rhythm guitarist Dreja—and the rest became history. For a brief period, both Page and Beck played lead guitar in the Yardbirds and, historically, at least, it was a marriage made in heaven. Catch Michaelangelo Antonioni’s BlowUp and you’ll see. While David Hemmings makes a quick run through a British nightclub, onstage are the Yardbirds—with both Beck and Page. And though Page plays bass on the screen, the song itself—“Stroll On,” a reworking of “The Train Kept A-Rollin’ ’’—features Jimmy Page on guitar and remains the finest cut the Yardbirds ever committed to vinyl.

But it couldn’t last—and it didn’t. Only “Stroll On” and “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” featured both guitarists; ironically they’re probably the Yardbirds’ finest work. A third track, a quick B-side called “Psycho Daisies,” also features the Page/Beck duo—but here, unfortunately, Page plays only bass guitar. If you’re looking for the tracks, “Happenings” turned up on The Yardbirds Greatest Hits (Epic LN 24246/ BN 26246), “Stroll On” on the Blow-Up soundtrack (MGM E/SE-4447), and good luck on finding “Psycho Daisies.” A flipside of the “Happenings” 45 somewhere along the line, it occasionally pops up on good Yardbirds bootlegs, but remains one of the rarest Yardbirds tracks to be found.

In December 1966, Jetf Beck finally left the band—first forming the historic Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart, Ron Wood and Nicky Hopkins, then onto his “Rough andReady” group in ’71, then the abysmal Beck, Bogert & Appice, and, finally, Blow By Blow in 1975. With that album, Jeff Beck said goodbye to rock ’n’ roll and hasn’t been seen since. While Beck’s further experiments in “jazz fusion” continue to this day (his recent There And Back being the latest example of a good rock talent gone to waste), he’s gone from being the biggest fish in rock ’n’ roll’s pond to a minnow in a much larger and murkier one. It’s a shame.

Meanwhile, 1967 brought the last full-fledged Yardbirds LP, Little Games (Epic LN 24318/BN 26318). Here the once-mfghty Yardbirds roar was reduced to a pitiful squeak. Page & company tried their hardest to fashion a good album, but new producer Mickie Most’s stultifying concept of producing a “hit album” emerged with, at best, lukewarm results. While not quite as bad as Yardbirds historians have it, Little Games might have ended the Yardbirds legacy with considerably more dignity had Most not produced it. As it is, it’s an interesting precursor to Led Zeppelin: John Paul Jones provides string arrangements on the title track; “White Summer” is a variation of Zep’s soon-to-come “Black Mountain Side.” Like all the American Yardbirds albums, Little Games lacks thematic unity—but here the thrown-together quality is especially noticeable.

Things might have decently stopped here, but, naturally, they didn’t. A few more singles came, including versions of Manfred Mann’s “Ha. Ha Said The Clown ” Nilsson’s “Ten Little Indians,” and an abomination called “Goodnight Sweet Josephine.” Each suffered the same problems that bogged down Little Games, though “Josephine’”s B-side—the last official Yardbirds new release—was a hint of better days to come. Called “Think About It,” it was written by Jimmy Page—and oddity though it is, in its own way it’s a classic Yardbirds track.

As might be expected, this wasn’t the last we’d hear of the Yardbirds. When Led Zeppelin finally emerged, Epic suddenly remembered the volume of unavailable material in their vaults and rapidly went to work. Thus came The Yardbirds —Featuring Performances By Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page (Epic EG 30135), a two-LP set that purported to document the band’s brilliant career but ended up seeming a half-hearted attempt at making money as quickly and cheaply as possible.

The final word on the Yardbirds came with Live Yardbirds Featuring Jimmy Page (Epic E 30615), an LP recorded at New York’s Anderson Theatre in March, 1968. As flawed as the recording quality might have been, it was an interesting album that caught the band in mid-transition, on their way to becoming Jimmy Page’s Led Zeppelin. An historical highlight included Keith Relf singing “I’m Confused,” later to become Led Zep’s classic “Dazed And Confused.” In all, it was a worthwhile—though clearly mercenary—affair. Jimmy Page, however, felt otherwise, and through a series of legal procedures eventually forced Epic to pull it off the market, indirectly resulting in yet another Yardbirds collector’s item. Interestingly, the LP resurfaced years later as a Columbia Special Products reissue and was again pulled off the market. And whatever Jimmy Page wants, it says here, GOES.

And so ended the Yardbirds. Those interested in finding out more should seek out Golden Eggs (Berkley Records B2051) and More Golden Eggs (Berkley Records N61003), two high-quality bootlegs that include “Psycho Daisies” and other rarities, not to mention the odd Keith Relf single and Jimmy Page’s own 45 (1965’s “She Just Satisfies”). Meanwhile, Yardbirds Favorites (E 34490) and The Yardbirds Great Hits (PE 34491) remain available at record stores, shamefully the only Yardbirds titles currently in the Epic catalog.

To tie up loose ends: Keith Relf and Jim McCarty left the Yardbirds in mid-1968, eventually to form Renaissance in 1969. Both soon left, McCarty next showing up in Shoot and Relf in Armageddon. Both planned to reform the original Renaissance in 1976—until, very tragically, Keith Relf electrocuted himself while playing guitar at home. Soon after, the reformed Renaissance without Relf (calling themselves Illusion) released two albums and haven’t been heard from since. Paul Samwell-Smith went on to become a successful record producer, his best work probably being Murray Head’s Say It Ain’t So. Chris Dreja pursued a career in photography, shooting the back cover of the first Led Zep LP in 1968, then moving into a comfortable position at a London advertising agency.

And in the summer of 1968, Jimmy Page found Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham and decided that he’d better get on with it.