Yardbirds '68

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Yardbirds '68
Yardbirds '68.png
Compilation album by
the Yardbirds
ReleasedNovember 2017 (2017-11)
RecordedMarch–April 1968
VenueAnderson Theater, New York City
Studio Columbia Recording, New York City
Genre Hard rock, blues rock
Length65:45
Label JimmyPage.com
Producer Jimmy Page

Yardbirds '68 is a compilation album by English rock group the Yardbirds. [1] Recorded in 1968 in New York City when the group was a quartet with guitarist Jimmy Page, it includes live performances and demos. [2] Page produced the album, which was released in November 2017 on his own record label. [3] It was released as a double CD and LP record.

Contents

Recording and release

The tracks were recorded during the Yardbirds' last American tour in 1968; [4] the live recordings are from their performance at the Anderson Theater on 30 March and studio recordings are demos from sessions at Columbia Recording Studio in April. [5] Previously, the ten live tracks appeared on Live Yardbirds: Featuring Jimmy Page . [2] The album was issued by Epic Records in 1971, but was quickly withdrawn. [5] Most of the eight demos were included on the limited release Cumular Limit in 2000. [4] "Knowing That I'm Losing You" with vocals by Keith Relf, was pulled from Cumular Limit prior to release to avoid a lawsuit, [5] and is officially released for the first time on Yardbirds '68, although as an instrumental.

The live performance follows a typical Yardbirds' set list for the period and includes several of their best-known songs, including "The Train Kept A-Rollin'", "I'm a Man", "Shapes of Things", and "Over Under Sideways Down". [6] Ryan Reed of Rolling Stone noted that among the songs are three which carried over to Led Zeppelin: "Dazed and Confused", "White Summer", and "Knowing That I'm Losing You", which was later reworked as "Tangerine". [2]

All three surviving members of the 1968 lineup (Jim McCarty, Chris Dreja and Jimmy Page) participated in preparing the album [2] and issued a joint statement: "We thought this might be lost forever, but we’ve rediscovered it, re-mixed it. It’s of great historical importance. We’re delighted to see the release." [3]

Critical reception

In a review for Classic Rock magazine, Ian Fortnam gave the album four out of five stars. [6] While he has favourable comments on some of the demos, he notes "the main attraction here is the live set" that includes Yardbirds' standards and "Dazed and Confused". [6] He adds that the audio has a brighter, cleaner sound than the 1971 Epic album; however, the song introductions and banter (provided by singer Keith Relf) have been unfortunately removed. [6]

For the ten year anniversary edition of the Led Zeppelin biography, When Giants Walked the Earth , author Mick Wall commented on Yardbirds '68: "It's not overstating the case to describe this [album] as proto-Led Zeppelin ... it's all right there in New York in March 1968 [with] the sonic templates of 'Train Kept A-Rollin'', 'Dazed and Confused' and 'White Summer'". [7]

Track listing

Writer credits are from the album liner notes. [8] Running times (not included in the notes) are taken from the AllMusic album overview. [9]

Live at Anderson Theatre (CD/LP 1)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Train Kept A-Rollin'" Lois Mann, Tiny Bradshaw, Howard Kay3:05
2."Mr, You're a Better Man Than I" Mike Hugg, Brian Hugg5:05
3."Heart Full of Soul" Graham Gouldman 1:48
4."Dazed and Confused" Jimmy Page (inspired by Jake Holmes)6:07
5."My Baby" Jerry Ragovoy, Mort Shuman 2:50
6."Over Under Sideways Down" Chris Dreja, Keith Relf, Paul Samwell-Smith, Jeff Beck, Jim McCarty 2:17
7."Drinking Muddy Water"Dreja, Relf, Page, McCarty2:56
8."Shapes of Things"Relf, Samwell-Smith, McCarty2:30
9."White Summer"Page3:48
10."I'm a Man" (contains "Moanin' and Sobbin'")Ellas McDaniel a.k.a. Bo Diddley; Page, Dreja, Relf, McCarty10:19
Studio Sketches (CD/LP 2)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Avron Knows"Page, Relf, McCarty3:49
2."Spanish Blood" (instrumental with spoken verses by McCarty)Page, McCarty3:15
3."Knowing That I'm Losing You (Tangerine)" (instrumental)Page2:54
4."Taking a Hold On Me" (vocal by McCarty)Page, McCarty3:02
5."Drinking Muddy Water" (version two)Page, Dreja, Relf, McCarty2:49
6."My Baby"Ragovoy, Shuman2:59
7."Avron’s Eyes" (instrumental)Page2:56
8."Spanish Blood" (instrumental)Page, McCarty3:11

Personnel

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References

  1. ↑ "Jimmy Page-era Yardbirds album, featuring rare live and studio recordings from 1968 due in November". ABC News Radio . 25 August 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Reed, Ryan (25 August 2017). "The Yardbirds Prep Jimmy Page-Produced Double-LP Compilation". RollingStone.com . Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Yardbirds '68". JimmyPage.com. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 Clayson, Alan (2002). The Yardbirds. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. pp. 191–192. ISBN   0-87930-724-2.
  5. 1 2 3 Russo, Greg (2016). Yardbirds: The Ultimate Rave-Up (6th ed.). Floral Park, New York: Crossfire Publications. pp. 211, 104–106. ISBN   978-0-9791845-7-4.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Fortnam, Ian (28 December 2017). "The Yardbirds – Yardbirds '68 album review". Classic Rock . Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Wall, Mick (2019). When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin (1st illustrated revised ed.). New York City: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN   978-1250215604.
  8. ↑ Yardbirds '68 (Album notes). The Yardbirds. JimmyPage.com. 2017. JPRLPCD3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ↑ "Yardbirds '68 – Overview". AllMusic . Retrieved 22 December 2017.
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