The Yardbirds - The Clapton And Beck Years (2 CD)

As befits its title, this double album of classic Yardbirds material covers the Clapton and and Beck years on the respective discs. Those well-known names are accompanied by ever-presents Chris Dreja (rhythm guitar/bass) and Jim McCarty, who served from the band's 1963 beginnings to the split five years later. The other original Yardbird, vocalist Keith Relf, was electrocuted in 1976, while original bassist Paul Samwell-Smith became a record producer - Beverly Craven and Cat Stevens just two of his successes.

Eric Clapton replaced the band's first - and only unknown - guitarist, Top Topham, just in time to feature on their debut LP "Five Live Yardbirds", cut at London's Marquee Club in 1964. Compromising ten US blues numbers from the likes of Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf and Bo Diddley given a high-energy treatment, it's been acclaimed as one of the all-time classic concert albums and is present here in its entirety as tracks 7 to 16 of CD one.

In 1965, Clapton quit for the purist blues of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and Jeff Beck from the little-known London band Tridents arrived as his replacement. The hit singles he appeared on like "Heart Full Of Soul", the Eastern tinged "Still I'm Sad" and "Shapes Of Things" were classics of their kind and remain ageless staples of rock radio to this day. These three titles and their respective B-sides lead of our second disc, and are accompanied by such further collectable Yardbirds tracks as "The Train Kept A Rollin" from the cult movie Blow Up that also features Jimmy Page (the film showed him on bass, though he actually played guitar). /Excerpt from the liner notes by Michael Heatley

Album: The Clapton And Beck Years
Year: 2004
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:06 + 41:12
Size: 127,1 + 95,1 MB
Styles: R&B, blues, rock
Scans: Full

CD 1 - Five Live Yardbirds:
1. I Wish You Would (Single) (2:20)
2. A Certain Girl (Single) (2:19)
3. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Single) (2:47)
4. I Ain't Got You (Single) (2:01)
5. For Your Love (Single) (2:30)
6. Got To Hurry (Single) (2:36)
7. Too Much Monkey Business (2:59)
8. I Got Love If You Want It (2:33)
9. Smokestack Lightning (5:37)
10. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (2:36)
11. Respectable (5:27)
12. Five Long Years (5:09)
13. Pretty Girl (3:00)
14. Louise (3:36)
15. I'm A Man (4:26)
16. Here 'Tis (5:03)

CD 2 - Rave Up With The Yardbirds:
1. Heart Full Of Soul (2:29)
2. Steeled Blues (2:38)
3. Evil Hearted You (2:24)
4. Still I'm Sad (2:55)
5. Shapes Of Things (2:26)
6. You're A Better Man Than I (3:18)
7. The Train Kept A Rollin' (3:26)
8. Jeff's Blues (3:04)
9. What Do You Want (Instrumental) (3:12)
10. Boom Boom (2:26)
11. Talkin' Bout You (1:58)
12. I Ain't Done No Wrong (3:39)
13. You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover (2:57)
14. Who Do You Love (Live) (4:11)

The Clapton And Beck Years (2 CD) mc
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