The Yardbirds - Live! Blueswailing July '64

Album: Live! Blueswailing July '64
Size: 72,5 MB
Time: 31:22
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2003
Styles: R&B/Rock
Art: Full

1. Someone To Love Me (2:17)
2. Too Much Monkey Business (3:07)
3. I Got Love If You Want It (4:15)
4. Smokestack Lightning (5:52)
5. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (3:36)
6. She Is So Respectable/Humpty Dumpty (5:31)
7. The Sky Is Crying (6:41)

This recently discovered seven-song set is an awe-inspiring live recording of the Yardbirds before their official debut, Five Live Yardbirds. As a document, it adds considerable weight to the band's early rep that has been passed into legend. It also rewrites history: this short set blows Five Live away both in terms of performance and sound quality. This is the second incarnation of the band, with Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, Keith Relf, Paul Samwell-Smith, and new guitarist Eric Clapton (who had replaced Andrew "Top" Topham). The music here roars, screams, howls, growls, and bleeds white-boy British blues; it is blistering in its raw intensity, with covers of Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business" and the standard "Smokestack Lightning."

The band's trademark "rave-up" antics are abundant here (check out "She's So Respectable"), and in the closer - one of the most startling rock versions of "The Sky Is Crying" on record - the listener gets the clearest picture yet of Clapton as an early and worthy guitar hero. His playing is so inspired and full of razor-sharp turnarounds and knotty arpeggios, one has to wonder what was left for him to accomplish even then. The energy here is crackling, dangerous, and woolly. Anyone interested in vintage garage or modern garage rock should check this out, as it rivals most of what comes out of today's "raw and raucous" scene as well. Indeed, history has been rewritten. /Thom Jurek, AllMusic

Live! Blueswailing July '64 mc
Live! Blueswailing July '64 gofile

---

The Yardbirds - Shapes Of Things (4 CD)

Album: Shapes Of Things
Size: 149,0+138,4+129,3+145,3 MB
Time: 64:31+59:50+55:53+62:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1991
Styles: Blues/R&B/Rock
Art: Full

CD 1:
1. Smokestack Lightning (6:50)
2. Let It Rock (2:18)
3. Honey In Your Hips (2:25)
4. I Wish You Would (5:54)
5. You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover (2:58)
6. Who Do You Love (4:11)
7. Bye Bye Bird (3:34)
8. Mr Downchild (4:00)
9. The River Rhine (5:23)
10. 23 Hours Too Long (5:08)
11. A Lost Care (2:13)
12. Pontiac Blues (3:49)
13. Take It Easy Baby (5:42)
14. Out On The Water Coast (3:08)
15. I Don't Care No More (3:48)
16. Western Arizona (3:04)

CD 2:
1. I'm Talkin' About You (1:58)
2. Boom Boom (2:26)
3. Honey In Your Hips (2:19)
4. Too Much Monkey Business (3:49)
5. Got Love If You Want It (2:43)
6. Smokestack Lightning (5:33)
7. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (2:50)
8. She's So Respectable (5:48)
9. Five Long Years (5:23)
10. Pretty Girl (3:34)
11. Louise (3:48)
12. I'm A Man (4:47)
13. Here 'Tis (5:23)
14. For Your Love (2:30)
15. I'm Not Talking (2:33)
16. I Ain't Got You (2:01)
17. Putty (In Your Hands) (2:16)

CD 3:
1. Got To Hurry (2:38)
2. I Ain't Done Wrong (3:41)
3. I Wish You Would (2:20)
4. A Certain Girl (2:20)
5. Sweet Music (2:35)
6. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (2:49)
7. My Girl Sloopy (5:39)
8. I'm A Man (2:39)
9. You're A Better Man Than I (3:20)
10. Evil Hearted You (2:27)
11. Still I'm Sad (3:00)
12. Heart Full Of Soul (2:31)
13. Train Kept A Rolling (3:27)
14. Smokestack Lightning (5:37)
15. Respectable (5:25)
16. Here 'Tis (5:19)

CD 4:
1. What Do You Want (3:06)
2. Jeff's Blues (3:04)
3. Like Jimmy Reed Again (3:00)
4. Someone To Love (Part 1) (2:24)
5. Shapes Of Things (2:26)
6. Steeled Blues (2:35)
7. Someone To Love (Part 2) (4:18)
8. New York City Blues (4:11)
9. Stroll On (2:44)
10. For RSG (4:03)
11. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Backing Track) (3:21)
12. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Backing Track + Harp) (3:04)
13. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Master) (2:56)
14. Heart Full Of Soul (Sitar Version) (1:56)
15. Heart Full Of Soul (Master) (2:30)
16. Chris' Number (2:40)
17. Pounds And Stomps (2:34)
18. Got To Hurry (Take 1 Backing Track) (0:53)
19. Got To Hurry (Take 2 Backing Track) (2:43)
20. Got To Hurry (Master) (2:35)
21. Without You (2:28)
22. Climbing Through (3:00)

Of the bands that rose from British blues and R&B scene of the 1960s, few were as influential and stylistically adventurous as the Yardbirds. The group started out as blues purists, but with time they blazed trails in experimental pop, psychedelia, and hard rock, as well as introducing three of the most celebrated British guitarists of the era: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page.

They pioneered what they called the "rave-up," enhancing their songs by adding intense, high-energy instrumental passages with frantic guitar and harmonica soloing, and while their recorded legacy was not especially large, few if any of their peers could match them for both power and originality. The 2001 collection Ultimate! Is a well-curated career overview, 1964's Five Live Yardbirds is a riveting document of their blues period, and 1966's Roger the Engineer captured them at the peak of their psychedelic era, and is arguably their best album. /Excerpt from biography by Mark Deming, AllMusic

From the booklet liner notes: The main purpose of this collection is to bring together the Yardbirds material recoded between 1963 and 1965 (or in few cases, 1966) and, where applicable, present them in a manner that reflects the original albums. Since the first two American Yardbirds albums were essentially compilations of previously released British material, some duplication occurs.

Basically, this CD-set covers the period when the Yardbirds were managed by Giorgio Gomelsky and with only a few exceptions contains all the material released during that time. The set also contains various out-takes and alternative versions, some of which had been released before, that were first brought together for the vinyl version.

(For personnel and recording details, see artwork included.)

Shapes Of Things (4 CD) Part 1 mc
Shapes Of Things (4 CD) Part 1 gofile

Shapes Of Things (4 CD) Part 2 mc
Shapes Of Things (4 CD) Part 2 gofile

---

Jeff Beck & The Yardbirds - Jeff's Blues

Size: 82,1 MB
Time: 34:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Chuckles (2:20)
02. Evil Hearted You (2:21)
03. I Ain't Done Wrong (3:39)
04. I Ain't Got You (1:59)
05. I'm A Man (2:38)
06. Jeff's Blues (3:02)
07. Mister, You're A Better Man Than I (3:56)
08. New York City Blues (4:13)
09. Shapes Of Things (2:24)
10. Someone To Love (2:22)
11. Steelin' (2:37)
12. What Do You Want (3:09)

Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He is one of the three noted guitarists to have played with the Yardbirds (the other two being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page). Beck also formed the Jeff Beck Group and with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, he formed Beck, Bogert & Appice.

Much of Beck's recorded output has been instrumental, with a focus on innovative sound, and his releases have spanned genres ranging from blues rock, hard rock, and an additional blend of guitar-rock and electronica. Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck has not established or maintained the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates. Beck appears on albums by Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Morrissey, Donovan, Diana Ross, Jon Bon Jovi, Malcolm McLaren, Kate Bush, Roger Waters, Stevie Wonder, Les Paul, Zucchero, Cyndi Lauper, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Stanley Clarke, Screaming Lord Sutch, ZZ Top, and Toots and the Maytals.

He was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and the magazine, upon whose cover Beck has appeared three times, has described him as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock". He is often called a "guitarist's guitarist". Beck has earned wide critical praise and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance six times and Best Pop Instrumental Performance once. In 2014 he received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Beck has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of The Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).

Jeff's Blues

---

VA - British Blues

Size: 200,7 MB
Time: 85:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: British Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01 The Yardbirds - Drinking Muddy Water ( 2:50)
02 Dr Feelgood - Boom Boom ( 2:48)
03 Dave Edmunds - Thread Your Needle ( 3:24)
04 Graham Bond - Walkin' In The Park ( 3:02)
05 Billy J Kramer - My Girl Josephine ( 1:56)
06 Chas & Dave - Midnight Special ( 2:30)
07 Faces - Memphis, Tennessee ( 5:28)
08 Foghat - Down The Road Apiece ( 2:35)
09 Peter - Ain't That Lovin' You Baby ( 1:47)
10 Elvis Costello - Leave My Kitten Alone ( 3:09)
11 Cliff Bennett - Got My Mojo Working (Mono) ( 2:22)
12 Back Door - 32-20 Blues ( 2:24)
13 Johnny Kidd - Whole Lotta Woman ( 3:12)
14 The Edgar Broughton Band - Bring It On Home ( 3:26)
15 Alan Price - Willie The Queen ( 3:13)
16 Chris Barber's Jazz Band - Hamp's Blues ( 2:26)
17 The Fourmost - Something's Got A Hold On Me (Mono) ( 2:46)
18 The Incredible String Band - Blues For The Muse ( 2:45)
19 Love Sculpture - 3 O'clock Blues ( 5:07)
20 Terry Reid - Zodiac Blues ( 2:59)
21 Richard Thompson - Honky Tonk Blues (Live) ( 4:24)
22 Back Street Crawler - Train Song ( 4:36)
23 Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments - Travelling Blues Or The New Used Jew's Dues Blues (12:09)
24 Bonzo Dog Band - Laughing Blues ( 3:50)

British Blues

---

VA - Eric Clapton Life In 12 Bars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Size: 177,3+184,5 MB
Time: 75:29+78:52
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

CD 1:
01. Big Bill Broonzy - Backwater Blues ( 4:08)
02. Muddy Waters - My Life Is Ruined ( 2:37)
03. Muddy Waters - I've Got My Mojo Working (Live At Newport Jazz Festival 1960) ( 4:23)
04. Yardbirds - I Wish You Would ( 2:16)
05. Yardbirds - For Your Love ( 2:28)
06. John Mayall - Steppin' Out ( 2:27)
07. John Mayall - All Your Love ( 3:33)
08. Cream - I Feel Free ( 2:50)
09. Cream - Strange Brew ( 2:46)
10. Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love ( 4:12)
11. Aretha Franklin - Good To Me As I Am To You ( 3:55)
12. Cream - Crossroads (Live) ( 4:14)
13. The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Remastered 2009) ( 4:43)
14. Cream - Badge ( 2:46)
15. Cream - White Room (Live) ( 5:48)
16. Cream - Spoonful (Live At Forum) (17:25)
17. Blind Faith - Presence Of The Lord ( 4:49)

CD 2:
01. Delaney & Bonnie & Friends - Coming Home (Live At Fairfield Halls) (Feat. Eric Clapton) (7:49)
02. Eric Clapton - After Midnight (Eric Clapton Mix) (3:19)
03. Eric Clapton - Let It Rain (Eric Clapton Mix) (5:16)
04. Derek & The Dominos - High (3:08)
05. George Harrison - My Sweet Lord (4:37)
06. Derek & The Dominos - Thorn Tree In The Garden (40Th Anniversary Version) (2:54)
07. Derek & The Dominos - Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out (40Th Anniversary Version) (5:05)
08. Derek & The Dominos - Bell Bottom Blues (40Th Anniversary Version) (5:05)
09. Derek & The Dominos - Layla (40Th Anniversary Version) (7:09)
10. Derek & The Dominos - Little Wing (Live At Filmore East) (6:33)
11. Derek & The Dominos - Got To Get Better In A Little While (40Th Anniversary Version) (6:07)
12. Eric Clapton - I Shot The Sheriff (Full Length Version) (6:49)
13. Eric Clapton - Little Queenie (Live At Long Beach Arena) (6:16)
14. Eric Clapton - Mainline Florida (4:05)
15. Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven (From Rush Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (4:31)

The Official Soundtrack to the new Eric Clapton documentary ‘Life In 12 Bars’, directed by Oscar-winner Lili Fini Zanuck. The documentary about the legendary 18-time Grammy winner premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival before Showtime bought the US TV rights. The 32-track double CD features 4 previously unreleased songs, and includes tracks by Clapton, Yardbirds, Derek & the Dominoes, Cream, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Blind Faith, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin and Muddy Waters.

Eric Clapton Life In 12 Bars

---

The Yardbirds - On Air: Original BBC Recordings

Year: 1991
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:33
Size: 163,4 MB
Styles: Blues, R&B, rock
Scans: Full

1. I Ain't Got You (1:51)
2. For Your Love (2:19)
3. I'm Not Talking (1:47)
4. I Wish You Would (2:36)
5. Heart Full Of Soul (2:20)
6. I've Been Wrong (2:29)
7. Too Much Monkey Business (2:15)
8. Love Me Like I Love You (2:51)
9. I'm A Man (2:22)
10. Evil Hearted You (2:17)
11. Still I'm Sad (2:54)
12. Hang On Sloopy (3:19)
13. Smokestack Lightning (3:32)
14. Mr You're A better Man Than I (3:11)
15. Train Kept A Rollin' (2:42)
16. Shapes Of Things (2:19)
17. Dust My Blues (2:32)
18. Scratch My Back (3:12)
19. Over Under Sideways Down (2:12)
20. The Sun Is Shining (2:44)
21. Shapes Of Things (Version 2) (2:20)
22. Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (2:49)
23. Little Games (2:23)
24. Drinking Muddy Water (2:42)
25. Think About It (3:01)
26. Goodnight Sweet Josephine (2:31)
27. My Baby (2:50)

Like most of the major British Invasion bands, the Yardbirds recorded many sessions for the BBC during their heyday. On Air contains 27 of these, recorded between 1965 and 1968; 21 of them feature Jeff Beck, the rest Jimmy Page (Eric Clapton is not featured on any). The BBC sessions offered listeners the opportunity to hear groups in a relatively live setting with relatively good sound quality, and that's basically what you get here.

Most of their major hits - "For Your Love," "Heart Full of Soul," "Shapes of Things," "Over Under Sideways Down," "Still I'm Sad" - are included. By and large, these versions don't differ enormously from the studio cuts, with slightly different arrangements and guitar solos. One could argue, of course, that with a band so responsible for pushing rock guitar to the stratosphere, different guitar solos are a tasty discovery. And they are interesting, but they don't outdo the stellar studio renditions.

Of most interest, if not highest quality, are a few covers never waxed by the group on their official releases: "Dust My Blues," "The Sun Is Shining," Garnett Mimms' "My Baby," and Dylan's "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way." On cuts like "I'm Not Talking" and "Too Much Monkey Business," Beck's pyrotechnics are truly breathtaking. But generally this release is more for Yardbirds fans than novices. /Richie Unterberger, AllMusic

On Air: Original BBC Recordings mc
On Air: Original BBC Recordings zippy

---

The Yardbirds - Family Tree: Birds Of A Feather

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:14
Size: 181.4 MB
Styles: British blues, Blues rock
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[2:26] 1. Shapes Of Things
[4:36] 2. Mona
[4:17] 3. Gimme Some Lovin'
[3:20] 4. Shakin' All Over
[5:09] 5. Green Onions
[3:17] 6. I'm A Man
[6:49] 7. Wang Dang Doodle
[4:34] 8. Sitting On Top Of The World
[3:11] 9. Outside Woman Blues
[5:45] 10. How Many More Times
[3:19] 11. Framed
[2:31] 12. I Go Crazy
[3:39] 13. How Blue
[2:53] 14. Don't Start Me Talkin'
[4:36] 15. Nine Below Zero
[3:18] 16. Bring It On Home
[3:19] 17. Keep It To Yourself
[4:49] 18. Help Me
[7:18] 19. Jimi Hendrix Trilogy

Each and every track featuring at least one current or former member of The Yardbirds. The British Invasion All-Stars: Yardbirds drummer and co-founder Jim McCarty, Mick Green (The Pirates) Phil May and Dick Taylor (The Pretty Things) Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum) Don Craine & Keith Grant (Downliners Sect) Eddie Phillips (Creation) and Ray Phillips (Nashville Teens) Jim McCarty Band: Jim McCarty along with current Yardbirds vocalist John Idan and former Yardbirds guitarist Ray Majors. Rod Demick on bass. The Ambulators: Featuring Ray Majors (Yardbirds/Mott/British Lions) Dave Walker (Savoy Brown) Pete French (Cactus/Atomic Rooster) Don Craine, Keith Grant, Mick Avory (The Kinks) John O'Leary (Savoy Brown) Roger Cotton & Nigel Watson (Peter Green's Splinter Group) The Yardbirds Experience: same line up as the British Invasion All-Stars with the addition of Noel Redding (Jimi Hendrix experience)

Consisting entirely of tracks from the Mooreland St. Records label, Family Tree: Birds of a Feather features classic British Invasion blues-rock from the Jim McCarty Band, Yardbirds Experience, British Invasion All-Stars, Pete French, and the Ambulators with Dave Walker, all of whom featured at least one Yardbird in the band. Fans looking for the hits would be better off with 2001's Ultimate!, while those looking to take a less familiar road to the heart of the British blues will find more than a few choice nuggets. ~James Christopher Monger

Family Tree: Birds Of A Feather mc
Family Tree: Birds Of A Feather zippy

---

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
The Clapton And Beck Years (2 CD) zippy

---

Sonny Boy Williamson & The Yardbirds - Live In London

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:16
Size: 96.8 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1980
Art: Front

[3:33] 1. Bye, Bye Bird
[4:00] 2. Mister Downchild
[5:24] 3. The River Rhine
[5:08] 4. 23 Hours Too Long
[2:16] 5. A Lost Care
[3:48] 6. Pontiac Blues
[5:42] 7. Take It Easy Babe
[3:08] 8. Out On The Water Coast
[3:45] 9. I Don't Care No More
[2:27] 10. Honey In Your Hips
[3:02] 11. Western Arizona

Sonny Boy Williamson & the Yardbirds is a live album by Chicago blues veteran Sonny Boy Williamson II backed by English rock band the Yardbirds. It was recorded at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, Surrey on December 8, 1963, although a second date and location has been given for two songs. Williamson sings and/or plays harmonica on all of the songs. Although they are in a supporting role, the album also presents some of the earliest recording by the Yardbirds, whose members included Eric Clapton on lead guitar. Numerous reissues have appeared over the years, sometimes with additional tracks recorded around the same time.

German music impresarios Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau organized the first annual American Folk Blues Festival in 1962. They arranged for several well-known American blues artists to perform in concert in several European cities. Sonny Boy Williamson participated during the second festival tour in 1963 and his performances are identified as some of the most memorable of the festival. At the conclusion of the festival, he returned to England for a more extensive club tour.

The Yardbirds' manager, Giorgio Gomelsky, who promoted some of the early American Folk Blues Festivals in England, persuaded Lippmann to attend one of the group's shows (by another account, Williamson also saw one of their performances). A deal was struck and the Yardbirds backed Williamson for several English dates between December 1963 and February 1964. Part of the arrangement included that Lippmann and Rau record some live performances (as they had done for the festival tour) and finance a solo studio demo by the group.

Live In London mc
Live In London zippy

---

Yardbirds - 2 albums: Birdland / Making Tracks (Recorded Live On Tour 2010-2011)

Album: Birdland
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:59
Size: 130.5 MB
Styles: Blues rock
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[2:45] 1. I'm Not Talking
[4:36] 2. Crying Out For Love
[3:15] 3. The Nazz Are Blue (feat. Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter)
[3:20] 4. For Your Love (feat. John Rzeznik)
[4:00] 5. Please Don't Tell Me 'bout The News
[3:38] 6. Train Kept A Rollin' (feat. Joe Satriani)
[4:55] 7. Mr. Saboteur
[2:38] 8. Shapes Of Things (feat. Steve Vai)
[3:33] 9. My Blind Life (feat. Jeff Beck)
[3:17] 10. Over Under Sideways Down (feat. Slash)
[3:22] 11. Mr. You're A Better Man Than I (feat. Brian May)
[4:08] 12. Mystery Of Being
[4:44] 13. Dream Within A Dream
[3:22] 14. Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (feat. Steve Lukather)
[5:21] 15. An Original Man

When this came out in 2003, it marked the first studio release by the Yardbirds in 35 years. In that time, of course, the personnel had changed quite a bit. Even those inclined to get excited by reunions of great bands should know right off that it includes just two original members, drummer Jim McCarty and rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja (though Jeff Beck plays guest guitar on one number, "My Blind Life"). Rounded out by three "new" members (including bassist John Idan, whose lead singing sounds fairly close to original Yardbirds vocalist Keith Relf in style and tone), the record also features guest lead guitar cameos by Jeff Baxter, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Brian May, with Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls singing lead on "For Your Love." The instinct is to make cruel, sardonic jokes about how the absence of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and (for the most part) Jeff Beck doesn't matter, as guitarists were always the weak links in the Yardbirds anyway. Yes, the non-presence of these fabled guitar heroes, as well as Relf (who died in 1976), does mean that this can't be compared in any way to the group's classic 1960s output, even if it's billed to the Yardbirds' name. For all that, however, this is a lot better than you'd expect, and certainly far more respectable than most reunion/comeback efforts by decimated lineups of classic outfits. The production is straight-ahead without the usual sellouts to modern technology, putting the sleek guitar work to the fore. Half the record has remakes of old Yardbirds staples like "For Your Love," "Shapes of Things," and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago," but they're not done badly, though you feel as though you're listening to a really good Yardbirds tribute band rather than the real deal. The original material, though not as good as those old Yardbirds tunes, actually sounds -- whether as a result of conscious or unconscious effort -- in the Yardbirds style, with plenty of irregular tempos, minor-keyed melodies, metaphysically questing lyrics, and Gregorian vocals (as on the Relf tribute "An Original Man (A Song for Keith)"). ~Richie Unterberger

Birdland mc
Birdland zippy

---

Album: Making Tracks (Recorded Live On Tour 2010-2011)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:31
Size: 177.5 MB
Styles: Blues rock
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[3:10] 1. I'm Not Talkin'
[2:56] 2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor
[4:00] 3. Drinking Muddy Water
[3:21] 4. Lost Woman
[2:34] 5. Heart Full Of Soul
[4:33] 6. My Blind Life
[3:48] 7. Train Kept Rollin'
[2:48] 8. Shapes Of Things
[4:16] 9. The Nazz Are Blue
[4:04] 10. Mystery Of Being
[5:33] 11. Five Long Years
[2:41] 12. Think About It
[3:53] 13. Over Under Sideways Down
[4:11] 14. Crying Out For Love
[6:49] 15. Smokestack Lightning
[3:12] 16. For Your Love
[3:00] 17. Happenings Ten Years Time Ago
[5:48] 18. Dazed And Confused
[6:44] 19. I'm A Man (Encore)

If rock n roll is a laboratory for new ideas and sounds, mutated with traditional modes, then are the Yardbirds not the greatest and maddest of scientists. Still mixing the traditional with the outrageous, the new with the old. Just as the original outfit gave flight to Clapton, Beck and Page, today's Yardbirds give flight to a prodigiously talented flock in the form of Ben King, Andy Mitchell and Dave Smale.

Making Tracks (Recorded Live On Tour 2010-2011) mc
Making Tracks (Recorded Live On Tour 2010-2011) zippy

---

The Yardbirds - Five Live Yardbirds (Plus Single A&B Sides)

Year: 1964/1999
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:51
Size: 130,5 MB
Styles: R&B, blues
Scans: Full

1. Too Much Monkey Business (3:52)
2. I Got Love If You Want It (2:39)
3. Smokestack Lightnin' (5:35)
4. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (2:42)
5. Respectable (5:36)
6. Five Long Years (5:18)
7. Pretty Girl (3:05)
8. Louise (3:42)
9. I'm A Man (4:33)
10. Here 'Tis (5:11)
11. I Wish You Would (Single Version) (2:19)
12. A Certain Girl (Single Version) (2:18)
13. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Single Version) (2:46)
14. I Ain't Got You (Single Version) (2:00)
15. For Your Love (Single Version) (2:29)
16. Got To Hurry (Single Version) (2:36)

Issued at the end of 1964 on the British Columbia label (an imprint of EMI, not to be confused with Columbia Records in the U.S.), Five Live Yardbirds was the Yardbirds' first LP following two singles, "I Wish You Would" and "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl." (Although four cuts were included on the 1965 U.S. LP Having a Rave Up released on Epic Records, the album went unreleased in its original form in America until 1988 when it appeared on Rhino Records.) It had been recorded at the Marquee Club in London on March 20, 1964. Live recordings of club dates were hardly typical for British rock bands at the time, but Five Live Yardbirds captures a group at the height of the London R&B boom.

The Yardbirds' set consists entirely of American blues and R&B songs from the repertoires of performers such as Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, the Isley Brothers, John Lee Hooker, and Bo Diddley. They put their own stamp on the material, speeding the tempos and playing with passion, especially in singer Keith Relf's harmonica work and Eric Clapton's lead guitar playing. The checkered history of the Yardbirds' early recordings dates from their split with Marquee Club owner Giorgio Gomelsky, their first manager, in early 1966, and his acquisition of their catalog up to that point. Gomelsky marketed it indiscriminately, leading to numerous versions of the original packagings. This one wisely expands the original ten-track LP by including the A- and B-sides of the Yardbirds' first three singles, the third being "For Your Love," the song that marked their transition to being more of a pop/rock group with its arrangement heavily featuring harpsichord and bongos, as well as the final appearance of Clapton. The Yardbirds of 1964 are heard almost in their entirety here. /AllMusic

Personnel:
Keith Relf - vocals, harmonica
Eric 'Slowhand' Clapton - lead guitar
Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar
Paul 'Sam' Samwell-Smith - bass
Jim McCarthy - drums

Five Live Yardbirds mc
Five Live Yardbirds zippy

---