Yardbirds – THE YARDBIRDS***

Lost Women/Over Under Sideways Down/The Nazz Are Blue/I Can’t Make Your Way/Rack My Mind Farewell/ Hot House Of Omagararshid/Jeff’s Boogie/He’s Always There/Turn Into Earth/What Do You Want/Ever Since The World Began

This self titled final top twenty LP from The Yardbirds was also known as Roger The Engineer. It was their only album with all original material. Includes the hit single Over Under Sideways Down. (UK:20)

"The twelve tracks are mostly R & B oriented but with a sprinkling of exotic ingredients. Jeff Beck was playing heavy guitar solos even then, while there's a tinge of folk influence here and there. The Nazz Are Blue, Jeff's Boogie and Rack My Mind are all standard blues-rock showcases for Beck, while Lost Women and What Do You Want are substantial songs. The other tracks tend to veer off elsewhere to varying success. Turn Into Earth has a strong mystical flavour due to the Gregorian-style backing chant."

"Yes, The Yardbirds were a relatively short lived, wildly line-up change, crazy band who got by mostly on singles while struggling on albums. This is considered the only one they made worthy of classic status, and even it apparently doesn't capture the experimental nature of their singles. It has a definite hard rock edge to it, though sometimes it has lighter stuff like Farewell. Those expecting any psychedelia will go home pretty unhappy."

"While the song writing quality here isn't quite up to par with that of The Yardbirds' classic singles, they seem to be running in all directions at once, shifting from style to style, tackling just about everything from blues to jazz, folk, Gregorian chorales, gospel, and even Mexican dance music. The actual songs aren't all that rich with memorable hooks, but almost every number has something to offer, and something to be explored."

"Essentially, The Yardbirds is still firmly rooted in the blues, though the odd thing is, the further you immerse yourself into the record, the more vague, and transitory those blues traces become. Yes, it is an uneven album to say the least, but what do you expect from a 1966 band who were struggling to find the essence of something new, and a fresh way of expressing it."