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If you are going to check out the Yardbirds as a proto-metal band then you had better choose an album where the real proto-metal material resides. The Yardbirds got their start as an electric blues band and so you’ll be scratching your head and possibly even chewing a cactus and spitting out the needles if you focus on their early recording of 1963 and 1964. Their later albums include a lot of experimental psychedelica and even though they had Jimmy Page on guitar and were known for some very impressive live performances that focused more on the experimental guitar side, the albums tended to appeal to the music charts and did a pretty miserable job of doing so. I suspect Mr. Page was more interested in going the heavy guitar route but his hand was stayed possibly by management, label or band mate pressure, or any combination of the three.
The Yardbirds most grittiest and crunchiest work was done during Jeff Beck’s term with the band. This compilation (which I don’t own but includes many of the songs off the “Over Under Sideways Down” compilation not listed here) includes some of the Yardbirds’ best proto-metal material, which I will point out.
Let’s start with the Clapton-era “I Ain’t Got You”. It’s a blues rocker with chart appeal but you will notice the heavy stomp of guitars and drums and what’s more, the “Whole Lotta Love”-like guitar solo that comes out in short blistering licks punctuated by heavy heavy whump whump of the rhythm section. Not really proto-metal but approaching the neighbourhood.
“I’m not Talking” has a wonderful dirty riff and an aggressive mood, at least for the time. There are two buzzing guitar solos inserted for good measure, a hint of things to come.
“I Ain’t Done Wrong” is where things start to get heavier. The song still follows a 12-bar blues vein but with simple heavy chords. The soloing by Mr. Beck is bluesy but the excitement is in the middle of the song when the band break into what sounds very much like 12-bar thrash metal. Seriously. This is like the mid-sixties answer to Metallica. The song returns to its rockin’ bluesy mood with harmonica accompanying the guitar solo but the heaviness returns. The song concludes with some hard pounding overdriven chords. Check this one out!
“You’re a Better Man than I” includes one of Mr. Beck’s signature distorted guitar solos that is a clear pointer to the proto-metal bands to come within a couple of years time.
“Shapes of Things” is a classic early hard rock piece that was later covered by Nazareth and Rush.
“The Train Kept A-Rollin’” was originally a rock-a-billy cover that turned the song into something wilder and more aggressive. Here the Yardbirds dish out a riff that inspired the likes of Joe Perry, Alex Lifeson, and many others. Even Motorhead covered this song, and it remained not only in the Yardbirds set list but in Zeppelin’s early set list as well.
On disc two, “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” is one of the rare recordings that feature Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page together on guitar. Though not as heavy as “I Ain’t Done Wrong” the riff is pretty damn cool and the dual guitar solo is worth listening to.
“Stroll On” is a re-written version of “The Train Kept A-Rollin’” but heavier and again featuring both legendary guitarists. This is pretty heavy stuff coming out of 1966 here.
“Little Games” is a lighter rock tune but with some decent guitar and Mr. Page’s violin bow work. “Puzzles” gives us more psychedelic and distorted guitar with a blistering guitar solo in the last 30 seconds or so. Too bad the album “Little Games” didn’t concentrate more on this direction.
I can’t say how this Keith Relf solo recording of “Think About it Sounds” but the full band version from the “Little Games” album has a proto-type guitar solo for Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” which is pretty cool to listen to.
That’s where you’ll find most of the proto-metal material by the Yardbirds on this compilation. Other songs offer hints and whispers to a lesser degree. However, it is mostly for the songs above that I believe the Yardbirds hold an important place in metal history. I’m sure most metal bands of the seventies would agree.