The Yardbirds: The Most Blueswailing Futuristic Way-Out Heavy Beat Sound
★★★★
Peter Stanfield
REAKTION. £25
Richly detailed, nuanced account of Britain’s trailblazing beat combo.
Back in late 1963, The Yardbirds were occasionally billed as a jazz group. By 1968, announcing their split to a disinterested press, they were has-beens. Yet between those times, especially for a 15-month period during 1965 and ’66, they’d been leaders of “the pop avant-garde”. Via an artful sifting of the contemporary press, coupled with a well-tuned listening ear, author Stanfield’s evocative account unpicks the contradictions at the heart of the group. Much-loved frontman Keith Relf nevertheless resembled, wrote Fab 208 magazine, “some fragile bird battling against the elements”; behind him, guitarists Clapton, Beck and Page all had different ambitions for the group. The Yardbirds remained at one remove from the prevailing Mod and psychedelic trends, though Stanfield suggests their main crime was failing to release an LP at their peak. It’s true: given the songs available, it could have left Rubber Soul, Aftermath and My Generation sounding passé. A real rave-up – like this book.
Mark Paytress