The Yardbirds - Yardbirds (1966)

The Yardbirds were an English rock band active in the 60s, known for having in their members at various times three of the most influential British guitarists of the era (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page).

1965 and 1966 were the years The Yardbirds saw their biggest commercial successes, with a series of five Top 10 UK hit singles -  "For Your Love", "Heart Full Of Soul", "Evil Hearted You", "Shapes Of Things" and "Over Under Sideways Down". With the exception of "For Your Love", all these singles featured lead guitarist Jeff Beck, who had replaced Eric Clapton in 1965. The last of these, "Over Under Sideways Down", was the most psychedelic sounding song they had put out to date, and when their next album came out two months later (and featuring the single) it followed in this direction. 

Originally titled simply Yardbirds in the UK, it was retitled Over Under Sideways Down in the US and Europe, but has since become known as Roger The Engineer due to its album cover, featuring a strange depiction of the record's audio engineer drawn by bassist Paul Samwell-Smith. It featured an experimental blend of blues, rock and psychedelic pop, highlighted throughout by Beck's innovative guitar playing. The album was a success, getting to #20 on the UK chart. However shortly after its release Samwell-Smith left the band to work as a producer. Rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja agreed to move to bass, but until he was experienced enough on the instrument session musician Jimmy Page was brought in to help. Once Dreja was on bass, for a short time the band featured both Beck and Page on dual lead guitars, though it only resulted in one single, the heavy psychedelic number "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" , before Beck too left the band (he was actually fired, and went on to form The Jeff Beck Group), leaving Page as their sole guitarist.

For Your Love (1965) <|> Little Games (1967)
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