Alright so I wanted to make a chapter on The Yardbirds, not just because Jimmy Page was in them before Led Zeppelin, but because they were an incredible band in their own right. I'm not sure how many of you listen to or have listened to their music before but I highly recommend you do, and watch a live performance of theirs too; not only is it great music, with Jimmy you can really see elements of Zeppelin starting to form and show through.
_______________________
Here are some songs I'd recommend:
- Heart Full Of Soul: great guitar parts, really heartfelt vocals and far too catchy (honestly it stayed stuck in my head all day)
- Smokestack Lightening: even though it's not an original, it's a great tribute to Howlin Wolf's version, but they've definitely made it their own too. Incredible
- For Your Love: another very catchy song with beautiful harmonies and just a generally nice feel to it
- I'm A Man: great harmonica and guitar, it all flows so well together and has such a stomping beat that you can't help tap along
- Dazed And Confused: I prefer Zeppelin's version for sure, but listen to this just because it's so weird hearing it without Robert Plant singing. It's quite similar musically to the Zeppelin song but the vocals are so different that it's really odd to hear.
- Train Kept A Rollin': my favourite of all their songs with an amazing guitar riff and very good vocals. It was also the very first song Zeppelin played when they got together as a group. You can just imagine them playing it too, and getting it amazing first time, to me it sounds like a really Zeppelin song if that makes sense.
____________________
Anyway, The Yardbirds were so good, especially the double guitar sound when Page and Jeff Beck were both in the band, though Clapton was amazing in it too. Keith Relf was also a great singer and frontman, such a shame he died young (in the 70s, from an electric shock). Their sound is heavily blues influenced, so that might explain why I like it so much, but they do what so many other groups of that time did and made the sound their own.
Another thing I always love when watching their live performances is how the younger Jimmy Page acts, I'm not sure quite what it is about it exactly. He seems really eager to please, I think.
*
Picture: The Yardbirds
YOU ARE READING
A Book Of Led Zeppelin
Non-FictionLed Zeppelin. Arguably the greatest band of all time. In my opinion, anyway, hence 'arguably'. They hold the record for the highest number of records sold worldwide (200 million) and also the largest crowd at a concert for a single act (over 56,000)...
