Book Review: Yardbirds- The Ultimate Rave Up by Greg Russo

July 1998

The Yardbirds were heavily influential in the history of music but poorly covered in literature. Groups such as the Jeff beck Group, Led Zeppelin and Cream followed as the Yardbirds nurtured three of rock music's greatest guitarists in Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

The book aims to cover the history of the Yardbirds as an observer. There are not the interviews that make up many music books but there is a fan's view of the music. Track details are included in a detailed discography. This includes the numerous poor quality compilations that have dogged the band in the same way they have the Small Faces through the dilution of the great songs. Details of bootlegs are omitted as the author admits they are primarily of dubious quality. The book charts the rise of the British Blues boom and the Yardbirds. It finishes with their dissolution into The New Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin and Renaissance. Later career details for Eric, Jeff and Jimmy are included though as is the reformation in 1988 and the continuation of the Yardbirds with Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja in 1997.

The book is probably more suitable for casual fans as the more die-hard listeners will have little here to learn. So this is not the definitive Yardbirds book that is surely required but at least it is a step in the right direction to begin to chart this great group

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Details

ISBN: 0-9648157-3-7

First published 1997 by Crossfire Publications

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