Little Games by the Yardbirds was released on vinyl in 1967. There are 12 tracks on this album, and the total running time is ca. 32 minutes. It is available on a CD from the label Sundazed.
[An expanded version called Little Games Sessions and More was released on 2 CDs in 1992. This version is not under review here.]
The Yardbirds is the name of a band which was active 1963-1968.
During those five years the band played several types of music (blues, rock & roll, as well as pop) and the line-up of the band changed several times.
The Yardbirds is a well-known name, because three world class rock guitarists began their career in this band:
The first Eric Clapton, the second Jeff Beck, and the third Jimmy Page.
** Eric Clapton (born 1945) played with the Yardbirds from October 1963 to February 1965. Later he was a member of Cream.
** Jeff Beck (1944-2023) played with the Yardbirds from March 1965 to September 1966. Later he performed with Rod Stewart.
** Jimmy Page (born 1944) played with the Yardbirds from June 1966 to July 1968. For a few months Beck and Page were members of the same band with Beck on the lead guitar and Page on the bass. Later Page formed Led Zeppelin.
Other members of the band were:
* Keith Relf (1943-1976) – vocals and harmonica (1963-1968)
* Chris Dreja (born 1945) – rhythm and bass (1963-1968)
* Jim McCarty (born 1943) – drums (1963-1968)
* Paul Samwell-Smith (born 1943) – bass (1963-1966)
In 1992, the Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In the same year the band was reformed with two of the original members – Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty - plus some new members.
In 2003, they released an album called Birdland. They have an official website on the internet where you can find additional information about their activities.
Greg Russo has written a biography about the band which has appeared in several editions (and several languages). The fifth edition was published in 2012:
Yardbirds: The Ultimate Rave-Up
During the years 1963-1968 the band released five albums and several singles. Here are the titles of the albums released in the UK:
1964 - Five Live Yardbirds
1965 - For Your Love
1965 - Having a Rave-Up
1966 - Roger the Engineer
1967 - Little Games
Since the break-up in 1968 several compilations have been released (studio recordings and live performances).
Little Games (recorded March-May 1967) was the last album released before the break-up in 1968, and the only Yardbirds album with Jimmy Page. Here are the titles and the names of the composers:
1. “Little Games” by Harold Spiro and Phil Wainman
2. “Smile on me” by the Yardbirds
3. “White Summer” (instrumental) by Jimmy Page
4. “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor” by Page and McCarty
5. “Glimpses” (almost instrumental) by the Yardbirds
6. “Drinking Muddy Water” by the Yardbirds
7. “No Excess Baggage” Roger Atkins and Carl D’Errico
8. “Stealing Stealing” by the Yardbirds
9. “Only the Black Rose” by Keith Relf
10. “Little Soldier Boy” by Page and Relf
11. “Puzzles” by the Yardbirds
12. “I Remember the Night” by Joseph Pirollo and Robert Finizio
As you can see from the list, most tracks are original compositions by
members of the band.
I like the Yardbirds, but this is not their best work. As Bruce Eder puts it on the website All Music:
It is not a bad album, “it just lacks the cohesion and polish of the group’s preceding album, The Yardbirds (aka Over Under Sideways Down - aka Roger the Engineer).”
Track # 1 is not a great song and not the best song on this album. The words and the music do not go well together.
It is not even written by the band. Why did they record it? And why did they pick it as the title track of the album?
Track # 7 is much better, and much more successful. If the album should be named after one of the tracks, this should be the one.
Looking back, it seems there was a conflict between the producer Mickie Most (1938-2003), who wanted the band to play some pop songs, which could become hit singles, which could then lift the whole album, while the members of the band wanted to create an album with blues and rock & roll where the songs could come together and form a whole, as the do on Roger the Engineer.
In addition, it seems there was a conflict within the band itself:
Keith Relf and Jim McCarty wanted to play soft rock, perhaps even folk music.
Later they pursued this ambition when they created the band Renaissance (with Keith’s sister Jane as a singer). The gloomy “Black Rose” is a reflection of this line.
Jimmy Page, on the other hand, wanted to play hard rock, perhaps even heavy metal.
He pursued this ambition when he created the band Led Zeppelin (with John Paul Jones, who plays bass on the title track).
The instrumental track “White Summer” is a reflection of this line.
Some tracks are different and experimental. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
Track # 5 is different and experimental, but the result is fascinating.
Tracks # 8 and 11 are also different and experimental, but now the result is terrible.
There are some good songs here – # 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 – but to be frank, this is not the best album from the Yardbirds.
Little Games marks the end of an era. It is mostly interesting for historical reasons.
Since five of the twelve tracks are good, I think this album deserves a rating of three stars (60 percent).
PS. The following musicians also played on at least one track when the album Little Games was recorded:
** Clem Cattini (born 1937) - drums
** Nicky Hopkins (1944-1994) - keyboards
** John Paul Jones (born 1946) - bass
*****
Backside of the original cover
Little Games
By the Yardbirds
(Released on vinyl in 1967)
*****
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