LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

mono edtion CD"

No band ever went through a more eye-popping array of lead guitarists than London's masters of rave-up, the Yardbirds! The fabled London combo managed to go from Eric Clapton to Jeff Beck to Jimmy Page in the featured role, and tweaked their sound every step of the way. Vocalist Keith Relf, on board for the entire 6-year trip, saw the band evolve from their wild, early R&B days, through less-frenzied, British Invasion-style, chart-toppers to distortion and feedback-laced voyages into the psychedelic unknown. A band widely admired and used as a blueprint by many of the U.S. garage combos sprouting like mushrooms on the front lawn in 1966, the Yardbirds are revered today by those in search of the bedrock of British rock 'n' roll."

By the time Jimmy Page joined the Yardbirds in 1966, the group was already firmly established as one of the era's most innovative and creatively adventurous British bands. The addition of Page allowed the band's heady mix of blues and psychedelia to coalesce into an edgy approach that laid the stylistic groundwork for Page's next band, Led Zeppelin (who were known as the New Yardbirds in their early days).

The Yardbirds' 1967 release Little Games—produced by noted British pop guru Mickie Most—is the band's only album to be recorded entirely with Page as a member, and the only one to feature the group's final lineup of Page and founding members Keith Relf, Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty. Little Games is also a transitional effort that finds the Yardbirds delving into an array of sounds and styles, from gritty blues-rock ("Drinking Muddy Water") to swirling psychedelia ("Glimpses") to introspective balladry ("Only the Black Rose"). Several of the album's tracks can now be seen as sonic blueprints for Led Zeppelin, e.g. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor" and "Glimpses," both of which feature the distinctive guitar-bowing technique for which Page would soon become famous. Page's acoustic instrumental showcase "White Summer" would later become a frequent feature of Led Zeppelin's live performances. The album also features Page's future Zep bandmate John Paul Jones on bass, cello and string arrangements, along with guest appearances by UK session aces Nicky Hopkins and Clem Cattini.

Sundazed Music's new CD and LP editions of Little Games have been sourced from the original UK mono masters. The LP version is pressed on 180 gram vinyl, and meticulously reproduces the album's distinctive original cover art. ""The 1967 album by this British guitar-university band was its only studio LP with final graduate Jimmy Page—and he sounds ripe to start Led Zeppelin. His whirlpool-folk instrumental "White Summer" went into that group's early shows, and Page road-tested his bowed-guitar groan in the slow bridge of the high-speed "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor." But for a band nearing its end, the Yardbirds summoned strong psychedelic nerve here: the title song's go-go pop; the wild-raga turmoil of "Glimpses"; singer Keith Relf's plaintive ballad "Only the Black Rose." Little Games back in its rare mono form is a mixed bag - but, man, what a bag."
-David Fricke, Rolling Stone

"The Jimmy Page era band in which blues rock (Smile On Me), psych (title track, Glimpses) and sheer virtuosity (White Summer) form Page's stepping stone between session player and Led Zep. And it's mono!"
-Mojo""

TRACK LISTING:
1. LITTLE GAMES
2. SMILE ON ME
3. WHITE SUMMER
4. TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SAILOR
5. GLIMPSES
6. DRINKING MUDDY WATER
7. NO EXCESS BAGGAGE
8. STEALIN', STEALIN'
9. ONLY THE BLACK ROSE
10. LITTLE SOLDIER BOY
11. PUZZLES (bonus track)
12. I REMEMBER THE NIGHT (bonus track)"