Ultimate!
With a tenure on the charts of barely five years, a fitful discography, and the erratic guidance of three managers during their prime, the Yardbirds have a legacy that is as unlikely as it is undeniable: they're second only to the Beatles as the most influential band of the 1960s. Long known as the musical divinity school of theBeck-Clapton-Pageguitar trinity, the Yardbirds cast a much longer shadow across rock music, one that encompassed psychedelia, blues rock, heavy metal, jam bands, and even the nascent world music and alt-rock movements. Culled from a woefully meager recording history that includes a handful of singles and but two real studio albums (yet, strangely, three live collections), this double-disc anthology instantly becomes the single most comprehensive document of the band's brief reign and lasting influence. Eric Clapton's tenure with the energetic blues revivalists hardly hinted at enduring superstardom, but it did help foster the band's ambitiousrave-ups, the frenzied mini-jams that became one of the Yardbirds' live trademarks and set the stage for Jeff Beck's groundbreaking two-year stint. But often overlooked in the homages to fret frenzy is the band's restless musical curiosity and the moody-cool, expressive charms of vocalist Keith Relf, explored here by the overtly Gregorian "Still I'm Sad," the sloppy, monkish "Hot House of Omagararshid," and the brooding "You're a Better Man Than I." But by the time Page signed on (briefly sharing duties with Beck), the Yardbirds shifted managers and directions, resulting in an uneasy cocktail of rock and pop that ultimately fractured the band, if not its heritage; Page would rebuild the New Yardbirds around an amped-up vision of its original blues roots, then quickly change the name toLed Zeppelin. All that ground is covered, along with some rarities (the odd Italian single "Questa Volta"/"Paff Bum" and three spotty solo tracks by Relf). Missing are session outtakes and live performances by the band's prime Beck-era lineup (seeLive at the BBC).--Jerry McCulley