MINT STEREO 1966 YARDBIRDS Beck Page Blues Psych Garage

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ATTENTION!

 TOP MINT STEREO ~  1966 first pressing *VINYL*                 

                               YARDBIRDS

                Greatest 

                                 ...USA - yellow Epic - BN-26426 - STEREO                     

RARE 1966 STEREO FIRST PRESSING

***MINT CONDITION ...so hard to find with a mint cover like this one, the dark color ALWAYS is found with some shelf wear, this copy = TOPS!

Original VINYL first pressing of 1966 LP that featured all meat and potatoes, the very best slices of The Yardbirds up to the release of 1966 which is their high point...the (rare) mono edition features different song mixes from the stereo release and contains a bold punchy drive in the sound production which --  a preferable impact to the music...

This dark cover is especially to find this crisp and clean -- normally found with ring wear --this 41 year old relic is much better than the normal find (see details below) !  

The driving force behind psychedelia was The Yardbirds. The following are significant mile markers on the highway to Lysergia:
The Yardbirds formed in 1963 with the express purpose of playing blues material. Original lead guitarist Top Topham didn’t see the end of the year, being replaced by one Eric Clapton. By late autumn, the band was already twisting its R & B roots. With the development of their trademark rave-ups, call-and-response segments and embryonic power chords, blues standards like “Smokestack Lightning” became an aural firestorm and took on a life of their own. Howlin’ Wolf, the song’s author, proclaimed The Yardbirds’ version to be the definitive one. A recorded example from a December 1963 gig is about six minutes long, yet that particular piece was often stretched to a half-hour jam during other performances. Extended improvisatory passages are a hallmark of psychedelia. Thus the foundation for this particular genre of music was being laid three years ahead of schedule.
The Yardbirds also contributed to the concept of a loud rhythm section. American rock n roll in the ‘50s had almost no bottom and many rockabilly bands didn’t even employ a drummer. Borrowing the idea of a powerful drum and bass combination from their blues idols, English bands exaggerated the concept until it resulted in a phenomenally loud rhythm section, which would be a vital element in hallucinogenic alchemy. The Yardbirds were pioneers in this area. Drummer Jim McCarty, along with bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja, built a solid platform upon which their lead guitarist was able to catapult into the stratosphere.
February 1965 found the band in the studio, arranging a tune by budding songwriter Graham Gouldman. “For Your Love” was a melodic piece of pop, boasting a harpsichord-driven hook that gave the song an exotic flavor. Session keyboardist Brian Auger’s intro chords crashed and chimed, resulting in a menacing sound. Strangely for a band boasting Eric Clapton in its ranks, the only time he made an appearance on the tune was during the bridge.
Unsurprisingly, blues snob Clapton announced his resignation within a week of its recording. No matter. “For Your Love” was The Yardbirds first major chart success, reaching #3 in the U.K. and #6 in the U.S. This was one of the first significant uses of a harpsichord in pop music, paving the way for psychedelia. Subsequently, the harpsichord was to become a staple of said genre.
The Yardbirds approached London’s top session guitarist, Jimmy Page, with an invitation to join. Page turned the offer down, fearing it would jeopardize his friendship with the departing Clapton. Instead, he suggested a mercurial young guitarist, Jeff Beck.
In April 1965, The Yardbirds upped the ante. Another Graham Gouldman song, “Heart Full Of Soul,” found newcomer Jeff Beck sulking in the corner of Advision Studios. A hired sitar player struggled to lay down a decent intro passage for the song. The Yardbirds seem to have been the first rock group to use a sitar on a recording. The instrument would not feature in a Beatles song for at least six more months. Unfortunately, the sitar on “Heart Full Of Soul” sounded thin and weedy.  The Yardbirds were almost ready to abandon the tune until the untested Beck stepped in and fired up his fuzz box. He conjured the appropriate Eastern sound from his Telecaster and his band-mates never looked at him quite the same way again. Peaking at #2 in the U.K. and #9 in the States, “Heart Full Of Soul” introduced Western pop audiences to Indian sounds.
By July 1965, Paul Samwell-Smith and Jim McCarty added to The Yardbirds’ tonal palette yet again with “Still I’m Sad.” The duo’s dirge-like composition centered around Gregorian chants treated with echo. Beck’s guitar was buried in the mix. Surprisingly for a band that’s reputation rests on its guitarists, The Yardbirds always experimented with other sounds and instruments. Be that as it may, the monk chants on “Still I’m Sad” were another brilliant innovation courtesy of the quintet.
January 1966 found The Yardbirds mastering the final version of their hallucinogenic manifesto, “Shapes Of Things.” Curiously, Dave Brubeck’s “Pick Up Sticks” initially inspired the Samwell-Smith –Relf – McCarty-penned tune. The Yardbirds song was a fuzz-tone masterpiece of feedback and sustain, culminating in a free-fall Jeff Beck solo that left a generation of aspiring guitarists with jaws agape. In addition, McCarty’s tommy gun drumming coupled with ominous lyrics propelled the song to #3 in Britain and #11 in America respectively.
Hit fast forward to April 1966. Russian modalities and Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock” sparked The Yardbirds next single, an original entitled “Over, Under, Sideways, Down.” Beck teased a balalaika-like lick from his electric guitar, marrying it to a maddening chorus of Cossack cheers and a dreamy mantra of shimmering acoustic guitar. “Over, Under, Sideways, Down” was commercial surrealism come to life, climbing to #10 in the U.K. and #13 in the States. Paul Samwell-Smith was gone by June of that year. Session wizard Jimmy Page finally joined the band, initially playing bass until Dreja mastered the instrument.
With the addition of Jimmy Page on second guitar, The Yardbirds announced that psychedelia had arrived in all its splendor. Recording “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” in July 1966, the dual lead guitars of Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page hammered out a hypnotic riff that dissolved into air-raid sirens and transmissions from Venus. A disembodied voice cackled manically through the bridge as three guitars swirled and collided in a void of sonic light. Appropriately, Relf’s lyrics were written during an acid trip and dealt with the concept of reincarnation. Heady stuff for a pop song indeed. The song peaked at #30 in the U.S. Considered a disaster at the time it’s actually amazing something this revolutionary charted at all. Quite simply, “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” is the zenith of psychedelia. Jimi Hendrix acknowledged the song’s tremendous impact, quoting one of the lead lines in a later recording of his own. ‘nuff said.

Shapes Of Things

Still I'm Sad

New York City Blues

For Your Love

Under Over Sideways Down

B:

I'm A Man

Happenings Ten Years Time Ago

Heart Full Of Soul

Smokestack Lightning

I'm Not Talking

CONDITION: The cover is stiff and solid, MINT with NO shelf wear ... a fine copy worthy of collection!

The vinyl is "MINT" ...all glossy smooth and plays beautiful ...clear, and, again, plays mint from head to toe!

          rare STEREO 1966 first pressing !!!

                            IN MINT CONDITION !

       A cool addition to anyone's music library!

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EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record