74. The Yardbirds — Roger The Engineer (1966)

Curious how Roger felt about that cover

1. In point of fact, this album is called Yardbirds; but it’s far more well-known now as Roger The Engineer thanks to that cover art by one of the band members, depicting their sound engineer, Roger. Spotify calls it Roger The Engineer; for simplicity, I’m calling it that as well. Also, Roger The Engineer is a kind of hilarious name for an album.
2. Here we have the band Eric Clapton had just left! What a 1–2 punch in the 1001. I have to say — while I recognize the pure musicianship on the Bluesbreakers album is superior, I prefer the Yardbirds sound. It’s more youthful, sprightly, psychedelic. Tunes like “Over Under Sideways Down” or “Lost Woman” fit nicely into the mold of early Who tracks while hinting at the bluesy rock sound bands like Led Zeppelin will eventually pick up.
3. Meanwhile Jeff Beck more than holds his own as a soloist. He’s not doing the same kind of purely iconic blues as Eric Clapton, but his sound is exactly what the Yardbirds needed. He never distracts from the songs, always jumping in to force them forward to their conclusion. I really appreciate that there’s a track here called “Jeff’s Boogie,” which exists strictly to enable Jeff Beck to noodle around on the guitar for a few minutes.
4. The Yardbirds are responsible for launching the careers of Clapton, Beck, and Jimmy Page, three of the greatest guitarists of all time. Pretty insane; I’ve gotta wonder what happened that they couldn’t hold onto any of them. A hell of a legacy either way.

One Essential Song:

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