THE YARDBIRDS

Pity the poor Yardbirds.  Doomed forever to be remembered only in the shadow of their three former lead guitaritst; Clapton, Beck, and Page.

Yet The Yardbirds were far more than just a proving ground for their guitar heroes.  In their music are the first rumblings of territory that would later be explored by Cream, Led Zep, and Beck's solo albums.  More importantly, those rumblings took place in a context that, for my money, is often a lot more rewarding.

And The Yardbirds were always, a band.  And a very great one.  You can hear their echoes not only in the extemporizations of Cream and the exoticisms and bluesy pounding of Led Zep (for which they are often credited), but also the energy-freeform-freakout of the MC5, Stooges, Television, Feelies, and Voidoids.  And their tough stance and driving music were an enormous influence on American garage bands, nearly as important as their fellow Londoners the Stones and The Who.

Their early records were mostly blues covers.  And mostly average.  They had a lot of energy, but simply never had the expertise and feel of the Stones, Them, or The Animals, all of whom surpassed them by light years in this department.  Also, though already a sterling guitarist, Clapton was not yet producing at the level he soon would be in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.  A few of their r&b covers had some kick (Billy Boy Arnold's "I Wish You Would"), but most are merely adequate.

Then came Graham Gouldman's "For Your Love," a change in direction from straight blues to "pop" ... or more accurately, straight-up rock and roll.  Exit Clapton, and enter Beck.  And now the fun begins.  In a series of singles and EP's (later collected into LPs in the UK and America) from early 1965 to the end of 1966 - an alarmingly short time to produce such a body of work - they inflicted on the world a set of hard-hitting, edgy, strikingly innovative rock`n'roll, driven not only by the overpowering guitars (Beck played lead on all of these), but also a powerhouse rhythm section, a sinister, snaky lead singer, and a dazzling sense of dynamics, mostly courtesy of bassist Paul Samwell-Smith.

Too good to last.  By the end of `66 Samwell-Smith was gone, and Beck would follow him soon after, leaving Page in charge.  In and of itself this was no bad thing, but their last sessions with Mickie Most, while not without interest, were schizophrenic, alternating between bizarre flower-powerish numbers like "Ha Ha Said The Clown" and more typical Yardbirds fare such as "Drinking Muddy Water."

The Yardbirds petered out after a 1968 tour, with Relf and McCarty forming the folkie/medieval Renaissance, while Page and Dreja pursued what would become Led Zeppelin.  Relf passed away in 1976 after a bizarre electrical accident.  Dreja and McCarty reformed The Yardbirds in the 80's and 90's and continue to tour.


Essential Listening

Ultimate!

Essential Reading

The Yardbirds by Alan Clayson

The Yardbirds Wikipedia
The Yardbirds Allmusic
Yardbirds.com (official)

HOWLIN' WOLF

A giant of a man, probably the greatest blues singer who ever lived, and certainly the single blues singer most influential on rock and roll.  There was never anything like him before, or after.  You can hear echoes of him on down through the British blues/rock bands, Tom Waits, The Gun Club, The Stooges, even now in the White Stripes. Blues singer is far too small a label for such mountain of talent.

He started his career late, terrorizing the clubs around Memphis and recording for Sam Phillips (most of those sides ended up getting leased to Chess). Most of those early sides are upbeat, good time jump blues, but Wolf's personality was already in full force; overpowering, overwhelming; the man was a force of nature.

In the mid-fifties, Wolf migrated from Memphis to Chicago (the enjoyable film Cadillac Records gets it wrong.  Wolf, who was financially successful and financially smart, drove up in a suit, and Cadillac) and began recording in the Chess studios, usually with Hubert Sumlin on board on lead guitar.  Sumlin became a critical part of Wolf's tougher, darker, doomier sound.  In 1959 and 1962, Chess released two stone classic Wolf albums, Moanin' in the Moonlight (1959) and Howlin' Wolf (1962).  They are essential.

As the sixties wore on, Wolf became an icon among blues-crazed London listeners, and a well-known if not truly famous at home.  He slowed down, and his music did too (though the occasional fast one would appear, such as the Stooges-like "Do The Do" (1962).  But the talent was always there and, even after he peaked, his lesser creations were still well worth hearing.  His health failed him, but he never stopped, performing until he was no longer able.  He recorded an album in London with Clapton, Charlie Watts, et al that is beloved of those too wimpy to deal with his real sides, and derided by those too prudish to admit that it has its merits (it's not a bad album, but it's a long way from great).  In 1973 he recorded one last album, The Back Door Wolf, for Chess.   Despite having a few weak spots, it's excellent, and contained at least one last classic, "Coon On The Moon," a hymn to black pride.

He died on January 10, 1976.  He was 66 years old.

Essential Listening


Moanin' in the Moonlight/Howlin' Wolf (Essential! Get these first!)
Memphis Days (his early stuff for Sun - awesome jump blues!)
The Real Folk Blues (mostly Chess stuff)
More Real Folk Blues (mix of Chess and Sun)
Howlin' Wolf Sings the Blues (more Sun)
Change My Way (later Chess stuff)
The Back Door Wolf (his last recordings - a gem)


Essential Reading


Moanin' At Midnight by James Segrest
Delta Blues by Ted Gioia
Feel Like Going Home by Peter Guralnick
Lost Highway by Peter Guralnick


Links

Howlin Wolf Home Page
Howlin' Wolf Wikipedia
Howlin' Wolf Allmusic
Howlin' Wolf Illustrated Discography
Howlin' Wolf Photos Home Page (a must-see!)


Hubert Sumlin Wikipedia
Hubert Sumlin Allmusic