Search - Yardbirds :: Having a Rave Up

An awesome mid-sixties rock album.

Laszlo Matyas | 05/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Yardbirds' third album (and their second with guitarist Jeff Beck, who replaced Eric Clapton) is one of the very best rock records of the entire mid-60s, a scintillating collection of tunes that plays like a best-of collection. In its original (vinyl) incarnation, Having a Rave Up was split neatly down the middle: Side 1 consisted of six studio tunes recorded with Beck on guitar, while Side 2 featured four songs recorded live during the group's Clapton days (these recordings, as well as several others, can be found on the group's 1964 U.K. debut, Five Live Yardbirds). This may seem like a messy and unfocused way to organize an album, but it works fantasticaly well- the record effectively showcases the unique talents of each guitarist, as well as the distinctive features of both eras of the band's career. The first half is marked by Beck's effects-laden guitar virtuosity- the band's amazing rendition of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" is a hyperactive rush of fuzz-toned soloing and brutal thunderclouds of feedback. Keith Relf's exuberant, double-tracked vocals are equally inpressive. The cover of Bo Diddley's "I'm A Man" is another freewheeling classic, propelled by a storming, air-tight rhythm section and some swaggering harmonicas from Relf. The instrumental break, in which the tempo switches to a double-time gallop and Beck turns his guitar into a pure rhythm machine, is nothing short of dazzling. "Mister, You're A Better Man Than I" burns with quiet intensity, riding along on Jim McCarty's crackling drums and some bitterly sarcastic vocals. Jeff's searing, distorted guitar solo is, of course, superb. "Heart Full Of Soul" is a slice of minor-key mid 60s cool with a few superb fuzz-toned guitar interjections. The folky, melancholy "Still I'm Sad" and the puzzing paranoia of "Evil Hearted You" are also excellent. Side 2 shows off the Yardbirds when they were still a young and hungry blues-rock band, bashing out out songs with more gritty passion than technical skill. It's every bit as good as the first half, a wonderful showcase of rock 'n' roll in its rawest and purest form. The cover of Howlin' Wolf's classic "Smokestack Lightening" captures all of the original's menace and vicous bite, throwing in a rip-roaring instrumental explosion for good measure. "Respectable" keeps things going with a rip-roaring burst of R&B drenched fury, while another rendition of "I'm a Man" (compare to the one found on the first side) features a searing harmonica solo and a raucous Relf performance. Finally, the take on "Here' Tis" is a rhthmic blood-pumper with some of Clapton's coolest guitar-strangling. All in all, a superb little record. This CD edition features eleven bonus tracks, including the Beck-era non-LP single "Shapes of Things," which foreshadows psychedelia with its bold, trippy lyrics, cavernous instrumental effects, and trembling, off-kilter guitar work. This CD will fit snugly in the collection of any fan of 60s rock n roll. Totally recomended."

1965, not 1966

Wendy D. Cohen | NY | 04/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Having a Rave Up" actually came out in late 1965 ... "Heart Full of Soul" was a hit in London during the summer of that year (I know from personal experience). I bought this album without hearing it on the basis of comments made by Clay Cole in the December 1965 issue of 16 magazine ... he said that, "if you were a guitar fan, Jeff Beck was the best one out there (even George Harrison and Keith Richards said so!)." He was right.



This album changed my life. It redefined rock & roll, and was the first (and one of the all-time best) examples of what can happen when musicians push the envelope. Beck has gone on to create some of the most interesting and innovative music imaginable; his recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was long overdue.



Buy it. You won't be disappointed!"

Essential Yardbirds

Mark L. Mckenzie | San Francisco, CA USA | 10/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This LP, I bought the vinyl way back when , was such a wonderful experience. The band played with the fringe element of Psychedelic rock and perfectly infused the blues element they were known for.I live in San Francisco and most garage bands at that time couldn't cover the intricate vocals of say the Beatles. But they could play the Yardbirds. Not that they were simple songs but they were just so much darn fun to play and expand on. This is the real deal and no other album of this period was so well done in its melding of genre's... do yourself a favor and buy it.. you won't be sorry , even happenings 40 years on it sounds Fab !!!!"