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The Yardbirds - Birdland. Released 2003, 36 years after their previous record
The Yardbirds started the careers of three of the most influential guitarists of all time, namely Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. The trio never shared the stage together (what a super-group that would have been), though Beck and Page did combine to play a lead guitar duo for a brief stint of time. The Yardbirds with Jimmy Page would eventually disband and form Led Zeppelin, who briefly called themselves The New Yardbirds in 1968.
Smokestack Lightning is an early Yardbirds song, when the lineup included Eric “Slowhand” Clapton on lead guitar, Jim McCarty on drums and Keith Relf on vocals and harmonica. Paul Samuel-Smith on bass-guitar and Chris Dreja complete the line-up of the band during the 1963-1965 period of the band. The song is a cover of a 1956 Blues song by Chester Burnett, otherwise known as Howlin’ Wolf. The title of the song comes from watching the sparks fly out of trains as they pass by at night. The Yardbirds version of Smokestack Lightning is reworded slightly, to give more of a structure to the song. Clapton was at the time a Blues-purest, and would leave the group as The Yardbirds progressed to a more Rock orientated sound in the mid 60’s (For Your Love, Heart Full of Song).
Jim McCarty and Chris Reja went on to reform the band in 1992, and The Yardbirds are still touring to this day – check out their website for more details.
