74. The Yardbirds - Roger the Engineer

Artist: The Yardbirds
Album: Roger the Engineer
Year: 1966

Like John Mayall's Blues Breakers, The Yardbirds played blues-rock, but instead of going for the old-school approach the other band employed, they spruced it up with touches of psychedelia. This is an album I'd actually heard before, a number of years ago when I first got into 60's British bands. I hadn't heard it since, which gives some indication of what I thought of it at the time. This time, I was determined to give it more of a fair shot.

Eric Clapton had been a member of The Yardbirds before leaving the band when they decided to go a more "pop" route. The band brought in guitarist Jeff Beck and didn't miss a beat. After listening to Beck and Clapton back to back, I can honestly say I prefer Jeff Beck's guitar work. He has all these little manic riffs that he adds little flourishes to: on some songs the guitarwork has a Middle Eastern flair, on others driving blues.

I didn't love this album, but I can say there was a variety of styles. "Over, Under, Sideways, Down" has that Bob Dylan harmonica-rock thing mixed with "Rock Around the Clock" and a twisty guitar riff. "I Can't Make Your Way" and "Farewell" opt for a pop sound somewhat similar to The Kinks. "Lost Woman" sounds like an early Led Zeppelin cut. A number of songs like "Jeff's Boogie" and "Hot House of Omagarashid" are meandering and pointless. It doesn't help that the less successful tracks are all grouped together toward the middle of the album, causing it to lose steam. "He's Always There" gets some energy back into the proceedings toward the end of the album, with a strong melody, interesting percussion, and chanted backing vocals.

At the end of the day, this album is a rather uneven one. The best songs are the ones where they let Jeff Beck establish a good riff and build the rest of the song around it, as on "Over, Under, Sideways, Down." It's not bad, but if it's another ten years before I hear this album again, I won't really feel like I was missing anything all the while.

Rating: Worth a listen