Track Listing:
Mr. You're a Better Man Than I A+ / Evil Hearted You A / I'm a Man A / Still I'm Sad A+ / Heart Full of Soul A / The Train Kept A-Rollin' A+ / Smokestack Lightning B+ / Respectable A- / I'm a Man B+ / Here 'Tis A / BONUS TRACKS: Shapes of Things A+ / New York City Blues A / Jeff's Blues (Take 1) B / Someone to Love (Part 1) B+ / Someone to Love (Part 2) A / Like Jimmy Reed Again B / Chris' Number B / What Do You Want B / Here 'Tis A- / Here 'Tis (Version for RSG) A- Stroll On A

This was The Yardbirds' third official release, and they had yet to release an actual album. That's strange, considering--especially by 1965--it was the thing for pop bands to assemble albums. What we got instead was a compilation of 10 tracks. Six of these tracks were singles and the remaining four were live cuts recycled from Five Live Yardbirds. (Naturally, the 21st Century compact disc reissues are loaded with a plethora of greatly appreciated bonus tracks and glossy liner notes.) Perhaps even more strange is that The Yardbirds, even without releasing albums, still were considered one of the top-tier groups of the era. They were probably even more influential than The Rolling Stones were. (And I'm saying this even though I worship The Rolling Stones, but that band didn't really start blooming until 1966, and it's not a stretch of the imagination whatsoever to assume that The Yardbirds helped give them a boost.)

And maybe it's also true that these singles were said to be a direct predecessor of psychedelic music, and Jeff Beck's explosive guitar playing is said to have done more than anyone to inspire the most explosive guitar player there ever was: Jimi Hendrix? In that sense, anyone into collecting historically important albums is required to collect this one. But more than that, I think it should be collected because it has six freaking fantastic songs on it. If you also include the bonus tracks, which you should, then there are a whole lotta fantastic songs on this. A selection from the bonus tracks is “Shapes of Things,” and it's sort of difficult to picture what the psychedelic movement would have been without it. It was also written by band members, which the band was slowly getting accustomed to doing. Most of the other songs here were original, but they came from outside songwriters.

If you can listen to “The Train Kept A-Rollin'” and not feel its sheer power trying to rip through your stomach like that scene in Alien, then you might have to ask yourself: What's the point of life? (Or maybe you're really not that into pop-rock.) If you listen to the 1951 original, it's mind boggling to me how they managed to extract that piping hot riff from it. I am also infatuated with that opening, wailing guitar-line at the beginning and some of that harmonica in the middle that mimes the sound of an actual train. The lead vocals are also interesting in that we hear two lead voices singing at the same time who don't seem to pay much attention to what the other is doing. ...That does come off as messy, but I like it: It convincingly adds to the unruly spirit of the thing. We also hear a more distortion-heavy version of that riff in “Stroll On” in the bonus tracks, so be sure to check that out as well. Another excellent addition to the original album is the studio version of “I'm a Man.” Oddly enough they also included the live version of that song, so we get to know directly from the source which version we like better. For me, it's handily the crisper and tighter studio cut. I mean, that heart-thumping drum beat comes in clear as a bell!

The most well-regarded song of the lot is “Mr. You're a Better Man Than I,” which is a bit of pop. Otherwise known as the reason Eric Clapton left them. But that man was a fool for doing so: What an excellent song! Its melody is brilliant, the rhythm is dark and driving, and it's peppered with a distortion-ridden guitar solo from Jeff Beck. Additionally, there are two songs here written by Graham Gouldman (who had previously written The Yardbirds' mega-hit “For Your Love”). The first is “Evil Hearted You,” which--perhaps appropriately--is orchestrated with dark tones. (I mean, listen to that utterly stinging tone that opens up the song.) That's interesting since, surely, the vast majority of bands of this era wouldn't have orchestrated such a pop song as such, since I could also imagine it as a fluffy but legitimately strong hit for a band like The Dave Clarke Five. Gouldman also wrote “Heart Full of Soul,” which is more standard pop-rock, but the melody once again is fantastic. But there are a few interesting things going on there: It's characterized by some frantic bongo drums, a ghostly (and mightily psychedelic) voice in the background, and strong Jeff Beck licks.

Is this review already over? Should I talk more about the bonus tracks? The important bonus track here was of course “The Shapes of Things,” which wasn't included on the original release because it hadn't been written yet. Otherwise, it's loaded with a bunch of instrumental jams, which I do actually enjoy listening to quite a bit, but I realize that they're not especially substantial. Although they're heaven for big fans of the electric guitar. My favorites are the distortion-heavy solos we get in the instrumental versions of “Someone to Love” and “Here 'Tis.” So to conclude, let's give Having a Rave-Up its well deserved 13/15, and let's get on with our days.

Recommended: Yes