Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 10/03/2006
In its original U.S. vinyl release, this album, comprised of several singles and B-sides plus excerpts off of
Five Live Yardbirds, was one of the best LPs of the entire British invasion, ranking on a par with the greatest mid-1960s work of
the Beatles and
the Rolling Stones; it was also just a step away from being a best-of
the Yardbirds as well. The contents have reappeared numerous times in many different configurations, but no collection has ever outdone the sheer compactness and high quality of
Having a Rave Up. One major problem since the 1960s, as with all of
the Yardbirds material owned by
Charly Records, has been the sound -- for years,
Charly only had substandard master materials to offer. That situation improved significantly in the mid- to late 1990s, and
Repertoire Records is working from sources that are the cleanest and most impressive to have surfaced on these tracks during the CD era; one suspects that there might still be room for improvement, but not nearly as much as was previously the case -- a quick comparison of tracks between this and the contents of
Train Kept A-Rollin' reveals somewhat superior sound here. The
Repertoire reissue also adds 11 songs that cut across the group's history: principally outtakes from later in their careers and some odd studio sides from much earlier, plus the B-side
"New York City Blues" (a rewrite of
"Five Long Years"), the single
"Shapes of Things, and their featured number from the
Antonioni movie
Blow Up, the
"Train Kept A-Rollin'" rewrite
"Stroll On," featuring
Jeff Beck and
Jimmy Page in the lineup. There are new notes by
Chris Welch that, although structured somewhat haphazardly, give a good account of the history of the varied (and overall stunning) contents of this CD.
~Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
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