On Track – The Yardbirds / The The

Author:Andrew Darlington, Brian J Robb

With the recent passing of Chris Dreja, it seems somehow appropriate that this detailed look at the career of The Yardbirds has coincidentally appeared. They are to be honest a bit before my time, so I’m only really familiar with the hit singles such as For Your Love and Shape of Things. Of course, they were the launchpad for the careers of Page, Clapton and Beck, but there was a lot more to their music than being a proving ground for up and coming ace guitarists, as this deep dive into their career, which leaves no stone unturned, amply demonstrates. An interesting read for fans of the band, and pleasingly one that doesn’t just focus solely on the height of their career when they were in their musical ascendancy.

Around the time of Infected and Mind Bomb, I followed Matt Johnson;s music quite closely, as he really seemed to have his finger on the pulse. I must confess my attention waned after those albums, as indeed seemingly did his as their records become more sporadic as the years passed, with him appearing to have retired from music for good after 2000’s Naked Self set. To the surprise of many, he returned to playing live in 2018, after keeping himself busy in the intervening years working on film soundtracks, and even released a new record, Ensoulment, last year, almost a quarter of a century after its predecessor. Although they never really escaped being thought of as something of an 80’s cult band, this well researched book rounds up Johnson’s whole idiosyncratic career, both in and outside of the mainstream, and is certainly a worthwhile read for his followers, be they old or new.

Length of Read:Short

Might appeal to people who enjoyed…

The work of these artists.

One thing you’ve learned

The years slip by.

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