This is a bit of a mish-mash album. Given the rather open revolving door for their band members of The Yardbirds, this album features legendary guitarists (although their fame was rather limited at the time) Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck on this rather overlooked release in the history of Rock music. Eric Clapton left The Yardbirds around this time, stating creative differences, but did recommend Jeff Beck as a replacement, which is why both guitarists feature on this album. This album captures that musical moment in time of 1965. Let’s take a listen to the music here, and hope that it is a good listen.

For Your Love does feature Eric Clapton playing on it, and the sound of this song was primarily why he left The Yardbirds as well. It begins with what sounds like 12 string electric guitar and bongos, launching into a straightforward Pop/Rock piece that is very 1960s. It is very dated today but sounds good enough to hear, although it hasn’t aged too well. There is a drastic change near the middle, led by drums before this returns to the main section of the song. This is straightforward Pop/Rock music that sounds okay, although rather dated. It builds up into a frenzy right towards the end, before concluding with bongo drum rolls. Good stuff.

I’m Not Talking has a very Surf Rock sort of intro, before launching into quite a good tune. It is a great listen, straight from the 1960s. A really nice piece of music, this sounds really awesome and pretty to listen to. A colourful, bright and flowing tune, this is very dated sounding today, but still is good enough to listen to regardless. Not as good as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones though, but still good enough to listen to on rare occasions, the guitar solo in the second half is really awesome and amazing. A fine effort for what this is, the playing and attitude are awesome on this song. It finishes dramatically, a very nice listen from The Yardbirds.

I Ain’t Got You is a traditional number from The Yardbirds. It is a fairly standard Pop/Rock piece of music with a harmonica from this era and is under two minutes long. The lyrics are interesting, “I got women to the left of me, women to the right of me, I got chicks all around me, said, I ain’t got you” is a clever lyrical line, sounding really macho male in its orientation by today’s standards. There is an awesome Fender Esquire/Telecaster solo here which is very good and memorable, and this is an adventure into the sounds and Pop culture of the 1960s. Excellent song.

Putty In Your Hands begins with some good guitar riffing, launching into a more traditional Rhythm and Blues piece of music that although isn’t as much of a hit as other songs on this album, works well to listen to. This is straightforward 1960s music, and although this is very dated today, it is not a million miles away from what The Rolling Stones were doing at the time. A really awesome listen for what it is, this does sound inspired. A joy to hear, even if you don’t really like this sort of music. Great and short songs to hear are present on this album.

Got To Hurry does have Eric Clapton playing on it. It begins with drumbeats and a rhythm and blues styled guitar riff, and sounds great. This is a nice instrumental with some good Fender Telecaster playing which is gorgeous by Clapton himself. A really great tune to hear, this is something very underrated and listenable from this album. A fresh, lovely and decent sounding song, all the way back from the 1960s, this does sound clever and amazing throughout. It ends with a very gentle guitar figure. Excellent music.

I Ain’t Done Wrong begins with some nicely overdriven guitar tones, pounding drums and a touch of harmonica here. This is great music and has some equally great Fender Esquire/Telecaster licks on it. This quickly launches into a really excellent song that powers along nicely and sounds great for mid-sixties Pop/Rock derived from Rhythm and Blues music. Still, this is a very excellent listening experience, complete with chaotic drum rolls and guitar melodicism to match. No wonder Rock music took off around this time in terms of overall popularity, and the music here does sound really great, albeit primitive. There is an elongated solo section in the second half that is very chaotic and wonderful sounding before the music returns to the song section. There is also some nice slide guitar present towards the end. Good job. A great listen.

I Wish You Would has Eric Clapton playing on it. It begins with some nice guitar work and a reverberated mix, along with harmonica playing here as well. This is one of the better pieces of music from this album and is extremely catchy and decent to hear. A cool, clever 1960s tune to boot. The guitar playing in particular by Clapton is excellent and sounds really fantastic and divine in his phrasing. A really awesome tune, and a great two minute long snippet of the 1960s. Excellent.

A Certain Girl has Eric Clapton playing on it, again. It is a very retro Rhythm and Blues tune that sounds really awesome and is about a man’s secret lover here. Interesting song, and a really retro piece of music that still sounds iconic in its own way. This follows with a piercing Fender Telecaster guitar solo by Eric Clapton that sounds quite good. Refreshing and original in its own way, this is a cool listening experience that is uplifting. Worth your time.

Sweet Music begins as a rather unusual tune that is very Poppy and has multitracked vocals. This is a stripped back tune that is very short, but enjoyable. A piece devoted to music itself, there should be more songs written like this in the history of music. Still, this does sound very dated musically, but for an effort by The Yardbirds, this is still quite good listening overall. A really enjoyable and refreshing listen, this does sound very sweet. A nice piece of songcraft here.

Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl is a bit much in terms of lyricism, from the song title alone. Still, this is a great sounding piece of music that sounds really fresh and awesome musically. Sure, it is about baby boomer teenage romance that sounds a bit underaged today, but it does sound good. Despite this lyrical mode, this is a perfectly enjoyable listening experience that works well. The guitar solo is electrifying, loud and amazing here, and points to the fact that Fender Telecasters are great indeed to play music on. A powerful and upbeat tune, this is a classic song from the 1960s. Excellent music to hear, even today.

My Girl Sloopy has Jeff Beck playing on it and is the last track on this album. It is also rather long at over five minutes in length. It begins with some good 1960s guitar melodies, some rather shrill harmonies and launches into a piece of music about romanticism, powered along by 1960s melodies. The Yardbirds best efforts are not here, unfortunately, and this piece of music is easily revealing that. A really good finish to this album nonetheless, in its own way, although this could have been rethought in some of its approach. Jeff Beck’s guitar playing is quite decent here, and he utilises (by the sounds of it) wah-wah sound effects. A very weird and extended jam by The Yardbirds, it is fairly easy to see why Eric Clapton left The Yardbirds. This more Pop oriented material doesn’t sound quite as good as their earlier works with Clapton himself. In the second half, this tune gets very subtle after a loud climax, before launching into a super fast and sped-up jam that is cool. Again, a bit of a strange listen, but a very good one indeed. Not the best here, but enjoyable enough, this ends with some mellow guitar lines, before concluding.

Understandably, this is not the best album of the 1960s. It is not even the best album by The Yardbirds. However, having said that, it is a good but fairly average album that takes one’s mind back to 1965, and simpler times. Should you listen to this album? It’s really only recommended if you are a fan of retro 1960s tunes. Otherwise, you can find better releases from this time to evoke really more so what the 1960s were about.

Decent music for what it is.

7/10