Eric Clapton and the Yardbirds

The muddy sound on many of the Yardbirds songs over the years has been greatly improved as better master tapes have surfaced; Allmusic notes the Repertoire Records releases of the 1990’s as showing significant improvement.  Cheap compilation albums with names like Eric Clapton and the Yardbirds and Jeff Beck and the Yardbirds usually feature assortments of uneven performances, and they also have not helped the Yardbirds’ reputation since the 1960’s.  But for those in the know, and if you find the right albums, rock music doesn’t get much better than this. 

(May 2014)