Thursday, July 12, 2012

I'm Going Back Down to Kansas

In the grand ol' USA the Yardbirds' single released in October 1965 had a different A-side than in the UK.  And what a change it was from Evil Hearted You.   They had originally recorded Bo Diddley's I'm A Man with Eric Clapton on lead guitar in 1964 and released it on their first LP.  While the Jeff Beck version of the 'birds was touring the US in 1965 they recorded a new version at Chess Studios in Chicago.  This version blew the roof off, with a suddenly double time coda, psychedelic guitar lead and then closing with Jeff Beck's scratch picking assault on his instrument.   Considering it was '65, not '67, the performance must have scared the pants off the radio listening public.  Even so it managed to climb to #17 on the US charts.

1 comment:

Who Am Us Anyway? said...

this is '65, not '67 ... i was thinking the exact same thing as i was listening to Evil Hearted You below!

The Beatles were doing Help! which don't get me wrong i know has great & lasting charms, but this is at least two years ahead of that.

Pulling ahead of the pack with the Yardbirds was Dylan on Highway 61, that might be about it ... maybe the Kinks' See My Friends ... I can't think of anything else off the top of my head ...