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Among the great patriarchs of hard rock, there is often one band that tends to be forgotten.
Faced with this reasoning, many might be wondering: "But which group is this?".
The sharpest ones will have already guessed because the title above doesn't leave much to the imagination. But for those who are still unclear, I can give a little help.
Well: some of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock history have played with them. Want the names? Ok? Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page.
"Now it's easy," some might be thinking: "it's the Eagles."
"No way, buddy, it's Guns N’ Roses."
"I know, they're Pink Floyd, the one with that guitarist who played with his teeth."
Not exactly. It's the Yardbirds, "gallinacci" in Italian (Mike Bongiorno dixit), and "Little Games" is the album the band brought to life in the period following Jeff Beck's departure, with Page on guitar.
The LP, composed of 10 songs, was released in 1967. It wasn't very successful commercially, so much so that the band broke up.
Jimmy Page, from the ashes of the group, gave life to the New Yardbirds, later Led Zeppelin. The singer Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty instead released two records with the Renaissance pre-Annie Haslam, while the bassist-secondary guitarist Chris Dreja became a photographer. And guess who took the photo that's now on the back of the first Zeppelin album? Yes, the one with Robert Plant wearing a black sweater and Bonzo, with a little mustache and an embroidered knit. Yes, HIM, Chris Dreja!
But let's get to the album. A mixture of pseudo-psychedelia, blues, and guitar riffs. It's difficult to find weak points or masterpieces, but overall it still proves to be a decent work alternating between acoustic and electric moments, carefree or tense, which will especially satisfy Jimmy Page's followers, who will discover that the track "Black Mountain Side" on Led Zeppelin I is actually "White Summer," the third track of Little Games. You can also hear the guitarist dabbling with the bow (his trademark) within "Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor" and "Glimpses".
The remastered version also includes bonus tracks, with singles and previously unreleased tracks. It's interesting to note that on one of these, "Think About It," resides what will become one of Page's best solos, that of "Dazed And Confused." It almost seems cut and pasted!
Overall, therefore, a forgotten and underestimated album, rightfully so except for a few clever finds, a poorly aged cousin of "Disraeli Gears".
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Smile on Me (03:20)
(Chris Dreja / Keith Relf / Jim McCarty / Jimmy Page)
Smile on me baby,
Make me feel like summer's here.
Smile on me baby,
Make me feel good when you're near.
Prove it to me baby,
That our love is in the clear.
Walk with me baby,
Make me hold my head up high.
Walk with me baby,
Make me feel the greatest guy.
I'm gonna love you baby,
Love you till you cry.
Stay with me baby,
Make me always feel so fine.
Stay with me baby,
Make me always feel so fine,
So I can tell all the world,
You always gonna be mine.
Smile on me baby,
Make me feel like summer's here.
Smile on me baby,
Make me feel good when you're near.
Prove it to me baby,
That our love is in the clear.
03 White Summer (03:59)
White Summer was an instrumental that Jimmy Page played with The Yardbirds, and later used in Led Zeppelin, where it turned into Black Mountain Side and appeared on their first album.
07 No Excess Baggage (02:39)
(Atkins / Derrico)
I'm moving,
I'm gonna see the world while I can.
I'm moving,
I'm gonna be a well rounded man.
And there ain't no room for no-one else,
I've got to learn it all for myself.
No excess baggage,
- There to worry me.
No excess baggage,
- There to hurry me.
No excess baggage, girl,
I must roam,
All alone,
On my own,
I'm hungry,
I wanna taste the fruits of the world.
So hungry,
And assure I do love you girl.
But if you're what I'm searching for,
My heart will lead me back to your door.
No excess baggage,
- There to worry me.
No excess baggage,
- There to hurry me.
No excess baggage, girl,
I must roam,
All alone,
On my own.
But if you're what I'm searching for,
My heart will lead me back to your door.
No excess baggage,
- There to worry me.
No excess baggage,
- There to hurry me.
No excess baggage, girl,
I must roam,
All alone,
On my own.
I gotta roam,
All alone,
- No excess baggage.
On my own.
I gotta roam,
- No excess baggage.
All alone,
On my own.
- No excess baggage.
I gotta roam,
- No excess baggage.
On my own.
08 Stealing Stealing (02:36)
(Chris Dreja / Keith Relf / Jim McCarty / Jimmy Page)
Stealin', stealin',
Mama, don't ya tell on me,
I'm stealing back to the way I used to be.
Well, put your arms around me,
Like a circle round the sun,
Now [they's got the blue,?]
We can have a little fun,
How glad it's you,
And not your sister with me now,
Saw her yesterday,
And she look's just like a ...,
Stealin', stealin,
Mama, don't ya tell on me,
I'm stealing back to the way I used to be.
I'm stealin', stealin,
Mama, don't ya tell on me,
I'm stealing back to the way I used to be.
Well, sit beside me baby,
[?]
The sun is shining out now,
Just for you and I,
Look, I mean to walk you home,
Your mama's getting bad,
So I'd rather stay at home.
Stealin', stealin,
Mama, don't ya tell on me,
I'm stealing back to the way I used to be.
I'm stealin', stealin,
Mama, don't ya tell on me,
I'm stealing back to the way I used to be.
Stealin', stealin,
Mama, don't ya tell on me,
I'm stealing back to the way I used to be.
Stealin', stealin,
Mama, don't ya tell on me,
...to fade
09 Only the Black Rose (02:50)
(Keith Relf)
Gone, gone away,
Gone away,
Almost nothing to do.
Gone away,
Now I'm far from you,
Though I'm alone now,
And there's nobody near,
I hush my voice,
Lest they should hear;
My prayers go up to the sky,
Deep within me I die,
I'll never cry,
No-one must see me this way.
Left, left to find,
Someone kind,
Who won't leave me behind,
Who will guide me,
When I am blind;
Soothe my brow,
When thoughts hurt my brain;
Help me love,
When faced with pain.
I long to find someone who,
Will remind me of you,
Only the black rose knows what I will do.
Silence, silence now,
Not a sound,
Stillness everywhere now,
And the trees,
To the wind gently bow,
Only visions of the past and the gloom,
And for the moment you're in the room,
And just as flowers bloom and die,
No-one watching to cry,
Only the black rose stands up to the sky.
Only the black rose stands up to the sky.
Only the black rose.
11 Puzzles (02:10)
(Jimmy Page / Jim McCarty / Chris Dreja / Keith Relf)
You never talk straight to me,
It's all puzzles to me.
If there's sense in what you talk about,
I can never see.
If you don't want me to spend your life with you,
Go and find someone new.
'Cause I know there's so many better girls than you.
Puzzles, hanging on my mind now,
Puzzles, puzzles in my mind,
In my mind,
That's all I find,
In my mind.
Life's puzzles,
I will never know,
Which way to go straight.
Love, war, people arguing,
How can they know what to hate?
Ever since I began thinking,
I wondered why things were so.
But no matter how hard I contemplate,
Puzzles will never go.
Puzzles, hanging on my mind now,
Puzzles, puzzles in my mind,
In my mind,
That's all I find,
In my mind.
Ooh, puzzles.
13 Ha Ha Said the Clown (02:30)
(Tony Hazzard)
Chorus
Ha ha said the clown
Has the king lost his crown,
Is the knight being tight on romance?
Ha ha said the clown,
Is it bringing you down,
That you've lost your chance.
Feeling low, gotta go,
See a show in town.
Hear the jokes, have a smoke,
And a laugh at the clown.
In a whirl, see a girl,
With a smile in her eyes.
Never thought I'd be brought,
Right down by her lies.
Chorus
In a trance, watch her dance,
To the beat of the drums.
Faster now, sweating brow,
I'm all the fingers and thumbs.
Wonder why I hit the sky,
When she blows me a kiss.
In a while run a mile,
I'm regretting all this.
Chorus
Time to go, close the show,
Wave the people good-bye.
Grab my coat, grab my hat,
Look that girl in the eye.
Where's your home?
What's your phone number?
Stop fooling round.
Could have died she replied.
"I'm the wife of the clown"
Chorus
16 Think About It (03:45)
(Keith Relf / Jim McCarty / Jimmy Page)
When will the clouds all roll away?
When will the good people have their say?
I hope you're still round to see the day.
Take a while,
Think about it.
Take a while,
Think about it.
Take a while,
Think about it.
Who can tell what is up or down?
You can be the king or be the clown.
Then climb your tree, take a look around.
Take a while,
Think about it.
Take a while,
Think about it.
Take a while,
Think about it.
Circles of life, an infinite plane,
That which is now now will be again.
Who can decide who is insane?
Take a while,
Think about it.
Take a while,
Think about it.
Take a while,
Think about it.
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