Led Zep legend Jimmy Page will release an album of rare Yardbirds recordings from 1968 on his Jimmy Page Records label in November.
The album will feature 10 tracks recorded live at the Anderson Theater in New York in March 1968. The Yardbirds broke up three months later. By September, Page recruited Robert Plant from Band of Joy, Plant recommended drummer John Bonham join the band. Yardbirds bass player Chris Dreja was to join the new band but dropped out to become a photographer. Plant knew John Paul Jones and recommended him for the job. The line-up for The New Yardbirds was complete.
The New Yardbirds toured Scandinavia in September 1968 but the name became a legal issue for the band when Chris Dreja issued them with a Cease and Desist order. The Who’s Keith Moon said the band would sink like a “lead balloon”. They changed ‘lead’ to ‘Led’ (so that people wouldn’t mispronounce it ‘leed’ and ‘balloon’ to ‘Zeppelin’.
The Yardbirds ‘Live At Anderson Theater’ will give Led Zep fans an early taste of what was to come with the inclusion of ‘Dazed and Confused’, later recorded for Led Zeppelin’s debut album.
“We thought this might be lost forever, but we’ve rediscovered it, re-mixed it. It’s of great historical importance. We’re delighted to see the release,” Jimmy Page said in a statement.
The Yardbirds – The Yardbirds ‘68
LIVE AT ANDERSON THEATER
Train Kept A Rollin’
Mr, You’re A Better Man Than I
Heart Full of Soul
Dazed And Confused
My Baby
Over Under Sideways Down
Drinking Muddy Water
Shapes of Things
White Summer
I’m A Man (contains Moanin’ And Sobbin’)
STUDIO SKETCHES
Avron Knows
Spanish Blood
Knowing That I’m Losing You (Tangerine)
Taking A Hold On Me
Drinking Muddy Water (Version Two)
My Baby
Avron’s Eyes
Spanish Blood (Instr.)
‘Yardbirds ‘68’ will be released on November 5 exclusively from JimmyPage.com
