Yardbirds: The Ultimate Rave-Up

by Greg Russo

This is an authorized and definitive account of rock music's most influential band, which included Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page during its lifespan. Members of The Yardbirds went on to play with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, Led Zeppelin and Renaissance. In addition to the entire history of The Yardbirds, this book gives full accounts of each member's activities to the present. A discography of every Yardbirds-related recording and over 270 B&W photos and illustrations are included in its 288 pages.

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2001

Reviews

[East Bay J · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ultimate Rave-Up is a fantastic resource book for Yardbirds fans. Greg Russo has used his friendship with the band as well as a lifetime of attendance at Yardbirds shows to add the personal details. And it's these little details that make this book fun to read, because it's long and full of information and Russo goes at it in exhausting detail. There has never been more information collected into one volume on The Yardbirds, nor will there be. Every band member, pesonnel change, show, recording session, tour, release, bootleg is discussed and explained. Russo also goes beyond The Yardbirds and relates what happened to all of them after the band split. And tons of great pictures! Russo writes about the band with an infectious warmth and enthusiasm. I would pick this over Alan Clayson's Yardbirds bio.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of the book is discography and recording information—important for collectors. The central narrative is occasionally clunky, but important for fans with few sources to turn too. Photos are plentiful and, unfortunately, black-and-white. It’s almost 30 years old now, a few years older than Clayson’s bio, but both are worth reading.