The Yardbirds - Making Tracks

The Yardbirds have spawned some of the greatest guitarists of our time.  It is hard to believe that Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck all dawned the stage as a Yardbird, at one time or another.  Well it has been many a year since these guys have played with The Birds, but uh..., they've all been a little busy over the past 5 decades. Even though the guitar heroes have been gone for some time, drummer Jim McCarty and rhythm guitarist Chris Deja have been back at it, since their reunion in 1992.  The current line up wasn't solidified until 2009, but has been going strong ever since.  

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the band, and even though The Yardbirds only have 2 original members, they still have found a way to maintain an audience and rock a venue.  Making Tracks is a compilation of live shows, as well as a documentary from the band from their 2010 - 2012 tour.   The show is shot well and the audio and is spot on.  My only complaint is that you loose some continuity when the band switches from different performances.  It became a little distracting.

I was never really a huge Yardbirds fan, at least I thought, until I saw the video.  This band authored so many songs I had heard before, but not from them, but from other artists.  I gotta say, I had no idea that Dazed and Confused was a Yardbirds song, before it way a Zeppelin tune.  This band has been well covered over the years.  The performance on this DVD was crisp and entertaining.  I really dug this video.  Even though Page, Beck and Clapton are absent, it still doesn't take away from the solid performance, from the current line up.  It would have been cool to see one of those guys do a cameo, but it didn't really matter, because of the solid performance.

Bottom Line: If you're a purist, this one may take some time to get through, due to the fact that the only original members are the drummer and rythim guitarist.  If you're just looking for some coll bluesy classic rock done well, then this is your DVD.

-Ragman was pleasently surprised with this one.