Shapes of Things (album)

Shapes of Things
Shapes of Things
Compilation album by the Yardbirds
Released	9 December 1977
Recorded	March 1964 – January 1966
Genre	Rock
Length	57:43
Label	Charly
Producer	Giorgio Gomelsky
The Yardbirds chronology

Shapes of Things is a double LP compilation album of songs by English rock group the Yardbirds. It was released by Charly Records on 9 December 1977, the first of many Yardbirds compilations on the label.^[1] It features selections produced by Giorgio Gomelsky that were recorded between 1964 and 1966.

The album marks the first UK release of the group's influential "The Train Kept A-Rollin'" and the first album appearance of the instrumental "Steeled Blues".^[1] Demos for four songs later recorded for the group's post-Gomelsky album, Yardbirds (also known as Over Under Sideways Down and Roger the Engineer), are also included.

In Canada, Shapes of Things was released by Bomb Records with a different cover which used a group photo from the band's Jeff Beck era. It reached number 96 on the RPM Top 100 album chart in 1978.^[2] Charly Records also used the same title for a comprehensive seven-LP collection of Gomelsky-produced material released in 1984.^[1]^[3]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original release	Length
1.	"Too Much Monkey Business"	Chuck Berry	Five Live Yardbirds	2:51
2.	"I Wish You Would"	Billy Boy Arnold	UK/US single	2:18
3.	"Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"	Don Level, Bob Love	UK single	2:48
4.	"For Your Love"	Graham Gouldman	UK/US single	2:27
5.	"A Certain Girl"	Naomi Neville a.k.a. Allen Toussaint	B-side "I Wish You Would"	2:18
6.	"Got to Hurry"	Oscar Rasputin a.k.a. Giorgio Gomelsky	B-side "For Your Love"	2:34

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original Release	Length
1.	"Smokestack Lightning"	Chester Burnett a.k.a. Howlin' Wolf	Five Live Yardbirds	5:30
2.	"Evil Hearted You"	Gouldman	UK single	2:26
3.	"Still I'm Sad"	Paul Samwell-Smith, Jim McCarty	B-side "Evil Hearted You"	3:00
4.	"Steeled Blues"	Jeff Beck, Keith Relf	B-side "Heart Full of Soul"	2:37
5.	"Train Kept A Rolling"	Tiny Bradshaw, Lois Mann a.k.a. Syd Nathan, Howie Kay	Having a Rave Up	3:25
6.	"Here 'Tis"	Ellas McDaniel a.k.a. Bo Diddley	Five Live Yardbirds	5:20

Side three
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original Release	Length
1.	"What Do You Want"	Chris Dreja, Beck, McCarty, Relf, Samwell-Smith	demo	3:10
2.	"New York City Blues"	Relf	B-side "Shapes of Things" (US)	4:17
3.	"For R.S.G."	Beck, Relf, Samwell-Smith	demo	4:04
4.	"You're a Better Man Than I"	Mike Hugg, Brian Hugg	Having a Rave Up	3:17
5.	"Jeff's Blues"	Beck	demo	3:03
6.	"I Ain't Got You"	Calvin Carter	B-side "Good Morning Little School Girl"	1:59

Side four
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original Release	Length
1.	"I Ain't Done Wrong"	Relf	For Your Love	3:39
2.	"Someone to Love Part One"	Dreja, Beck, McCarty, Relf, Samwell-Smith	demo	2:23
3.	"Someone to Love Part Two"	Dreja, Beck, McCarty, Relf, Samwell-Smith	demo	4:17
4.	"My Gal Sloopy"	Wes Farrell, Bert Russell	For Your Love	5:34
5.	"Shapes of Things"	McCarty, Relf, Samwell-Smith	UK/US single	2:24

Personnel

The Yardbirds

Keith Relf – vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar, percussion
Eric Clapton – lead guitar (Side 1; Side 2; tracks 1 and 5; Side 3, track 6)
Jeff Beck – lead guitar (Side 2, tracks 2-5; Side 3, tracks 1-5; Side 4)
Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar
Paul Samwell-Smith – bass guitar, backing vocals
Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
Giorgio Gomelsky – producer, backing vocals on "A Certain Girl" and "Still I'm Sad"

References

1 2 3 Russo, Greg (2016). Yardbirds: The Ultimate Rave-Up (6th. ed.). Crossfire Publications. pp. 98–101. ISBN 978-0-9791845-7-4.
↑ "RPM 100 Top Albums (51–100)" (PDF). RPM. 19 August 1978. p. 24.
↑ "The Yardbirds: Shapes of Things – Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 December 2016.

[Russo-1] 1 2 3 Russo, Greg (2016). Yardbirds: The Ultimate Rave-Up (6th. ed.). Crossfire Publications. pp. 98–101. ISBN 978-0-9791845-7-4.

[2] "RPM 100 Top Albums (51–100)" (PDF). RPM. 19 August 1978. p. 24.

[3] "The Yardbirds: Shapes of Things – Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 December 2016.

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The Yardbirds
Original members (1963–1968): Keith Relf Paul Samwell-Smith Chris Dreja Jim McCarty Top Topham Eric Clapton Jeff Beck Jimmy Page Later members (since 1992): John Idan Gypie Mayo Alan Glen Jerry Donahue Ben King Johnny A. Kenny Aaronson Myke Scavone
Studio recordings	For Your Love Having a Rave Up Roger the Engineer Little Games Birdland
Live albums	Five Live Yardbirds Sonny Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds Live Yardbirds! Featuring Jimmy Page Live! Blueswailing July '64
Anthologies	The Yardbirds Greatest Hits Shapes of Things Ultimate! Glimpses 1963–1968 Yardbirds '68
Soundtracks	Blow-Up – The Original Sound Track Album
Bootlegs	Golden Eggs More Golden Eggs
Singles	"I Wish You Would" "A Certain Girl" "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" "For Your Love" "Heart Full of Soul" "Evil Hearted You" "I'm a Man" "Shapes of Things" "You're a Better Man Than I" "Boom Boom" "Over Under Sideways Down" "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" "Ha Ha Said the Clown" "Ten Little Indians"
Other songs	"Let It Rock" "Who Do You Love" "You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover" "Too Much Monkey Business" "Smokestack Lightning" "Five Long Years" "The Sky Is Crying" "My Girl Sloopy" "The Train Kept A-Rollin'" "Spoonful" "The Stumble" "Dust My Blues" "White Summer" "Drinking Muddy Water" "Stealing Stealing" "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" "Dazed and Confused" "Knowing That I'm Losing You" "I'm Waiting for the Man"
Related	Discography Members John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers Cream Blind Faith Derek & the Dominoes Jeff Beck Group Beck, Bogert & Appice Led Zeppelin The Honeydrippers The Firm Coverdale - Page Page & Plant Renaissance Box of Frogs