Jimmy Page continues to look back -- he's just seen to the reissue of a long-lost live Yardbirds set from 1968.
Page joined the legendary band as bassist and then switched to guitar, playing alongside Jeff Beck until leaving to form Led Zeppelin.
Nine of the songs on Yardbirds '68 were originally released in 1971 as Live Yardbirds: Featuring Jimmy Page, which was famously doctored with the sound of a bullfighting audience. In 1977, Page threatened legal action against the group's label and the album was deleted and the masters destroyed, making it a valuable collector's item.
The new two-disc set contains 18 tracks recorded at New York's Anderson Theater in March 1968, adding "Studio Sketches" from the same era. In addition to Page, The Yardbirds at that time consisted of drummer Jim McCarty, bassist Chris Dreja [pr: DRAY-ha] and singer Keith Relf.
Page, McCarty and Dreja say, "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.”
Among the songs it contains are "Train Kept A Rollin’," "Heart Full of Soul," "Over Under Sideways Down," "Shapes of Things" and "Dazed and Confused," which of course Page did with Led Zeppelin. (On the album's original release, the Jake Holmes song was retitled "I'm Confused.)
Yardbirds '68 has liner notes by Page, Dreja and McCarty, and will be available on November 5th on CD, on vinyl and in a signed deluxe edition.
A version of The Yardbirds led by Jim McCarty is still active. Dreja, who had a long career as a professional photographer, retired. Relf died in an accidental electrocution in 1976.