So why is The Yardbirds’ Having A Rave Up on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
At some point during my childhood, I was reading about the 1960s rock scene and stumbled across the term “conservative mod” with regard to fashion (it probably had something to do with The Doors and Ray Manzarek but I can’t quite recall).
That term always stuck with me, especially when I think about mid-’60s style and music. It’s one of my favorite musical eras, one in which things were rapidly changing in terms of culture and society, but importantly the “counterculture” hadn’t yet fully subsumed the popular culture.
Conservative mod fashion to me represents hair getting a little longer and shaggier but still pretty kempt. Bands still often wore coats and ties, but they were cool as hell coats and ties. And the music from that time has the same feel in some way. There are tinges of experimentation and psychedelia and influences streaming in – ranging wildly from surf rock from the U.S. west coast to India in the east – but overall there are still traditional structures in rock music, with a heavy influence of the blues.
The Yardbirds’ “Heart Full of Soul,” off of Having A Rave Up (sometimes called Having A Rave Up With the Yardbirds) is the perfect example of conservative mod-in-music. It’s got a dusting of psychedelic rock influence while overall it’s a fun, stomping rock ‘n roll ride with great soaring vocals from the band.
“Evil Hearted You” has a similar vibe, though it’s worth mentioning that The Yardbirds’ musicianship and songwriting chops are way in the upper tier of bands from this era (which makes perfect sense when you consider the lineup over time included the likes of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and a gentleman named Jimmy Page), This conjures an absolutely unique sound.
Having A Rave Up includes several live tracks. “I’m A Man” is fun, though the studio version (also on the album) is far better. The best live track is called “Smokestack Lightning,” a fun, rollicking British blues rock number.
Some stats & info about The Yardbirds – Having A Rave Up
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? British Bands, British Invasion, Rock Music, Blues Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Having A Rave Up released? 1965
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #639 out of 1,000
The Yardbirds’ Having A Rave Up on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from The Yardbirds’ Having A Rave Up that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Yeah, smokestack lightning. Don’t you hear me calling?
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.