Nobody Told Me: My Life with the Yardbirds, Renaissance and Other Stories

Well done, Mr McCarty! Great insights into being in a band with Young Clapton, Young Beck, Relf, etc. Like many pop star-authored books, this is a good history of the group as well as a valuable reference for aspiring artists…know what you sign and how it impacts your future.

Having first read, appreciated, and reviewed here on Amazon Jim's subsequent book "She Walks In Beauty: My Quest For The Bigger Picture" before reading his previous one, it prepared me for the joy of reading yet another very well-written and substantive history of a musician that was at the heart and soul of the sixties British Invasion. Forget for the moment that The Yardbirds spawned three iconic lead guitarists who went on to further fame and fortune after their tenure within the band. There was an essential element that held that band together over the years in the form of Jim and Chris Dreja, and now with Jim as the last Yardbird standing.As much as I was initially drawn to the Yardbirds in my younger, formative, and impressionable years by the likes of Clapton, Beck, and Page, it was the whole package that captivated me, and Relf, McCarty, and Samwell-Smith were every bit as significant as they were the core that supported those guitarists whom The Yardbirds could not have done what they did without them. There was so much more behind the scenes that Jim has revealed to me within this book, and I now have even more appreciation for the core members who were songwriters and major contributors to their overall sound.I'll admit that I have a special appreciation for drummers that step out of their key role and take more of a center stage position in other musical dimensions and Jim has done with such finesse within the many bands that followed The Yardbirds such as Together, Renaissance, Illusion, Stairway, Shoot, Box of Frogs, and eventually full-circle to The Yardbirds of today—totally different than they were back in the day but just as exciting to me as they ever were.I was fortunate enough to see The Yardbirds perform live here in the USA when Chris Dreja was still within the band and once with their original lead guitarist Top Topham. Those memories and more came alive while reading this book. The structure of the book and the writing is superb. This is one of those books that is hard to put down once you start reading it. Upon finishing, I felt like I’d just watched a movie or perhaps a twenty-three-act play. The imagery that developed within my mind as I read each chapter had me feeling like I was there at the time watching this all happen before my eyes. The chapters are short enough that you get to appreciate a scene, reflect, and then move on to the next scene.As Jim says in the very last chapter of the book, there will be more tours, more recordings, and more of everything. That, to me, justifies yet another book as the legend continues onward.

I just liked it. It's good to read about Yardbirds with different points of view.Plus the author has a good sense of humor..

This is an honest inside look at the history of The Yardbirds. They were clearly one of the best UK rock/blues groups of all time, but they didn't understand business very well. They had one bad management after another. There cearly should've been a studio album recorded after their first two big hits in 1965, but were not allowed to until late 1966. This really affected their career. Add to that, the deal through Trans-Global with Epic was terrible. All of this is discussed in this terrific book.

I've always liked Jim McCarty and had the pleasure of meeting him once at a Yardbirds show in Connecticut. This book gives the backstory of the Yardbirds, Renaissance, Shoot, Box of Frogs, etc and Jim's life's both in general and within the music industry. Very well written and informative. I really enjoyed learning the history surrounding the Yardbirds and their songbook the transformation (well basically just Jimmy Page) into the mighty Led Zeppelin (which played Train Kept a Rollin, For your Love, Dazed, etc), the formation of Box of Frogs and the restart of the Yardbirds and the release of the masterpiece album Birdland. Highly recommend.

I just finished, and enjoyed absolutely every word. This is the life of a man who has lived music, from an obsession with listening to others’ music to finding his own wonderful voice and sharing it with all of us. It’s a story told with honesty and sensitivity, not spite and nastiness. If you love music...any music...and respect those with the talent and soul to create it, this is a brilliant chronicle of a life spent doing just that.

I gave this book as a gift. My friend told me that he loves it.

Excellent!

A fabulous read - and would make a splendid gift too. Never a dull moment in this book. It's wonderful to read and be reminded of "those times" - Jim makes the years come alive for us, and we can share in all of his memories. So many images and songs and places are called to mind... Truly enjoyable !!

Jim McCarty's biography provides the reader with a thoroughly absorbing account of his time with the legendary rock group The Yardbirds and his other musical ventures. Co -founder front man Keith Relf and lead guitarists Eric Clapton,Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page all have essential roles in his story which traces the start of The Yardbirds in the London clubs,their years of heavy touring leading to the moment which Jim describes as "when the band just petered out" from exhaustion as well as disillusion with their management.For fans of the 1960's era this is a book not to be missed.If you want to know what the life of a rock star is really like read this Book!

最近、ソロアルバム、ステアウェイの曲、初期ルネッサンスやイルージョンの曲を聴いていて、そのソングライターである筆者の人生について興味がわき、本書を購入しました。　全302頁中、幼少期からヤードバーズが結成され有名なジョルジョ　ゴメルスキーとマネージャー契約するまでを69頁、プロとしてギターにエリック　クラプトンを迎えての活動に28頁、ギターがジェフ　ベックに交代して（ジミー　ページとのツインリードギター時代も含め）の活動に71頁、ジミー　ページとの活動とヤードバーズからの脱退を決意するまで31頁、ルネッサンス結成から脱退までに20頁、脱退後の活動とイルージョン結成と活動終了までの24頁、イルージョン解散後の活動11頁、ステアウェイの活動に9頁、ヤードバーズ再結成後の活動36頁の配分になっています。　頁の多くがプロとしての音楽活動期間が最も長い（現在も活動が続いています）ヤードバーズに割かれていることが理解できます。　あくまでも著者のマッカーティの視点で書かれているので、登場人物自体の視点では異なるバージョンの説明が存在すると思います。　それでも60年代のマネージメントの問題（金の動きが不透明な点や米国公演時に演奏用のヴィザを取らずに演奏活動ができないなどの不備、女性専用の着替え室が用意されていない）やルネッサンス脱退の事情（著者がヤードバーズ時代の薬物接取の副作用としての鬱病が再発した）の様な話やジョン　タウトと友人になり、彼はジェーンのシングルB面「Without Song From You」で客演したり（ The Complete Jane Relf Collection 1969-1995 にキーボードでジョン　タウトの名があり、ルネッサンス時代は共演していなかったので不思議に思っていたのですが解決しました）、二人でデモテープを作ったりしたことなど初めて知りました。一方でジェーン脱退後3ヶ月だけルネッサンスに存在したビンキー　カロンが全く触れられていない等頁数の制約があったのかもしれませんが残念です。　本文には著者の幼少時からバンド活動中のモノクロ写真多数がありますが、その中でショッキングな写真があります。ルネッサンスのアメリカ公演用の宣材写真( パスト・オービッツ・オブ・ダスト や LIVE FILLMORE WEST 1970 のリーフレット等に使用されています)で硬い表情をして写っているものは多いのですが、メンバーが笑っている写真は初めて見ました。　個人的にはルネッサンス、イルージョン時代の情報が欲しかったので100％満足という訳ではありませんが、当時のバンド内部の様子はバンドメンバーだったからこそ良く描かれている様に思います。 The Complete Jane Relf Collection 1969-1995パスト・オービッツ・オブ・ダストLIVE FILLMORE WEST 1970