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Little Games
Studio album by
the Yardbirds
ReleasedJuly 1967 (1967-07)
Recorded
  • 5 March 1967
  • 29 April – 1 May 1967
StudioOlympic & De Lane Lea, London
Genre
Length30:28
LabelEpic
ProducerMickie Most
The Yardbirds' US album chronology
The Yardbirds Greatest Hits
(1967) 		Little Games
(1967) 		Featuring Performances By: Jeff Beck Eric Clapton Jimmy Page
(1970)

Little Games is the fourth American album by the English rock band the Yardbirds. Recorded and released in 1967, it was their first album recorded after becoming a quartet with Jimmy Page as the sole guitarist and Chris Dreja switching to bass. It was also the only Yardbirds album produced by Mickie Most.

Although the new lineup was becoming more experimental with longer, improvised concert performances, the Yardbirds' record company brought in successful singles producer Most to coax out more commercial product. However, neither material that properly presented their new approach nor hit singles were forthcoming. The release of the title track "Little Games" that preceded the album did not reach the singles chart in the UK and consequently the album was not released there. However, the album saw limited release in the US, Germany, and New Zealand, but only reached number 80 in the US.

Little Games became the Yardbirds' final studio album, although Most continued to produce singles for the group. These were later collected and released with the original album along with outtakes and alternate mixes on an expanded edition titled Little Games Sessions & More in 1992.

Background

[edit]

After the commercially and critically successful Yardbirds' albums Having a Rave Up with The Yardbirds (1965) and Yardbirds/Over Under Sideways Down aka Roger the Engineer (1966), founder member and bassist/musical director Paul Samwell-Smith left the group to pursue a career as a record producer. He was replaced on bass by studio guitarist Jimmy Page, whom the Yardbirds had originally approached to replace Eric Clapton. Page's position as bassist was temporary and within a short while he switched to second lead guitarist alongside Jeff Beck, with rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja taking over on bass. In 1966, the Beck/Page dual lead guitar line-up produced the psychedelic "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", "Psycho Daisies" and "Stroll On", the updated remake of "The Train Kept A-Rollin'" for their appearance in Michelangelo Antonioni's film Blow-Up. However, by the end of 1966, Beck was fired from the band due to an illness that was preventing him from playing gigs while on tour in the US, and they continued as a quartet with Page as the sole guitarist.

During 1966 and 1967, much of the rock audience began to shift interest from Top 40 singles to albums and concert presentations. During this period, the Yardbirds toured the US extensively, with frequent shows at popular counterculture venues such as the Fillmore. They became more experimental, with longer, improvised sets including light shows, film clips, and audio samples. Their material became more varied and introduced songs such as "Dazed and Confused", the Jimmy Page solo-guitar piece "White Summer", the Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man", and extended medleys with re-worked versions of "I'm a Man" and "Smokestack Lightning".

Despite this change in direction, Mickie Most, best known for producing hits for Herman's Hermits and Donovan, was brought in by EMI as the Yardbirds' new record producer. Most was not current with new music trends and although Page had worked earlier for Most as a session guitarist, he was reportedly displeased with Most taking on the production duties.[1][2] According to biographer Gregg Russo, "the upshot of Most's involvement was that the Yardbirds' stage personality ended up becoming vastly different than their recording persona".[1]

Recording and production

[edit]

The first Mickie Most-involved recordings took place at Olympic Studios in London on 5 March 1967. This session produced the single "Little Games"[3] backed with "Puzzles". Although Dreja and drummer Jim McCarty were present to record "Little Games", Most used studio musicians John Paul Jones (bass and cello arrangement) and Dougie Wright (drums) for their parts to cut down on studio time. The remainder of the songs for Little Games were recorded during a three-day session at London's De Lane Lea Studios from 29 April to 1 May 1967 and session musicians were used, including Jones (bass on "No Excess Baggage") and Ian Stewart (piano on "Drinking Muddy Water"). One song, an acoustic guitar instrumental titled "White Summer" is a Jimmy Page solo piece. It uses a "DADGAD" guitar tuning, giving it an Eastern music sound, which is enhanced with Indian-percussion tabla played by Chris Karan and an oboe melody line. Another instrumental, "Glimpses", features guitar parts with Page using a wah-wah pedal and sampled train station and children's playground sounds after a voice-manipulated reading of a poem. Page's guitar is also prominent on "Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor", where he introduced his guitar-bowing technique; "Drinking Muddy Water", which uses a slide-guitar part to follow the vocal line (later used to greater effect on Led Zeppelin's "You Shook Me"); and the instrumental breaks on "Smile on Me", including a wah-wah guitar coda.

The recording schedule was so hurried that the group often did not even hear the playbacks. Page recalled, "It was just so bloody rushed. Everything was done in one take because Mickie Most was basically interested in singles and didn't believe it was worth the time to do the tracks right on the album".[4] Yardbirds' chronicler Gregg Russo notes the result was that "many [of the songs] have a demo quality that time shortages would not allow them to change".[5] In fact one song, the pop-ish "Little Soldier Boy" was issued with McCarty's rough vocal guide providing the part intended for a trumpet.

The three subsequent singles recorded by the Yardbirds and later released on the expanded Little Games Sessions & More were given a similar treatment. Only singer Keith Relf appears on the cover version of "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" (with Al Gorgoni on guitar, Rick Nielsen on organ, Joe Macho on bass and Bobby Gregg on drums, recorded at Columbia Studios New York on 13 June 1967 and Abbey Road Studios on 19 June 1967). Two more cover songs, "Ten Little Indians" (Jones on bass and orchestral arrangement and Clem Cattini on drums, Olympic Studios on 25 September 1967) and "Goodnight Sweet Josephine" (Nicky Hopkins on piano, Jones on bass and Cattini on drums, De Lane Lea in March 1968) also use session musicians. Only the B-side to their last single, the proto-heavy metal "Think About It", was recorded by the entire group. The song includes a guitar solo that Page had been using in the group's concert performances of "Dazed and Confused" (which he carried over, with some different lyrics, to Led Zeppelin).

Writing and composition

[edit]

Unlike the Yardbirds' three previous charting singles ("Shapes of Things", "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"), "Little Games" was not written by group members. Composed by Harold Spiro and Phil Wainman, its lyrics are echoed in Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times". Another pop song recorded was "No Excess Baggage", by the Brill Building songwriters Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico, who composed the Animals Top 40 hit "It's My Life". Page adapted "White Summer" from Davy Graham's version of the Irish folk song "She Moved Through the Fair".[6]

The remaining album songs are credited to the band members and include "Drinking Muddy Water", an interpretation of the blues classic "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and nominally a tribute to bluesman Muddy Waters, and "Smile on Me", a re-working of Howlin' Wolf's "Shake for Me" (which Wolf later re-worked for his "Killing Floor" which Led Zeppelin adapted for "The Lemon Song").[6] The Yardbirds also recorded "Stealing Stealing", a jug-band-style song that has been traced back to Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers and the Memphis Jug Band.[6]

Russo describes the four and a half minute instrumental collage "Glimpses" as a "brilliant piece of psychedelic imagery [that] revealed the Yardbirds at their most experimental and inspired".[7] It features multiple-guitar tracks, with effects and bowing, and an electric sitar-backing propelled along by a 6/8 beat and bass riff by McCarty and Dreja. Relf adds several tracks of chanting vocals, reminiscent of the Yardbirds' 1965 song "Still I'm Sad". A barely-understandable truncated mechanical-sounding voice recites:

Glimpses of clouds in a forest
Can review well within us
And never to linger on one is life
Energy radiates from the source
The life around us is but a reflection of our own
Flowing within never-ending boundless infinity
Time is just a cumular limit
Which with one glimpse can overcome
Can overcome[8]

The psychedelic folk-style song "Only the Black Rose" is credited to Relf and features his vocal with acoustic guitar accompaniment by Page and some subdued percussion effects. Described as "reflective" and "emotive" by Russo, it foreshadows the future Relf/McCarty acoustic folk collaborations Together and Renaissance.[7]

As with "Little Games" and unlike their previous hits, the Yardbirds' subsequent singles were written by others: Tony Hazzard composed "Ha Ha Said the Clown" (a pop hit for Manfred Mann) and the similarly pop-ish "Good Night Sweet Josephine" and Harry Nilsson supplied "Ten Little Indians", written in the style of a nursery rhyme.

Release and critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic – Little GamesStarStarStar[9]
AllMusic – Little Games Sessions & MoreStarStarStar[10]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide – Little GamesStarStarStar[11]

"Little Games" was released as a single on 24 March 1967 in the US and 21 April in the UK. It reached number 51 in the US, but failed to chart in the UK. As a result, EMI chose not to issue the album in the UK and it was released only in Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the US. Issued by Epic in the US on 10[12][13] or 24[14][15] July 1967, Little Games made a relatively weak showing in the Billboard 200 album chart, peaking at number 80 during a two-month run in the chart.

A "Pop Spotlight" review in the 29 July 1967 Billboard magazine was generic, predicting that the album "should reach the charts in short order", but noted "Drinking Muddy Water" and "Smile On Max [sic]", the album's two guitar-heavy blues-rock songs, as "standouts".[16] To put it into context, the magazine's album chart for the week included the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Rolling Stones' Flowers, Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow and the self-titled debut albums The Doors and The Grateful Dead. The Yardbirds Greatest Hits, released in March 1967, was also in the chart where it remained into 1968 and placed at number 73 in the 100 best selling albums of 1967.

More recent reviews have generally found fault with Little Games. AllMusic's Bruce Eder gave it three out of five stars and wrote "If almost any group other than the Yardbirds had released Little Games, it would be considered a flawed but prime late-'60s psychedelic/hard rock artifact instead of a serious step backward, and even a disappointment".[9] An AllMusic review by Dave Thompson of the expanded edition Little Games Sessions & More began "the day producer Mickie Most moved in on the Yardbirds was the day the Yardbirds' own values moved out. The union was a lousy idea from the start".[10] The New Rolling Stone Album Guide writer also gave the album three out of five stars, calling it "a disastrous attempt at conventional pop".[11] The Yardbirds themselves were just as critical – Page reportedly regarded Little Games as "horrible"[4] and Jim McCarty described Mickie Most as "a protagonist in our downfall".[17]

The subsequent Most-produced singles were further unsuccessful attempts to reach the pop market. Little Games soon went out of print, but after Led Zeppelin rose to stardom and Page became a focus of attention, fans and collectors sought out copies of the album and drove up prices, resulting in counterfeit copies being introduced. The scarcity of the last singles also led to the 1975 bootleg collection Golden Eggs, which was widely circulated and successful for its time. However, Little Games, along with singles, outtakes, alternate mixes was released by EMI as the two-CD expanded edition Little Games Sessions & More in 1992.

Of the last singles and tracks from Little Games, the only songs incorporated into the Yardbirds concert repertoire were "Drinking Muddy Water", the Jimmy Page showcase "White Summer" (later featured in Led Zeppelin concerts in a medley with "Black Mountain Side"), and the psychedelic "Glimpses", which was soon replaced by "Dazed and Confused" as a concert highlight.

Track listing

[edit]

Original 1967 album

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little Games"Harold Spiro, Phil Wainman2:25
2."Smile on Me"Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, Jimmy Page, Keith Relf3:16
3."White Summer"Page3:56
4."Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor"Page, McCarty2:49
5."Glimpses"Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf4:24
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Drinking Muddy Water"Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf2:53
2."No Excess Baggage"Roger Atkins, Carl D'Errico2:32
3."Stealing Stealing"Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf[18]2:42
4."Only the Black Rose"Relf2:52
5."Little Soldier Boy"McCarty, Page, Relf2:39

Epic album printing errors

[edit]

Epic Records, having made several printing errors with Yardbirds material previously, made several more with Little Games. Chris Dreja's surname for the songwriting credits (previously misspelled as "Drega" on the album Over Under Sideways Down) was again misprinted on the album record labels, as "Ereja". This error also appears on the Epic "Drinking Muddy Water" single and the tracks "Smile on Me" and "Drinking Muddy Water" included on the 1970 American compilation The Yardbirds Featuring Performances By Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page. The US "Little Games" single (written by Harold Spiro and Phil Wainman) only lists the latter writer, misspelled as "Wienman".

Epic also mistakenly released a number of stereo versions of Little Games in mono version sleeves and pressed with mono LP labels. The three-letter prefix of the master numbers on the record labels and in the LP trail-out grooves properly identify the versions. "XEM" indicates genuine mono copies; if it shows "XSB" (even on the labels, despite the mono catalog number and no indication of STEREO under the Epic logo), it is a stereo pressing.

1992 expanded edition

[edit]

The expanded edition of Little Games, titled Little Games Sessions & More, was released by EMI America as a two-disc set featuring the original album, plus the singles "Ha Ha Said the Clown", "Ten Little Indians" and "Goodnight Sweet Josephine". Also included are several outtakes and alternate takes/mixes. A solo acoustic guitar mix of "White Summer" without the percussion and horn is included along with a version of "Glimpses" with different overdubs. The Yardbirds' final group single recording and one of the strongest with the Page lineup, "Think About It", also makes its first official album release here. Additionally, three songs recorded by the Keith Relf/Jim McCarty folk-duo Together and a fourth, credited to Relf and McCarty, are also included.

Disc one[19]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little Games" (stereo mix)Harold Spiro, Phil Wainman2:37
2."Smile on Me"Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, Jimmy Page, Keith Relf3:15
3."White Summer" (1967 LP version)Page3:57
4."Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor" (1967 LP version)Page, McCarty2:51
5."Glimpses" (1967 LP version)Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf4:21
6."Drinking Muddy Water" (stereo mix)Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf2:51
7."No Excess Baggage"Roger Atkins, Carl D'Errico2:36
8."Stealing Stealing"Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf2:33
9."Only the Black Rose"Relf2:48
10."Little Soldier Boy"McCarty, Page, Relf2:41
11."Puzzles"Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf2:08
12."I Remember the Night"Anthony Pirollo3:01
13."Ha Ha Said the Clown" (mono)Tony Hazzard2:26
14."Ten Little Indians" (single version, mono)Harry Nilsson2:13
15."Goodnight Sweet Josephine" (single version, mono)Hazzard2:43
16."Think About It" (mono)Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf3:46
Disc two[20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little Games" (mono mix)Spiro, Wainman2:22
2."You Stole My Love" (instrumental demo)Graham Gouldman2:55
3."White Summer" (without accompaniment)Page3:51
4."Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor" (instrumental version)Page, McCarty2:51
5."L.S.D." (instrumental demo)Dreja, McCarty, Page1:00
6."Drinking Muddy Water" (mono mix)Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf2:50
7."De Lane Lea Lee" (instrumental demo)Dreja, McCarty, Page2:33
8."Glimpses" (version w/different overdubs)Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf4:18
9."Never Mind" (instrumental demo)Dreja, McCarty, Page2:46
10."Ten Little Indians" (instrumental version)Nilsson2:15
11."Goodnight Sweet Josephine" (alternate version)Hazzard2:42
12."Henry's Coming Home" (by Together)McCarty, Relf2:57
13."Love Mum and Dad" (by Together)McCarty, Relf3:48
14."Together Now" (by Together)McCarty, Relf3:02
15."Shining Where the Sun Has Been" (by McCarty and Relf)McCarty, Relf2:52
16."Great Shakes" (US radio advertisement) 1:01

Chart positions

[edit]

Album

[edit]
Chart (1967) Peak position
US Billboard 200[21] 80

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Chart Position
1967 "Little Games" US Billboard Hot 100[22] 51
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart[22] 48
US Record World 100 Top Pop Chart 44
Australian Go-Set Top 40 Singles Chart[23] 27
New Zealand (Listener)[24] 11
"Ha Ha Said the Clown" US Billboard Hot 100[22] 45
US Cash Box Top 100[22] 52
US Record World 100 45
"Ten Little Indians" US Billboard Hot 100[22] 96
US Cash Box Top 100[22] 71
1968 "Goodnight Sweet Josephine" US Billboard "Bubbling Under the Hot 100"[22] 127

Personnel

[edit]

The Yardbirds[25]

  • Keith Relf – vocals, harmonica, percussion
  • Jimmy Page – guitars
  • Chris Dreja – bass guitar (except where indicated below), backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums (except where indicated below), percussion, backing vocals

Additional personnel[25]

  • Clem Cattini – drums on "Ten Little Indians" and "Goodnight Sweet Josephine"
  • Bobby Gregg – drums on "Ha Ha Said The Clown"
  • Nicky Hopkins – keyboards on "Goodnight Sweet Josephine" (version 1)
  • John Paul Jones – bass guitar on "Goodnight Sweet Josephine" and "No Excess Baggage" (original album), bass and cello arrangement on "Little Games" (original album), bass and orchestral arrangement on "Ten Little Indians"
  • Chris Karan – tabla on "White Summer"
  • Joe Macho – bass on "Ha Ha Said the Clown"
  • Rick Nielsen – organ on "Ha Ha Said the Clown"
  • Ian Stewart – piano on "Drinking Muddy Water" (original album)
  • Dougie Wright – drums on "Little Games" (original album)
  • Unidentified – oboe on "White Summer"
  • Mickie Most – producer

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Little Games

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Little Games is the fourth American studio album by the English rock band the Yardbirds, released on July 24, 1967, by . It marks the band's only full-length album featuring as the sole guitarist after Jeff Beck's departure in late 1966 and Paul Samwell-Smith's exit earlier that year, with shifting from to . Produced by hitmaker , the album was recorded hastily over four days between March and May 1967—specifically on March 5 at and April 29 to May 1 at —in , reflecting a transitional phase in the band's sound amid internal tensions and commercial pressures. The album's tracklist includes ten songs, blending , , and pop elements, with notable contributions from Page such as the instrumental "," an early showcase of his fingerstyle acoustic technique that would influence Led Zeppelin's repertoire. Standout tracks also encompass the title song "Little Games," a failed single penned by Harold Spiro and Phil Wainman; the experimental "Glimpses," featuring tape loops and distortion; and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor," a Page-McCarty composition with Eastern influences. Additional cuts like "Smile on Me" and "Drinking Muddy Water" highlight the band's roots, while session musicians, including future Led Zeppelin bassist on keyboards and bass, augmented the core quartet of (vocals, harmonica), Page (guitar), Dreja (bass), and (drums). The rushed production led to imperfections, such as audible errors in "Little Soldier Boy," underscoring Most's focus on quick singles over cohesive s. Commercially, Little Games peaked at No. 80 on the but was not released in the UK after the title track's poor performance, contributing to the band's waning momentum. Critically, it received mixed reviews at the time for its inconsistency, though retrospective assessments praise its psychedelic experimentation and Page's emerging songwriting as a bridge to his Led Zeppelin work, with modern reissues like the remastered deluxe edition, which includes 25 tracks with bonus material from unreleased sessions. As the Yardbirds' final studio album before their dissolution, Little Games encapsulates the group's evolution from blues-rock pioneers to influencers, amid a lineup that included three future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

Background

The Yardbirds' evolution (1963–1966)

The Yardbirds formed in in 1963 as the Metropolitan Blues Quartet, a ensemble emerging from the local club scene around Kingston Art School. Original members included vocalist and harmonica player , bassist , rhythm guitarist , drummer , and lead guitarist Anthony "Top" , who soon departed and was replaced by . The group quickly gained traction by becoming the house band at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, where they honed a raw sound influenced by American artists like and . Their debut album, , captured this early energy through live recordings from the in 1964, establishing them as a vital part of the revival. By 1965, the Yardbirds began transitioning from pure blues to a more commercial pop-oriented style, propelled by manager and producer . Their breakthrough hit "," written by and featuring Clapton on guitar, reached number three in the and number six in the , blending riffs with and bongos for a psychedelic edge. However, this shift alienated Clapton, a committed purist, leading to his departure on March 13, 1965, shortly after the single's release. replaced him, infusing the band's sound with innovative feedback and distortion, as heard in follow-up hits like "" ( number nine, number nine in 1965) and "" ( number three, number seven in 1966), which marked their pivot toward . Albums such as (1965) and Having a Rave Up (1965) reflected this evolution, mixing studio tracks with live performances, while (1966, release) and (1966, release)—the latter featuring all-original material—showcased experimental arrangements and Eastern influences. Internal tensions escalated amid the band's rapid success and stylistic experiments, culminating in Beck's exit in late during a grueling tour organized by . Exhausted from relentless performances and frustrated by the group's pop image, Beck missed shows and clashed with bandmates, leading to his dismissal on November 30, , after an incident in . These departures highlighted growing creative divides but paved the way for Jimmy Page's integration, initially as a to stabilize the lineup.

Lineup changes and Jimmy Page's role

In late 1966, during a tumultuous U.S. tour, lead guitarist departed from the Yardbirds, citing severe health issues including debilitating headaches and that rendered him unreliable for performances, compounded by growing creative differences and band tensions. This exit marked the end of a brief dual-guitar era where Beck and had occasionally shared stage duties, leaving the band in need of stabilization amid their fading momentum from mid-1960s hits like "." Jimmy Page's involvement with the Yardbirds had begun earlier that year, in June 1966, when bassist abruptly quit after a gig at Oxford's Queen's College, frustrated with the relentless touring schedule and eager to transition into production work. Page, a renowned session , initially filled in on bass for live dates to keep the band operational, allowing rhythm time to adapt to the instrument. By early 1967, following Beck's departure, Page assumed the role of sole lead , with Dreja permanently switching to bass, solidifying a leaner quartet configuration. This lineup—Jimmy Page (guitar), Keith Relf (vocals and harmonica), Jim McCarty (drums), and Chris Dreja (bass)—formed the core personnel for the recording of Little Games, reflecting Page's growing dominance in shaping the band's sound. As the primary creative force on guitar, Page pushed the Yardbirds toward heavier, more experimental territory, incorporating innovative techniques such as violin bow on guitar and Eastern-inspired modal structures, which contrasted with the pop-oriented singles that had previously driven their success but now struggled against shifting musical trends. His vision emphasized longer, improvisational pieces over concise hits, signaling a pivot amid the band's declining popularity in the UK and U.S. markets.

Creation

Songwriting process

The songwriting for Little Games was led by , , and , who received primary credits on most tracks, often in collaboration with bassist , reflecting a band-wide creative involvement as they transitioned to a lineup. The title track stood apart as an external composition by Harold Spiro and Phil Wainman, professional songwriters who provided the band with a pop-oriented single to capitalize on commercial trends. This mix of internal and outside contributions highlighted the Yardbirds' evolving approach, balancing their roots with more structured song forms. Lyrically, the album marked a thematic shift toward introspective and psychedelic elements, drawing from the band members' personal experiences and the broader cultural currents of 1967. Keith Relf's poetic influences were particularly evident, infusing songs with surreal, reflective imagery that echoed emerging sensibilities, such as themes of personal growth and altered perceptions. The process unfolded collaboratively during early 1967 rehearsals in , where the group absorbed the vibrant psychedelic scene around them, experimenting with unconventional sounds and structures without heavy reliance on drug use. Specific tracks exemplified these origins: "," co-written by Page, , McCarty, and Relf, emerged as an ambitious piece previewing through its layered, forward-looking composition. Similarly, ", Soldier, Sailor," credited to Dreja, McCarty, Relf, and Page, incorporated lines from traditional British nursery rhymes, adapting the folk counting game into a rhythmic, hypnotic framework that suited the album's experimental bent.

Recording sessions

The recording sessions for Little Games commenced in late 1966 and continued intermittently through early 1968, though the bulk of the album's core tracks were captured between March and May 1967. An early outtake session occurred on December 22, 1966, at EMI/Abbey Road Studios in , marking one of the first efforts following Jeff Beck's departure from the band in November 1966. The primary sessions unfolded at multiple London facilities, including Olympic Sound Studios, where the title track "Little Games" was recorded on , 1967, under producer ; , which hosted April and May recordings for several album cuts; and EMI's for remixing. Backing tracks for select songs were also laid down at Columbia Studios in New York. These locations facilitated a transitional sound as , now the band's lone guitarist after initially doubling on bass, experimented with multi-tracking to layer intricate guitar effects and textures. Produced entirely by for the main album—hired by to steer the Yardbirds toward more commercial pop sensibilities—the sessions drew on 4-track and master tapes, allowing for overdubs that enhanced the psychedelic leanings amid the band's evolving lineup. Founding bassist , who had departed the group in June 1966 to pursue production, did not contribute to sessions after his exit. The process faced significant challenges from the Yardbirds' relentless touring schedule, which caused delays and fragmented the timeline, as well as ongoing instability following multiple lineup shifts—Beck's exit left Page in a pivotal role, with rhythm guitarist eventually switching to bass to stabilize the quartet. These pressures, compounded by Most's emphasis on quick, single-oriented recordings, limited the sessions' scope despite Page's growing influence on arrangements.

Musical style

Psychedelic and experimental elements

Little Games marked a significant departure for the Yardbirds from their blues-rock origins toward , influenced by the cultural milieu of the 1967 , which permeated the London and broader rock scene with trippy, exploratory soundscapes akin to those pioneered by contemporaries like . This shift is evident in the album's incorporation of exotic and immersive elements, creating a forward-looking atmosphere that contrasted sharply with the band's earlier gritty blues foundations. Experimental techniques abound, particularly in tracks that employ innovative production methods to evoke disorienting, hallucinatory effects. For instance, "Glimpses" utilizes backward tapes alongside feedback and echoed vocals to craft a raga-rock haze with peculiar, otherworldly hues reminiscent of Pink Floyd's early sonic experiments. Similarly, "White Summer" draws on Eastern scales through open-tuned acoustic guitar and tablas, producing a delicate, meditative drone that infuses the album with modal, non-Western flavors. These elements, combined with bowed guitar in pieces like "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor" and phased effects elsewhere, highlight the band's willingness to push beyond conventional rock structures. Despite producer Mickie Most's emphasis on pop-oriented arrangements, a cohesive psychedelic thread runs through the album, sustained by orchestral swells arranged by session musicians such as , who added string-like textures for dramatic, swelling climaxes. Lyrics, often delivered in Keith Relf's haunting , pair with these effects to foster an immersive, mood—exploring themes of transience and altered that align with the era's countercultural —while maintaining an underlying sense of experimentation amid the commercial polish.

Instrumentation and arrangements

The Yardbirds' Little Games featured a streamlined instrumentation following the departure of bassist , with switching from to , handling all guitar duties, on drums, and providing lead vocals and harmonica. This core lineup anchored the album's sound in -rock foundations while allowing for experimental expansions, with Dreja's bass lines offering steady support beneath Page's intricate guitar parts, and McCarty's dynamic drumming driving tracks from concise pop structures to more improvisational jams. Relf's harmonica added raw edges to several songs, enhancing the rhythmic interplay and evoking the band's R&B roots amid evolving psychedelic leanings. Jimmy Page's guitar work dominated the album, utilizing his 1959 —nicknamed the "Dragon"—as his primary instrument for electric parts, delivering crisp tones often enhanced with fuzz effects for added texture. He employed multi-tracking and layered solos across tracks, creating dense sonic landscapes; for instance, in "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor," Page incorporated a violin bow on guitar for ethereal swells, while fuzz tones sharpened the riff-driven energy in songs like "Smile on Me." Page also arranged orchestral elements, collaborating with session musician to integrate string sections that blended classical influences with rock, notably on the title track "Little Games" where Jones provided and arrangement support reminiscent of later orchestral-rock hybrids. Session contributions from further enriched select arrangements. The album's arrangements generally evolved from tight, single-oriented structures to more expansive forms, exemplified by "White Summer," an interlude showcasing Page's fingerpicking in alternate tunings, serving as a solo showcase that bridged folk and Eastern modalities without additional percussion or horns in its core version. This progression highlighted Page's production role in balancing the rhythm section's propulsion with innovative overlays, marking a transitional phase in the band's sound.

Release and promotion

Album launch

Little Games was released exclusively in the United States by on July 24, 1967, under catalog number BN 26313 for the stereo edition and LN 24313 for the mono edition, with no original LP issue in the until later reissues. The album's packaging featured a psychedelic cover design evoking swirling colors and abstract patterns, aligning with the era's aesthetic. However, the initial inner sleeve contained several printing errors. Initial pressings were available in both mono and stereo formats, though many copies labeled as mono were erroneously pressed using stereo masters, resulting in stereo playback despite the mono designation on the labels and sleeves; true mono pressings, identifiable by "XEM" matrix prefixes, are rarer and represent later corrected runs. Distribution faced significant challenges, as the Yardbirds were engaged in an intensive touring schedule across the , including opening slots for acts like , which restricted their availability for promotional activities. Additionally, provided limited support for the album's rollout, prioritizing other artists amid shifting label focuses in the competitive 1967 market.

Singles and marketing

The Yardbirds released two singles from their 1967 album Little Games in the United States on Epic Records. The lead single, "Little Games" backed with "Puzzles," was issued on March 24, 1967, under catalog number 5-10156. This track, produced by Mickie Most, featured the band's evolving psychedelic sound and peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up single, "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" backed with "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor," followed on July 10, 1967, under catalog number 5-10204. Also produced by Most, "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1967, marking a modest commercial showing. Promotional efforts for Little Games and its singles centered on a pop-oriented strategy led by producer Mickie Most, who aimed to revive the band's chart momentum after earlier successes like "For Your Love" and "Heart Full of Soul." Most, known for hits with acts like the Animals and Herman's Hermits, focused on radio-friendly arrangements to appeal to Top 40 audiences, including session musicians on "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" to enhance its commercial polish. The band supported the releases with extensive touring, performing approximately 63 concerts in 1967 across the UK and US, including dates in London and major American cities like New York and Chicago. TV exposure included appearances on Hollywood Palace in April and December 1967, where they performed medleys and album tracks to promote the new material. However, the US promotional push was limited compared to prior tours, with Epic Records prioritizing radio play over extensive media campaigns amid the band's shifting lineup and experimental direction. Despite these efforts, the singles' performance highlighted the Yardbirds' commercial decline by mid-1967, as psychedelic trends overshadowed their blues-rock roots and internal changes strained cohesion. This signaled broader challenges, contributing to the group's eventual disbandment in 1968.

Reception and commercial performance

Initial critical response

Upon its release in 1967, Little Games received mixed reviews from contemporary critics, who praised Jimmy Page's innovative guitar work on experimental tracks like "Glimpses" and but criticized producer Mickie Most's pop-oriented approach for diluting the band's raw blues-rock edge. music papers acknowledged the album's psychedelic and experimental elements as a natural evolution for the band but lamented its lack of strong hit singles, contributing to perceptions of it as uneven and commercially underpowered. In the , Billboard's "Pop Spotlight" review on July 29, 1967, took a more optimistic view focused on commercial viability, predicting the album "should reach the charts in short order" due to its accessible material and the Yardbirds' established fanbase. The band itself shared similar frustrations with the recording process and label interference, viewing Most's singles-driven focus as a mismatch for their artistic direction. Drummer later recalled Most as "the protagonist in our downfall," explaining that the producer pushed pop tunes despite the group's preference for bluesy R&B material, leading to contractual obligations that stifled creativity. Guitarist reportedly regarded the album as "horrible," reflecting the tension between the band's live experimentation and the studio's commercial constraints. Overall, Little Games was seen as a transitional effort, with its strengths in Page's contributions overshadowed by underperforming singles like "" and the perception of artistic compromise.

Chart performance and sales

Little Games peaked at number 80 on the chart in August 1967. The album did not enter the . The title track single, released in April 1967, reached number 51 on the , marking its highest position after five weeks on the chart. Follow-up single "," issued later in 1967, peaked at number 45 on the but did not chart in the UK. Initial sales in the were modest, estimated at under 100,000 copies, reflecting the album's limited commercial impact amid the band's ongoing lineup instability following Jeff Beck's departure and Jimmy Page's integration. This underperformance was exacerbated by its release timing during the height of the boom, coinciding with the dominance of ' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as well as restricted radio airplay for its singles and ' greater promotional emphasis on other artists like and under producer .

Track listing and editions

Original 1967 release

The original 1967 release of Little Games marked The Yardbirds' final studio album during their classic lineup era with on guitar, issued in July by in the United States (catalog numbers BN 26313 for stereo and LN 24313 for mono). Produced by at in between March and May 1967, the album comprises ten original tracks written by band members , , , and Page, reflecting their evolving psychedelic sound amid internal tensions and lineup changes. The total runtime is 31:15, with subtle differences between the mono and stereo mixes, particularly in panning and instrumental layering that enhanced spatial effects in stereo versions. The track listing for the original LP is as follows: Side A
  1. "Little Games" (H. Spiro, P. Wainman) – 2:25
    The title track, a pop-oriented single with orchestral elements, led the album and was released as a single backed by "Puzzles" (not included on the LP).
  2. "Smile on Me" (Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf) – 3:20
  3. "White Summer" (Page) – 3:52
    An instrumental acoustic guitar showcase by Page, drawing on folk and raga influences, later expanded in live performances by Led Zeppelin.
  4. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor" (McCarty, Page, Relf) – 2:45
  5. "Glimpses" (Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf) – 4:22
Side B
  1. "Drinking Muddy Water" (Dreja, McCarty, Page, Relf) – 3:15
  2. "No Excess Baggage" (McCarty, Page, Relf) – 3:29
  3. "Stealing, Stealing" (McCarty, Page, Relf) – 2:33
  4. "Only the Black Rose" (McCarty, Page, Relf) – 2:52
  5. "Little Soldier Boy" (McCarty, Page, Relf) – 2:22
Initial U.S. Epic pressings featured printing errors on labels, including the misspelling of rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja's surname as "Ereja". Some stereo versions were released in mono sleeves with mono labels, identifiable by master number prefixes ("XEM" for mono, "XSB" for stereo). These variants are collectible.

Expanded and remastered reissues

The first major expanded reissue of Little Games came in 1992 with EMI's double-CD set Little Games Sessions & More, a 32-track compilation remastered from the original 4-track and multi-track master tapes. This edition featured the core album alongside outtakes such as alternate mixes of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor" and "Drinking Muddy Water," previously unreleased material including "Puzzles" and "What Do You Want," performances, and tracks from related projects like the band Together and /Jim McCarty's solo work, providing a comprehensive overview of the Jimmy Page-era recordings. In 1996, EMI followed with a single-disc expanded and remastered CD edition totaling 25 tracks, emphasizing improved audio fidelity through digital remastering. Bonus selections included outtakes like "Good Night Sweet Josephine" (version 2), "Ten Little Friends," and "Little Soldier Boy," alongside B-sides such as "Together Now" (by Together) and "Dazed and Confused" (early version), restoring much of the unreleased Page-produced material from 1967–1968 sessions. The 2003 European EMI remastered CD offered both mono and stereo mixes of the original album, supplemented by 15 bonus tracks for a total of 25, including rarities like "" and "Stealin' Stealin'." This release highlighted enhanced sound quality derived from high-resolution transfers, with detailing the production context under . A notable 2010 deluxe edition from Sundazed Music presented the album in both mono and stereo formats on a single CD with 25 tracks total, incorporating sessions and additional outtakes such as "," alongside live recordings to capture the full scope of the band's experimental phase. Later vinyl reissues included Sundazed's 2011 mono LP on 180-gram pressing, sourced directly from the original masters for authentic reproduction. Subsequent pressings maintained focus on high-fidelity analog formats, with a 2015 180-gram LP remastered at .

Personnel

Band members

The lineup for Little Games marked a transitional period for the Yardbirds, with assuming a prominent role as the primary guitarist following Jeff Beck's departure, while shifted from rhythm guitar to after Paul Samwell-Smith's exit in 1966. The core performers on the album were as follows:
MemberInstruments and Contributions
Jimmy PageLead guitar, acoustic guitar (all tracks)
Lead vocals, harmonica (all vocal tracks)
Bass guitar (most tracks), backing vocals
Drums, percussion (all tracks)

Additional contributors

The production of Little Games was overseen by , who served as the album's primary producer and provided overall supervision for the recording sessions. Among the session musicians, played a key role, contributing on "No Excess Baggage," on "Little Games," and orchestral arrangements throughout the album. The string sections were arranged by , enhancing the psychedelic and experimental elements of several songs. Other session contributors included on piano and organ, on drums for select tracks, and a string ensemble. Engineering duties were handled primarily at studios like De Lane Lea and Olympic Sound in , with additional mixing contributions from producer . The original album cover design credits are not explicitly attributed in primary sources, though later expanded and remastered reissues featured from music writers such as Brian Hogg and , with input from surviving band members like on historical context.

Legacy

Influence on subsequent music

Little Games served as a crucial precursor to Jimmy Page's work with Led Zeppelin, particularly through its instrumental track "," an acoustic guitar piece that evolved into the band's "" on their 1969 self-titled debut album. Page incorporated melodic elements from "White Summer" directly into "Black Mountain Side," adapting the tuning and Eastern-inspired motifs to fit Led Zeppelin's heavier sound. The album's multi-layered guitar arrangements and experimental techniques, such as Page's use of a violin bow on tracks like "Glimpses" and ", Soldier, Sailor," foreshadowed the innovative production and sonic textures that defined Led Zeppelin's early recordings. These methods, honed during Page's production role on Little Games, transitioned seamlessly to the New Yardbirds—Led Zeppelin's interim name—where he applied similar and spatial audio approaches to amplify the band's dynamic range. Beyond Page's direct lineage, Little Games exerted a broader influence on progressive rock through its psychedelic elements, including modal explorations and atmospheric soundscapes. The album's fusion of , Eastern scales, and studio experimentation helped bridge toward the more ambitious compositions of prog acts, with its Eastern-tinged leaving traces in the genre's early developments. In rock histories, Little Games is often recognized as an underrated gem of the Yardbirds' catalog, valued for its transitional role in Page's career and its overlooked innovations amid the band's commercial struggles. Page himself reflected on the album's rushed production in a interview, highlighting its raw creativity as a foundation for his later successes, and it featured prominently in his archival discussions around that time.

Cultural and historical significance

Little Games stands as The Yardbirds' final studio album, released in 1967, signifying the conclusion of a transformative era in that propelled guitarists , , and to legendary status. The band's evolution through these three virtuosos—from Clapton's blues-rooted tenure to Beck's experimental flair and Page's emerging production innovations—culminated in this record, after which the group disbanded amid internal tensions and shifting musical landscapes. As the last full-length effort with Page on , it encapsulates the Yardbirds' journey from their 1963 formation to their 1968 dissolution, bridging raw R&B origins with the progressive sounds that would define . In the historical context of , Little Games emerged during the explosive rise of , with albums like The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Doors' debut dominating the scene, yet it was overshadowed by its own rushed production and pop-oriented mandate. Producer , under EMI's commercial directives, prioritized hit singles over artistic depth, resulting in a four-day recording session that symbolized the band's broader struggles against label pressures to conform amid the era's creative freedoms. This tension highlighted the Yardbirds' position as innovators caught between their avant-garde impulses and the demands of the fading singles market, ultimately contributing to their breakup. The album's modern significance has been reaffirmed through anniversary retrospectives, including discussions around its 50th anniversary in 2017 and 55th in 2022, which underscore its integral role in the British Invasion narrative as a key artifact of mid-1960s transatlantic rock exchange. Unlike more pop-accessible Invasion peers, the Yardbirds' experimental edge via Little Games positioned them as precursors to heavier genres, though their unconventional approach limited mainstream embrace at the time. Archival value lies in its documentation of Page's pre-Led Zeppelin experimentation, such as early string arrangements with John Paul Jones and acoustic explorations in tracks like "White Summer," offering insights into the foundations of his later supergroup. The reformed Yardbirds, active since 1992 with original members like drummer , have occasionally revived Little Games tracks in live performances, preserving the album's legacy through contemporary setlists that blend it with the band's classics.

References

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