The Yardbirds: Keith Relf (vocals, harmonica); Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Chris Dreja (guitar); Paul Samwell-Smith (bass); Jim McCarty (drums).

Producer: Giorgio Gomelsky.

Compilation producers: Bill Inglot, Gary Stewart.

Recorded from March 1964 to February 1966. Includes liner notes by Parke Puterbaugh.

In just a a few short years, the Yardbirds made gigantic evolutionary leaps and laid down the groundwork for much of what would follow. This collection captures both the band's raw, blues-hound side--hear them pretty much invent British blues-rock with covers of Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning" and Billy Boy Arnold's "I Wish You Would"--and their forward-looking psych-pop side ("Shapes of Things" and "Heart Full of Soul"). Nearly every U.K. rock band of the '60s owed a debt to the tunes collected here.