Yardbirds Story of Theocumenta

This DVD on the HiQ label is a quirky release. It's a UK produced DVD distributed by Voiceprint - which has been releasing the Tony Palmer films in the US this year. The DVD feature is a reissue of a 1992 Documentary on the Yardbirds produced by Delilah productions for Atlantic Records and released on VHS in 1993 by Warner Strategic Marketing (It still has the copyright notice at the end). The 53-minute film features new interviews (at the time it was produced) with all the then living members. Vocalist and harmonica player Keith Reif died in the 1970s. The story of the short span of five years that the band was together is laid out with interviews combined with rare archival footage of performances in the US (Hullabaloo), French and Belgian TV and the BBC. There are many full numbers (though I wish they had indexed these as separate chapters for repeated viewing). The interviews are insightful, particularly the comments from Jeff Beck.

There is also a "Bonus Feature" which consists of a FABULOUS performance of four numbers from the German TV show "Beat Beat Beat" from 1967, with a seven-minute version of "I'm A Man" that's worth the price of the DVD alone. (There are more "Beat Beat Beat" shows coming early next year from HiQ and I, for one, am excited to see these. The crisp print and great camera close-ups are perfect.

The DVD comes with a booklet of, supposedly, liner note but most of the 20-page booklet is devoted to an essay and liner notes for a new Yardbirds album "Birdland" recorded in 2003v with new members. These notes have nothing at all to do with the story here.

I would give this DVD five stars for what's on the disc - but dropped a star because of this strange packaging, which makes no sense.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

The content of this program is great...just what I hoped far, aside from the fact that the performance clips were short and truncated. Great interview segments though, and the video footage is definitely rare and precious for fans of the Yardbirds, Clapton, Beck and Page. My only real gripe is that the running time is only HALF of what it claims (1 hr. 45 min.). After the show is over, it just repeats itself! What a dirty trick...of course, it's no big deal since the video is so cheap. I would have bought it even if they had listed the running time accurately as 52 minutes. Maybe it's just an honest error, but they should fix that so that there are no unpleasant surprises.

The Yardbirds played a crucial part in the history and development of rock. The Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart, Led Zep, Clapton's many excursions, and even Renaissance(!)were all outgrowths of the band.
This video tells the story very well. Lots of classic, though incomplete, live footage is included and almost all the original participants weigh in with facts and anecdotes. The video is well-edited and easy to watch. Not for fans only this piece is recommended to all rock/pop music lovers but probably essential for true Yardbirds fans.
Additionally, this edition includes four complete live performances from the final incarnation of the Yardbirds - Jimmy Page, Chris Dreja, Keith Relf, and Jim McCarty - which is also sold separately. So it has added value.