1. Little Games
The Yardbirds, 1966. Source: Promotional photo. For non-free fair use rationale, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yardbirds_including_Page.JPG. Artist: The Yardbirds Album: Little Games (Epic) Chances are, youve never heard this song unless youre a Yardbirds fan or late 1960s completionist. The Yardbirds kind of created blues-rock, featured three of the greatest guitarists everEric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Pageand remain the standard for any contemporary foray into blues-rock. But by 1967, they were in disarray. Commercial success had for the most part eluded them. They lost two subsequent lead guitaristsClapton and Beckand despite Jimmy Pages best efforts the group was dispirited and dysfunctional. So someone decided to bring in Mickie Most, a producer who had worked with the likes of Donovan and Hermans Hermits. Under his direction, the Yarbirds put out Little Games, a collection of smoothed-over psychedelic pop that makes Claptons decision to leave after For Your Love seem a ridiculous over-reaction. Page tried to salvage things with some incredible guitar work he would later recycle with Led Zeppelin, but the result was, well, embarrassing. And the group soon disbanded. This song is particularly important in my evolution as a cranky music lover. When I was in high school, Little Games was the only album by The Yardbirds the music store in the mall hadthus the first Yardbirds album I ownedand the title track was the first song on the album. The first line is: Little games are for little boys. Thankfully I knew enough about this group to give them a second try, but I weep for anyone who would only know of this incredible outfit from these horrible songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rg9TcfkG1E So there you have it, my ten most embarrassing songs. What do you think? Am I being too harsh? Not harsh enough? Do I not know as much about music as I like to think? Will my inability to enjoy songs others loveand my need to point out what is wrong with their music tasteguarantee I will end up alone?