Funny outfit, the Yardbirds. In their early days they were a blues-based band, and their renditions of old standards as "I'm a Man" and "Smokestack Lightning" were something to reckon. But they also knew the zeitgeist of the 1960s, delving into such psychedelia as "Shapes of Things" and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" before finally packing it in around 1968. The personnel at this time was: Keith Relf, guitar and vocals; Jane Relf, vocals and percussion; Jim McCarty, drums; Louis Cennamo, bass; and John Hawken, piano and harpsichord.

So while Jeff Beck went into blues raunch and turned Rod Stewart loose on an unsuspecting public, and Jimmy Page found a modicum of success with his new band, former Yardbird members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty went off in an entirely different direction, mixing classical influences with rock. (Another ex-Bird, Paul Samwell-Smith, produced.) Those who are familiar with the Annie Haslam-Michael Dunford Renaissance may know that this is the original outfit, none of whom were in the band by the time "Prologue" came out in 1972. But by 1972 the seeds were sown - this first album has all the classic Renaissance traits - lengthy compositions, top notch keyboard work, female vocals, but this album tends to rock a bit harder than the latter-day Renaissance. This first outing works well as a collector's item and as a starting point to understanding one of the more intriguing progressive bands of the 1970s.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2001 Year Book Volume 1 at  garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2001-and-2002.