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Having A Rave Up was a 1965 US LP that featured four Clapton songs, despite the fact that he had departed eight months before its release
The Yardbirds issued some albums with different titles in the UK and the USA. Like most other groups the albums were mixtures of singles (hit or not) and other tracks. Then, as technology developed, some were monoaural, others stereo. Many of the more recent compilations have been slated by purists as commercial exploitation rather than serious musical themes; for these followers, albums only up to 1968 should be considered Yardbird works.
Some interesting, if critical, commentary is found in Wilson & Alroy’s Record Reviews, "we listen to the lousy records so you wont have to." They described The Yardbirds as one of the most legendary ‘British Invasion’ bands, shorter lived and "more thoughtlessly marketed" than their competitors.
Their commercial success lasted only a little over a year. "Clapton and Page had little to do with that and Keith Relf had little range and none developed as songwriters until it was too late." W&A said that most original Yardbirds LPs were hard to find "and weren’t great anyway." They also stated that many compilation albums were "thrown together" from early live recordings and a demo tape and some "forgettable blues workouts."
Put together by producer Giogio Gomelsky, 1965’s For Your Love was the first for the US market, timed for their first tour there. It featured three songs from Jeff Beck’s first recording session with them, My Girl Sloppy (which later becameHang On Sloopy), I Ain’t Done Wrong and I’m Not Talking.
Having A Rave Up (1965) was the US follow up, and featured four by Clapton (who had left eight months previously). Rolling Stone magazine called the LP, "the bridge between beat groups and psychedelia."
Yardbirds (1966) became known as Roger The Engineer (in France it was Over Under Sideways Down) from the LP cover cartoon by Chris Dreja, and was called a precursor to heavy metal through Jeff Beck’s guitar distortion experimentations and was their only offering with all original material.
Little Games (1967) would turn out to be the final album, and it was produced by Mickie Most, for many fans, an arrangement too far. Jimmy Page on Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor, Glimpses and White Summer were the main attractions.
Five Live Yardbirds (1964) was described by Ken Kessler of Hi-Fi News And Record Review as "the short jump from live gigs to vinyl," as it "captures the excitement of early 1960s British blues clubs in a way no studio recording could." Two years later they backed bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson on an album.
