"Over Under Sideways Down" backed with "Jeff's Boogie"
The Yardbirds' second psychedelic is distinguished by a vaguely "eastern" guitar lead guitar part and the chanting of the bridge. It is quite representative of how the Yardbirds always straddled the old and the new, rather than jumping into the new music with both feet.
Contents
Lyrics by Keith Relf
The lyrics appear to snidely attack the attitudes of people in swinging London.
Music credited to Jeff Beck, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty and Paul Samwell-Smith
The music, probably mostly written by Jeff Beck, is mostly relatively conventional British R&B with the exceptions of Jeff Beck's melodic lead, which opens the song, and the chanting of the vocals on the bridge. It's a relatively conservative song to some of their more psychedelic songs, but it's still recognizable as something different from the British Blues the band used to plain.
Arrangement and Performance
- Keith Relf – lead vocals, harmonica
- Jeff Beck – lead guitar, bass guitar
- Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
- Paul Samwell-Smith – backing vocals
Production
"Jeff's Boogie"
Originally this song was backed by "Jeff's Boogie," an authorized cover of Chuck Berry's "Guitar Boogie." Knowing where it came from gives you an idea of how conservative this b-side is in relation to the a-side but also in terms of the material that their contemporaries were pumping out. Occasionally Beck hints at the ongoing revolution in his playing but basically only twice during the entire song. It further weakens the idea that this band was making revolutionary music.