Editing Roger the Engineer

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Yardbirds
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[the Yardbirds]]
| cover        = Yardbirds-RogerTheEngineer.jpg
| caption      = UK release
| alt          = Caricature drawing of an audio engineer Roger Cameron (Who went on to run Advision Studios)holding headphones and a reel of recording tape
| released     = {{start date|1966|07|15|df=yes}}
| recorded     = 19 April – 14 June 1966
| studio       = [[Advision Studios|Advision]], London
| genre        = 
*[[Psychedelic rock]]
*[[blues rock]]<ref name=Erlewine>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=roger-the-engineer-mw0000192532|label=The Yardbirds: Roger the Engineer – Review |first=Stephen |last=Erlewine  |accessdate=1 June 2015}}</ref>
| length       = 35:52 (14-track version)
| label        = [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]]
| producer     = 
* [[Simon Napier-Bell]]
* [[Paul Samwell-Smith]]
| chronology   = [[The Yardbirds]] UK
| prev_title   = [[Five Live Yardbirds]]
| prev_year    = 1964
| next_title   = Remember
| next_year    = 1971
| misc         = {{Extra chronology
 | artist     = [[The Yardbirds]] US
 | type       = studio
 | prev_title = [[Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds]]
 | prev_year  = 1965
 | title      = Over Under Sideways Down
 | year       = 1966
 | next_title = [[The Yardbirds Greatest Hits]]
 | next_year  = 1967
}}{{Extra album cover
 | header  = Alternative covers
 | type    = studio
 | cover   = Overundersidewaysdown.jpg
 | alt     =
 | caption = US release
 }}
}}

'''''Roger the Engineer''''' (originally released in the UK as '''''Yardbirds''''' and in the US, West Germany, France and Italy as '''''Over Under Sideways Down''''') is the only UK studio album and the third US album by the English [[rock music|rock]] band [[the Yardbirds]]. Recorded and released in 1966, it contains all original material and is the only Yardbirds album with guitarist [[Jeff Beck]] on all tracks.<ref name=Erlewine/> It was produced by bassist [[Paul Samwell-Smith]] and manager [[Simon Napier-Bell]].

Although the British edition is still officially titled ''Yardbirds'' by authoritative chart sources, such as [[Official Charts Company]],<ref name="OCC"/> it has since been referred to, first colloquially, then semi-officially, as ''Roger the Engineer'',<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DL3I9qQWdeAC&pg=PA24 |title=Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History |page=24 |first=Bob |last=Gulla |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0313358067|access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref> a title stemming from the cover drawing of the record's audio engineer Roger Cameron by band member [[Chris Dreja]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zdcz |title= The Yardbirds Roger The Engineer Review |first=Chris |last=Jones |website=bbc.co.uk |date=17 April 2007 |access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref>

==Background==
The Yardbirds' debut album in December 1964 had been a live release appropriately titled ''[[Five Live Yardbirds]]''. With the arrival of Jeff Beck in the group in March 1965, a series of popular and innovative hit singles established the group as a major [[British Invasion]] act, with extensive touring in the United States. Anticipation for the group's first studio LP was high, although it wasn't until March 1966 that they entered [[Advision Studios]] in London to attempt initial recordings.<ref name=crazy/> Ten instrumental tracks were laid down with working titles like "Someone To Love" (renamed "Lost Women"), "Pounds and Stomps" (an early "He's Always There"), "Jeff's Blues" (renamed "The Nazz Are Blue"), "Like Jimmy Reed Again", "Chris' Number", "Crimson Curtain", and "What Do You Want" with the provisional album title ''An Eye View of Beat''. Before vocals and other overdubs could be added, the sessions were scrapped when the group switched managers from [[Giorgio Gomelsky]] to [[Simon Napier-Bell]].<ref name=crazy/> Most of these aborted tracks would be released on later Gomelsky archival compilations. 

==Recording==
The first product produced under the aegis of Napier-Bell was the single "[[Over Under Sideways Down]]" along with its B-side "Jeff's Boogie", which were recorded at Advision from 19–20 April 1966.<ref name="Russo">
{{cite book
| last = Russo
| first = Greg
| title = Yardbirds: The Ultimate Rave-Up
| year = 2016
| location = Floral Park, New York
| publisher = Crossfire Publications
| isbn = 978-0-9791845-7-4
| page = 210
}}</ref> The single was released on 27 May and performed well, charting at number 10 in the UK and number 13 in the US.<ref name="Ultimate"/> It continued in the pioneering psychedelic vein of the previous "[[Shapes of Things]]", with Beck conjuring a distorted Eastern-inspired fuzz guitar hook that contrasted with the 1950s boogie-style walking bass line he also came up with.<ref name=crazy>{{cite book |last1=Carson |first1=Annette |title=Jeff Beck: Crazy Fingers |date=2001 |publisher=Backbeat Books |location=San Francisco}}</ref> The flip side, "Jeff's Boogie", was based on [[Chuck Berry]]'s "Guitar Boogie" and allowed Beck to show off his considerable guitar prowess; it would become a live favorite with [[The Jeff Beck Group]].

The bulk of the album was recorded at Advision from 31 May to 4 June 1966 with bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and Napier-Bell co-producing.<ref name="Russo"/> Roger Cameron was the engineer, although the final session at IBC on 14 June which produced "I Can't Make Your Way" saw [[Glyn Johns]] take his place.<ref name=ibcjohns>''Roger the Engineer'' 2021 re-release liner notes</ref> Although Samwell-Smith played bass on about half the album's tracks, the group hired Mick Fitzpatrick to play on the rest. The band reworked four tracks from the aborted March Gomelsky sessions ("Lost Women", "The Nazz Are Blue", "He's Always There" and "What Do You Want") and added six more, most of which were quickly written in the studio. Samwell-Smith later complained that the group only had five days to complete the album, and wondered how great it might have been if they had been given one month.<ref name=crazy/> The typical method of working in the studio was to have the band members work out the basic backing tracks and then, after many hours had passed, allow Beck the freedom to add guitar overdubs as he saw fit. According to Beck: <blockquote> "I would sit around twiddling my fingers in anger waiting for my chance to get in and rip it in half. And they used to watch the flame build and build until I really couldn't take it. And then we'd all laugh and have a drink afterwards."<ref name=crazy/>
</blockquote>

Musically, the album continued in the vein of their recent run of hit singles including blues-based numbers ("The Nazz Are Blue", "Rack My Mind"), riff-driven hard rock ("He's Always There", "What Do You Want"), lysergic rave-ups ("Lost Women") Gregorian chant ("Turn Into Earth"), and exotic psychedelia (the instrumental "Hot House of Omagararshid"). In addition, Keith Relf contributed the sensitive piano ballad "Farewell" with accompanying social commentary on modern life. Beck's guitar solos experimented with fuzz, feedback, reverb and Eastern modes, played on a recently purchased [[Gibson Les Paul]] Sunburst that he had seen [[Eric Clapton]] using with [[John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers|the Bluesbreakers]].<ref name=crazy/> 

==Release==
''Yardbirds'' was released by the [[Columbia Graphophone Company]] in the UK on 15 July 1966 and by [[Epic Records]] in the US on 18 July 1966.<ref name="Ultimate"/> It is the only Yardbirds album to appear in the [[UK Albums Chart]], where it reached number 20.<ref name="OCC">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/11456/yardbirds/
| title = Yardbirds – Albums
| publisher = [[Official Charts Company]]
| access-date = 30 October 2017
}}</ref> In the US, it reached number 52 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart, making it the band's highest-charting studio album in that country.<ref name="Ultimate">
{{cite AV media notes
| first1 = Cub
| last1 = Koda
| author-link1 = Cub Koda
| first2 = Gregg
| last2 = Russo
| title = [[Ultimate!]]
| others = [[The Yardbirds]]
| type = Boxed set booklet
| year = 2001
| location = Los Angeles
| publisher = [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino Records]]
| id = R2 79825
| OCLC = 781357622
| pages = 46, 51
}}</ref> It reached number 8 in Finland.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nyman |first=Jake |title=Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja |publisher=Tammi |year=2005 |isbn=951-31-2503-3 |edition=1st |location=Helsinki |page=140 |language=fi}}</ref> 

The original American version (issued with a different album cover and titled ''Over Under Sideways Down'' after the hit song of the same name) omitted the songs "The Nazz Are Blue" (sung by Jeff Beck) and "Rack My Mind" and is mixed differently than the British editions. Regardless, record collectors have sought out both the mono (LN 24210) and stereo (BN 26210) versions since several tracks are featured with slight differences in the mixes (see US album listing below). [[Epic Records|Epic]]'s 1983 reissue (simply titled ''The Yardbirds'') featured the original UK album cover, the two missing tracks, duplication of the British mixing, and two additional tracks: the October 1966 single "[[Happenings Ten Years Time Ago]]" backed with "Psycho Daisies" which feature both Jeff Beck and [[Jimmy Page]] on guitar.

In 2021, [[Demon Music Group|Demon Records]] released a "super deluxe" version of ''Roger the Engineer'' including the mono and stereo versions on LP and CD with extra tracks and plethora of outtakes (including a working version of "Turn Into Earth" with a lost guitar solo) along with a replica of the "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"/"Psycho Daises" single.

==Reception and legacy==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Erlewine" />
}}
Upon release, ''[[Record Mirror]]'' ran a positive track-by-track review of the album. Reviewer Richard Green noted "all the tracks have been produced well and there's nothing I can think of to fault them on", before concluding the importance of Jeff Beck to the group and predicting it would be a hit.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Columbia 33SX 6063 |date=July 23, 1966 |page=2 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/66/Record-Mirror-1966-07-23.pdf |magazine=Record Mirror}}</ref> In a retrospective [[AllMusic]] review, [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] considers the album to be "the Yardbirds' best individual studio album, offering some of their very best psychedelia", though not "among the great albums of its era".<ref name=Erlewine/>

In the liner notes to the box set ''[[Beckology]]'', Gene Santoro notes that the band had "forged a new musical synthesis of Eastern sounds, jazz, blues, rock and noise. The rave up section of "Lost Women" rides out on a recurring feedback-and-whistle sound of power chords; the first section of the "Nazz Are Blue" solo closes out with a single sustained note spiraling into feedback--and this before [[Jimi Hendrix]]'s revolutionary ''[[Are You Experienced?]]''.<ref name=crazy/> Writing for ''Ultimate Clsssic Rock'', Michael Gallucci similarly touts it as a "monumental work of the era" which "takes the Yardbirds into eye-opening, and mind-expanding new worlds. ''Roger the Engineer'' helped set the template for the psychedelic-based hard rock that would emerge over the next couple of years."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gallucci |first1=Michael |title=How The Yardbirds Took a Creative Leap with 'Roger the Engineer' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/yardbirds-roger-the-engineer/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=May 7, 2025}}</ref> Overall, the album is praised for providing a blueprint for the styles of [[hard rock]], [[acid rock]], [[psychedelic rock|psychedelia]] and [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] months before the first releases by [[Cream (band)|Cream]] and [[Jimi Hendrix|The Jimi Hendrix Experience]]. 

The album is included in Robert Dimery's ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Dimery
| first = Robert
| year = 2010
| title = [[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]
| publisher = [[Universe Publishing]]
| isbn = 978-0789320742
}}</ref> In 2012, the album was ranked number 350 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'''s list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]].<ref name="rollingstone">{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-yardbirds-roger-the-engineer-a-k-a-over-under-sideways-down-20120524 |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The Yardbirds, 'Roger the Engineer' |work=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref>

The American band [[Nazz]] (featuring [[Todd Rundgren]]) were named after the song "The Nazz Are Blue".

==Track listing==
All songs credited to [[Chris Dreja]], [[Jim McCarty]], [[Jeff Beck]], [[Keith Relf]], and [[Paul Samwell-Smith]] (Dreja and McCarty's last names are misspelled as "Drega" and "McCarthy" on the labels of the US album), although "Turn into Earth" was penned by Paul Samwell-Smith and Rosemary Simon.<ref name=ibcjohns/> All songs are recorded in stereo, except where noted.

{{tracklist
| headline   = Side one
| title1     = Lost Woman
| length1    = 3:16
| title2     = [[Over Under Sideways Down]]
| note2      = Rechanneled
| length2    = 2:24
| title3     = The Nazz Are Blue
| length3    = 3:04
| title4     = I Can't Make Your Way
| length4    = 2:26
| title5     = Rack My Mind
| length5    = 3:15
| title6     = Farewell
| length6    = 1:29
}}

{{tracklist
| headline   = Side two
| title7     = Hot House of Omagararshid
| length7    = 2:39
| title8     = Jeff's Boogie
| note8      = Rechanneled
| length8    = 2:25
| title9     = He's Always There
| length9    = 2:15
| title10    = Turn into Earth
| length10   = 3:06
| title11    = What Do You Want
| length11   = 3:22
| title12    = Ever Since the World Began
| length12   = 2:09
}}

===US release===
{{tracklist
| headline    = Side one
| title1      = Lost Woman
| length1     = 3:16
| title2      = Over, Under, Sideways, Down
| length2     = 2:24
| title3      = I Can't Make Your Way
| note3       = Mono version includes opening beat missing from stereo version
| length3     = 2:26
| title4      = Farewell
| length4     = 1:29
| title5      = Hot House of Omagararshid
| note5       = Beck's lead guitar differs noticeably between the two mixes
| length5     = 2:39
}}

{{tracklist
| headline    = Side two
| title6      = Jeff's Boogie
| length6     = 2:25
| title7      = He's Always There
| note7       = Longer fadeout and extended vocals at the end of the mono version
| length7     = 2:15
| title8      = Turn into Earth
| note8       = 12-bar drum opening on mono version, 8-bar opening on stereo version
| length8     = 3:06
| title9      = What Do You Want
| length9     = 3:22
| title10     = Ever Since the World Began
| length10    = 2:09
}}

==Personnel==
;The Yardbirds
*[[Keith Relf]] – lead vocals (except "The Nazz Are Blue"), harmonica, [[Autoharp|autoharp]] on "Over, Under, Sideways, Down", [[Acoustic guitar|acoustic guitar]] on "Hot House Of Omagararshid", [[Güiro|güiro]] on "I Can’t Make Your Way", "Hot House Of Omagararshid" and "He's Always There"
*[[Jeff Beck]] – lead guitar, lead vocals on "The Nazz Are Blue", bass guitar on "Over, Under, Sideways, Down", [[Percussion instrument|percussion]] on "Hot House Of Omagararshid"
*[[Chris Dreja]] – rhythm guitar, piano, [[Wobble board|wobble board]] on "Hot House Of Omagararshid", backing vocals
*[[Paul Samwell-Smith]] – bass guitar on "Lost Woman", "The Nazz Are Blue", "Rack My Mind", "Jeff's Boogie" and "What Do You Want", backing vocals
*[[Jim McCarty]] – drums, percussion, backing vocals

;Additional musicians
*Michael (Mick) Fitzpatrick - bass guitar on "I Can’t Make Your Way", "Farewell", "Hot House Of Omagararshid" "He's Always There", "Turn Into Earth" and "Ever Since The World Began"  
;Cover art
*Chris Dreja – [[design|cover design]] and [[Illustration|artwork]]
*Jim McCarty – sleeve notes

{|class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Region
! Date
! Title
! Label
! Format
! Catalog
|-
| rowspan="2" | UK
| rowspan="2" | 07/1966
| rowspan="2" | ''Yardbirds''
| rowspan="2" | [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]]
| [[stereophonic sound|stereo]] [[Phonograph record|LP]]
| SCX6063
|-
| mono LP
|  SX6063
|-
| rowspan="2" | US
| rowspan="2" | 08/1966
| rowspan="5" | ''Over Under Sideways Down''
| rowspan="3" | [[Epic Records|Epic]]
| stereo LP
| BN 26210
|-
| mono LP
| LN 24210
|-
| [[Germany|FRG]]
| rowspan="3" | 1966
| stereo LP
| BN 26254
|-
| France
| Riviera
| rowspan="4" | LP
| 231196
|-
| Canada
| [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
| ST 6202
|-
| England
| rowspan="2" | 1983
|''Roger the Engineer''
| [[Demon Music Group|Edsel]]
| ED 116
|-
| rowspan="2" | US
| ''Yardbirds''
| Epic
| FE 38455
|-
| 11/1997
| ''Roger the Engineer''
| [[Warner Records|Warner Archive]]
| CD
| WB 457342
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{discogs master|master=37173|name=The Yardbirds|type=album}}

{{The Yardbirds}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roger The Engineer}}
[[Category:1966 albums]]
[[Category:The Yardbirds albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Paul Samwell-Smith]]
[[Category:EMI Columbia Records albums]]
[[Category:Warner Records albums]]
[[Category:Capitol Records albums]]
[[Category:Repertoire Records albums]]