The Yardbirds, "Birdland" (Favored Nations, 2003)

At first glance, the idea of a 21st-century The Yardbirds album featuring just the drummer and rhythm guitarist from the legendary '60s band seems like nothing more than a blatant cash grab.

That didn't prevent me from buying "Birdland" when it emerged after a 35-year hiatus between new material by the The Yardbirds (or whatever they were by 2003). As was the case with probably just about anyone who purchased the CD, I was swayed by the "guest appearances" listed on the jacket: Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of Steely Dan fame, Slash (Guns n' Roses), Brian May (Queen), Steve Lukather (Toto) and John Rzeznik (I had to look him up to learn he plays in the Goo Goo Dolls). Plus a guy named Jeff Beck.

And the track listing caught my attention, too. Eight of the 15 songs are old The Yardbirds tunes done anew, many featuring the aforementioned guitarists putting new spins on old classics. Considering the relatively primitive sound quality of the originals, it's interesting to hear them spiffed up for the digital age.

I'm guessing that Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja, the two The Yardbirds who were there in '63 and again in '03, felt an album full of new material wasn't going to sell. That's probably true, but the songs that debut on "Birdland" make for a strong set in their own right.

The first of the new songs, the McCarty-penned "Crying Out for Love," begins as a rather lightweight arrangement but picks up steam, culminating in an extended jam that puts the talents of Gypie Mayo - the regular lead guitarist for this incarnation of the Yardbirds - on display. Mayo made his name back in the '70s in the British pub-rock band Dr. Feelgood, and fans of that group have been happy to see him re-emerge.

"Please Don't Tell Me About the News," also written by McCarty, features a vintage The Yardbirds-type modified Bo Diddley beat in a little ditty about the tabloids. The songs veers into a jazzy break driven by John Idan's jazzy bass line, which is reminiscent of vintage tunes like "Over Under Sideways Down" (which also appears on this set). Idan, from Detroit, also is lead singer in the modern-day The Yardbirds, with a gritty voice that does fairly well in comparison with the original vocalist, the late Keith Relf.

Relf is the subject of the album's closer, "An Original Man (A Song for Keith)," a modal jam that sounds like it would have been right at home during the band's psychedelic era of 1966-68. So does "Dream Within a Dream," the Poe poem set to music by McCarty.

Also of note is Dreja's "My Blind Life," a gutbucket rocker featuring Jeff Beck playing with his old band for the first time since '66. The counterpoint to his guitar playing is the harp of Alan Glen, the fifth regular in the 21st-century The Yardbirds.

Among the remakes, a highlight is "Train Kept a-Rollin'," which the The Yardbirds first did by way of the Rock & Roll Trio, by way of originator Tiny Bradshaw. The new version sounds a bit more like Aerosmith played it, dispensing with Relf's odd double-tracked vocals that kind of detract from the '66 take. Having Satriani take one of his scorching solos doesn't hurt matters, either.

Lukather also does a fine job with the break on "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago," one of the lesser-known jewels in the The Yardbirds' treasure trove. The original, incidentally, is one of the very few tracks to feature both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page while they were members of the band simultaneously.

By no means should "Birdland" take the place of any of the The Yardbirds' 1960s output, but the new album shouldn't be dismissed, either. Consider it a welcome addition to a catalog that's among the cornerstones of classick rock.