ROGER THE ENGINEER

'''Roger the Engineer''' (original title: '''The Yardbirds''', US, German, and French title: '''Over Under Sideways Down''') is an album by The Yardbirds, released in 1966. It was the only Yardbirds album with all originally-written material. Although the record was officially titled ''The Yardbirds'', it has since been referred to, first colloquially, then semi-officially, as ''Roger the Engineer'', a title stemming from the drawing on its front cover, a cartoon of the record's audio engineer Roger Cameron by band member Chris Dreja. Due to the influence of Jeff Beck's experimentation with guitar distortion, the album is considered a precursor to heavy metal.
The original American versions of this album (issued with a completely different album cover and entitled "Over Under Sideways Down") omitted the songs "The Nazz Are Blue" and "Rack My Mind" and are mixed differently to 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's 1983 reissue (simply entitled "The Yardbirds") featured the original UK album cover, the two missing tracks, duplication of the British mixing, and two additional tracks, the 1966 single "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" b/w "Psycho Daisies", both featuring Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

Contents

Track listing

UK release

Side one

Side two

US release

Side one

Side two

Personnel

Track listing

UK release

Side one

#"Lost Woman" – 3:16
#"Over, Under, Sideways, Down" – 2:24
#"The Nazz Are Blue" – 3:04
#"I Can't Make Your Way" – 2:26
#"Rack My Mind" – 3:15
#"Farewell" – 1:29

Side two

#"Hot House of Omagarashid" – 2:39
#"Jeff's Boogie" – 2:25
#"He's Always There" – 2:15
#"Turn into Earth" – 3:06
#"What Do You Want" – 3:22
#"Ever Since the World Began" – 2:09

US release

Side one

#"Lost Woman" – 3:16
#"Over, Under, Sideways, Down" – 2:24
#"I Can't Make Your Way" – 2:26 (Mono version includes opening beat missing from stereo version)
#"Farewell" – 1:29
#"Hot House of Omagarashid" – 2:39 (Beck's lead guitar differs noticeably between the two mixes)

Side two

#"Jeff's Boogie" – 2:25
#"He's Always There" – 2:15 (Longer fadeout and extended vocals at the end of the mono version)
#"Turn into Earth" – 3:06 (12-bar opening drum riff on mono version, 8-bar opening on stereo version)
#"What Do You Want" – 3:22
#"Ever Since the World Began" – 2:09

Personnel

★ Keith Relf – lead vocals (except "The Nazz Are Blue"), harmonica

★ Jeff Beck – lead guitar, bass (on "Over, Under, Sideways, Down"), lead vocals (on "The Nazz Are Blue")

★ Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar

★ Paul Samwell-Smith – bass, vocals

★ Jim McCarty – drums, percussion, vocals

★ Paul Samwell-Smith – production

★ Simon Napier-Bell – production