Shapes of Things: Background

The piece was written by Paul Samwell-Smith, Keith Relf, and Jim McCarty and released by The Yardbirds as a single in 1966. The title bears a striking resemblance to The Shape of Things to Come, the “future history” book by H.G. Wells which foresaw cities being destroyed by aerial bombing. The song is considered one of the first psychedelic songs and features a psychedelic-style guitar solo by Jeff Beck using his Fender Esquire guitar. Q magazine in 2005 ranked the piece number 61 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks.—Wikipedia

The piece was one of the songs Alex and Geddy played as part of their set in the band’s earliest years, Neil says in the liner notes to Feedback.

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