BassPlayer 2017-03

end and the riff come back, which was usually me,
since I had to get back to the riff double-sharp.”
Samwell-Smith quit the band shortly after finishing
the Yardbirds album to pursue a career as a
producer, later working with such artists as Carly
Simon, All About Eve, Cat Stevens, and Jethro
Tull. “I was so tired of touring endlessly, always
traveling for hours to a gig miles from anywhere.
Making the album was a brief period of sanity
for me; I think we spent five consecutive days in
the studio, and I loved it. It was definitely what I
wanted to do. So when we finished the album and
went back on the road, I realized that I had to change my job.”
In the mid ’80s, however, Paul teamed up again with Yardbirds founding
members Dreja and McCarty to form Box Of Frogs, which recorded two bluesrock
albums featuring a host of musical buddies, including Beck and Page. In
1992, Samwell-Smith and the other Yardbirds were inaugurated into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame. A modern incarnation of the band continues touring
and recording today, helmed by McCarty.
Now 73, Samwell-Smith remains musically active. “I just finished co-producing
the latest Cat Stevens album, to be called The Laughing Apple, which was
an amazing treat,” Paul enthuses. “He’s in such good form, reminding me of
our work on our early albums together. Some things don’t change, and working
with such great talent is always a joy.” BP
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