Pitchfork

Steve Vai is the new Buckethead! According to E! Online, Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth's former axeman was the compelling force behind famed British psychedelic-blues-rock band The Yardbirds' upcoming reunion album, Birdland. Like Guns N' Roses, however, the new Yardbirds will only include a couple of founding members: namely, rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja and drummer Jim McCarty. STAR POWER! The original Yardbirds lineup, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, guitarist Anthony "Top" Topham, and vocalist Keith Relf, who is memorialized on the new album with the song "An Original Man (Song for Keith)".

On Birdland, to be released on April 22nd by Vai's Favored Nations label, Dreja and McCarty will be joined by new permanent members, guitarist Gypie "Dr. Feelgood" Mayo, bassist and vocalist John Idan, and harmonicat Alan Glen for seven new tracks. In a desperate attempt to sell even a single record and conquer those voices in their heads saying "Clapton is God", Birdland will also include reworkings of eight classic Yardbirds songs, featuring guest guitarists Vai, Jeff Beck, Brian May of Queen, Joe Satriani, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of the Doobie Brothers, and motherfuckin' Slash, and guest vocalists Steve Luthaker of Toto and Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls. Check how interchangeable the tracklist is with a Huey Lewis album:

01 I'm Not Talking
02 Crying Out for Love
03 The Nazz Are Blue (featuring Skunk Baxter)
04 For Your Love (featuring Johnny Rzeznik)
05 Please Don't Tell Me 'Bout the News
06 Train Kept a Rolling (featuring Joe Satriani)
07 Mr. Saboteur
08 Shapes of Things (featuring Steve Vai)
09 My Blind Life (featuring Jeff Beck)
10 Over, Under, Sideways, Down (featuring Slash)
11 Mr. You're a Better Man Than I (featuring Brian May)
12 Mystery of Being
13 Dream Within a Dream
14 Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (featuring Steve Luthaker)
15 An Original Man (Song For Keith)

As Pitchfork News previously reported, the new Yardbirds will also play a live set at midnight on March 13th at Austin Music Hall as part of the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX, after which they'll embark on an eight-date stint in Austria and Germany, and a U.S. tour, beginning May 31st. Here are the European dates:

04-01 Vienna, Austria - Planet Music
04-02 Linz, Austria - Posthof
04-03 Nuremberg, Germany - Hirsch
04-04 Plauen, Germany - Malzhaus
04-05 Reinsdorf, Germany - Gesundbrunnen
04-10 Hildesheim, Germany - Vier Linden
04-11 Lorsch, Germany - Musiktheater Rex
04-12 Bremen, Germany - Meisenfrei