"Evil Hearted You" | ||||
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Single by the Yardbirds | ||||
A-side | "Still I'm Sad" ( double A-side) | |||
Released | 1 October 1965 | |||
Recorded | 26 August 1965 | |||
Studio | Advision Sound, London | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 2:24 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Graham Gouldman | |||
Producer(s) | Giorgio Gomelsky | |||
The Yardbirds UK singles chronology | ||||
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"Evil Hearted You" is a 1965 song by English rock group the Yardbirds. It was written by future 10cc member Graham Gouldman, who also wrote the group's two prior singles, " For Your Love" and " Heart Full of Soul". [1] It reached No. 3 on the main UK singles chart. [2]
The Yardbirds recorded the song at Advision Studios, London, on 26 August 1965. [3] [a] When it was released 1 October 1965 in the UK, "Evil Hearted You", along with the second side, "Still I'm Sad" became a double A-side hit. [6] The Record Retailer singles chart counted both sides and reported it reached number three. [6] The NME singles chart reported the two songs separately – "Evil Hearted You" at number ten and "Still I'm Sad" at number nine. [6] There was no single release in the US, but the song was included on the Yardbirds' second Epic Records album Having a Rave Up, [7] which was released 15 November 1965.
Music critic Cub Koda describes the song as a "minor-key pop classic" and guitarist Jeff Beck's solo as "equal parts classical and James Bond soundtrack". [8] Biographer Martin Power writes:
"Evil Hearted You" had a hint of Italian composer Ennio Morricone, with Beck's contribution taking it to a whole new level of excitement, his clattering, heavily reverbed guitar and shimmering, two-octave slide solo sounding almost ghostly. [9]
In a review for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger calls the song "one of the gloomiest hit singles in all of 1960s British rock" and adds:
[It] throws in all of Gouldman's mid-'60s bag of tricks: multiple abrupt tempo changes, a haunting Middle Eastern-influenced melody extremely heavy on the minor chords, a lyric abjectly pining for a woman's love, and adroit integration of several contrasting sections. [1]
"Evil Hearted You" was recorded by the American group the Human Beinz, prior to changing their name. [1] Unterberger describes it as "a faithful version". [1]