JIMMY PAGE - POWER, MYSTERY AND THE HAMMER OF THE GODS

JIMMY PAGE - A PERSONAL REFLECTION


Growing up, before the words Led Zeppelin meant anything to me, I loved music. 'Pop' singles came from my pocket money. By the time I was 13 I'd graduated to LP's, but before that it was 7" wax. All types, all styles. If I liked it, i'd try to buy it. For some of those songs there was something intangible, unique. Beyond the singalong, the chorus, the beat.

Tobacco Road, Baby Please Don't Go, With A Little Help From My Friends, Circles, Sunshine Superman, Out Of Time, The Crying Game..... 

So many to play and play and enjoy, to immerse myself in. Fast forward to when my Zeppelin hunger was insatiable and I learnt Jimmy Page played on those records, and hundreds more besides. 

Before my 14th I discovered Led Zeppelin. An 8 track of the first album, followed swiftly by the vinyl of II and within weeks, on my 14th, Physical Graffiti. I was hooked, And Jimmy Page was the centre of it all. As a teenager I marvelled at his playing and his band. Nothings changed...

It's always been a challenge putting what Jimmy means musically into words, how and why he to me is The Main Man. So, I'm going to offer some observations, thoughts, memories by way of explanation. 

Guitar playing is a consummate art, but to see the bigger picture is the real genius. Led Zeppelin afforded Jimmy the best and most unique vehicle possible. Complete expression fired up and embellished by 3 supremely talented musicians. They could do anything. And they did. 

From the opening blast of Good Times, Bad Times Led Zeppelin were unique. That thousand notes a second solo burst. Treating the guitar through a Leslie cabinet. The light touch and muse of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, almost spanish over a light yet tense canvas before the descending riff and blast off. The searing dirty slide answering Robert's unbridled sex roar on You Shook Me and the sonic waves of harmonized power that dovetailed the menacing bow before the reprised Think About It dense flurry in Dazed And Confused. Almost half a century later, the first side of the first album still mesmerises. 

And that wonder, that groundbreaking bravery, has always been there. On May 18th 1985 The Firm played the NEC, Birmingham. Memorable for me as I sat in the side bar of the Metropole Hotel that afternoon with Jimmy taking and laughing. Also memorable for the fact Robert went, sat high up in the nosebleed seats and wept. Wept because he missed his mate, and because he saw and heard the beauty and unique genius of Jimmy Page. Tellingly Robert would opine 'I miss him furiously'. 

So many phenomenal recordings. We all have our favourites. Whole Lotta Love. A Wagnerian epic for a new age - the riff, the Theremin, that solo. And more than that, bringing incredible performances out of the guys. And then there's the production....

As Led Zeppelin ascended, their live performances became legendary. They not only changed the game, they WERE the game. And Jimmy was behind it all. His band, his design and his dream. The Royal Albert Hall film and the myriad of bootlegs give testimony to it all. Amazing times. And the bravery of Jimmy steering the boat away from the expected 'son of II' for the 3rd LP, and the wonderful music within. 

Then the masterpiece of 'IV', the breathtaking World Music of Houses Of The Holy..... It's more and more of an achievement every time you stand back and look, admire. 

What has always struck me about Jimmy is the unknown. Every solo, riff, overdub, live performance is different. Always exploring, challenging, searching. He always sends shivers, always manages to bring as much emotion as technique into each note. From rockabilly to bucolic folk to heavy metal riffs to mesmerising soundscapes and beautiful dissonance. The Master.

Cruelly underrated as a Producer, it's not coincidence the led Zeppelin catalogue is sonically superior to just about anything else. He deserves a Knighthood for the production of Bonzo's drums alone! My personal landmark production tracks - Whole Lotta Love, Gallows Pole, That's The Way, Levee, Stairway, Song Remains The Same, No Quarter, In My Time, Trampled, In The Light, Kashmir, Achilles, Hots On, In The Evening...... the list is endless.

As a composer, where do you start? Each riff has nuances unique to the song. Alternate and startling tunings have brought a new life to songs and moods. Sparing solo's that do the best for the song and not his own ego and trip. Always the song. Always the best. 

And as a live performer he's always taken risks. Walking that tightrope. And out of that has come unique moments that wouldn't have come by playing safe. Even at the worst times it's always there. Sonic Architect indeed.

I always refer back to the film, and Dazed And Confused. There are edits, out of sync sections etc etc but if you just concentrate and watch him throughout there is a musician totally immersed in the moment. The music, The connection from brain to finger is total, the inspiration breathtaking. The end of the 9th North American Tour was certainly a climactic period for Led Zeppelin and Jimmy. From the UK Tour on the instrumental might of the band onstage was frightening to say the least. Those essential European soundboard tapes bear testament to that. And as Luis Rey says, much of Jimmy's playing in the years from 71 to 73 surpasses just about anything any guitarist has achieved. Ever.

Having seen Jimmy perform many times I always get that shiver, that rush of expectation. So many memories, from Knebworth to Rotterdam, Cambridge to Middlesborough, St Austell to Hammersmith. When I've met him he's always been a gentleman, gracious and charming. 

This is just a small article, a collection of thoughts and memories. Suffice to say James Patrick Page has been the single most important musical moment in my life and will continue to be so. I'm so lucky to have met him and seen and heard his art, his genius.

Happy Birthday Jimmy