Rock 101: Jimmy Page (2593 hits)
Category: Sound & MusicRating: 1.49 on 41 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by The Walrus (View user info) at 2005-01-03 17:49:20 EST
As far as guitarists go, Jimmy Page is as important, influential, and versatile as they get. His pulse-pounding riffs serve as a blueprint for rock as a whole. Not only did he play the guitar like few others, he was also a tremendous song writer. He wrote the majority of Led Zeppelin's songs along with producing all of their albums. His work touched upon country, funk, blues, and folk styles. A great band such as Led Zeppelin could not have been more than a dream without Page among them.
Born in 1944 in Middlesex, England, Page first picked up a guitar at age 13. He is said to have been inspired by the king himself, Elvis Presley. Although he attended several lessons, for the most part he was self-taught. After high school he chose to join a full scale rock band, Neil Christian and the Crusaders. They briefly toured England, but Page did not last long. He fell terribly ill with glandular fever and had to quit to recuperate. Giving up on music he attended an art's college and focused his efforts on becoming a painter. It seemed rock had lost its greatest potential talent.
Luckily for us, in the early 60's with the emergence of bands such as the Rolling Stones, Page found a renewed interest in music. He decided to pick up the guitar once again and quickly became one of the top session players in all of England. He is known to have played with some of the greats including The Who, Donovan, The Rolling Stones, and The Kinks.
Eventually he became tired of session playing and decided to once again join a band. He teamed up with another great guitar player in Jeff Beck to form the base of The Yardbirds. Under Page's influence the band was changed from a blues rock band to a hard rock band. Their album "Little Games" and several tours were immensely successful, but the guitar super group did not last for very long. The band eventually fell apart without Jeff Beck in 1968, causing Page to start his own band, The New Yardbirds. He recruited Robert Plant on vocals, John Paul Jones on the bass, and John Bonham on drums. After their first tour they changed their name to Led Zeppelin.
Zeppelin explored areas rarely traveled in music at this age. Hard rock and metal had not had much exposure before the band came to be. The four did not take long to be thrown into fame. Their successive releases of Led Zeppelin I, II, III, IV, Houses of the Holy, and Physical Graffiti brought them a massive fan base across the world. With incredible live performances led by Page's famed double neck guitar and hit songs such as Dazed and Confused, Whole Lotta Love, The Immigrant Song, Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven and Kashmir, Led Zeppelin became arguably the biggest rock band in the world by the mid '70's.
At the same time Page was working with folk artist Roy Harper under the name S. Flavius Mercurius, trying to keep in touch with all areas of music.
Through the years Page came into contact with drugs, becoming a heavy addict by the late 70's. Along with this he began to show a weird interest in the occult, buying a mansion on the shores of the Loch Ness.
Despite Page's oddities Led Zeppelin continued hammering out albums until the beginning of the 80's with Presence and In Through the Out Door. Troubles within the band's individual lives would eventually bring an end to one of the most successful rock bands in history. Plants young son died in '77 followed by drummer John Bonham's alcohol related death in 1980 proved too much to overcome.
For two years after the breakup Jimmy Page went unheard from. Later he claimed to have not so much as touched an instrument in that entire period. He did come back, however, and played on the soundtracks to the films Death Wish I and II.
After that he put together Coda, a collection of Led Zeppelin out takes. He also took part in the 1983 A.R.M.S tour for multiple sclerosis research, teaming up with Eric Clapton and, once again, Jeff Beck.
Eventually Page decided to take another shot at a rock band, forming The Firm. Former Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers joined and together they created a solid first album released to good reviews. However, after their second effort emerged lacking in substance they decided to call it an early quits.
In '85 and again in '88 the three remaining members of Led Zeppelin decided to team up yet again. The performances were sloppy and ill practiced though, disappointing hordes of eager fans.
Page then issued his first ever solo recording, Outrider. It was a success, although not a hugely popular one. He also tried to team up with vocalist David Coverdale, but that excursion lasted only one album.
In '95 Led Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame, making that the second time a Jimmy Page band was entered (The Yardbirds received the honor in '92).
The year '98 saw Page and Plant team up once more before they both faded slowly into obscurity to produce the album "Walking into Clarksdale." This overly hyped album failed at the foot of expectations though, marking the end of albums from Page.
Jimmy Page was not only an amazing guitarist/song writer, he also helped to begin a style which eventually became heavy metal. His versatility was only matched with his outright skill, earning him a spot among the most influential artist's of all time.
Rock On.
User Reviews
Submitted by germy (user info) at 2005-01-04 12:10:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Guitar 401: Frank Zappa
Submitted by Jeanneee (user info) at 2005-01-04 11:47:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Zeppelin Rocks. Robert Plant has a big wiener.
Submitted by Sassmasterr (user info) at 2005-01-04 10:27:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
cheat commandos! Rock, Rock On!
Submitted by subliminalshock (user info) at 2005-01-04 00:43:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
zeplin is the shit man and page made them who they were and the duble gibsons are awsome
Submitted by The_Walrus (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:48:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Haha, no, it's good reading. I'm enjoying it.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:45:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
[Harry] Smith himself was a curiosity piece. Born in 1923, in Portland, Ore., he grew up around Seattle. He created many fables about his upbringing, including the notion that his mother had a tryst with infamous occultist Aleister Crowley and that Crowley was his real father. He soon began his legendary record collecting when, he claimed, a wartime drive to melt down old records for shellac made thousands of obscure recordings of music from all over the country available for next to nothing. He collected everything: blues, race records, hillbilly, Cajun, cowboy songs, child ballads, fiddle tunes, polkas and more. He moved to San Francisco where he began what are now regarded as pioneering experiments in cinema.
More on Harry Smith and his contribution to the history of music here: http://www.metrotimes.com/arts/stories/17/47/smith.html
Sorry to keep camping your post, but this is essential knowledge for a complete understanding of rock music and it's history, especially it's folk and blues roots.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:41:56 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by fieldsr (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:18:36 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-01-03 19:08:50 (#)
Ranking: -2
You're 14?
Where's the fucking -3 button?
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Shlongy, your an asshole. I don't know you, but I've never seen you +2 anything. What does that even supposed to mean? Now that you know hes 14, the quality of his work gets so bad that it should be rated -3? I don't care if the guy was 3, its still pretty good. And what Wiggles is saying isn't bad, he obviously likes them, he just criticises (sp?) some aspects of there music. Good job. You probably should've said what was wierd about him buying that mansion.
YOU SHOULD WRITE ABOUT LINKIN PARK! (I'm kidding of course)
Oooooohhhhh..You really gave it to me.
PS. Go fuck yourself. The post said nothing I haven't read approximately 150 times in various publications and on line.
Submitted by Wiggles (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:41:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by CoreaPeekay (user info) at 2005-01-03 20:19:40 (#)
Ranking: 2
I was playing pretty much any zep song within 9 months-1 year of guitar playing. Its not that hard,Its really blues and pentatonic major oriented music which is extremely easy and it goes around to be a bit redundant.
Personally I'd like to see a piece on Robert Fripp of King Crimson or David Gilmore and Syd Barret of Pink Floyd.
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I seriously doubt that after nine months of practice you could play something as brilliant as the solo on Since I've Been Loving You. I'm sure the riff to Whole Lotta Love is a piece of cake, but some of Page's solos were certainly quite advanced.
Personally, I'd like to see a piece on Mick Taylor. His playing was fucking BEAUTIFUL, and its a goddamn shame he never found another band after he left the Stones.
But if this is a "Rock 101" series, it should probably be written by someone a little older, who knows about Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ray Charles, and as much as I can't stand him, Elvis.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:34:08 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Nevermind...it's been done. Just googled it: http://www.brainwashed.com/axis/crowley/flexipop666.htm
Should be very interesting reading... Check it out!
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:32:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You should do an essay on Crowley and his influence in music history.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:31:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
One other VERY interesting tidbit about Crowley was that Harry Smith, the man whose 'Anthology of American Folk Music' sparked the resurgence of the folk music culture of the 60s and had vast influence on the likes of Bob Dylan, was a Crowley fanatic as well.
It seems that if it has to do with musical revolutions, Crowley turns up...right there, like a lurking shadow. There have been theories that this time period marked the beginning of Satan's reign on the earth, and Crowley's subversive influence is often cited as evidence of this.
Submitted by fieldsr (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:18:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-01-03 19:08:50 (#)
Ranking: -2
You're 14?
Where's the fucking -3 button?
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Shlongy, your an asshole. I don't know you, but I've never seen you +2 anything. What does that even supposed to mean? Now that you know hes 14, the quality of his work gets so bad that it should be rated -3? I don't care if the guy was 3, its still pretty good. And what Wiggles is saying isn't bad, he obviously likes them, he just criticises (sp?) some aspects of there music. Good job. You probably should've said what was wierd about him buying that mansion.
YOU SHOULD WRITE ABOUT LINKIN PARK! (I'm kidding of course)
Submitted by The_Walrus (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:10:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Don't know what I'd do without ya ETS.
Ah, I've got a guitar gathering dust in a corner, used to be my uncle's. One of these days I'll get around to learning... one of these days...
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:06:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I think you're a cool kid, Eggman. You've got some taste and you've got some talent. You obviously enjoy music. I started playing guitar at your age, maybe you should too...
Stay in school.
Steer clear of drugs...
well, all but the mind-altering psychedelics. Those I'd recommend in moderate quantities...
Just don't tell your parents I said that! :P
Submitted by Death_Metal_Dude (user info) at 2005-01-03 21:04:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
auto zep +2
Submitted by The_Walrus (user info) at 2005-01-03 20:59:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I actually did read about that, I left it out as I was worried about this dragging on a bit.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2005-01-03 20:51:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Not a bad little essay. Pretty informative and well-written, Eggman! Your talent for writing should not be taken lightly, as it will continue to grow as you gain experience. To be as young as you are, I am continually impressed with your talent. Get your priorities in line now so you can have a career doing something you love later.
On a sidenote: you forgot to mention the interesting tidbit about who the former owner of the mansion, Boleskine House, was...none other than Aleister Crowley, the famed occultist, whose image also graced the cover of The Beatles' "Seargent Pepper" album, who was somewhat glorified in the Ozzy Osbourne song, "Mr. Crowley", and whose influence can be seen in countless other rock bands including Tool. The members of Tool are constantly trading in first edition Crowley books.
You can read more about Crowley here: http://www.cix.co.uk/~mandrake/crowley.htm
Submitted by bush_for_god (user info) at 2005-01-03 20:36:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by CoreaPeekay (user info) at 2005-01-03 20:19:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Wiggles (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:32:30 (#)
Ranking: 1
Wiggles, you don't really know what you're talking about. What, do you expect a guy to be God all the time? Sure, jimi's bow work was a little trite and boring. But his EARLY solos are unfuckingbelievable. if you can score them live in texas 1969.. august 31... you will see. sloppy? in one or two parts. So? can you play like that? stop regurgitating the same old complaints... you don't know led zeppelin.
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I know and enjoy Led Zeppelin. I own every single one of their official releases (CD or DVD) including things like BBC sessions and Song Remains The Same, plus a couple bootlegs. And I do think Page was one of the all-time greatest guitar players. I'm just saying he was more inconsistent than some of the other greats. Only a small handful of guitarists could play at that level of difficulty, but I think Page sacrificed precision and quality for speed in many instances.
Of course I can't play guitar like Page, but it doesn't mean I'm forbidden from critiquing his work. With all the money I've spent on Zeppelin music, I don't think there's a damn thing wrong with saying what I like and what I don't.
A handful? I was playing pretty much any zep song within 9 months-1 year of guitar playing. Its not that hard,Its really blues and pentatonic major oriented music which is extremely easy and it goes around to be a bit redundant.
Personally I'd like to see a piece on Robert Fripp of King Crimson or David Gilmore and Syd Barret of Pink Floyd.
Submitted by Shroom (user info) at 2005-01-03 19:52:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked it. It was informative and decently written for someone of your age (though I can't talk much..I'm only 17). I can't -2 a good article on such a great guitarist. In anycase, hit me up on AIM sometime: teh shroom (yes, teh)
Submitted by Schwarzes_Glas (user info) at 2005-01-03 19:40:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-01-03 19:08:50 (#)
Ranking: -2
You're 14?
Where's the fucking -3 button?
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heh...
Way to just paste a school paper in and add "rock on" at the end. And Page is far beyond one-'o-one my young brother.
Submitted by UrfTheWog (user info) at 2005-01-03 19:22:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
True story - back in the mid-80's I saw Jimmy Page in The Firm. After the show there was this club in Hartford CT called Lorien's (I think it was called that) and Jimmy Page was kicked out because he was snorting a big pile of coke out in the open. Such was "the Age of Excess".
Submitted by Dick_Donkeysaber (user info) at 2005-01-03 19:15:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Page did a lot of great things for rock... but he really wasn't a great guitarist in technical terms, pretty simple to play like him, although Led Zeppelin made memorable songs for lots of people.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-01-03 19:08:50 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
You're 14?
Where's the fucking -3 button?
Submitted by The_Walrus (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:56:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
And yes, the point of these is to try to get people more interested in these people/bands, along with for my pure enjoyment. I'm really interested in this stuff, I love writing these. And I understand why you would give me a +1 for that, that's fine.
Submitted by The_Walrus (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:54:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I don't see why 20 year olds wouldn't give a fuck. I'm 14. I give a fuck.
And it's not plagiarism, these are facts, the rest is purely my writing. It's not impossible to write a good biography without plagiarizing, and I think a -2 is unfair after the obvious effort.
Submitted by Wiggles (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:44:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by The_Walrus (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:20:15 (#)
Ranking: 0
Wiggles- I'd love to see where you're getting your facts from, some of that may well be true, I've never heard about it though.
And I do not believe I said that Jimmy Page was the greatest of all time, I think he is AMONG the greatest of all time. And to his 30 minute solos- John Bonham on Moby Dick would have 30 minute drum solos, that was part of the spirit of the band, that's where part of their fame come from. I think those blatant showings of what individual instruments are capable of is just as important as the band as a whole.
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I don't think I was really talking about "facts". I was mainly stating my opinions. There are few if any "facts" about the quality of popular music, since so much of it is taste. I do think that the excessive soloing by Zeppelin and other bands eventually became tedious and led to the development of punk music, which was an oversimplified contrast to what rock and roll had become.
The first time you see or hear one of those 28-minute solos, you're usually impressed by the sheer ability of the musician and you can enjoy it. The music itself is generally pretty tedious and not worth multiple listenings. It gets annoying after a while, and you see it as somebody like Page saying, "Look what I can do." There's nothing wrong with musicians showing off their abilities, but if there's no substance behind it then I don't think it's worthwhile.
Submitted by Wiggles (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:32:30 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Wiggles, you don't really know what you're talking about. What, do you expect a guy to be God all the time? Sure, jimi's bow work was a little trite and boring. But his EARLY solos are unfuckingbelievable. if you can score them live in texas 1969.. august 31... you will see. sloppy? in one or two parts. So? can you play like that? stop regurgitating the same old complaints... you don't know led zeppelin.
-----------
I know and enjoy Led Zeppelin. I own every single one of their official releases (CD or DVD) including things like BBC sessions and Song Remains The Same, plus a couple bootlegs. And I do think Page was one of the all-time greatest guitar players. I'm just saying he was more inconsistent than some of the other greats. Only a small handful of guitarists could play at that level of difficulty, but I think Page sacrificed precision and quality for speed in many instances.
Of course I can't play guitar like Page, but it doesn't mean I'm forbidden from critiquing his work. With all the money I've spent on Zeppelin music, I don't think there's a damn thing wrong with saying what I like and what I don't.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:31:13 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
What's your point?
Or is your point "I know how to plagerize an article about a dinosaur of rock and roll that virtually no one on UberSite (Average age: around 20) could give a fuck about any more"?
Submitted by Wiggles (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:24:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Its hard for me to give this series a +2 rating because all of this info could be found on a site like http://www.allmusic.com. I like the bands and artists you've talked about so far, but you're not giving any new perspectives. I won't give you negative ratings, though, because these are musicians that more people should hear about. I remember a few years ago in high school one of my teachers said he'd give an extra credit point to the first person in the room who could give the full names of each Beatle. I was the ONLY one in the room who was able to give more than just the FIRST names of John and Paul.
Submitted by Can_Always_Trust_A_Liar (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:20:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I love Lou Reed. Of his solo stuff, "Perfect Day" and "Street Hassle" are my favorites. Transformer is one of my favorite albums.
Submitted by The_Walrus (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:20:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Wiggles- I'd love to see where you're getting your facts from, some of that may well be true, I've never heard about it though.
And I do not believe I said that Jimmy Page was the greatest of all time, I think he is AMONG the greatest of all time. And to his 30 minute solos- John Bonham on Moby Dick would have 30 minute drum solos, that was part of the spirit of the band, that's where part of their fame come from. I think those blatant showings of what individual instruments are capable of is just as important as the band as a whole.
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:18:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Wiggles, you don't really know what you're talking about. What, do you expect a guy to be God all the time? Sure, jimi's bow work was a little trite and boring. But his EARLY solos are unfuckingbelievable. if you can score them live in texas 1969.. august 31... you will see. sloppy? in one or two parts. So? can you play like that? stop regurgitating the same old complaints... you don't know led zeppelin.
for the record, my favorite studio albums are 1, 2, 4, 3, 5 in that order. later led zeppelin doesnt hold a candle to early zepp. but so what? like i said you cant expect the man to stay a god all his life. what he did early on was without measure.
Submitted by The_Walrus (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:16:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
CATAL- Lou Reed was actually one of my top choices for the next one, I'm a huge Velvet Underground fan. Sweet Jane is easily my favorite song of all time.
Submitted by Wiggles (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:15:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Page was great, no question. Since I've Been Loving You is all you need to hear to know that he was among the best. But to be honest, his live performances were pretty mediocre. He could be incredibly sloppy.
Also, as a songwriter, Page left a lot to be desired, and borrowed VERY heavily (borderline copyright infringement) from classic blues songs. Most of their first and second albums are cover songs, despite having the writing credited to Page.
I think Page is pretty damn overrated. No question, he's one of the very best when it comes to ability, but I certainly wouldn't say Led Zeppelin revolutionized rock music the way The Beatles or Jimi Hendrix did. In fact, his self-indulgent 30-minute guitar solos on Dazed And Confused probably took rock and roll a step backward.
I'm a fan, but Page's status as a rock god is somewhat shaky, especially when Hendrix was superior in literally every aspect of his music.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:11:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
The Presence sucked, but Houses Of The Holy is th ebets EVAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:05:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
the best of all time
i have a copious amount of live zeppelin
texas pop festival '69 is my favorite album
Submitted by Can_Always_Trust_A_Liar (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:04:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Keep this series going man, I'd love to see you do the Velvet Underground or Lou Reed.
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2005-01-03 18:00:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Yeah, he was pretty good, but you forgot the horrific part where he teamed up with puff daddy to record that song for the godzilla soundtrack.
Submitted by chipolatte (user info) at 2005-01-03 17:55:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I always enjoy learning new things.
Submitted by spedmonkey (user info) at 2005-01-03 17:53:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm liking this series a lot.