Hello everyone, I’ve been a lurker here for a while but decided to come out of the abyss and post something. I wanted to let everyone know I've started a blog, but this one I think will be unique. I intend to take a journey through the life of Jimmy Page by learning as many songs as I possibly can that he ever recorded. From his skiffle days to Neil Christian, from the session years to the Yardbirds, from Led Zeppelin and beyond. I also want to explore the ins and outs of his life, little known facts, and also examine all the different gear he used.

This is going to be a loooooong process of course but I think in the end I will become a better guitar player and maybe understand Jimmy Page just a little bit more, or at least how his mind worked creatively and how he developed as a musician. That's the goal anyway. I intend to explain the ins and outs of each song and then play them, describe how its going in the process, what parts are easy, what parts are difficult. Hopefully if you do end up reading it, you might be able to learn along with me.

I'm very excited about this venture and I invite you all to take the journey with me. So take a look, I've already figured out how to play skiffle like a 13 year old Jimmy Page, rode along with him in his session days, and jammed with Jeff Beck in the early Yardbirds years and am kicking off his time in Led Zeppelin.

Take care everyone.

Here is the link in case you are at all interested....
http://findingzoso.blogspot.com/

Although I have been a Zeppelin fan since day one, I honestly don't think he is near the guitar player of guys like Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. That being said and no disrespect intended, I love Jimmy Page and Zeppelin is my all time favorite band, but he, well

I don't how how to finish this. He doesn't suck, he's one of the greatest, He plays that OTHER guitar!

Crap, Ill probably get blasted for that.

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Gary

He's primarily known of course for playing Gibsons yes, but with the Yardbirds and the early days of Zeppelin until 1970, he played a 1950's Fender Telecaster, which he actually used later to record the solo to "Stairway to Heaven" - Not many people are aware of that. He also played a B-Bender Tele as his main instrument of choice in his post Zeppelin career with the Firm.

He may not compare with SRV or Clapton in their respective strengths. However, they are not quite the instrumentalist that Page was. He was a tremendous instrumental player and song writer. That is what lets him share the stage with the likes of SRV or Clapton in my mind. Each one awesome with different gifts.

SRV and Clapton are also very good instrumental music players of course.

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My ability to spell is in direct proportion to the amount of coffee I've had.

An excellent way to learn guitar is to study the techniques and styles of players you admire and try to imitate them. The goal is, of course, not to become a clone of those players but to incorporate their styles into a unique style of your own.

Jimmy Page was the player who originally inspired me to pickup a guitar in the first place. I think you're undertaking a challenging but ultimately worthwhile endeavor -- good luck!

I have never understood since I have been on this forum how people can judge Jimmy Page as a lesser player to anybody. Or a lesser musician. He seems as good as anybody to me.

I learned how to play guitar during 70's by listening to and copying Jimmy Page. As a matter of fact, later I worked in a Zeppelin tribute act (south eastern Ontario) from 1988-1991. We were first called "In the Evening" (1989-1990) and then with a new drummer and bass player we were called "Riot House". During those years and right on up to the present, I continue to be amazed by Jimmy Page.

Jimmy Page's harmonic language is very advanced. He is a student of English folk music and American blues, master of many styles of guitar, experimental and innovative, clever and very tasteful.

Is it obvious where I stand on this subject?

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Tim

Man, good luck. Quite some quest youre undertaking there!!

Page got me started on guitar too, i love what he does. Ive always understood people knocking him though. Thing is, he was all about expression and personality coming out in his playing, it wasnt note perfect. I remember as a kid buying some guitar magazine where they tried to transcribe the heartbreaker solo in full, hehe. There were so many bits where they just had to admit that what he was doing here was fluffs, or bits where you just actually couldnt transribe what he was playing!! I love it.

My bass player has me reading a book about one of his favorite bassists, Scott Thunes from Zappa`s band, he is a jimmy page fan and i think understands the appeal. Found a great quote from him -

`not a very good guitarist, but has great ideas and attempts to play them` - S.Thunes.

That aspiring to greatness and fumbling amongst perfection is what i love about page. Would rather listen to that anyday than some clean methodical player laying down perfectly executed runs. At his best he was always performing just beyond the reach of his abilities, letting his feelings guide him rather than his fingers.

With that in mind, although i try to stay out of arguments about which musician is better than another (i think once youve got the basics down its all just down to taste and style) i would always respect people opinions about page not being the best. Id just bow out of the conversation and go home knowing which one id have playing in my perfect band. Each to their own and all that.

oh, and one more thing. I love the way page stresses every single note, even when he`s playing incredibly fast it never becomes smooth tapping, its always slightly jagged picks on every single note. To me it gives it all so much personality. Wish i could describe it better.

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`I prefer not to listen to music that I can't rip off or improve on` - Ian Dury

I'm kinda on the fence about Mr. Page...

He is an excellent creative and innovative artist. I love a lot of his music, and appreciate him even further after watching "'This Might Get Loud"...overall, I like his music very much.

However, I understand when people criticize him. He can be extremely sloppy at times...and I'm going to have to re-examine his live work; the only time I saw, "The Song Remains The Same" I was with the two most negative players I ever met, and was being barraged with, "That sucks," "I play better than that," and "Why are you watching that crap?" for entire evening. They ruined the experience for me at the time, so I cannot give an objective opinion.

As a side note, I don't really "get" skiffle. I understand it was huge in the UK back when many of my heroes were in their formative years, but almost everything I ever heard was kinda "meh" in my opinion...it may have been just a "right place, right time" type of music, and I was not born and I'm not British, so I can't be objective there, either.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

[quote="ollyclam"]Man, good luck. Quite some quest youre undertaking there!!


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`not a very good guitarist, but has great ideas and attempts to play them` - S.Thunes.

That aspiring to greatness and fumbling amongst perfection is what i love about page. Would rather listen to that anyday than some clean methodical player laying down perfectly executed runs. At his best he was always performing just beyond the reach of his abilities, letting his feelings guide him rather than his fingers.

With that in mind, although i try to stay out of arguments about which musician is better than another (i think once youve got the basics down its all just down to taste and style) i would always respect people opinions about page not being the best. Id just bow out of the conversation and go home knowing which one id have playing in my perfect band. Each to their own and all that. -/-

+1
It's (almost!) all about the expression and feel!
Good luck to you , zosofancmr1 ! I think stick to trying the best I can , and attempting to follow my own ideas (inspired by many different players ) --trying to reach for even more than my abilities

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A-man

Blog idea sounds great. Pagey is one of the greatest ever. Right up there with Hendrix IMO.

Make sure you find out some stuff about Boleskine and put it in. The house and the whole connection with Jimmy and Zep always fascinated me. Not to mention his connection to Aleister Crowley which is interesting too.

Jimmy was a serious occult book collector and started his own bookshop one time too.

As far as people saying Pagey is not as good as Eric or SRV, that's codswallop The difference is: Eric and SRV were guitar players only really, whereas Jimmy is a complete artist and composer and able to manipulate the studio and everything to make his vision work.

As for him being sloppy at times, i'll take that over these sterile types who go to school to learn to play Rock guitar Never heard anything so laughable in my life. Most real rockers were in the game because they didn't want the conventional 9 to 5.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

Post Script/Clarification on my "sloppy" comment:

That was not an insult, but rather just an observation. If you read my posts here, you'll know I can't stand a "perfect" player, especially the soulless mechanical shredders (Yngwie, anyone?) who can't bring on da funk.

Amongst my favorite players of all time are Hound Dog Taylor, Otis Rush, Jack White, Dan Auerbach and many others who are messy, sloppy, un-technical players..."perfectly imperfect" is a great attribute, in my mind.

Give me a creative mess over a soulless masterpiece any day...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I believe you have that backwards EC and SRV could actually do vocals as well as write...

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08 Fender Highway One Tele-Sunburst
09 Squier Custom Tele II-Blonde
04 Squier Standard Strat Antiqueburst
07 Washburn D10SCE natural with Rosewood backing
Fender Mustang II amp


Experience is the best teacher

EC and SRV could not do what Pagey did; composing guitar orchestra's like in "Achilles Last Stand" "Ten Years Gone" "Kashmir", i could go on. But in all honesty EC and SRV do not match up artistically in any way to what Page did in Led Zeppelin. He was a total musician, both of those guys were really guitarists, good one's, but not in Jimmy's league as far as being a total musician.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

Hee-hee! I am British born and bred and I absolutely don't get skiffle. Though what I do get is that back in those days it had a kind of DIY, minimal gear, minimal skill, maximum enthusiasm sort of vibe that anyone could get into. So I guess that sort of explains it.

Many good people came out of the skiffle movement - "came out of" probably being the operative phrase!



I think the word sloppy is quite often absolutely appropriate to Jimmy Page, especially way back when, in the days when going on stage drunk and high was almost obligatory. I think his playing on the Song Remains the Same set is utterly sloppy. Sick to tears though we are of it, the solo on the studio Stairway is an all-time classic and worth anyone's while to learn note for note. But the version he does in the movie is Page at his slack, lazy worst: loads of unthinking notes and precious little music.

That's Jimmy Page for us: a man of deep and fascinating contradictions.

For the nothing it's worth, my favorite ever Jimmy Page moments include Thank You and Since I've Been Loving You, both on the Page & Plant No Quarter album. That's passionate blues-rock lead guitar as full-on, glowing and gorgeous as it gets, and with good backing players too. Highly recommended.

Anyhow. Good luck, zosofancmr1! It's a mightly project!

Cheers - C

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