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Chula Vista · 10-21-2014, 10:14 AM

If you had to single out one person, who would it be?

As some of you may have already surmised by now, I am a certified Zeppelin nut and HUGE Jimmy Page worshipper. This all started more than 40 years ago after I heard Whole Lotta Love on a jukebox at a bowling alley. I was 9 or 10 at the time. It did not take long before I had picked up a copy of Led Zeppelin I and spent almost an entire night listening to it over and over again. You gotta understand just how heavy and powerful (and a little bit scary) that album was in the context of the time that it was released. I was hooked and have been ever since. Zeppelin moves me just as much today as it ever did and listening to the albums brings me immediately back to the times of my life when they were first released.

I’ve had lots of guitar heroes through the years. Howe, Lifeson, Morse, DiMeola, McLaughlin, Holdsworth, Moore, Shawn Lane, and dozens of others. But Jimmy Page sits well above all of them in my book.

I saw The Song Remains The Same when it first came out in theaters and watched in awe as I got to see Page in action for the first time. Up till then it had been just those glorious pictures he always seem to take. No-one, NO-ONE looks cooler with a guitar strapped on in my opinion.

Now I’m not stupid. I understand Jimmy is far from being what would be considered a virtuoso. Most of my other heroes simply smoke the guy in that aspect. And he certainly wasn’t the cleanest player live and at times was down right embarrassing to listen to. But it doesn’t matter.

The thing with Jimmy, (and Hendrix, and Townsend, and other all around Rock Guitar Showmen of that era) is that he played in the moment. He could feed off of the energy of the crowd and often times play well beyond his capabilities. And because of those memorable performances, he would always try and attain the same levels, but in lots of cases he would fall on his face. But he never played it safe. (I’m not going to go into the nights where the guy was simply too stoned or drunk to play – plenty of rock stars from that era went down that route now and then – but in classic Zeppelin form, Jimmy would often take it to the extremes)

Jimmy has gone on record saying that he could only play great maybe once every 3 shows. You gotta remember that Zep was a simple 3 piece band and Jimmy was trying to replicate stuff that he’d labored hours and hours over in the studio with multiple tracks at his disposal. And Zep would play 2.5 to 3 hour shows regularly. And the enormous hype of those shows was ridiculous. It’s no wonder that the guy was not going to be able to maintain a sustained level of brilliance through such a lengthy show, or night after night, after night. Again, he was no virtuoso.

But he always went for it. Sometimes he put showmanship above technique. Maybe if he hadn’t slung his guitar so damn low he’d have been able to be more consistent. Maybe if he’d laid off the pot and Jack Daniels and blow and smack he’d be held in higher regard today by the folks who simply dismiss his live playing as sloppy. But that’s all part of the entire package with Jimmy Page. The ultimate Guitar Rock Star of the ultimate rock decade.

“What’s that man moving cross the stage?
It looks a lot like the one used by Jimmy Page.
It’s like a relic from a different age – could be.”

10-21-2014, 10:14 AM	#1 (permalink)
Chula Vista Toasted Poster Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: SoCal by way of Boston Posts: 11,332	Who's your biggest music hero? If you had to single out one person, who would it be? As some of you may have already surmised by now, I am a certified Zeppelin nut and HUGE Jimmy Page worshipper. This all started more than 40 years ago after I heard Whole Lotta Love on a jukebox at a bowling alley. I was 9 or 10 at the time. It did not take long before I had picked up a copy of Led Zeppelin I and spent almost an entire night listening to it over and over again. You gotta understand just how heavy and powerful (and a little bit scary) that album was in the context of the time that it was released. I was hooked and have been ever since. Zeppelin moves me just as much today as it ever did and listening to the albums brings me immediately back to the times of my life when they were first released. I’ve had lots of guitar heroes through the years. Howe, Lifeson, Morse, DiMeola, McLaughlin, Holdsworth, Moore, Shawn Lane, and dozens of others. But Jimmy Page sits well above all of them in my book. I saw The Song Remains The Same when it first came out in theaters and watched in awe as I got to see Page in action for the first time. Up till then it had been just those glorious pictures he always seem to take. No-one, NO-ONE looks cooler with a guitar strapped on in my opinion. Now I’m not stupid. I understand Jimmy is far from being what would be considered a virtuoso. Most of my other heroes simply smoke the guy in that aspect. And he certainly wasn’t the cleanest player live and at times was down right embarrassing to listen to. But it doesn’t matter. The thing with Jimmy, (and Hendrix, and Townsend, and other all around Rock Guitar Showmen of that era) is that he played in the moment. He could feed off of the energy of the crowd and often times play well beyond his capabilities. And because of those memorable performances, he would always try and attain the same levels, but in lots of cases he would fall on his face. But he never played it safe. (I’m not going to go into the nights where the guy was simply too stoned or drunk to play – plenty of rock stars from that era went down that route now and then – but in classic Zeppelin form, Jimmy would often take it to the extremes) Jimmy has gone on record saying that he could only play great maybe once every 3 shows. You gotta remember that Zep was a simple 3 piece band and Jimmy was trying to replicate stuff that he’d labored hours and hours over in the studio with multiple tracks at his disposal. And Zep would play 2.5 to 3 hour shows regularly. And the enormous hype of those shows was ridiculous. It’s no wonder that the guy was not going to be able to maintain a sustained level of brilliance through such a lengthy show, or night after night, after night. Again, he was no virtuoso. But he always went for it. Sometimes he put showmanship above technique. Maybe if he hadn’t slung his guitar so damn low he’d have been able to be more consistent. Maybe if he’d laid off the pot and Jack Daniels and blow and smack he’d be held in higher regard today by the folks who simply dismiss his live playing as sloppy. But that’s all part of the entire package with Jimmy Page. The ultimate Guitar Rock Star of the ultimate rock decade. “What’s that man moving cross the stage? It looks a lot like the one used by Jimmy Page. It’s like a relic from a different age – could be.” __________________ “The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”