by Joe Perry
Hearing what Jimmy Page does with his guitar can instantly transport you to another state of consciousness. As lead guitarist, he is always in the right place at the right time – he simply has excellent taste and a gifted touch. The solo of “Heartbreaker” has an incredible presence: you can feel him teetering on the limits of his technical possibilities – and still deliver a masterpiece.
But his talent is not limited to just playing the guitar. How he recorded them in the studio, how he used them in the songs he wrote and produced – that’s what makes him great. He had gained a wide range of experience with the Yardbirds and as a young session guitarist, and when it came to recording the first Zeppelin album, he knew exactly what sounds he wanted.
He had a clear idea of how to overcome the limitations of the guitar. If you just pay attention to your guitar on “The Song Remains The Same,” you can hear the modulations it goes through: louder, quieter, softer, then louder again. He wrote the songs, played them and produced them – I don’t know any other guitarist since Les Paul who can say that.
Born: 1944. Guitars: Gibson Les Paul Standard, Gibson ES-1275 Double Neck.
In 2020, the Rolling Stones unveiled a single that had been lying dormant in their archives for 45 years on the reissue of “Goats Head Soup.” In response to an inquiry from Paul Mescal, star of the accompanying music video, as to why “Scarlet” remained unreleased for so long, Mick Jagger explained that it was “not a real Rolling Stones number.” He also confessed to not being able to remember the details of the 1974 recording session, but confirmed that Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, the song’s lead guitarist, could remember everything.
“I remember thinking, ‘This is fantastic'”
Pag stated in an interview with “Uncut“, which was held on the occasion of Keith Richards’ 80th birthday on December 18th, shares his memories. He explained the creation of the track: “Ronnie had the wick [sein Haus in Richmond] and the studio below. He said, ‘Do you want to come over? I think Keith wants to do something.’ That’s when I really had the opportunity to collaborate with him, as it was the backing track for ‘Scarlet’, with Keith doing the rhythm and me contributing a counterpoint riff. I remember thinking, ‘This is fantastic,’ because I just wanted to complement what he had done without overshadowing it.”
Page goes on to explain his fascination with Richards and the Stones’ work when he was able to witness the process of creating a song first hand: “The next day I added a few solo overdubs at Island Studios. What struck me most was that Keith was steadfast and didn’t make mistakes. He kept the momentum going throughout. This made me realize the enormous power behind the Rolling Stones records. There was no doubt about that. While I could dissect it and highlight each individual’s essential contribution, Keith really pushed it forward.”
Guitar enthusiasts among themselves
The Led Zeppelin guitarist also explained why he would have liked to have worked with Richards beyond “Scarlet” and what he appreciated so much about the collaboration: “When you listen to ‘Scarlet,’ you realize that I really liked Zeppelin riding the crest of a wave. It would have been nice to maybe work with Keith more at that time before we ventured into other realms. There were two guitar enthusiasts who created something, which is what happens when you connect with someone like that. It was similar to when I worked with Jeff Beck, where we were a natural fit because of a deep-rooted mutual respect that we had built over the years.”