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Mercurious

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Everything posted by Mercurious

  1. Not sure why it would inflame Robert or anybody... As a Yardbirds devotee, I'm not bothered by the appearance of the "Happenings" solo almost note for note, although I do find it interesting. Interestingly enough, the song Plant says is one of his favorite songs - "Old Man" - a beautiful piece - is a Bryan MacLean song, as is "Alone Again Or." MacLean, not Lee, sings the lead vocals on both of those.
  2. 4 or 5 years ago? That's 35 years late, isn't it? And still, it's not as though they're touring middle America with it. Even when it was released (Nov. 1967) it was more popular in UK - #24 - whereas it scarcely scratched the top 200 in the US. At the time, Lee wouldn't leave the city, thought he was going to die and the band existed "only on vinyl." They would never play any of it out, and were no longer a band by 1968. Here, if anybody even remembers The Damned, most people aren't even aware that "Alone Again Or" was a cover. Far more people have read about Love in relation to the Doors or Hendrix than have ever heard them. They might as well be The Chocolate Watch Band and haven't secured the sort of legendary cult status of The Thirteenth Floor Elevators. It's too bad, because Forever Changes is one of the best records ever made, in my view. & if that's not Jeff Beck playing on Track 2 that's a fine imitation of the Beck/Page "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" solo. Idle fancy as it may be.
  3. And Relf sucked that badly. He was not a good enough singer to be playing with those guys toward the end. It's never been said by anybody, but the fact that Beck hired Rod Stewart and Page had Plant, and both were trying to get Steve Marriot kinda says a lot. I don't think Jim McCartey on drums was cutting it either, not after they all heard Cream and Ginger and Mitch with Jimi. But Steve, if you have anything on the Arthur Lee part of this mystery, please comment. YOU set the scene.
  4. Hmm, SteveAJones. Interestingly enough, it's also been said he went off then to see a girlfriend in Los Angeles. Also, it's well known that there was a connection between the band Love (Hendrix had actually played with Arthur Lee in 65) and there is no denying that some VERY Yardbirds guitar statements ended up on "FOrever Changes", which still stands as one of the greatest records ever made, recorded just a few months after Beck left the Yardbirds. I have heard/read that Beck was in LA hanging out with members of Love after he quit the Yardbirds, also that he had hung out with them on earlier tours. Hendrix had actually recorded some tracks with Arthur Lee, and the British guitarists were equally attracted to the guy (Lee) pretty much universally recognized as the best rock singer in the world. They all wanted to play with Arthur Lee. This particular Love record, which ended up being Forever Changes, was a big in deal in the music industry, which, as all the bands in California and the Yardbirds figured out eventually, didn't quite yet have its Woodstock hardon. In any case, this Love record was considered a big deal -- initially, Neil Young was signed on to be the producer of the record, and Jack Niietschke was also involved. In the end, they didn't do the record -- Bruce Botnik, the DOORS producer, made the record. It's fuckin brilliant. So what does that have to do with Beck and Page? Well Track 2 on Forever Changes, "A House is Not a Home" is nearly verbatim the guitar solo on "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" - which is on the Roger the Engineer record the Yardbirds were touring at the time. I'm going to argue that Beck played that solo, though it is uncredited. I'm also going to argue that Beck's idea was that he and Jimmy should go to LA and play with Arthur Lee, hence the well-reknowned story, "I'm leaving ... you coming???" -- to which Jimmy said, No. EDIT: I'd have left with Jeff to play with Arthur Lee. Keith Relf had become horrible. He wasn't even any good any more but for his harp playing, which was always great, though it ruined the middle sections of the "Dazed and Confused" Jimmy was trying to do later on after Jeff quit. Anyway, Relf was not delivering. I'm listening to Forever Changes right now, an album that was never played out, never toured, and the only reason most people know about it is that THe Damned covered 'Alone Again Or' -- With Jimmy and JEff, Arthur Lee would have conquered the world, and I have no doubt that was an idea that Jeff wanted to actualize. Really, at the time, 1966, everybody wanted to play with Arthur Lee. I think the Yardbirds guitarists were all over it - Hendrix was already gone to England.
  5. The oSo part is most definitely in Crowley's "Equinox" assigned to represent Lucifer but that was probably Crowley's reinterpretation. Whether the entire symbol is in one of Crowley's notebooks or other Crowley effects that Jimmy owns the world may never know. The Z-ish looking swash was a common symbol for Capricorn, which Page happens to be. The entire symbol has been found in a 16th century book of alchemic symbols and things but no one's been able to cipher out what it was used for or what it meant. Jimmy may be one of the few people in the world who even knows.
  6. Same here. Easily the toughest album to pick one. The guitar arrangement is so brilliant, had to go with Rain Song. It's one of Robert's best lyrics as well.
  7. Sonic Youth. They have a fifth player now, allows Kim to spin around like a ballerina in a glass jar. It was all so sick. Best show I've ever seen w/ the exception being Jimmy and the Black Crowes. F#ck this new singer to replace Robert stuff -- just call up Thurston, Lee and Kim and see what they're up to. I'm sure they'd love to contribute to the new project. The tour -- holy shit it would be the best thing ever. Expressway to your skull .... SONIC ZEPPELIN
  8. ... and Mercury = Hermes = guide and messenger = hermit (tarot) = seeker/illuminator of inner truths -- which brings us full circle to the gatefold artwork and the old man with the lantern on the tor, whom we learn later in the film is ageless and eternal, and has discovered truths about life and death. Page has never said publicly what the symbol means but he does discuss his general ideas on hermeticism in Howard Mylet's book, "Jimmy Page: Tangents within a Framework." It is unfortunate that Crowley adopted the oso part as his Lucifer sigil (The Equinox) because I think it was something of a leap of Crowley's own faith to assign it to Lucifer, though certainly it was a deliberate statement of his beliefs. It's also led some over the years to say and write things about Jimmy Page that shouldn't necessarily be said. Your work is first rate +A.... . Thank you for it.
  9. Very nice. "To a Rose upon the rood of time ..."
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