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21 hours ago, The Pagemeister said:

Chris Slade Interview:

 

 

Great Interview.

Sadly, The Firm doesn't get much love around here. They are eternally cursed as Jimmy's first band after LZ with expectations they could never live up to.

One thing The Firm has in common with LZ is there were 4 distinct voices in the band. I dug that from the get-go.  That can't be said about Coverdale-Page or Page-Plant. Or any post Zep project.

I suspect once Jimmy is no longer with us, listeners with will rediscover this band's unique mojo. 

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13 hours ago, Badgeholder Still said:

Great Interview.

Sadly, The Firm doesn't get much love around here. They are eternally cursed as Jimmy's first band after LZ with expectations they could never live up to.

One thing The Firm has in common with LZ is there were 4 distinct voices in the band. I dug that from the get-go.  That can't be said about Coverdale-Page or Page-Plant. Or any post Zep project.

I suspect once Jimmy is no longer with us, listeners with will rediscover this band's unique mojo. 

I agree with you.  I also think the Firm’s stuff could do with a nice remix and/or remastering.  A little muddy in places..

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It was a very cool journey for me to appreciate, the firm. There are times where they seem very simple and humble sounding....and then there are times where they were this simple humble kickass rock band. So much music to appreciate with the firm, with some of their songs seemingly flat in regards to what was going on in the mid 80s and as time goes on, thats why i appreciate those 2 records more. 

I guess there would never be a remaster series with companion discs. But for many years the firm vinyl sounded much better than the cds from decades ago. If they, the firm or jimmy ever gets to it, those compact discs deserve a remaster...because the fretless bass and drums were hindered alot on the cds for the overall sound. As for jimmy page and paul rodgers, such a cool accomplishment for creating a band where we did not think about led zep or bad co. 

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On 3/16/2013 at 8:25 AM, SteveAJones said:

 

First a correction to my typo: the tour ended 5/28/86. Historically, this was not only the last show of the tour but also The Firm's final performance. Through the years I've enjoyed immensely an audience audio recording I own of the show. It documents that they had to stop performing for several minutes after Closer on account of the general admission main floor crowd getting crushed up front. Once the crowd is finally convinced to step back the house lights go down again and the band continues to deliver one of their finest performances. Emerald green lasers accentuate Live In Peace and strobe lights and fog showcase Radioactive. Jimmy concocts a phenomenal bow solo later in the show. Money - a Led Zeppelin encore in '80 - is the surprising opener to a high-spirited encore at the end of the show, at the end of the tour, at the end of an era.

 

----------

 

~ A complete audience video recording has surfaced! ~

 

TheFirmLiveinSeattle1986.jpg

Scan courtesy Steve A. Jones Archive

On 5/5/2014 at 3:50 PM, potbanger said:

 

I was at that show as well, also within the first 10 rows. Jimmy's first few solos, as I recall, were with his back to the audience. After they had to stop the show for 20 minutes (because the crowd was completely into it and crushing the front rows), he got into it as well. At the beginning of Midnight Moonlight, he strummed the Danelectro and it was out of tune. As he handed it to the roadie, he said to the audience "I like lplayin'em, but I don't like tuning'em!"

On Spirit of Love, Paul couldn't get the white grand piano to work -- wouldn't come over the PA. Gave it a try or two, and then just moved to the keyboards.

 

Crowd was excellent -- even during the bass and drum solos.

 

Great show -- first and only time I've seen Page live. here's a Tony Franklin interview on the subject:

 

Fretless bassist Tony Franklin speaks with Lemon Squeezings about the Firm's final concert on May 28, 1986. (See also his previous interview, a longer one touching on other work with Jimmy Page in The Firm and previously with Page in Roy Harper's band.)

 

SS: Tell us about the Firm's last concert.

 

TF: That last show was wild! The audience was electric. I think the show had to be stopped at one point as the audience was pushing forward so hard that people were in danger of getting hurt! They may have been the loudest audience on the tour. At one point I remember somebody throwing a basketball shoe towards me on the stage. It was funny because I was like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car. I was transfixed. And before I knew it ... BOOM! it hit me square in the chest and knocked me back a few feet! Still, I didn't miss a beat! Ha ha! Fond, fond memories. And what a great send-off to a great band.

 

There are always mixed feelings at the end of any tour ... from sadness that the great "adventure" of the last few months is coming to a close ... and relief that's it's over ... with the prospect of going home and having a break from the craziness.

 

I don't think that any of us in the band thought that this would be our last ever show as The Firm. There was certainly no talk of it ... Maybe some of the guys had an idea that this was the end, but I didn't. It's probably just as well.

 

 

Now where in the hell can I get this DVD? PM me a source if possible.

 

Edited by luvlz2
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The first time Jimmy Page performed in Phoenix post-Led Zeppelin! I've been looking for a recording of this concert that I attended for decades, and finally it has surfaced on YouTube! Big thanks to Mette V! About the venue, the concert was not held at Compton Terrace, but was held at the ASU Activities Center in Tempe.

 

Edited by luvlz2
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20 hours ago, luvlz2 said:

The first time Jimmy Page performed in Phoenix post-Led Zeppelin! I've been looking for a recording of this concert that I attended for decades, and finally it has surfaced on YouTube! Big thanks to Mette V! About the venue, the concert was not held at Compton Terrace, but was held at the ASU Activities Center in Tempe.

Yes, according to my notes the venue was changed to ASU Activities Center on account of sluggish ticket sales...less than 5,000.

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3 hours ago, SteveAJones said:

Yes, according to my notes the venue was changed to ASU Activities Center on account of sluggish ticket sales...less than 5,000.

👍Thanks Steve! Still hoping a picture or two will surface sometime.

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4 hours ago, SteveAJones said:

Yes, according to my notes the venue was changed to ASU Activities Center on account of sluggish ticket sales...less than 5,000.

The sales may have been sluggish, but the show sure was on fire. They put on a great performance that night. There was so much weed smoke in the place I thought I saw two Jimmy's on stage...and I did not even try the Dro until I joined the USMC in 86'!!!!

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Jimmy has my appreciation for developing a new (to Led Heds) guitar style. In 77 and 80 he's avoiding strong bends and struggling with hand strength. I wanted to hear searing bluesy fast licks like LZII, and that's not what I was getting as I listened to a 1984 live simulcast from England on Boston's WBCN. It took a while to get into the country feel of the b-string bender telecaster. Listening back, this is a brave period for Jimmy, New style, different tone, new songs. I love this Jimmy for starting over, fresh. "Together" is one of my favorites for it's sad b string bending and intense climax.

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On 3/3/2010 at 7:33 AM, ro_a said:

 

So he played the Paul on this tour. Man. I dreamed at night about the Paul in 1984, and thought Jimmy was done with blazing leads forever. To me, the brown tele represented weakness, remorseful sloppy solos with no mids or bottom tonality. I learned tp appreciate the B string bender vocabulary years after he stopped using it. Then I would listen to my 7" of "Together" when no roomates were around to catch me in my moment of sap. Back in the day I would have killed to see Page unleash the Paul. I bought every mag that carried a pic of Live-Aid Page w/Paul. 

From what I remember when I saw The Firm in LA was that he only used the #1 LP for the bow solo. I definitely remember him playing the Puple #3 Les Paul at the end of the 1985 Forum show. 

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3 hours ago, St. Tom's Sword said:

From what I remember when I saw The Firm in LA was that he only used the #1 LP for the bow solo. I definitely remember him playing the Puple #3 Les Paul at the end of the 1985 Forum show. 

When I saw The Firm in Phoenix in 85' he used the LP on Radioactive as well. The show was stopped before Radioactive for about three minutes as there was a problem with the double neck (guitar he typically used on Radioactive). Jimmy was in the wings talking to the tech and then we saw him take the LP. Man the place went bananas as this was the first tune he pulled out the LP for. IMO the LP did a fine job on Radioactive, no complaints at all.

BTW this was a fantastic show, Page played very, very well, no slop at all. At this show at least Jimmy did in fact eat his Weaties :thumbsup:

 

Edited by PeaceFrogYum
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On 11/15/2019 at 6:31 PM, luvlz2 said:

👍Thanks Steve! Still hoping a picture or two will surface sometime.

Okay, let me preface by saying:

  1. You must have "Bootleg eyes" 😆
  2. I was a 19 year old sophomore at ASU with a crap camera
  3. I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I was to see James Patrick Page live for the first time! We had a blast in the upper deck at the Tempe Activities Center this March night back in  1985. Thoroughly enjoyed this concert.

This picture is definitely during WS/BMS. I'll post the second picture shortly.

Jimmy Firm 1985.jpg

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20 minutes ago, And You Know How It Is? said:

Okay, let me preface by saying:

  1. You must have "Bootleg eyes" 😆
  2. I was a 19 year old sophomore at ASU with a crap camera
  3. I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I was to see James Patrick Page live for the first time! We had a blast in the upper deck at the Tempe Activities Center this March night back in  1985. Thoroughly enjoyed this concert.

This picture is definitely during WS/BMS. I'll post the second picture shortly.

Jimmy Firm 1985.jpg

 :hysterical:You bet I have bootleg eyes! Thanks so so much And You Know How It Is?! What am absolutely great show it was! There's an audio recording of the concert someone posted on youtube.  Posted 12 posts up. Again, thanks so much! :you_rock:

Edited by luvlz2
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