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Stairway solo


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did you forget that this was the first time LZ has played in like almost 20 years?!

well yeh...but has it been 20 years since Page has even PLAYED guitar?.

He didnt get lost on the solo because they havent played together..he just got lost.

He is HUMAN.

NOT a God.

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An old friend of mine once told me his guitar teacher told himi the lead in the studio version is so incredible he doubted Page could even play it again. I am starting to believe it. The original studio version is nothing short of magical, and the harmony with Plants voice has never been matched since!

I agree with that. Another Masterpiece Studio Solo that Page never did note for note live, was SIBLY.

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An old friend of mine once told me his guitar teacher told himi the lead in the studio version is so incredible he doubted Page could even play it again. I am starting to believe it. The original studio version is nothing short of magical, and the harmony with Plants voice has never been matched since!

Of course Page could play the studio version note for note after recording it. :huh: If he played it once, why in the world would he not be able to replicate it?

I'll try and find the quote, but he once mentioned something about just "winging it" when it came to live guitar solos (possibly referring to STH specifically). If you collect boots you'll notice changes in the solo from a night to night basis. I think it's much more plausible that the studio version is simply one take of the solo, and replicating something note for note is less important to him than replicating a moment, or a feeling.

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Of course Page could play the studio version note for note after recording it. :huh: If he played it once, why in the world would he not be able to replicate it?

I'll try and find the quote, but he once mentioned something about just "winging it" when it came to live guitar solos (possibly referring to STH specifically). If you collect boots you'll notice changes in the solo from a night to night basis. I think it's much more plausible that the studio version is simply one take of the solo, and replicating something note for note is less important to him than replicating a moment, or a feeling.

Doesn't he also talk of "winging it" for studio solos, too? I think its virtually impossible to play a solo the exact same way twice.

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Doesn't he also talk of "winging it" for studio solos, too? I think its virtually impossible to play a solo the exact same way twice.

Not at all. If practiced it can be done rather easily. If he simply "winged" his studio solos as well (rather than practice one version over and over again) that would however decrease the chances of him replicating it live note for note.

There were some solos he mostly played note for note live, Celebration Day for example wasn't improved like other solos were.

I remember reading about how he would record his guitar solos for albums away from the rest of the band.

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well yeh...but has it been 20 years since Page has even PLAYED guitar?.

He didnt get lost on the solo because they havent played together..he just got lost.

He is HUMAN.

NOT a God.

well, let's hear what you've got. i don't think there's any way that a legendary player gets lost on a solo. maybe just trying to find some improvisation during the moment as he's notorious for doing.

i'm so sick of the ppl on this board complaining about unimportant things like this or the feeback problems early in the set or whatever. let me clue you in: IT'S LIVE MUSIC & IT WON'T BE PERFECT. just be happy they did the gig. geez....

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The original Stairway solo was actually 3 different takes spliced together.

ummmmmmmm. jimmy says it was three different 'passes', but that entire solo was 'one take',

it was recorded using the telecaster if I remember correctly.....

anyways, I think you must mean david gilmore, most of his solo's are edited together. jimmy always enjoyed the energy of playing an entire solo, if he was in to editing together solo's, you wouldn't find 'mistakes' on the zeppelin records, but for the record, he edits together concert performances for glaring errors, or remixing, like adding echo/delay to the solo at knebworth during one section of achilles last stand....

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Youtube is full of guitar players who can nail the Stairway solo, which leads me to believe that Jimmy Page should be able to. B)

Well.. I know.. thats not really what I meant ...I meant for someone like Jimmy who improvises his solos a lot and changes it up each time, to remember every single note and the exact rhythm of those notes probably doesn't happen a lot. Its one thing for a guy on Youtube to sit down and deliberately learn every nuance of Stairway to Heaven, but I don't think that's what Jimmy Page is after with in his playing.

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Well.. I know.. thats not really what I meant ...I meant for someone like Jimmy who improvises his solos a lot and changes it up each time, to remember every single note and the exact rhythm of those notes probably doesn't happen a lot. Its one thing for a guy on Youtube to sit down and deliberately learn every nuance of Stairway to Heaven, but I don't think that's what Jimmy Page is after with in his playing.

great point!!!!

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Not at all. If practiced it can be done rather easily. If he simply "winged" his studio solos as well (rather than practice one version over and over again) that would however decrease the chances of him replicating it live note for note.

There were some solos he mostly played note for note live, Celebration Day for example wasn't improved like other solos were.

I remember reading about how he would record his guitar solos for albums away from the rest of the band.

I know what you mean and I agree. But I'm sure even Celebration Day wasn't literally, exactly, down to every little last note and timing nuance, the same as the studio version every time he played it live.

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ummmmmmmm. jimmy says it was three different 'passes', but that entire solo was 'one take',

it was recorded using the telecaster if I remember correctly.....

anyways, I think you must mean david gilmore, most of his solo's are edited together. jimmy always enjoyed the energy of playing an entire solo, if he was in to editing together solo's, you wouldn't find 'mistakes' on the zeppelin records, but for the record, he edits together concert performances for glaring errors, or remixing, like adding echo/delay to the solo at knebworth during one section of achilles last stand....

I dunno, I thought I read somewhere that Jimmy's solo was three different takes (must've been Wikipedia).

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I dunno, I thought I read somewhere that Jimmy's solo was three different takes (must've been Wikipedia).

I'm just using 'jimmy speak'

a 'pass' means what you think of as a take

like when you make a pass at a woman, you don't know if it will work or not,

a 'take' means it is the version that makes the record,

as in I'll take that version for the record.

sorry about any confusion...

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Maybe this is a little bit of a sidetrack but I feel compelled to weigh in on Page's playing as I was formerly one of the non-believers that feared we were in for another Atlantic Records 40th or -gulp- Live Aid redux. The last bar of Page's stairway solo (which on whole was the very best he has played it since the mid 70's both in feel and execution) involves a rapid pull-off lick that is almost always foreshortened due to the demand that Page return to the chordal riff closing the song on the 12-string neck. Page found a very clever work-around which, to my knowledge, marks his 02 performance as unique (evidenced in some of the newly posted close-footage on youtube) Rather than rushing-through the climax of the solo he bends the final note for a beat a la the studio solo and then returns to the chord riff on the six string neck which is a much simpler transition. Then, whether by accident or design, manages to smoothly transition back to the 12 string by rapidly adjusting the toggle switch in between chords. He was obviously really really determined to pull this solo off and hats off to Page for giving us his best. Also, although it has been posted elsewhere, it is no small miracle that he manages to begin the solo without the customary lead-in which I assume was originally orchestrated to smooth the position and neck shifting. In any event, to me this adds up to a truly gutsy uncompromising performance by Mr. page. Anyone else impressed?

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7 minute solos and 30 minute songs require a lot of work on the listener's part. Notice they did a shorter version of Dazed as well.

The thing is, such extended solos and songs are hard for a modern crowd in the 21st century given their attention deficit/video game disorders.

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lol of course it was gonna be shorter than he use to play it. The mans way older and since the last time he played it on stage for us was god dam near 30 years ago. Thats a long time in my books... the band nailed every song they played that night and just because the solo wasnt long means that the band will not dwell in the past and produce new stuff to kick the shit outta us.

Keep rockin zep all Songs were all Par and more so.

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