[So is Jimmy Page a 'sloppy' player?]

I like monkeys, long strolls on the beach, and David Cronenberg movies while hanging out with artistic lesbians in a coffee house with beat poetry...

"I met Andy Warhol at a really chic party..." (I need one of you cheeky buggers to finish the lyrics and, ironically, Jimmy could actual utter this phrase and be making a factual statement )

[So is Jimmy Page a 'sloppy' player?]

I like monkeys, long strolls on the beach, and David Cronenberg movies while hanging out with artistic lesbians in a coffee house with beat poetry...

"I met Andy Warhol at a really chic party..." (I need one of you cheeky buggers to finish the lyrics and, ironically, Jimmy could actual utter this phrase and be making a factual statement )

[So is Jimmy Page a 'sloppy' player?]

I think it would be useful to add this quote to this thread, because it partly explains why people ever started bandying around the word 'sloppy' in connection with his playing:

“Terrible. Really sloppy. I'm just totally uneducated. An illiterate guitarist, really. But it doesn't make any difference because now and then something good will come through.”—Jimmy Page defining himself as a guitarist, from Melody Maker Sept. 1974

When Page said this he was being self-deprecating to some extent (he is English, after all). That is an exaggeratedly negative self-assessment.

As has been said earlier, the imprecisions and limitations of his style were hardly unusual in the time-frame when his style was formed - i.e. the mid-60s to early 70s. Rock guitar was considerably less technical back then. But they are an important part of his style. I think most rock guitarists would give their right arm to be 'sloppy' if it meant they came up with the solos and riffs which Page came up with.

Some of what people might perceive as 'sloppy' is actually timing. Page's classic solos often play 'late' on the beat. I've been a professional guitar teacher for 35 years and everyone whoever came to me and played the studio Stairway to Heaven solo never got it right even when they had all the notes in the right place - why? Because they never get his late timing. They play it right on the beat, with a kind of 'oh this is easy' attitude. To really play it you've got to make it sound like its an almost impossible struggle to get the notes out - a good example would be the solo on 'I'm Gonna Crawl' where he really weights a lot of the phrases by playing late. It sounds fantastic, of course.

The earlier observations about the change from wrist to 'scrubbing' are very true.

Page's tragedy as a musician is that he could not escape the persona he created for himself in the mid-70s - the problem was, who would want to? But then the band ended, and he could not find a vehicle in which to place that persona. Jimmy Page was the person who never left Led Zep. Jones and Plant did not allow their musician impulse and creativity to be so restricted by a persona, hence the diversity of their solo careers. Page has always been reluctant to do anything musically which might be perceived as 'not very Jimmy Page' as defined by that persona. Hence the archivist role, and the attempts to play Zep songs again in various formats and bands.

Sorry this has gone on a bit ..

Fantastic post - thanks!

I would just add that this specific question has been a corollary to the question of whether Mr. Page suffers from some type nerve/tendon damage to his hands - all speculative mind you, I can't buy into one of the prevailing theories that it was just a case of him being junked out of his mind from 1975-1984(ish). There are loads of great guitar players who found comfort from the white nurse that remained or post recovery regained their playing chops. Perhaps in his case it was a cumulative effect of not being a particularly disciplined player (not a bad thing IMO), the drugs/drink and some sort of physical injury - a bit like having a guy who rarely runs, has a bad knee and is a chain smoker is then asked why he can't a run a mile in less than 7 minutes

[Best and worst tribute bands...]

Well, the best Zeppelin tribute band has to be Mr Jimmy - seeing as they feature Jimmy's long lost illegitimate son - Jimmy Sakurai. The actual Jimmy is apparently a fan...having seen them in Tokyo; as reported on Ross Halfin's website...

http://www.rosshalfin.com/diary/october-2012/diary-october-2012.php

http://www.mrjimmy.jp/english.htm

Bingo.

The guy is completely mental (in the very best way). He had a 'Firm' cover band for a time - now THAT's loyalty.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Correction: A dear Japanese friend of mine reports that photo was taken at Nanzenji Temple in Kyoto on September 25th or 26th 1971. To go along with that, I show that while in Kyoto John Paul Jones joined a local band for a jam on 'Green Onions' (venue/location unknown).

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/kyoto-nanzenji

That is really fantastic!

You turned that picture from a decrepit slide in a View Master into breathing cinematic mojo!

Thanks,

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Was JPJ sick throughout their first tour of Japan in 1971?

I ask because he just looks downright 'off' in virtually every photo I've seen of him from that stretch of time.

Por ejemplo:

[Lawsuit over Stairway to Heaven]

satire sat·ire [sat-ahyuhr]

noun

1.

the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

2.

a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision,or ridicule.

3.

a literary genre comprising such compositions.

Thanks and good timing.

'The Alex Jones' school of analytics seems to have permeated the air here

[Guitar Effects on "Nobody's Fault But Mine"]

How does Jimmy get that guitar sound in the song "Nobody's fault but mine"??

Terry

Hi Terry,

To my knowledge, it hasn't ever been 100% confirmed but he possibly used an old Script MXR Phase 90 (which he used with the live version). Soundwise in term of the octaving, Dazedjeffy is likely correct(boy didn't he go after than WH-1 at the 02 show or what???) but I can't help speculate he ran through an Eventide H910 Harmonizer.