Iriquidian Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Jimmy's guitar solo was only 49 seconds long......the last zeppelin show on july 7, 1980 in berlin germany, his solo was about 7 minutes long. reports say he was barely using his pinky finger, as I play lead guitar myself I can't even imagine pulling off a gig with only three fingers, which I know Jimmy was able to do back on the 1975 tour when he broke his hand/finger? can't remember. anyways, that seemed like an incredibly and surprisingly short guitar solo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timboh56 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Yeah, i saw the video. It's a bit short, I think it's good. he makes a few mistakes here and there, there's a lack of the magic he had during the 70s, but he's in his 60s for crying out loud. Great solo still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickZepp Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 It sounded really good. I'm guessing his broken pinky limited the length of his solo. Although the days of playing Stairway for 12 minutes are over anyway. This version was 8 and a half minutes which is about as long as Stairway should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarmy Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I wasn't there so I don't REALLY know how it went. But of all the clips I've seen, this solo was the only one where I was anything close to disappointed. The song as a whole was great, but the solo kind of made me go "huh?" I just hope any of the mistakes don't cause the group not to release the DVD. ... It really wasn't a Zeppelin show without it, and it made the event official I think. If you've grown to dislike STH, then I reccommend this version, because they really seized the moment. Well, I recommend it either way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrophile Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I don't give a rip about the length of the solo. 7 minutes is too long, IMO, and gets redundant after a while. I've watched the performance probably dozens of times now, and it sounds so fecking good, I can't even believe I'm watching it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickZepp Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 The 80 version was probably the worst version of the song the Band ever played. Even the 2 reunion versions had their better moments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 The Stariway on their last show in Berlin in 1980 was something like 15 minutes and the solo is like half empty space and half repetition. Jimmy keeps stopping and restarting like he's recording takes in a recording studio or something. I mean, I admire his dedication for not ending the solo until he was good and ready, but still it was kinda painful to hear. I wasn't thrilled with the O2 solo but you can tell he was trying to do something truly of the moment rather than just play the album solo. He just didn't have much of a canvas to work with. They had to fill in as many songs as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iriquidian Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 The Stariway on their last show in Berlin in 1980 was something like 15 minutes and the solo is like half empty space and half repetition. Jimmy keeps stopping and restarting like he's recording takes in a recording studio or something. I mean, I admire his dedication for not ending the solo until he was good and ready, but still it was kinda painful to hear. I wasn't thrilled with the O2 solo but you can tell he was trying to do something truly of the moment rather than just play the album solo. He just didn't have much of a canvas to work with. They had to fill in as many songs as possible. just for the record....I'm not saying the solo in 1980 is my favorite Stairway to Heaven guitar solo, I was just stating a fact for comparison. Out of guilt for my comment, I just listened to the solo on the record, and guess what? it's almost exactly as long as the solo he did tonight at the 02 Arena, so it seems he was trying to keep the integrity of the song as close to the original as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoef Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 We were very close to the stage and it was clear Jimmy was struggling on this one. He cut it off prematurely and Robert was surprised, he had to scramble to kick in again. Jimmy was drawing faces afterwards to his guitar tech Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 C'mon Now, remember the finger. I think he was brave to get out there so soon. Thanks Jimmy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minelle Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Actually I was a little surprised that it was so short but I still LOVE it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormpilot Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 The pinky was being protected. Stairway solo was short, but so were they all. T o be honest this was planned imo. The came on at 9 and had to finish by eleven (they finished at 11:12). If you have seen the set list there simply was no room for adding any longer solos. They were leaner, no drum solo less guitar solo (dazed and confused and bow was the closest they got). The leanness made it all the better. They blew us all away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarmy Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Out of guilt for my comment, I just listened to the solo on the record, and guess what? it's almost exactly as long as the solo he did tonight at the 02 Arena, so it seems he was trying to keep the integrity of the song as close to the original as possible. yeah I noticed the similarity with the record as well. I thought this was very unorthodox for Jimmy and on top of whatever technical difficulties he was having, it made the solo less desirable. But maybe the technical difficulties kind of forced a more cookie cutter solo version, so they could be one in the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarmy Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 yeah I noticed the similarity with the record as well. I thought this was very unorthodox for Jimmy and on top of whatever technical difficulties he was having, it made the solo less desirable. But maybe the technical difficulties kind of forced a more cookie cutter solo version, so they could be one in the same. Ok on a second listen, it sounded great. I don't know what I was smoking. It was very good and I don't know what I was talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Bender Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Jimmy's guitar solo was only 49 seconds long......the last zeppelin show on july 7, 1980 in berlin germany, his solo was about 7 minutes long. reports say he was barely using his pinky finger, as I play lead guitar myself I can't even imagine pulling off a gig with only three fingers, which I know Jimmy was able to do back on the 1975 tour when he broke his hand/finger? can't remember. anyways, that seemed like an incredibly and surprisingly short guitar solo It was a good guitar solo. Page was really great from what I saw online. I loved hearing the really fast vibrato once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seirios Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 The man played the whole concert (nota bene: over two hours!) practically using 3 fingers on the fretboard. He did an excellent concert nonetheless. End of the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul - on the old site Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 The solo was the same length as the album version. Page even came in at the same time as he does on the album (there was normally at least 4 bars before he kicked in). I very much enjoyed it, although my favourite moment of that track was in the last verse when Robert Plant forgot where he was and really went for it ('there walks a LADY we all know'), superb. It's little flubs like this which make me think that Jimmy will not allow this to be released, despite it being a fantastic and honest performance (from what I've seen/heard so far...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiri Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 49 seconds? 7 minutes? Doesn´t matter. I prefer short guitar solos and Jimmy never overplayed on the studio records. Jimmy´s performance seemed surprisingly fresh. Broken finger? I don´t know if that´s the reason for the little hickups. He´s just human (although many fans beg to differ ;-)) Actually, who gives a.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootedinjapan Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 (edited) 49 seconds? 7 minutes? Doesn´t matter. I prefer short guitar solos and Jimmy never overplayed on the studio records. Jimmy´s performance seemed surprisingly fresh. Broken finger? I don´t know if that´s the reason for the little hickups. He´s just human (although many fans beg to differ ;-)) Actually, who gives a.. I do not think the hickups were cause of the hurt finger. Jimmy has hickuped here and there and there and here since day one. He is not note for note to often, but he is and will always be my favorite. I am listening to No 1/4 right now and it is hot. I cannot wait for a cleaner version. Peace all. Edited December 11, 2007 by bootedinjapan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I very much enjoyed it, although my favourite moment of that track was in the last verse when Robert Plant forgot where he was and really went for it ('there walks a LADY we all know'), superb. It's little flubs like this which make me think that Jimmy will not allow this to be released, despite it being a fantastic and honest performance (from what I've seen/heard so far...) So his voice cracked. I'd rather he do that than sing it baritone. He stopped going for those high notes after 1971. Even on the 1971 BBC recording he struggles. He got close enough, even considering the tuning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 The Stairway solo was alright, but not amazingly good. I can understand why though; he fractured his finger and maybe hadn't practiced playing it so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seirios Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 The video of last night's STH posted on YouTube has been watched by over 140,000 people in a day. I guess that sets the record for hottest YouTube video... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andmoreagain Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Im only going on the evidence of what I heard/seen on the utube. But Im certain that they tried to get as near Zepp 4 version as poss - Jimmy was trying to reproduce the solo as close as he could get it to the original - in any event it barely matters. Our boys stepped up to the plate last night and delivered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Bender Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 (edited) The man played the whole concert (nota bene: over two hours!) practically using 3 fingers on the fretboard. He did an excellent concert nonetheless. End of the story. The 3 finger style is very Brit. Just look at The Clapton interview in Farewell to Cream with the Fool SG. When I first learned to play in 1972 it was that 3 finger style that I emulated. Plus I remember he had a broken finger in The Song Remains The Same as well. I'm not sure but I think it was the index finger. Edited December 11, 2007 by B-Bender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andmoreagain Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 The 3 finger style is very Brit. Just look at The Clapton interview in Farewell to Cream with the Fool SG. When I first learned to play in 1972 it was that 3 finger style that I emulated. Plus I remember he had a broken finger in The Song Remains The Same as well. I'm not sure but I think it was the index finger. Ive been up close to the stage when Jimmy has played twice, both times with Plant in 95 and 98 and he did play like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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