Feb 3 Jimmy Page Promises 'Quite Different' Direction With New Music

[Trey]

Really looking forward to new music whatever he decides to do!

[Trey]

It is from Japanese morning Fuji TV, no idea where and when exactly,  looks like Jimmy is pondering something or other.

Thanks, I remember watching this on youtube when it first came out. It was a great clip and interview of him italking about his favourite guitars n the guitar shop and would love to see it again. Would you mind posting the link? Not sure if it's been taken down but I can't find it.

[Charles J. White]

Jimmy interviewed this week about his new project. Same old story. "Well into next year, now." It sounds miles off.

I love it, his smile, his look, his thoughts. He is telling it's time. When it is released a lot of people on this forum will feel silly. He wants it, the twinkle in his eye

[anniemouse]

Can someone enlighten me on a couple of historical points.

Is there any evidence that loosing Peter Grant might have had a serious negative impact on Page's work rate. Although a newbie I get the impression Grant was a monumental figure in Page's career from the early days. The trust Page must have had for him must have been phenomenal. I admit I could be well off the mark in this hypothesis though.  

[SteveAJones]

I love it, his smile, his look, his thoughts. He is telling it's time. When it is released a lot of people on this forum will feel silly. He wants it, the twinkle in his eye

Yeah, a twinkle in the eye just screams "ready to end an 15 year artistic hiatus". He's pathological and you're nuts.  

Can someone enlighten me on a couple of historical points.

Is there any evidence that losing Peter Grant might have had a serious negative impact on Page's work rate. Although a newbie I get the impression Grant was a monumental figure in Page's career from the early days. The trust Page must have had for him must have been phenomenal. I admit I could be well off the mark in this hypothesis though.  

There's no substitute for artistic ambition! Even though Peter Grant entered a black period following the loss of Bonzo, he did help Robert secure a solo album deal with Atlantic Records. Jimmy's ambitions at the time were substantially less, and by the time he did feel ready to form another band Peter's managerial responsibilities had long since ended.

Having said all that, I have said many times post-Zeppelin Jimmy Page could well be the most mismanaged rock star since Elvis Presley. With the notable exception of Bill Curbishley during the Page/Plant era, none of the management Jimmy's had since 1980 has been worth a squirt of piss and the results attest to it.   

 

[the chase]

Yeah, a twinkle in the eye just screams "ready to end an 15 year artistic hiatus". He's pathological and you're nuts.  

There's no substitute for artistic ambition! Even though Peter Grant entered a black period following the loss of Bonzo, he did help Robert secure a solo album deal with Atlantic Records. Jimmy's ambitions at the time were substantially less, and by the time he did feel ready to form another band Peter's managerial responsibilities had long since ended.

Having said all that, I have said many times post-Zeppelin Jimmy Page could well be the most mismanaged rock star since Elvis Presley. With the notable exception of Bill Curbishley during the Page/Plant era, none of the management Jimmy's had since 1980 has been worth a squirt of piss and the results attest to it.   

 

Roaring back with a bang huh Steve...?

[mstork]

Yeah, a twinkle in the eye just screams "ready to end an 15 year artistic hiatus". He's pathological and you're nuts.  

There's no substitute for artistic ambition! Even though Peter Grant entered a black period following the loss of Bonzo, he did help Robert secure a solo album deal with Atlantic Records. Jimmy's ambitions at the time were substantially less, and by the time he did feel ready to form another band Peter's managerial responsibilities had long since ended.

Having said all that, I have said many times post-Zeppelin Jimmy Page could well be the most mismanaged rock star since Elvis Presley. With the notable exception of Bill Curbishley during the Page/Plant era, none of the management Jimmy's had since 1980 has been worth a squirt of piss and the results attest to it.   

 

Who is managing him now anyway?  Didn't he leave Q Prime for like 5 minutes, then come back, or am I mistaken?

[Disco Duck]

Yeah, a twinkle in the eye just screams "ready to end an 15 year artistic hiatus". He's pathological and you're nuts.  

There's no substitute for artistic ambition! Even though Peter Grant entered a black period following the loss of Bonzo, he did help Robert secure a solo album deal with Atlantic Records. Jimmy's ambitions at the time were substantially less, and by the time he did feel ready to form another band Peter's managerial responsibilities had long since ended.

Having said all that, I have said many times post-Zeppelin Jimmy Page could well be the most mismanaged rock star since Elvis Presley. With the notable exception of Bill Curbishley during the Page/Plant era, none of the management Jimmy's had since 1980 has been worth a squirt of piss and the results attest to it.   

 

But as you wrote above, there is no substitute for artistic ambition.  The best management team in the world couldn't help Page if his head wasn't in the right place.  

[KellyGirl]

I see Sheldon Cooper popped in.

Maybe not though, because Sheldon

is funny. 

[Flares]

I guess we shouldn't really be surprised about Page's solo inactivity. Winner approached Page to do the DW 2 soundtrack, Harper coaxed him into doing stuff on his album, The Firm came about by chance after Page played with Rodgers during the ARMS tour, and the rest of the time he's been waiting for Plant to pick up the blower. Post Zep, he's never been one with a strong sense of direction. Outrider was the only time he's really grabbed the bull by the horns.

 

[Disco Duck]

I guess we shouldn't really be surprised about Page's solo inactivity. Winner approached Page to do the DW 2 soundtrack, Harper coaxed him into doing stuff on his album, The Firm came about by chance after Page played with Rodgers during the ARMS tour, and the rest of the time he's been waiting for Plant to pick up the blower. Post Zep, he's never been one with a strong sense of direction. Outrider was the only time he's really grabbed the bull by the horns.

 

IMO, one of the mysteries surrounding Page is how a musician who once possessed great focus and direction seemed to lose both after 1980.  After The Firm broke up, I didn't necessarily expect Page to form another rock group.  I did expect him to do an Outrider type album every few years and produce other artists' albums.  

[mstork]

IMO, one of the mysteries surrounding Page is how a musician who once possessed great focus and direction seemed to lose both after 1980.  After The Firm broke up, I didn't necessarily expect Page to form another rock group.  I did expect him to do an Outrider type album every few years and produce other artists' albums.  

I've thought about this a lot, it is puzzling.  My educated guess is that Zeppelin was the perfect manifestation of his artistic vision, his true love.  It seems like he wants true love and has come to the conclusion that he just doesn't want anything short of that.

[Disco Duck]

I've thought about this a lot, it is puzzling.  My educated guess is that Zeppelin was the perfect manifestation of his artistic vision, his true love.  It seems like he wants true love and has come to the conclusion that he just doesn't want anything short of that.

I've considered this explanation but wouldn't Page stay out of the public eye altogether if this were the case?  I'm reminded of Queen's original basis, John Deacon who retired from music in 1997 and has rarely been seen or heard from since.

[Trey]

The only one that comes to mind currently having a great comeback at 72 years old is Fleetwood mac singer/musician Christina McVie. She retired for 16 years and the rest of the band were shocked when she said she wanted to come back and tour in 2014. They thought it would never happen that she would want to return so miracles do happens!  I think at some point in the next few years Jimmy will do something. It would have been nice if Jimmy had done more solo albums and established a strong solo career. I wonder why he didn't do a follow up in the nineties and instead went with Coverdale?

[anniemouse]

That is why I asked about Grant. Obviously Page trusted him implicitly. I think what puzzles me is that Page embraced the new with the Punk movement  and even if he had no ambition so to speak personally; his ear for production would embraced by many artists.

Also taking a step back is Page the type of artist who would be allowed to make mistakes or even fail. I cannot think of any artist who during their careers has not been given a kicking by critics and the fan base.

 

[SteveAJones]

Roaring back with a bang huh Steve...?

The same picture with a different frame.

[SteveAJones]

But as you wrote above, there is no substitute for artistic ambition.  The best management team in the world couldn't help Page if his head wasn't in the right place.  

Among many other things, proper management could have squelched the post-02 speculation, nixed his involvement in the Peace Concert fiasco, and presented him with viable options for resuming his career as a performing artist as opposed to allowing him to dither year after year on vanity projects.   

The Firm came about by chance after Page played with Rodgers during the ARMS tour...

As you probably know, their association goes back to the mid-70s when Bad Company signed to Swan Song. However, as you rightly inferred, by 1984 Jimmy was at long last motivated to form a new band, in large part because of the ARMS tour experience, and Paul did seem an obvious choice given their recent collaboration on that. 

I've considered this explanation but wouldn't Page stay out of the public eye altogether if this were the case?  I'm reminded of Queen's original basis, John Deacon who retired from music in 1997 and has rarely been seen or heard from since.

John Deacon retired from music because he felt Queen was not Queen without Freddie Mercury and refused to participate soon after. Nothing in common with Page on this point, who has attempted to reform Led Zeppelin numerous times as well as perform Led Zeppelin material with other musicians.

I think at some point in the next few years Jimmy will do something. It would have been nice if Jimmy had done more solo albums and established a strong solo career. I wonder why he didn't do a follow up in the nineties and instead went with Coverdale?

Don't hold your breath. He didn't do a solo follow up in the nineties because despite a massive promotional campaign his first solo album and tour were not nearly as commercially successful as the record label had anticipated. Faced with the prospect of having to roll his sleeves up to get down to making a second solo album or enter a label-arranged marriage of convenience with Coverdale he opted for the arranged marriage.   

I think what puzzles me is that Page embraced the new with the Punk movement and even if he had no ambition so to speak personally; his ear for production would embraced by many artists.

Dropping by a couple of punk clubs and wearing a skinny tie at Knebworth doesn't constitute embracing the movement. He as well as Led Zeppelin were reviled by many punk musicians and fans.

[the chase]

I can't post the link because I'm on my phone, but go to blabbermouth. net.  

Page jammed last night 11/19 with members of Soundgarden Alice n Chains Rick Neilson Paul Rodgers Duff McKagen and others at a benefit in Seattle.

[Disco Duck]

 

John Deacon retired from music because he felt Queen was not Queen without Freddie Mercury and refused to participate soon after. Nothing in common with Page on this point, who has attempted to reform Led Zeppelin numerous times as well as perform Led Zeppelin material with other musicians....

 

John Deacon didn't just walk away from Queen; he walked away from the music industry.  The man who wrote Another Ones Bites the Dust retired from both music making and public life when he was in his mid forties.    After a couple of post-Queen music projects that weren't successful, he was done.  He didn't even attend Queen's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  

[Patrycja]

I've thought about this a lot, it is puzzling.  My educated guess is that Zeppelin was the perfect manifestation of his artistic vision, his true love.  It seems like he wants true love and has come to the conclusion that he just doesn't want anything short of that.

I've considered this explanation but wouldn't Page stay out of the public eye altogether if this were the case?  I'm reminded of Queen's original basis, John Deacon who retired from music in 1997 and has rarely been seen or heard from since.

^^ These are interesting and related thoughts: once you create the musical equivalent of the Sistine Chapel, where do you go from there? Yet clearly once Jimmy got through the worst parts of his addictions, he's had a longing to create and play. I recall reading about how Lawrence Olivier went on a crying rant after a performance which by all accounts was mesmerizing. Well that was the point: he knew he had reached a level in that performance that he'd never had and would likely never reach again, at least that was his feeling. It's exhilarating and crushing at the same time, and can freeze artists.

Robert was as closely associated with Zep as Jimmy, but he seems to have been affected in ways that questioned his role in the whirlwind, and, frankly, he was willing to suck again. He just got out there again and kept going without knowing exactly where or how things would go. It's so brave, but maybe that's what he needed to just somehow go on and find his own voice separate from Zep and perhaps outrun some memories.

Jimmy, on the other hand, I think would have liked nothing more than for Zep to continue. It was his baby, and he still tends to it meticulously, which I think we somehow slightly take for granted because he's always heralding and maintaining its exacting standards. But it's a bit of a golden cage, too. It reminds me of the story of the four hats where four men encounter the numinous and have different reactions. We all get a bit of that after an amazing concert or other experience, and artists of course get that high, too. It's hard to figure out how to get back into and appreciate the everydayness of life, or in Jimmy's case, to get back to playing after the pinnacles that Zep reached.

That is why I asked about Grant. Obviously Page trusted him implicitly. I think what puzzles me is that Page embraced the new with the Punk movement  and even if he had no ambition so to speak personally; his ear for production would embraced by many artists.

Also taking a step back is Page the type of artist who would be allowed to make mistakes or even fail. I cannot think of any artist who during their careers has not been given a kicking by critics and the fan base.

 

I think there's more to Jimmy's relationship with Peter Grant than most people know. Not so much in a seedy way, but in a complex way. Peter protected the band, but it was in his best interest for the juggernaut to continue. It's a fine line. His was a strong presence, to restate an obvious point, there's just something to it, I get a sense of it but can't put my finger on it in terms of how it affected or influenced Jimmy...

As to the point about Jimmy being allowed to make mistakes, well there's outside pressure, certainly, but he seems like a sensitive perfectionist which is a hard inner battle that doesn't make new output easier.

[Flares]

It's not just that he says he's going to do something and he doesn't, it's the way he does it. He plays games by telling people like Fiona Bruce from the BBC, it's going to be a spectacular project, something that people wont expect, blah blah, blah. He spins a web and deliberately frustrates his fans, year after year. If he was more honest and sincere I could accept it, but it's a calculated smokescreen. Just be honest and open. We will respect you more. Don't play silly games and try to be enigmatic and mysterious. It's 2015; not 1975.

[SteveAJones]

I think that goes against anything behind the integrity of Zeppelin. Robert has always refused any part of that and kinda sure Jimmy too with some things.  Zeppelin sells itself and does not need some corporate whigs with fancy ideas or round-table suggestions how to market Zeppelin.   

Oh, please. Led Zeppelin played the game too, hiring a publicist and granting interviews to journalists and radio hosts they could trust. IF Page ever did release a new solo project his promotional duties would be enormous, especially in today's music market. Look at the extensive promotional duties he undertook to promote the remasters campaign. It's a lot of work.   

[Patrycja]

It's not just that he says he's going to do something and he doesn't, it's the way he does it. He plays games by telling people like Fiona Bruce from the BBC, it's going to be a spectacular project, something that people wont expect, blah blah, blah. He spins a web and deliberately frustrates his fans, year after year. If he was more honest and sincere I could accept it, but it's a calculated smokescreen. Just be honest and open. We will respect you more. Don't play silly games and try to be enigmatic and mysterious. It's 2015; not 1975.

I don't think it's lack of artistic ambition, but some combination of moving beyond Zep, of being mismanaged and he keeps saying things in variations about his intentions and wants it to be great - after all, next to Zep, the perception, however self-imposed, is that it has to be great - is a means of keeping interest of fans but also of having that to crystallize focus and maybe bring about that alchemical force, that rare fifth element. Why talk about a tiny project? 

You can sense that fifth element when it's there, and when it's not. Most of the time when other artists play Zep it just sounds like straight rock, like something's missing. I felt it even during that R&R performance, even though it was great to see Jimmy up at it again. Artists who do Zep songs but in their own voice get nearer the essence of it. You just can't recreate it, and it's madness to try.

Jimmy seems like an introverted guy who doesn't so much need prodding from the back as a shield at the front. Singers, Peter Grant all helped with that. Now he's got to go out there without those buffers that forged ahead so it's like he's doing triple duty - promos, discussions, and the project itself. It's all well and good to say why can't he just do it? Well, this is maybe his way of trying to get there, but it's not in his natural element to be so exposed. The man wears black all the time and conducts interviews with sunglasses on and gives evasive answers the farther away the discussion veers from music, and even then he's secretive. That's just how he is. Maybe I'm overanalyzing, but then so are people who throw accusations of playing games. That's not a dig at you, because you seem genuinely frustrated, it's just I don't think Jimmy is doing it deliberately. Some have said oh it's just filler to promote the remasters, but he's been saying it before and since... Just hope he finds a way to it, because there's a lot of unnecessary (maybe necessary?) pressure to push the creative vision through. Magic finds a way...

[TheGreatOne]

Oh, please. Led Zeppelin played the game too, hiring a publicist and granting interviews to journalists and radio hosts they could trust. IF Page ever did release a new solo project his promotional duties would be enormous, especially in today's music market. Look at the extensive promotional duties he undertook to promote the remasters campaign. It's a lot of work.   

There are reasons they stayed away from the Press.   As far as the re-master releases, I think Warner Brothers had more to do with promotion than anyone in Jimmy's party.   Time Warner has been making juicy profits in their stock during all these releases

[The Dark Lord]

Page has always over sold reality, and frankly, I rarely accept him at face value anymore. As for his pronouncements of new music and playing live: it isn't going to happen, unless he is doing guest appearances here and there.  

My wish, would be to see him reunite with The Yardbirds, although that is very much an improbability, especially now that Top Topham is back. Page co-wrote some amazing music on Little Games, and in the post Little Games singles that were released (plus the material on Cumular Limit). I do think, if there weren't interpersonal issues with the existing members, that this would be an incredible, small scale, venture that Page could really sink his teeth into, and it would come with a body of pre-written work. This I would love to see, and I think that Page could make the transition from being an old timer at home to being an old timer on stage. I've seen The Yardbirds many times in the past ten years, and they are fantastic, but they have been losing the few remaining original members that they had, such as Chris Dreja. Page could save the day and keep this band alive, if he aligned himself with them. His body of work in The Yardbirds was stellar. Of course, this is my opinion only, but I do believe it would be the perfect venue for Jimmy.