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Led Zeppelin 50th Anniversary


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Can I ask some questions as a relative newbie to the scene. Page is a genius and why he does not play could be through a myriad of reasons but what puzzles me is that other aspects seems to have stopped (unless you know better and can cite examples).

When did Mr Page last have a real productive song writing session.

When did Mr Page last produce (not including any Led Zep archive work)

Would fans be happy if the two facets mentioned were all he did and the playing stopped.

I can only imagine the list of bands that would jump at the chance to have their work produced by Mr Page.

Maybe he is disillusioned with music full stop. From the little I know the figure who was really important to him was Mr Grant. The trust in him seems to have been so important to his career.  

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8 hours ago, porgie66 said:

Of course not. I should have qualified that a little more. What I meant was... at that age, physical issues like those I mentioned are not uncommon, so it'd be a greater challenge to step back in the game than it would at a younger age. He hasn't gigged, or played regularly ( so far as we know ) for a long time. He's 75, therefore he may have physical shortcomings related to his age. He looked ok strumming out some Ramble On and Stairway in that video though....not great, but not bad. 

JPJ is exactly 2 years younger and still plays. His fingers seem to be in great shape. Of course, different people age at different rates, though Page has good genes, his mother lived into her 90s I think.

I suspect it's more a case of he can't think of anything new that's worth recording. Most songwriting is a finite resource, few people do great new albums in their 70s. The real issue is that rumours multiply because he's always been so secret squirrel about everything: he likes mystery and it served him well in Zeppelin.  As Plant said, "Page ought to have been a San Francisco version of Simon Templar, hiding in shadows and peering round corners".

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1 hour ago, anniemouse said:

Can I ask some questions as a relative newbie to the scene. Page is a genius and why he does not play could be through a myriad of reasons but what puzzles me is that other aspects seems to have stopped (unless you know better and can cite examples).

When did Mr Page last have a real productive song writing session.

When did Mr Page last produce (not including any Led Zep archive work)

Would fans be happy if the two facets mentioned were all he did and the playing stopped.

I can only imagine the list of bands that would jump at the chance to have their work produced by Mr Page.

Maybe he is disillusioned with music full stop. From the little I know the figure who was really important to him was Mr Grant. The trust in him seems to have been so important to his career.  

I'm no expert but as far as we know, the last official songwriting he did was with Plant on WIC. I don't know when he last produced anything non Zep related. It is a mystery why he could never carry on post Zep but it appears to me at any rate, he seems to have lost his confidence unless he's with Robert (and Jonesy). I always wish he would have taken the approach Robert did which was to push forward and accept he will never have the success of the past but that doesn't mean he can't build a new career as a player. Or I wish he would have done producing for other bands. 

 

I also found, and again, just my point of view - the footage from that museum exhibit, his playing was very slow and did not look like someone who was comfortable with an axe in tow. 

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3 hours ago, SteveAJones said:

It means it's ridiculous to anticipate him doing at 75 what he failed to do at 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74.

Not that there is a pattern or anything. 😏

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10 hours ago, tenyearsgone21 said:

I'm no expert but as far as we know, the last official songwriting he did was with Plant on WIC. I don't know when he last produced anything non Zep related. It is a mystery why he could never carry on post Zep but it appears to me at any rate, he seems to have lost his confidence unless he's with Robert (and Jonesy). I always wish he would have taken the approach Robert did which was to push forward and accept he will never have the success of the past but that doesn't mean he can't build a new career as a player. Or I wish he would have done producing for other bands. 

Jimmy Page lost his muse on September 25, 1980. It's as simple as that.

Once you've conquered the world with the likes of Bonzo and Led Zeppelin, what's left to do? Page made some valiant efforts post Zep, but I believe a time came when he realized he was just going through the motions. And once you've taken it to the level he did, going through the motions just ain't gonna fuckin' cut it.

So he steps back, services the band's legacy and enjoys his girlfriend until he takes his rightful seat in Valhalla.

There's no great mystery. It's the story of a guy who for 39 years has been living with losing his drummer and his band when his friend died in his house.

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17 minutes ago, Badgeholder Still said:

Jimmy Page lost his muse on September 25, 1980. It's as simple as that.

Once you've conquered the world with the likes of Bonzo and Led Zeppelin, what's left to do? Page made some valiant efforts post Zep, but I believe a time came when he realized he was just going through the motions. And once you've taken it to the level he did, going through the motions just ain't gonna fuckin' cut it.

So he steps back, services the band's legacy and enjoys his girlfriend until he takes his rightful seat in Valhalla.

There's no great mystery. It's the story of a guy who for 39 years has been living with losing his drummer and his band when his friend died in his house.

So did Robert and John Paul - they were equally as much of the reason the band was what they were and both managed to move forward, accepting they all never be at the same level of Zep but forging ahead in many different and interesting directions. I would imagine John's death hit Robert the hardest since it was his dear mate. Jimmy could have done the same but he for whatever reason, wasn't able to. It's not a put down on Page - just my obersvations and thoughts. 

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1 hour ago, Badgeholder Still said:

Jimmy Page lost his muse on September 25, 1980. It's as simple as that.

Once you've conquered the world with the likes of Bonzo and Led Zeppelin, what's left to do? Page made some valiant efforts post Zep, but I believe a time came when he realized he was just going through the motions. And once you've taken it to the level he did, going through the motions just ain't gonna fuckin' cut it.

So he steps back, services the band's legacy and enjoys his girlfriend until he takes his rightful seat in Valhalla.

There's no great mystery. It's the story of a guy who for 39 years has been living with losing his drummer and his band when his friend died in his house.

Now that....is a great post. Could not agree more 

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55 minutes ago, tenyearsgone21 said:

So did Robert and John Paul - they were equally as much of the reason the band was what they were and both managed to move forward, accepting they all never be at the same level of Zep but forging ahead in many different and interesting directions. I would imagine John's death hit Robert the hardest since it was his dear mate. Jimmy could have done the same but he for whatever reason, wasn't able to. It's not a put down on Page - just my obersvations and thoughts. 

I don’t think anyone can really know much it hit Jimmy.

And everyone has a different temperament. Robert and JPJ looked to the future. Jimmy looks to the past. Nothing wrong with that. 

Let’s not forget, Jimmy (in my opinion) was the talisman of Zeppelin. The pressure on him to produce something other-worldly since the demise of Zeppelin must have been an insurmountable task. And this is for a guy who was renowned for near debilitating stage fright.

I’m very happy with what he has given us. I was way too young to see Zeppelin (born in ‘74), but I did see P and P. 

The music of Zeppelin was an untold joy to discover when I was 13. And it still inspires me today. It’s the reason I picked up a guitar at the age of 42. 

What the fuck more could I ask for?

 

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10 hours ago, Xolo1974 said:

I don’t think anyone can really know much it hit Jimmy.

And everyone has a different temperament. Robert and JPJ looked to the future. Jimmy looks to the past. Nothing wrong with that. 

Let’s not forget, Jimmy (in my opinion) was the talisman of Zeppelin. The pressure on him to produce something other-worldly since the demise of Zeppelin must have been an insurmountable task. And this is for a guy who was renowned for near debilitating stage fright.

I’m very happy with what he has given us. I was way too young to see Zeppelin (born in ‘74), but I did see P and P. 

The music of Zeppelin was an untold joy to discover when I was 13. And it still inspires me today. It’s the reason I picked up a guitar at the age of 42. 

What the fuck more could I ask for?

 

I wasn't judging how Jimmy or anyone reacted to Bonzo's passing. No doubt it was devastating. I was merely stating in response to another comment that I would assume it was probably more devastating to Robert given their close friendship and bond prior to Zep but no, i have no idea. 

I think the pressure was on Robert too as the lead vocalist of Zep to produce solo stuff that was other worldly. He was just able to not succumb to it. Jimmy owes no one anything. I am very grateful for what he gave us with Zep. I just am sad that someone of his talent wasn't able to find a solo path but never did I say or think he must or owes us (though I wish he'd stop claiming he's working on stuff when he's not). 

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On 7/17/2019 at 1:26 AM, porgie66 said:

Of course not. I should have qualified that a little more. What I meant was... at that age, physical issues like those I mentioned are not uncommon, so it'd be a greater challenge to step back in the game than it would at a younger age. He hasn't gigged, or played regularly ( so far as we know ) for a long time. He's 75, therefore he may have physical shortcomings related to his age. He looked ok strumming out some Ramble On and Stairway in that video though....not great, but not bad. 

It's a lot of practice at any age to go from not playing consistently to trying to get back to a level at which you could perform the material he's created and not mess up too much. I know a lot of us would love to see him do something acoustic but his acoustic style is arguably just as hard or harder to play than some of the leads he's recorded, obviously depending on the song. White Summer/Black Mountain is one that requires a lot of constant practice, as well as Going to California and Bron Yr Aur.

That kind of practice isn't always fun because it's tedious especially when you have such a passionate investment in your art and you know at one time you were at a level which is very hard to get back to, especially at 75 years old. Sometimes one can feel very frustrated and unfulfilled when you can't get back to that level and at his age he probably just doesn't have the motivation to go through that. It's totally understandable, he's achieved so much creatively.

I just don't get why he keeps stating he intends to release solo material when there seems to be no evidence that he intends to.

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Graham Bond, the potential member of Cream that Robert Stigwood wouldnt sign, believed in magic, had friends who left England to escape curses. Graham Bond had other problems before he died in 1974, but curses rank as one of them. Some kind of battle seemed to break out between witchy brethren of the 60s.  Page was famously rumored cursed by Kenneth Anger around this time. The fog of drugs limits the ability to pin the blame, but Jimmy has been running, walking and crawling against the wind since 1975. 

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Led Zeppelin was Jimmy’s life work and he was always striving to catch the essence of it his whole life. Nothing wrong with that. He’s like the Polish painter Roman Opalka who’s life work was painting the numbers one through infinity and trying to find different ways to express that. Opalka acknowledged that the body of his work was that one single thing. The last number he painted was like 5, 607, 000 or something.  Jimmy’s problem was that, unlike an infinite set of numbers, there were a very limited set of musicians who could be and do what he wanted. He was very very lucky to catch that once. It’s ok because most of us will never have even that. You should feel joy for him, not sadness.

 

Edited by Realperson
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1 hour ago, Realperson said:

Polish painter Roman Opalka who’s life work was painting the numbers one through infinity and trying to find different ways to express that.

What were his thoughts on the Infinite Monkey Theorum? :lol:

Jimmy's life's work was releasing ten original Led Zeppelin albums...then spending the rest of his life remastering them. :lol:

Edited by SteveAJones
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10 minutes ago, SteveAJones said:

What were his thoughts on the Infinite Monkey Theorum? :lol:

Jimmy's life's work was releasing ten original Led Zeppelin albums...then spending the rest of his life remastering them. :lol:

Lol...infinite monkeys, butterfly effects....one person’s painting of every number to infinity and the other’s remastering their oeuvre to infinity...sweet...whatever gives them purpose....who cares, you don’t have to spend money on it...but the fact that there’s a website dedicated to Jimmy’s life work and both of us are on it, pretty much tells you all you need to know...

 

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On 7/18/2019 at 10:32 AM, nemophilist said:

It's a lot of practice at any age to go from not playing consistently to trying to get back to a level at which you could perform the material he's created and not mess up too much. I know a lot of us would love to see him do something acoustic but his acoustic style is arguably just as hard or harder to play than some of the leads he's recorded, obviously depending on the song. White Summer/Black Mountain is one that requires a lot of constant practice, as well as Going to California and Bron Yr Aur.

That kind of practice isn't always fun because it's tedious especially when you have such a passionate investment in your art and you know at one time you were at a level which is very hard to get back to, especially at 75 years old. Sometimes one can feel very frustrated and unfulfilled when you can't get back to that level and at his age he probably just doesn't have the motivation to go through that. It's totally understandable, he's achieved so much creatively.

I just don't get why he keeps stating he intends to release solo material when there seems to be no evidence that he intends to.

I have never been an accomplished musician, and so, I admit, I do not know what it takes to get there, to stay there, or to climb back up there. If Jimmy can't get back there, then he can't. If he doesn't want to put in what it would take to get back there, then so be it. I am not expecting anything "new" from Jimmy. I believe the "creation" phase of his career is over. I was lucky to be a part of the Led Zeppelin experience in the 70's. That will always be a high point in my life.

If there is a blemish on Zeppelin, it is that they were not able to, by circumstances, or, even on purpose, to film more of their concerts, and to film them in the studio. Other supergroups were able to achieve this. Who knows what live recording plans might have been nixed by the abrupt stoppages of the '75, '77 and '80 Tours.

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:goodpost:

Especially....

56 minutes ago, The Rover said:

If there is a blemish on Zeppelin, it is that they were not able to, by circumstances, or, even on purpose, to film more of their concerts, and to film them in the studio. Other supergroups were able to achieve this. Who knows what live recording plans might have been nixed by the abrupt stoppages of the '75, '77 and '80 Tours.

Edited by rm2551
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11 hours ago, rm2551 said:

:goodpost:

Especially....

This plus the theft of tapes from JP’s home and the internet ruining the mystery of Led Zeppelin. Once pandora’s box was opened, it has never been the same. 

R😎

Edited by reids
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  • 3 weeks later...
17 hours ago, mrlowry said:

Does anyone else think that it's possible that the Stairway To Heaven lawsuit might be holding up a 50th Anniversary live release or releases? 

No, there's nothing to hold up anyway. The fiftieth anniversary is just another anniversary.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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