I've heard Page play badly when he'd obviously been awake for 4 days straight on smack, cocaine and Jack Daniels but I have also heard him play the most moving, brilliant and emotionally charged guitar solos and riffs I've ever heard. Nobody could capture the mood of a song with a solo like him . To me he's one of the few true geniuses in rock. His versatility is also something that sets him apart. He could create songs in several different styles.
Just glad he survived. Even if he never records again. He is the keeper of the flame for Led Zeppelin and all the great work that they did, no matter how much Plant disavows it.
Jimmy was a studio guy. He COULD do 'perfection'. But, as he once said, "Technique doesn't come into it. I deal in emotions." Jimmy was a MASTER of tapping into the subconscious of his audience.
SEKriever: Yes, I would agree with what you said about Page's riffs and motifs. I also agree that he's what got me into guitar--i learned to play Brauny-aure (SIC, I know) by repositioning the turntable needle on the album over & over, lol. But eventually, I got it note for note. Nowadays, I have many others who inspire me, including Tim Pierce. I gotta say, even though I learn by ear and pick up things pretty quick, I'm absolutely NO competition for Tim, and the things he "learns" to play are WAAAAAY outa my ballpark! He'll sit down and play "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan, I can't play that, I'll bet it took him a quarter hour tops, the first time he ever tried it, to nail it. But, I'm getting better! Just nowhere near Tim it any of those guys....
I've said it on many occasions: Bonzo is the greatest drummer in rock. Page is one of the greatest guitarists of any genre. Plant is the archetypal front man. JPJ is the best musician in LZ, and despite Page's direction and production, the one most responsible for their sound. In all the best bands, the bass player was the best musician.
Jimmy Page got me playing guitar. Sloppy or not, he always touches me, he's written dozens of riffs that everybody knows.There are guitarists with 'better' technique(EVH), others 'perhaps' are better at the blues (Clapton), but if I could magically get the abilities of any guitarist I'd choose Jimmy Page.
Imagine a guy playing an electric guitar while riding on a surfboard. That's Jimmy Page. It's not sloppy. It's going with the sometimes unexpected flow.
“Oh, my tears they fell like rain” I worked in a video store when I was 17 and every night when cleaning up before close I would crank this song on the store sound system with no one around. My favourite Zep song ever. I don’t say that lightly there are so many bad ass songs. Since I’ve been loving you and comfortably numb made me pick up a guitar! Music is life.
@@nlumby Hendrix and Page are from 2 distant galleries the similarities are few and far between. Jimmy combined single note lines and power chords. Hendrix didn’t even play power chords he had his thumb where the index would be played lots of double stop rhythms from another universe. Jeff Beck- when most these guys had retired he was still evolving and improving and is never held back by age. He has discovered the secret to reversing aging is one part guitar one part fixing cars.
Jimmy had studied a lot of styles of music, from classical to East Indian. He could also play different instruments, so when he performed some of his solos, he would incorporate different structures and tunings that most rock players didn't even have a clue about. A real genius.
I viewed Jimmy as a god when I was learning how to play. Now that I'm in my mid sixties, with thousands of gigs played through my lifetime, I appreciate him even more.
@@Bob-of-Zoid no one said Jimmy invented anything. You just sound like a complete pain in the ass to be around. You're one of those guys that has nothing nice to say about anything unless it was something you brought up yourself. Why bother with commenting on this video since it's clearly beneath your musical tastes?
@@Mang213 While I can see where you're coming from, I think this person is just trying to bring more knowledge to the table, which is a good thing if it's something you're interested in. But it's the internet - you don't have to digest it if you don't want.
Love how Page at times makes it sound like he's about to go off the rails entirely. The solo in Communication Breakdown comes to mind. So much more exciting than clinical precision. I wonder why we find it more compelling with a touch of chaos. It's fascinating how sensitive humans are to little touches of disorder, like when Bonham and Jones play behind the beat ever so slightly.
Bonham is the best behind the beat drummer ever. Since I've Been Loving You, and Tea For One are just the best. And to say that Page was sloppy is not giving the guy props for his arrangements. And his acoustic work is unparalleled.
Exactly how I feel about Hendrix. His live playing was so often right on the edge of train wreck, but somehow managing to save it. That’s what made his playing so damned exciting
@@stampy990 I still shake my head at For Your Life off Presnce. Bonham is so far behind the beat on the bridgey bit, and yet still pulls it onto the beat. Absolutely brilliant.
As far as I can tell it’s an acquired taste. Modern guitar and music in general is essentially perfect. A lot of the youth do not like songs like this due to its imperfections and obviously it’s not upbeat like they are used to.
It's really simple, but somehow it's taken me years to figure it out. There is an emotional honesty about Page's playing that I connect with. I've watched more than my share of shredders play thousands of great licks...perfectly. Great, you've been practicing, but it doesn't tell me what you feel. So many great players overlook what might be the most important thing about music; telling a story. Jimmy Page communicates emotion with his instrument, which is a powerful thing.
My 2 cents: The 'secret' to true virtuosity is to know your instrument well enough that you can play it with 'reckless abandon'. That's the point where *your* 'voice' and *your* 'personality' come through the instrument. Music isn't about 'musicianship', it's about communication. Does the listener 'hear' what you're 'saying' through your instrument?
Playing 30 minutes of dazed and confused live in concert, i’m sure there were points in the song where they didnt have a precise roadmap, but they improvised and jammed their hearts out! Totally 1970s. Totally awesome!
I've always considered Jimmy's solos as Sloppy Genius. Most of the old-school blues guys weren't known for their perfect playing. They were known for the emotion they showed in their playing. It's showing humanity. We're imperfect beings. That's why the music is so easy to relate to still after over 40 years.
To me what separates good guitar players from the great ones is what they can produce with their talent. Page isn’t the most technical but he’s probably the best composer ever, Cobain was considered a bad guitar player but he composed guitar tracks and riffs no one could. You never think about Pete Townshend being a guitar god but if you look at him as a composer he’s basically a top 5 ever.
So True. Buddy Guy comes to mind. Listen to his album 'Stone Crazy'. It's got to be some of the most impassioned playing he ever recorded - and it sure isn't technically 'clean'. In fact, it can be gloriously chaotic. A lot of it actually sounds quite similar to Mr. Page's playing!
@@mojo-hand4539 is Stone Crazy an album or a song? I can’t find any album of that name. Some great playing on his album Sweet Tea as well 👌🏻 Absolute top player
Just my two cents here: I don't think of Page so much as sloppy; I think of him as playing very emotionally, directly from the soul and heart (and not from his head). Also, to me, it sounds like he's having a conversation with himself, such as: "I don't know (quiet)...should I do THIS (loud) or that (quiet)...or should I do THIS (loud) or THISSSSS (digs in)..." "Soft" and "loud" come from his feelings at that very moment he is playing, which can change at will. Emotions go up and down or less intense/more intense, which is velocity. And that velocity - how loud or soft he playsing - is generated by his heart and his soul right at the moment he is playing. I never hear him playing from his head like a lot of guitarists, such as those in prog rock (for the record, I love prog rock). It's just a different style. He doesn't have "clean hands." Perhaps it's as simple as defining it in terms of the blues/pain or NOT the blues. Also, when he improvs, I love it when he'll just launch out of 4/4 and into free time outer space and just go OUT there improvising and having that "conversation" with himself and then fly in back into the song's time signature after 8 or 16 bars. Love that. Page was my main influence in life, as a musician and composer/arranger. I relate very much to his intense emotion (velocity/hard-soft), whether it be quiet, dissonant and ethereal or bad ass sublime coolness and spanking the plank. It just doesn't get any cooler. Just my two cents.
I loved the way they recorded Since I've Been Living You. Everything is mic'd up so clean and close. You can hear the mechanics of Pages fingers on the fretboard, his pick against the trings, his volume knob being turned up. You can even hear Bonhams kick drum sqeaking.
I was 13 years old when I first heard 'Since I've Been Loving You'. In the split second of silence at the end of the guitar solo I was struck by a [metaphorical] lightning bolt and became a musician. There was me before, and a me after. Still gives me chills at 48yo. Page is beyond emulation imo.
My favorite zep tune of all time. Bought the third album and played it through then came back to this tune and I must have played it 15 times in a row just blown away by the song - Plants voice - the organ - Everything about it. A masterpiece. I remember I worked for a classically trained musician for a number of years. A guy that played in the LA Phil for many years and considered himself a true connoisseur of the blues having been born in Naw Linz and growing up in an area steeped in blues. I played this song for him one day and he was mesmerized by it and asked me to play it again 5 more times for him before he asked who the band even was. He then stated it was the finest example of the blues he had ever heard. I agree with him.
I remember thinking that Page was always a bit off. Then I realized he was consistent with it and it was all intentional. That moved me to complete awe of this artist.
I saw Page with Yardbirds in Tampa.. As a youngster I was floored by the raw, dynamics of his playing. I couldn't believe what I was seeing/hearing. 1st song Train kept Rolling. Several months later Zep small club Miami Communication Breakdown. I am 70 and saw all the great ones.Early Jimmy Page was the greatest guitar player I ever saw.
The dynamics he employs in "Since I've been loving you" are the most 'human voice-like' I think he ever got. Great topic, really needs to be understood better by lots of musicians that unknowingly strip the emotional life from their playing by being too precise and technical. Too much over-producing from the board can really flatten out the richness in a player's tracks as well. To me personally, I've always felt the most perfect meeting between precise playing and that loose, organic, emotional tone has always been the main guitar voice in "Reeling in the years".
Sloppy really means bad, if it's used in a meaningful sense. Is Led Zeppelin bad? Are all those great riffs bad actually? Was Led Zeppelin bad live? I mean these are kind of silly questions. The thing about guitar is, if you get much better than Page you get more and more stiff and boring. I won't name names but I see many great players, some with signature models and some just playing on social media, that have no charisma and just aren't interesting to watch. So in a more meaningful way, I think 'good' and 'bad' is intuitively to most people about things like creativity, feel, diversity, and a sense of tunes, writing memorable stuff. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You is easy to play, but no one else could've played it the way Page did. It just sounded so cool. He's able to put his whole personality into riffs. There are lots of nobodies who are far better better in some way or another than guys like Page or John Frusciante, but they're not half as compelling to listen to, and their songs aren't very good and their playing isn't immediately distinguishable from others.
@@guyincognito320 Very well said. You think about all the guitar players that are considered great like the two Joe’s the Steve and even the Jeff. And I don’t know any of their songs. None of them have a Kashmir or stairway to Heaven or when the Levee breaks, no Quarter, in the light, 10 years gone I can keep going and going.
I recently went back and listened to Blow by Blow, and it just doesn’t grab me the way all Zeppelin albums do. I didn’t finish side 1. I remember the same feeling back in college in the ‘70s. I tried to understand all the hype, I really did, but the music just didn’t pull those emotional strings. Now Page’s guitar? Since I’ve Been Loving You? Oh man!
I'm glad that I'm not the only one who deeply appreciates Since I've Been Loving You! I am a bit younger, this was released the year the year I was born, so I am not as deeply educated on the original blues giants that influenced Page and his contemporary British invasion bands. But this song just slays me to the core. Without question, I put in the top ten of greatest blues songs of all time (more than 100 years), for me personally, I put in top 5 or top 3! And I don't even consider Led Zep a true, pure blues band! They always mixed British folk, Indian modal, Blues, and the more intense beginnings of hard rock or heavy metal. Right from the first album. And the further irony is that this is on their "acoustic" third album.
In the loose-ness, the irreverence, we hear the sound of the guitar and the amps in a glorious way unlike anyone else, fully captured and awesome. Tim, this is a great episode man!
Still my favourite Led Zep song. The way he switches to the bridge pickup soloing over the turnaround straight after a quiet section - so explosive and emotional!
when it comes to Jimmy and Zeppelin everybody talks about stairway and whole Lotta love but I'll always keep saying 'since I've been loving you' is his best work ever
Jeez Louise, I love Tim’s phrasing. He definitely observes the attitude, allows for his own emotions to guide his playing, and totally makes this his own. I love to hear Tim Pierce play as much as any other guitar hero. Thank you so much for posting this, Tim.
I loved your terminology. It is not sloppy, it is loose. Page always had a flow to his playing. I love how he goes out of time & control then snaps you back in with precision. Stretching the notes has a sound and feel that is the purest form of guitar playing. Incredible session.
I've been accused by lay people of playing something out of time or wrong or sloppy when I was very precisely playing polyrhythms. Whatever you play, it is "precisely" something if you analyze it. It just may not be what someone is accustomed to. But playing with time is something I always feel is essential.
From the memoirs on Beethoven's playing that I have read, a similar conclusion emerges: he often put the wrong fingers in his improvisation, but at once the expression and direction of this improvisation were formed ( although with some mistakes)
So many people try to cover or emulate Jimmy Page these days and I'm loving it. Tim you have the magic that others don't have... you Feel the music AND you have great timing - you're not just a technical guitar guy, although I have to say your supportive equipment is impressive. Thanks for sharing
Sorry I missed the live stream. I love SIR Page but, I do have a question for you. Do you ever put your guitar down? I am convinced you do not, nor do you ever leave your starship enterprise bridge because I can see no way in or out, it's just you surrounded by all this awesome gear. Love you man, you are awesome.
And maybe that's a poopoo/peepee chair? Talk about convenience! Tim's great! Love these vids. OTOH, I started out loving Beato's vids, but then it felt, to me, that he is trying to hard to create content, just for the sake of getting more of it out. My apologies to all I may offend (not that my opinion means jack), but I think Beato is kissing so many butts in the interest of not offending anyone, as well as staying relevant in today's music world. I miss the raw, visceral impact of Jimmy, Jimi, Pete, EVH, and so many more. The meandering thoughts of a cranky old man and guitarist who still adores the guitar like never before.
@Whasa Matta Ritchie Blackmore met a young Jimmy Page.. Blackmore said " I met him in 1962, he was playing a Gretsch. I knew he was going to be 'somebody' then. Not only was he a good guitar player. He had that "Star Quality"
Page smokes them all, in my opinion. The versatility, compositions, arrangements, production, the guts and grace and grit and groove and abandon. There's a reason that Zeppelin stands above the others, and one of those reasons is Sir Jimmy Page. As a band they could give fuck all about clean, in time, in tune (--within reason)--- they made music as it happens, not how it's scientifically designed but how it feels. That's no diss on theory or metronomes etc. but after you've done your homework you have to remember to show up for the music in the air and then play together. Music isn't really about cents or grids or flawlessness, it's about the song, the piece, the expression, the story, the communication and connection. Page and Zeppelin in spades.
Very true. While I think Page is a much better acoustic guitar player because of the sloppiness of his electric playing, you hit the nail on the head. Real music is about emotion, not perfection. In fact, the imperfections are what makes it good.
A guy I used to know said "His greatest experience and worst experience at a concert was Led Zep.". Early years yes, later years no. My favorite band. The reason I picked up the guitar in the first place.
A mon sens "since i've been loving you " est le morceau le plus puissant dans l'univers de blues. Votre interprétation était superbe, merci de partager votre travail, vous êtes un prodige de la guitare.
I never understand the "sloppy" label about Page. There is no doubt in my mind he could play every note perfect if he wanted to. His whole thing was to create a series of memorable moments that caught the attention of the listener and playing loose in a tight structure created by the bass and drums. Oddly Plant did the same thing as a vocalist, he had all kinds of imperfections in his voice. Yet he is concidered a great singer. Page was a virtuoso who wasn't afraid to take risks.
I don't get it either. I think his "whole thing" was to be explorative. He was playing, in the full sense of "play". He played with time, played with sound/tone, played with attitude. Tried to go somewhere, tell a story. To me all these things seem so natural and obvious; what else are you making music for? Page is on a short list of having that sensibility to an excellent degree. To my mind Zappa is the quintessential example.
He was the best for sure! But. In the latter days live he was sloppy most likely because of his heroin use. That’s why people say it. He was sloppy live. Dreadful actually. Drugs of course are very good at removing skill.
Listen to heartbreaker solo isolated. Sounds like sloppy shite played by a 14 year old newbie. Yet in the mix of the the song it sounds amazing, dangerous and beautiful. Page was sloppy but understood that by taking a more relaxed approach to playing, by not trying too hard to fret everything right but just play as it comes, you would get an amazing sound. He could also be tight if he chose, he was a studio musician early in his career after all, he just rarely did.
It's great to read everyone's JP story. I went from being forced to practice my guitar lesson, to cutting school and practicing 8-hrs/day after seeing TSRS -MSG movie in 7th grade. I never knew anyone could play an instrument like that. JP is my favorite! Obviously, other greats as well. We used to call him "controlled slop." But nothing sloppy at TSRS concert. Since I've Been Loving You is my overall favorite song by LZ. Anyhow at 60 yrs old I still pay guitar and currently a Bass player in a horn band: Chicago, Steely, Dan, etc. Keep on Rockin'! Ohhh, and great job Tim on your playing and break-down of Jimmy, truly a great video!
Excellent Tim, I'm down with anything Pagey!!!! Growing up I was always more impressed with Jimmy's emotional content and "sloopiness" as compared to any technically perfect players!! Cheers mate!!!
I've been playing for many years and play in many different genres and styles, but there is no one like Page. His compositional skills are second to none and ability to gain and maintain interest via lead, chords, riffs is like no other. Aurally, he's the most interesting guitarist I know of.
Once I saw Jimmy Page cast a spell on a stadium of people. He had whipped the whole crowd up into a frenzy and then he played Stairway to Heaven solo on a 12 string acoustic. After that it was dead silent and everyone just quietly filed out. If the place was on fire you couldn't have cleared it out faster. So you could say he gained and maintained control on his audience.
I always liked Led Zeppelin, but when I was a young pup, learning guitar back in 1979, I also liked the precision players, because it made more sense to me when I was learning. After a few years, I grew to really LOVE Led Zeppelin because of Jimmy's irreverence to time, and breaking the rules. It's just brilliant, like a great artist coloring outside of the lines!
I have a theory about Jimmy’s “sloppy” playing - often it was his live playing and I think a big part of it was the fact that his guitar hung down around his knees. He has very large hands so he’s able to do that, but the lower that guitar hangs, the more difficult it is to be precise and play clean. I’m guessing in the studio he was sitting a lot of the time.
Good observation. In their earlier live shows and acoustic songs, Page played sitting down for a larger proportion of the show and the playing is always perfect.
I learned the loose technical approach to guitar playing from Neil Young and Jimmy Hendrix. As long as you stay in time, you can get away with murder, especially playing with a lot of gain and distortion and delay. Page is another great example though. What all three share is that they are composers first, guitarists second. I learned that distinction from studying Classical and Jazz. While I appreciate virtuosity, what really advances an artform is composition. We remember great composers because they come to represent some aspect of their time, place and culture which is both unique, timeless and universal. Virtuoso performers master their instruments technically, and the best show stunning insight into the compositions they recite, and in the case of Jazz, embellish through improvisation. But I also learned from classical and jazz music culture - and later heavy metal rock - that virtuosity and it's worship can devolve into a snobbish cult that ignores or even denigrates passion and pathos in favor of Platonic perfection, speed, and efficiency. That's where the utility of an iconoclastic movement like Punk comes in, and pisses all over the wankers, reminding everyone that music is fundamentally about human EMOTION, and human emotion isn't perfect - it's messy AF. 😉
So true… It is incredible to WATCH a virtuoso going to town on a guitar, it can be mind boggling. But to LISTEN, classic players like Page etc reign supreme. Neil Young is my hero, a unique guitarist and no one sounds like him 👌🏻
With Jimmy it was everything...he was King of Kings. In addition, i've never heard anyone who plays like he did with Zeppelin. I was lucky to have seen them twice.
The question for me will always be "what would Hendrix be playing today if he had lived ?" And "how crazy would it have been if Hendrix and Page had jammed ?"
If he lived today? I always imagined he'd be done with rock , gone on to master free jazz beyond anything we'd ever heard. ..and Quincy Jones and Rick Rubin would be outa a job because Jimi would have been the greatest producer music has ever known ...just my thoughts
Dang Tim! No one hits the tones better on everything out there than you cause you are the king himself in the way you play first and foremost. Blown away time after time. Thank you x fractal infinity. You make us all so much better. Cheers
Great Rock and Blues music is not about clinical perfection. It has a soul all its own. Loose is the word. People who say Page is sloppy are just plain jealous. The man knew how to make it happen. Zeppelin showed the old Blues masters how their great music could be enhanced.
Your SC is freaking B E A U T I F U L!! And that run at 1:11! (Whoah - someone grab a fire-extinguisher!!) But I'm sure you could make a broom-with a string tied to the end sound like gold! Thank you so much, Tim!!
Love every single video. I’m 69, still doing gigs, still learning, hopefully still improving, never be at this level unfortunately. Had too many bad habits early days, and played rhythm only for too long
If music makes you feel something that’s what’s it’s all about and that is the magic. Jimmy Page is the master at just that. I get nothing from some of the amazing and technically proficient guitar players. Life isn’t perfect and neither is great music in my opinion.
With Jimmy Page it feels like the overall vibe or effect is the real thing that comes across. The way he orchestrated parts in the studio for sure. His improvisations same kind of thing, it's not about precision it's about exploring all these interesting places. Loved the studio shots of all the gear.
Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi… these are people that get put up against Jimmy Page a lot of times and for good reason. Obviously, Clapton and Beck get on with the comparison because of the their tenure in The Yard Birds. Clapton, Beck, and Page are all big blues players also. Clapton being the most traditional. Then you have David Gilmour. And like Jimmy Page he is known for his phrasing. Both have made such ear-catching guitar solos mostly thru improv in the studio. Big difference though, Jimmy Page still puts so much more fresh improv in his performances while Gilmour tends to stick with composition as recorded. Nothing wrong with that of course. Then there is Tony Iommi. Arguably, Iommi might be the better riff maker. It’s definitely debatable and no disrespect to the other by saying one is better than the other. The bigger difference is that Jimmy Page’s riffs are composed with a lot more sonic intuition. String bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, fret slides, and other slurring methods are all compositional elements of his riff phrasing. Even his vibrato on certain notes are paramount. Most Zeppelin riffs require you to just play like Page to perform it. That’s possibly why so many people are influenced by Led Zeppelin because you can’t help it. If you’ve played any of Zeppelin’s hits you’ve learned to handle some part of Page’s playing style. Then I have to end with the comparison of Page and Beck. Really, there is no comparison. Beck has rewritten his style several times over. He has evolved into such an emotional and unimitatable player. The only comparison: both players will help you unlock your own potential by attempting to do what they do. But I digress. We are talking about why Jimmy Page is great.
He was such a feeling player. He felt every note but he also knows theory. If it feels good do it and forget theory and signature. He was a genius. Great lesson Mr Pierce. Thanks so very much for the lesson.
I think jimmy page is the next level after learning to play perfect. I don’t think you can play like that until after you know what perfect playing is.
Amazing Lesson from Tim! Thank you Tim ... Pages 'Slop' was Texture much like a Van Gogh Painting . The Microtones, Grace notes , rhythmic swagger etc ,make him impossible to replicate and creates the art (albeit Tim does a fantastic job!) Its not intended to be "Surgically Precise" I have a friend who paints with such 'Surgical Precision' its virtually impossible to tell from a photogragh.. That does not make him as great as Van Gogh.... For Tone Chasers I replicate the 1973 TSRTS tone on my channel using the UNBALANCED pickup set Page used Post May 1972.
My 2 cents.... As Tim noted, Page is a master composer, could readily track "perfect" lines were that his desire. But Page lets loose and flies with emotion and plays to the core of the song. Together the composition matched with the eclecticism of his lead work takes on and builds massive song sculptures of magical proportions. I cannot think of any other who has done it so well. Of course Plant, Bonham and especially Jones added to and helped bring Pages work to full fruition. This took Zeppelin's work beyond what others were creating in the day.
Did anyone see Rick Beato's "What if EVH played the Stairway solo" video? If there is a theoretical "better" version of the classic Zeppelin solos floating around out there somewhere, then I truly believe it lies beyond the grasp of most humans. If you had a contest to see who could execute different solos for, say Stairway vs Eruption, I think there would be a million versions of Eruption that would be at the very least interesting, but nothing could improve on the existing Stairway solo (most if not all would sound weird and wrong). I think Comfortably Numb would also be much easier to improvise on than Stairway, and I've also heard very passable and interesting improvising on Hendrix's work, but I've never heard anyone do Page and sound close. His orbit is like Pluto
Another lesson is also to be aware of an artist's roots to understand what his work is made of, where it comes from on a culture point of view. Jimmy Page case is so interesting (as Clapton, Beck & other british guitarist from the 50/60's). He actually explains it perfectly in the documentary It Might Get Loud. Understanding what we are listening to it's adding another layer to our knowledge. Curiosity is the key.
Jimmy’s philosophy was to be true to himself rather than imitate the American black blues players whom he admired and had learned so much from. He stepped into his own shoes and found his own brilliance.
Page plays very impressionistically. He was a trained artist, and I wonder if that mindset of Impressionism transcended painting into guitar. I love the penultimate lick in the “Stairway To Heaven” solo, that starts with F# over Fmaj7, bends up, and sounds fucking amazing.
I've heard Page play badly when he'd obviously been awake for 4 days straight on smack, cocaine and Jack Daniels but I have also heard him play the most moving, brilliant and emotionally charged guitar solos and riffs I've ever heard. Nobody could capture the mood of a song with a solo like him . To me he's one of the few true geniuses in rock. His versatility is also something that sets him apart. He could create songs in several different styles.
name 1 guitarist who did not play badly at one time or another.
@@mrcreepers Orville Livingston of Harrodsburg , Kentucky
@@Cincinnatus1869 wrong, December, 1980 at Lonnies bar and grill, lick number 74 of 348. Actually!!!
Just glad he survived. Even if he never records again. He is the keeper of the flame for Led Zeppelin and all the great work that they did, no matter how much Plant disavows it.
@Three Six Nine EVH?
Jimmy was a studio guy. He COULD do 'perfection'. But, as he once said, "Technique doesn't come into it. I deal in emotions." Jimmy was a MASTER of tapping into the subconscious of his audience.
100% I have many Page Guitar Magazine interviews.
too true. Where is that approach today?
Jimmy was a studio guy and a live guy. This comes from having listened to scores of bootlegs over the last 45 years.
great In studio but one of the greatest preforming guitarist ever. captivating live
SEKriever: Yes, I would agree with what you said about Page's riffs and motifs. I also agree that he's what got me into guitar--i learned to play Brauny-aure (SIC, I know) by repositioning the turntable needle on the album over & over, lol. But eventually, I got it note for note.
Nowadays, I have many others who inspire me, including Tim Pierce.
I gotta say, even though I learn by ear and pick up things pretty quick, I'm absolutely NO competition for Tim, and the things he "learns" to play are WAAAAAY outa my ballpark! He'll sit down and play "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan, I can't play that, I'll bet it took him a quarter hour tops, the first time he ever tried it, to nail it.
But, I'm getting better! Just nowhere near Tim it any of those guys....
You know what’s REALLY amazing about “Since”?… it’s that JPJ is playing organ but also bass pedals WITH HIS FEET, at the SAME TIME. F*cking LEGEND!!!!
That's how you play the organ! But yes he played an incredible bass line in top of his great organ licks. He is a master
JPJ is a genius multi instrumentalist, Led Zeps not so secret weapon!
I've said it on many occasions:
Bonzo is the greatest drummer in rock.
Page is one of the greatest guitarists of any genre.
Plant is the archetypal front man.
JPJ is the best musician in LZ, and despite Page's direction and production, the one most responsible for their sound.
In all the best bands, the bass player was the best musician.
Jonesy- the silent assassin
@@godeplatformyourself7108
That's funny! I'll bet you're a bass player.
Jimmy Page got me playing guitar. Sloppy or not, he always touches me, he's written dozens of riffs that everybody knows.There are guitarists with 'better' technique(EVH), others 'perhaps' are better at the blues (Clapton), but if I could magically get the abilities of any guitarist I'd choose Jimmy Page.
Never sloppy..loose
Good sloppy, I hate totally perfect.
me too
I didn't know Clapton was better at the blues...
Perfect time is for dance songs. He played god level blues and rock and roll, which would sound terrible with no groove or pocket.
Imagine a guy playing an electric guitar while riding on a surfboard. That's Jimmy Page. It's not sloppy. It's going with the sometimes unexpected flow.
Well Said.
I've called it sloppy all my life. I'm un-learning that.
Great!
Beautiful analogy.
Like Buzz Lightyear! Falling with style
“Oh, my tears they fell like rain”
I worked in a video store when I was 17 and every night when cleaning up before close I would crank this song on the store sound system with no one around. My favourite Zep song ever. I don’t say that lightly there are so many bad ass songs. Since I’ve been loving you and comfortably numb made me pick up a guitar!
Music is life.
Jimmy Page is from another galaxy. No one I've ever heard approaches the guitar like he does.
No two persons approach the guitar the same way.
I have to agree, greatest comment about Pagey CHEERS
I used to be like that- more into Jeff Beck now.
...exactly (apart from Hendrix)
@@nlumby Hendrix and Page are from 2 distant galleries the similarities are few and far between. Jimmy combined single note lines and power chords. Hendrix didn’t even play power chords he had his thumb where the index would be played lots of double stop rhythms from another universe. Jeff Beck- when most these guys had retired he was still evolving and improving and is never held back by age. He has discovered the secret to reversing aging is one part guitar one part fixing cars.
Jimmy had studied a lot of styles of music, from classical to East Indian. He could also play different instruments, so when he performed some of his solos, he would incorporate different structures and tunings that most rock players didn't even have a clue about. A real genius.
I viewed Jimmy as a god when I was learning how to play. Now that I'm in my mid sixties, with thousands of gigs played through my lifetime, I appreciate him even more.
DADGAD
@@juanvaldez5422 that was one of many alternate tunings Pagey used
@@Bob-of-Zoid no one said Jimmy invented anything. You just sound like a complete pain in the ass to be around. You're one of those guys that has nothing nice to say about anything unless it was something you brought up yourself. Why bother with commenting on this video since it's clearly beneath your musical tastes?
@@Mang213 While I can see where you're coming from, I think this person is just trying to bring more knowledge to the table, which is a good thing if it's something you're interested in. But it's the internet - you don't have to digest it if you don't want.
Holy Cow, Tim. Everyone has their own favorite kind of music, but that opening solo work was the BEST stuff I’ve heard you play so far. Rock. On!
@@564df6g5h4d6f5g4h6d5 it also seemed a tad ego stroking and showmanship to me
It was 👍
Yeah baby. It's okay to show off if you are good. If you are one of 3 guitarist who invented the sounds of the 80's and 90's, it's okay to show off.
Love how Page at times makes it sound like he's about to go off the rails entirely. The solo in Communication Breakdown comes to mind. So much more exciting than clinical precision. I wonder why we find it more compelling with a touch of chaos. It's fascinating how sensitive humans are to little touches of disorder, like when Bonham and Jones play behind the beat ever so slightly.
Bonham is the best behind the beat drummer ever. Since I've Been Loving You, and Tea For One are just the best. And to say that Page was sloppy is not giving the guy props for his arrangements. And his acoustic work is unparalleled.
Exactly how I feel about Hendrix. His live playing was so often right on the edge of train wreck, but somehow managing to save it. That’s what made his playing so damned exciting
@@stampy990
I still shake my head at For Your Life off Presnce. Bonham is so far behind the beat on the bridgey bit, and yet still pulls it onto the beat. Absolutely brilliant.
@@brendanpmaclean Totally. Presence doesn’t get the same notoriety that other albums get. I love them all for different reasons.
As far as I can tell it’s an acquired taste. Modern guitar and music in general is essentially perfect. A lot of the youth do not like songs like this due to its imperfections and obviously it’s not upbeat like they are used to.
It's really simple, but somehow it's taken me years to figure it out. There is an emotional honesty about Page's playing that I connect with. I've watched more than my share of shredders play thousands of great licks...perfectly. Great, you've been practicing, but it doesn't tell me what you feel.
So many great players overlook what might be the most important thing about music; telling a story. Jimmy Page communicates emotion with his instrument, which is a powerful thing.
My 2 cents: The 'secret' to true virtuosity is to know your instrument well enough that you can play it with 'reckless abandon'. That's the point where *your* 'voice' and *your* 'personality' come through the instrument. Music isn't about 'musicianship', it's about communication. Does the listener 'hear' what you're 'saying' through your instrument?
Playing 30 minutes of dazed and confused live in concert, i’m sure there were points in the song where
they didnt have a precise roadmap, but they improvised and jammed their hearts out! Totally 1970s. Totally awesome!
I've always considered Jimmy's solos as Sloppy Genius. Most of the old-school blues guys weren't known for their perfect playing. They were known for the emotion they showed in their playing. It's showing humanity. We're imperfect beings. That's why the music is so easy to relate to still after over 40 years.
True but he was never sloppy in the studio.
@@nickv4073 very few are because they can record inumerous takes.
To me what separates good guitar players from the great ones is what they can produce with their talent. Page isn’t the most technical but he’s probably the best composer ever, Cobain was considered a bad guitar player but he composed guitar tracks and riffs no one could. You never think about Pete Townshend being a guitar god but if you look at him as a composer he’s basically a top 5 ever.
So True. Buddy Guy comes to mind. Listen to his album 'Stone Crazy'. It's got to be some of the most impassioned playing he ever recorded - and it sure isn't technically 'clean'. In fact, it can be gloriously chaotic. A lot of it actually sounds quite similar to Mr. Page's playing!
@@mojo-hand4539 is Stone Crazy an album or a song? I can’t find any album of that name. Some great playing on his album Sweet Tea as well 👌🏻 Absolute top player
One of the things I've always admired most about Page was his ability to make imperfection sound impeccable.
Tim, in general I love your playing, but your chops on this video are Next Level. You sound really inspired here. I really enjoyed this. 💜
Don’t encourage him. Thanks.
Just my two cents here: I don't think of Page so much as sloppy; I think of him as playing very emotionally, directly from the soul and heart (and not from his head). Also, to me, it sounds like he's having a conversation with himself, such as: "I don't know (quiet)...should I do THIS (loud) or that (quiet)...or should I do THIS (loud) or THISSSSS (digs in)..." "Soft" and "loud" come from his feelings at that very moment he is playing, which can change at will. Emotions go up and down or less intense/more intense, which is velocity. And that velocity - how loud or soft he playsing - is generated by his heart and his soul right at the moment he is playing. I never hear him playing from his head like a lot of guitarists, such as those in prog rock (for the record, I love prog rock). It's just a different style. He doesn't have "clean hands." Perhaps it's as simple as defining it in terms of the blues/pain or NOT the blues. Also, when he improvs, I love it when he'll just launch out of 4/4 and into free time outer space and just go OUT there improvising and having that "conversation" with himself and then fly in back into the song's time signature after 8 or 16 bars. Love that. Page was my main influence in life, as a musician and composer/arranger. I relate very much to his intense emotion (velocity/hard-soft), whether it be quiet, dissonant and ethereal or bad ass sublime coolness and spanking the plank. It just doesn't get any cooler. Just my two cents.
2 cents? That was almost a nickle..
I agree.
Can't figure out if I like his virtuoso playing or his sheer joy the most.
All without looking at the neck!
I loved the way they recorded Since I've Been Living You. Everything is mic'd up so clean and close. You can hear the mechanics of Pages fingers on the fretboard, his pick against the trings, his volume knob being turned up. You can even hear Bonhams kick drum sqeaking.
Great lesson Tim. But sadly, I'm in my 50's and if Jimmy Page plays like a teenager, I play like a toddler.🤗😉😁
Ditto.
I was 13 years old when I first heard 'Since I've Been Loving You'. In the split second of silence at the end of the guitar solo I was struck by a [metaphorical] lightning bolt and became a musician. There was me before, and a me after. Still gives me chills at 48yo. Page is beyond emulation imo.
I still listen to their studio albums after 40-50 years. Still some of the best.
Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd are up there, but Zeppelin still rules.
I love the joy you Exude when you play; the smile of complete joy. Magical.
My favorite zep tune of all time. Bought the third album and played it through then came back to this tune and I must have played it 15 times in a row just blown away by the song - Plants voice - the organ - Everything about it. A masterpiece. I remember I worked for a classically trained musician for a number of years. A guy that played in the LA Phil for many years and considered himself a true connoisseur of the blues having been born in Naw Linz and growing up in an area steeped in blues. I played this song for him one day and he was mesmerized by it and asked me to play it again 5 more times for him before he asked who the band even was. He then stated it was the finest example of the blues he had ever heard. I agree with him.
Great comment ! thank you so much
I remember thinking that Page was always a bit off. Then I realized he was consistent with it and it was all intentional. That moved me to complete awe of this artist.
I saw Page with Yardbirds in Tampa.. As a youngster I was floored by the raw, dynamics of his playing. I couldn't believe what I was seeing/hearing. 1st song Train kept Rolling. Several months later Zep small club Miami Communication Breakdown. I am 70 and saw all the great ones.Early Jimmy Page was the greatest guitar player I ever saw.
Wow. You are are very lucky man. I was born in 68, never got to see them live, but they've been my favorite band for about 40 years now.
The “Presence “ album is my favorite because it was produced under the gun in about 2 weeks, and is filled with those moments.
I agree, It’s fantastic isn’t it.
The dynamics he employs in "Since I've been loving you" are the most 'human voice-like' I think he ever got. Great topic, really needs to be understood better by lots of musicians that unknowingly strip the emotional life from their playing by being too precise and technical. Too much over-producing from the board can really flatten out the richness in a player's tracks as well. To me personally, I've always felt the most perfect meeting between precise playing and that loose, organic, emotional tone has always been the main guitar voice in "Reeling in the years".
Page isn’t sloppy he’s (sometimes) loose and that’s what the blues has always been about.
Sloppy really means bad, if it's used in a meaningful sense. Is Led Zeppelin bad? Are all those great riffs bad actually? Was Led Zeppelin bad live? I mean these are kind of silly questions. The thing about guitar is, if you get much better than Page you get more and more stiff and boring. I won't name names but I see many great players, some with signature models and some just playing on social media, that have no charisma and just aren't interesting to watch. So in a more meaningful way, I think 'good' and 'bad' is intuitively to most people about things like creativity, feel, diversity, and a sense of tunes, writing memorable stuff. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You is easy to play, but no one else could've played it the way Page did. It just sounded so cool. He's able to put his whole personality into riffs. There are lots of nobodies who are far better better in some way or another than guys like Page or John Frusciante, but they're not half as compelling to listen to, and their songs aren't very good and their playing isn't immediately distinguishable from others.
@@guyincognito320 Very well said. You think about all the guitar players that are considered great like the two Joe’s the Steve and even the Jeff. And I don’t know any of their songs. None of them have a Kashmir or stairway to Heaven or when the Levee breaks, no Quarter, in the light, 10 years gone I can keep going and going.
I recently went back and listened to Blow by Blow, and it just doesn’t grab me the way all Zeppelin albums do. I didn’t finish side 1. I remember the same feeling back in college in the ‘70s. I tried to understand all the hype, I really did, but the music just didn’t pull those emotional strings. Now Page’s guitar? Since I’ve Been Loving You? Oh man!
Ten Years Gone solos get me every time. Every single time.
I'm glad that I'm not the only one who deeply appreciates Since I've Been Loving You! I am a bit younger, this was released the year the year I was born, so I am not as deeply educated on the original blues giants that influenced Page and his contemporary British invasion bands. But this song just slays me to the core. Without question, I put in the top ten of greatest blues songs of all time (more than 100 years), for me personally, I put in top 5 or top 3!
And I don't even consider Led Zep a true, pure blues band! They always mixed British folk, Indian modal, Blues, and the more intense beginnings of hard rock or heavy metal. Right from the first album.
And the further irony is that this is on their "acoustic" third album.
In the loose-ness, the irreverence, we hear the sound of the guitar and the amps in a glorious way unlike anyone else, fully captured and awesome. Tim, this is a great episode man!
Still my favourite Led Zep song. The way he switches to the bridge pickup soloing over the turnaround straight after a quiet section - so explosive and emotional!
Great stuff! I always preferred Page's raw but perfect imperfection over the safer sounding Clapton.
Jimmy is my favorite for so many reasons. All I can say is, his playing style connects more with me and my personality than any other guitar player
when it comes to Jimmy and Zeppelin everybody talks about stairway and whole Lotta love but I'll always keep saying 'since I've been loving you' is his best work ever
Jimmy Page’s riffs were the first I learned as a young player back in the early 80’s. Zeppelin II was especially instrumental in my ear training.
Jeez Louise, I love Tim’s phrasing. He definitely observes the attitude, allows for his own emotions to guide his playing, and totally makes this his own. I love to hear Tim Pierce play as much as any other guitar hero. Thank you so much for posting this, Tim.
I loved your terminology. It is not sloppy, it is loose. Page always had a flow to his playing. I love how he goes out of time & control then snaps you back in with precision. Stretching the notes has a sound and feel that is the purest form of guitar playing. Incredible session.
I've been accused by lay people of playing something out of time or wrong or sloppy when I was very precisely playing polyrhythms. Whatever you play, it is "precisely" something if you analyze it. It just may not be what someone is accustomed to. But playing with time is something I always feel is essential.
From the memoirs on Beethoven's playing that I have read, a similar conclusion emerges: he often put the wrong fingers in his improvisation, but at once the expression and direction of this improvisation were formed ( although with some mistakes)
I always loved how Jimmy played behind the beat.
The most by me loved music of Jimmy Page is his Chopin Prelude no. 4
So many people try to cover or emulate Jimmy Page these days and I'm loving it. Tim you have the magic that others don't have... you Feel the music AND you have great timing - you're not just a technical guitar guy, although I have to say your supportive equipment is impressive. Thanks for sharing
Man thank you so much for the kind words I appreciate it
Sorry I missed the live stream. I love SIR Page but, I do have a question for you.
Do you ever put your guitar down?
I am convinced you do not, nor do you ever leave your starship enterprise bridge because I can see no way in or out, it's just you surrounded by all this awesome gear.
Love you man, you are awesome.
😄 That made me laugh. Is there even a window 😄
And maybe that's a poopoo/peepee chair? Talk about convenience!
Tim's great! Love these vids. OTOH, I started out loving Beato's vids, but then it felt, to me, that he is trying to hard to create content, just for the sake of getting more of it out.
My apologies to all I may offend (not that my opinion means jack), but I think Beato is kissing so many butts in the interest of not offending anyone, as well as staying relevant in today's music world. I miss the raw, visceral impact of Jimmy, Jimi, Pete, EVH, and so many more.
The meandering thoughts of a cranky old man and guitarist who still adores the guitar like never before.
I love how Tim doesn't try to sound exactly like Page, he gets close yet instills his own style and technique.
Tim is such a thrill to watch. Pure joy emotes from him. So inspirational. One of the very best on the planet.
Jimmy was the top session guitarist in London, after only playing guitar for five years. That is a God-given talent.
I’ve been playing for 25 years and nothing like that level. I need to go with Robert Johnson and go down the the crossroads.
@Whasa Matta Yeah, I love that interview. He said he was only doing guitar sessions to pay for art school. He wanted to be a painter.
@@DanielGlenTimms Joni Mitchell wanted to be a painter too. She was studying art in Calgary.
@Whasa Matta Ritchie Blackmore met a young Jimmy Page.. Blackmore said " I met him in 1962, he was playing a Gretsch. I knew he was going to be 'somebody' then. Not only was he a good guitar player. He had that "Star Quality"
I think Big Jim Sullivan was the top session player. Jimmy was right there with him, though.
Page smokes them all, in my opinion. The versatility, compositions, arrangements, production, the guts and grace and grit and groove and abandon. There's a reason that Zeppelin stands above the others, and one of those reasons is Sir Jimmy Page. As a band they could give fuck all about clean, in time, in tune (--within reason)--- they made music as it happens, not how it's scientifically designed but how it feels. That's no diss on theory or metronomes etc. but after you've done your homework you have to remember to show up for the music in the air and then play together. Music isn't really about cents or grids or flawlessness, it's about the song, the piece, the expression, the story, the communication and connection. Page and Zeppelin in spades.
JP hasn't been Knighted, though he absolutely should be (or better still a Lord). He is however an OBE (order of the British Empire).
I don't care if he's Elizabeth's knight, he's a Knight of the Rock Realm. But, Lillibet should get around to knighting him...
A FUCKING RIGHT!!!!!
Very true. While I think Page is a much better acoustic guitar player because of the sloppiness of his electric playing, you hit the nail on the head. Real music is about emotion, not perfection. In fact, the imperfections are what makes it good.
A guy I used to know said "His greatest experience and worst experience at a concert was Led Zep.". Early years yes, later years no. My favorite band. The reason I picked up the guitar in the first place.
A mon sens "since i've been loving you " est le morceau le plus puissant dans l'univers de blues. Votre interprétation était superbe, merci de partager votre travail, vous êtes un prodige de la guitare.
I never understand the "sloppy" label about Page. There is no doubt in my mind he could play every note perfect if he wanted to. His whole thing was to create a series of memorable moments that caught the attention of the listener and playing loose in a tight structure created by the bass and drums. Oddly Plant did the same thing as a vocalist, he had all kinds of imperfections in his voice. Yet he is concidered a great singer. Page was a virtuoso who wasn't afraid to take risks.
I don't get it either. I think his "whole thing" was to be explorative. He was playing, in the full sense of "play". He played with time, played with sound/tone, played with attitude. Tried to go somewhere, tell a story. To me all these things seem so natural and obvious; what else are you making music for? Page is on a short list of having that sensibility to an excellent degree. To my mind Zappa is the quintessential example.
JP is one of my favourite guitar players ever, but in my opinion his guitar playing was at its peak in the early 70's before he got hooked on heroin.
He was the best for sure! But. In the latter days live he was sloppy most likely because of his heroin use. That’s why people say it. He was sloppy live. Dreadful actually. Drugs of course are very good at removing skill.
Some of his live stuff gets very loose. But who cares? The guys a genius guitar virtuoso.
Listen to heartbreaker solo isolated. Sounds like sloppy shite played by a 14 year old newbie. Yet in the mix of the the song it sounds amazing, dangerous and beautiful. Page was sloppy but understood that by taking a more relaxed approach to playing, by not trying too hard to fret everything right but just play as it comes, you would get an amazing sound. He could also be tight if he chose, he was a studio musician early in his career after all, he just rarely did.
It's great to read everyone's JP story. I went from being forced to practice my guitar lesson, to cutting school and practicing 8-hrs/day after seeing TSRS -MSG movie in 7th grade. I never knew anyone could play an instrument like that. JP is my favorite! Obviously, other greats as well. We used to call him "controlled slop." But nothing sloppy at TSRS concert. Since I've Been Loving You is my overall favorite song by LZ. Anyhow at 60 yrs old I still pay guitar and currently a Bass player in a horn band: Chicago, Steely, Dan, etc. Keep on Rockin'! Ohhh, and great job Tim on your playing and break-down of Jimmy, truly a great video!
Excellent Tim, I'm down with anything Pagey!!!! Growing up I was always more impressed with Jimmy's emotional content and "sloopiness" as compared to any technically perfect players!! Cheers mate!!!
Such a treat to watch and hear you playing Tim.
Even when you’re trying to play more “sloppy” is pure Precision!
I've been playing for many years and play in many different genres and styles, but there is no one like Page. His compositional skills are second to none and ability to gain and maintain interest via lead, chords, riffs is like no other. Aurally, he's the most interesting guitarist I know of.
Once I saw Jimmy Page cast a spell on a stadium of people. He had whipped the whole crowd up into a frenzy and then he played Stairway to Heaven solo on a 12 string acoustic. After that it was dead silent and everyone just quietly filed out. If the place was on fire you couldn't have cleared it out faster. So you could say he gained and maintained control on his audience.
I watch all the big guitar youtubers every day. Tim simply stands out. Tommy Bukovac and Tim. Yin and Yang. Sorry I just love this man.
This added to my appreciation of Jimmy Page, and opened my mind a bit. Thanks
I always liked Led Zeppelin, but when I was a young pup, learning guitar back in 1979, I also liked the precision players, because it made more sense to me when I was learning. After a few years, I grew to really LOVE Led Zeppelin because of Jimmy's irreverence to time, and breaking the rules. It's just brilliant, like a great artist coloring outside of the lines!
He said on the carpet at It Might Get Loud, it's Commitment, a sense of urgency, and attitude.
I have a theory about Jimmy’s “sloppy” playing - often it was his live playing and I think a big part of it was the fact that his guitar hung down around his knees. He has very large hands so he’s able to do that, but the lower that guitar hangs, the more difficult it is to be precise and play clean. I’m guessing in the studio he was sitting a lot of the time.
The bottles of JD might have had an effect on his performance also.
I think he raised it up a bit in the studio
And probably a bunch of heroin didn't help either
He shot from the hip for sure!
Good observation. In their earlier live shows and acoustic songs, Page played sitting down for a larger proportion of the show and the playing is always perfect.
I think some guitar people are not in it for the fun but to demand perfection. Thank you for speaking to the joy from your position of wisdom.
I learned the loose technical approach to guitar playing from Neil Young and Jimmy Hendrix. As long as you stay in time, you can get away with murder, especially playing with a lot of gain and distortion and delay. Page is another great example though. What all three share is that they are composers first, guitarists second. I learned that distinction from studying Classical and Jazz. While I appreciate virtuosity, what really advances an artform is composition. We remember great composers because they come to represent some aspect of their time, place and culture which is both unique, timeless and universal. Virtuoso performers master their instruments technically, and the best show stunning insight into the compositions they recite, and in the case of Jazz, embellish through improvisation. But I also learned from classical and jazz music culture - and later heavy metal rock - that virtuosity and it's worship can devolve into a snobbish cult that ignores or even denigrates passion and pathos in favor of Platonic perfection, speed, and efficiency. That's where the utility of an iconoclastic movement like Punk comes in, and pisses all over the wankers, reminding everyone that music is fundamentally about human EMOTION, and human emotion isn't perfect - it's messy AF. 😉
So true… It is incredible to WATCH a virtuoso going to town on a guitar, it can be mind boggling. But to LISTEN, classic players like Page etc reign supreme. Neil Young is my hero, a unique guitarist and no one sounds like him 👌🏻
Well said.
Yes, I'll just add that many brilliant pieces are not virtuosic at all
Holy verbal masturbation, man.
And Punk was a wart
Ah, the harmonies, creative process, swing, and tone that went into these one of a kind classics! Wonderful share. Thanks Tim! Best, Daniel
With Jimmy it was everything...he was King of Kings. In addition, i've never heard anyone who plays like he did with Zeppelin. I was lucky to have seen them twice.
My favorite blues ballad of all time and you didn't fuck it up! hahaha Tim: I love your playing. Thanx for sharing your heart and soul with us
The question for me will always be "what would Hendrix be playing today if he had lived ?" And "how crazy would it have been if Hendrix and Page had jammed ?"
I think about this often also. I wish Jimi had the chance to evolve even more
If he lived today? I always imagined he'd be done with rock , gone on to master free jazz beyond anything we'd ever heard. ..and Quincy Jones and Rick Rubin would be outa a job because Jimi would have been the greatest producer music has ever known ...just my thoughts
Dang Tim! No one hits the tones better on everything out there than you cause you are the king himself in the way you play first and foremost. Blown away time after time. Thank you x fractal infinity. You make us all so much better. Cheers
Great Rock and Blues music is not about clinical perfection. It has a soul all its own. Loose is the word. People who say Page is sloppy are just plain jealous. The man knew how to make it happen. Zeppelin showed the old Blues masters how their great music could be enhanced.
Nothing has touched me & change me more than Zeppelin did in middle & high school. Not something one can theorize why. To My Heart and Soul
5:51 one of my favorite LZ deep cuts. One of the catchiest choruses they ever wrote imo.
Don't think I have ever heard anyone but Page play this, but that was awesome! The live version off TSRTS is spine tingling.
Your SC is freaking B E A U T I F U L!! And that run at 1:11! (Whoah - someone grab a fire-extinguisher!!) But I'm sure you could make a broom-with a string tied to the end sound like gold! Thank you so much, Tim!!
Love every single video. I’m 69, still doing gigs, still learning, hopefully still improving, never be at this level unfortunately. Had too many bad habits early days, and played rhythm only for too long
If music makes you feel something that’s what’s it’s all about and that is the magic. Jimmy Page is the master at just that. I get nothing from some of the amazing and technically proficient guitar players.
Life isn’t perfect and neither is great music in my opinion.
Agree!
Nice rundown on this tune! Love your channel.
The Fool in the Rain solo is so sick. He was supposedly piss drunk through most of those times. His playing is perfect in feel. Precision is sterile.
You crushed that! Well done. Saw them in ‘77 Madison Square Garden. Some things you never forget .
I based my entire guitar style on the Jimmy Page vibe:
I tell my students, "Play a mistake 3 more times and it's a riff."
I almost came after that start up jam on "since i've been lovin u" jesus.. that was amazing
With Jimmy Page it feels like the overall vibe or effect is the real thing that comes across. The way he orchestrated parts in the studio for sure. His improvisations same kind of thing, it's not about precision it's about exploring all these interesting places. Loved the studio shots of all the gear.
Great worm
Your love of material only increases my appreciation
Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi… these are people that get put up against Jimmy Page a lot of times and for good reason. Obviously, Clapton and Beck get on with the comparison because of the their tenure in The Yard Birds. Clapton, Beck, and Page are all big blues players also. Clapton being the most traditional.
Then you have David Gilmour. And like Jimmy Page he is known for his phrasing. Both have made such ear-catching guitar solos mostly thru improv in the studio. Big difference though, Jimmy Page still puts so much more fresh improv in his performances while Gilmour tends to stick with composition as recorded. Nothing wrong with that of course.
Then there is Tony Iommi. Arguably, Iommi might be the better riff maker. It’s definitely debatable and no disrespect to the other by saying one is better than the other. The bigger difference is that Jimmy Page’s riffs are composed with a lot more sonic intuition. String bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, fret slides, and other slurring methods are all compositional elements of his riff phrasing. Even his vibrato on certain notes are paramount. Most Zeppelin riffs require you to just play like Page to perform it. That’s possibly why so many people are influenced by Led Zeppelin because you can’t help it. If you’ve played any of Zeppelin’s hits you’ve learned to handle some part of Page’s playing style.
Then I have to end with the comparison of Page and Beck. Really, there is no comparison. Beck has rewritten his style several times over. He has evolved into such an emotional and unimitatable player. The only comparison: both players will help you unlock your own potential by attempting to do what they do. But I digress. We are talking about why Jimmy Page is great.
Tim, your the best. Thanks for all your hard work you do for us.
Beautiful analysis of Jimmy's playing style!
This song always gets me in the feels.. It’s been a long time favorite that always beckons to me. Quite genius.
Jimmy secret was playing loose and up picking notes . Some have said sloppy I say GENIUS. It added Dynamics.
Yes, Absolutely a genius
He was such a feeling player. He felt every note but he also knows theory. If it feels good do it and forget theory and signature. He was a genius. Great lesson Mr Pierce. Thanks so very much for the lesson.
I think jimmy page is the next level after learning to play perfect. I don’t think you can play like that until after you know what perfect playing is.
The part in the solo where Page really starts ripping and then jumps 6-8 frets down the neck is brilliant, definitely not cookie-cutter licks.
I don’t listen to music for perfection, I listen to music to be moved… and Zeppelin moves like no other.
I love listening to you play Tim. I feel the same way about the haunting quality of the song.
Amazing Lesson from Tim! Thank you Tim ... Pages 'Slop' was Texture much like a Van Gogh Painting . The Microtones, Grace notes , rhythmic swagger etc ,make him impossible to replicate and creates the art (albeit Tim does a fantastic job!) Its not intended to be "Surgically Precise" I have a friend who paints with such 'Surgical Precision' its virtually impossible to tell from a photogragh.. That does not make him as great as Van Gogh.... For Tone Chasers I replicate the 1973 TSRTS tone on my channel using the UNBALANCED pickup set Page used Post May 1972.
Great comparison!
This is the best thing I've ever seen Tim play! Just gorgeous!
My 2 cents.... As Tim noted, Page is a master composer, could readily track "perfect" lines were that his desire. But Page lets loose and flies with emotion and plays to the core of the song. Together the composition matched with the eclecticism of his lead work takes on and builds massive song sculptures of magical proportions. I cannot think of any other who has done it so well. Of course Plant, Bonham and especially Jones added to and helped bring Pages work to full fruition. This took Zeppelin's work beyond what others were creating in the day.
I just love, how you love it. 😀
Inspirational.
Did anyone see Rick Beato's "What if EVH played the Stairway solo" video? If there is a theoretical "better" version of the classic Zeppelin solos floating around out there somewhere, then I truly believe it lies beyond the grasp of most humans. If you had a contest to see who could execute different solos for, say Stairway vs Eruption, I think there would be a million versions of Eruption that would be at the very least interesting, but nothing could improve on the existing Stairway solo (most if not all would sound weird and wrong). I think Comfortably Numb would also be much easier to improvise on than Stairway, and I've also heard very passable and interesting improvising on Hendrix's work, but I've never heard anyone do Page and sound close. His orbit is like Pluto
Mr Jimmy ?
Thank you for posting this lesson!!
Another lesson is also to be aware of an artist's roots to understand what his work is made of, where it comes from on a culture point of view. Jimmy Page case is so interesting (as Clapton, Beck & other british guitarist from the 50/60's). He actually explains it perfectly in the documentary It Might Get Loud.
Understanding what we are listening to it's adding another layer to our knowledge. Curiosity is the key.
Loved Pages playing, one of my earliest hero's! learned a TON of his music. Absolutely great playing Tim, just top notch as usual
Jimmy’s philosophy was to be true to himself rather than imitate the American black blues players whom he admired and had learned so much from. He stepped into his own shoes and found his own brilliance.
Page plays very impressionistically. He was a trained artist, and I wonder if that mindset of Impressionism transcended painting into guitar.
I love the penultimate lick in the “Stairway To Heaven” solo, that starts with F# over Fmaj7, bends up, and sounds fucking amazing.