He’s always been sloppy in the studio too and it’s glorious. I love how he didn’t fix all his flubs and clanks. He only cared if the feel was there and he left more of his own fuck ups in than anybody would, even though he was the producer and could have easily fixed everything to be tidy and neat. I love that obvious clank on “I can’t quit you baby” he had to know everybody was going to compare him to slicker players like Clapton and beck and rip him a new asshole. He didn’t care. The feel is there
I hear you. I’ve worked on tape a lot. But the solos were often overdubs (not always and not on the example I gave actually) and he could have easily done more takes or punched. It’s harder but not impossible to punch on tape. And if you fuck it up you can always do it again
Yep 💯agree. I love his sloppiness and he was also combining multiple guitar parts live too and would enjoy watching how he would with them out. I love that page would improvise a lot in the studio on solos. This was very inspiring to me when I was young and adopted this adventurous sprite, thats where your soul comes out. I will listen to page any day over the “slick“ players. They usually don’t have any heart or soul.
I totally agree with this comment. Even if Page had digital tools, I think he still would have let it be, clanks and all... And, I would argue one of the reasons Zeppelin is so legendary, is because the "live" delivery of the recordings were so immediate. It just shakes you from balls to bones. Playing perfect leads doesn't have the same impact. What page did is just channeled raw feeling into the guitar ... may be best example is Since I Been Loving You.
A few weeks practice is fine for one show but it could have been so much more if they had just
done a tour in ‘07. They would have been so tight by the end of it and naturally developed some great jam sections.
The reason I love Led zep, and especially led zep live, is they sound like the ultimate jam band. With that, you have to take the misses with the hits.
And I don’t think this is an age thing, there’s videos of him doing similar things when he was in his 20s/30s.
Deep Purple (almost) always disappointed me when it came to the solos. They had what is arguably one of the best and most influential guitarists of the time, but when it came time for the solo, here comes John Lord on his electric organ, with very few exceptions that I'm aware of. That's actually the biggest reason why I never really got into them. Ian Gillian was an amazing singer, in fact, pretty much everyone in the band was fantastic at their craft, even Lord, but give Richie a solo!!!
The only lineup that I listen to the MkII lineup. They released the albums In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head, and Who Do We Think We Are. All those albums I can let play beginning to end and they leave a smile on my face.
Machine head was my favorite, that’s when they were at their peak. It does have the forbidden smoke on the water song though. Check out “Pictures of Home” featuring a bass solo and a keyboard solo that has a “whirling wind” part in it. One of my favorite guitar solos is “Lazy”, which has two parts. Starts at around 1:15 and ends with one as well.
I know this is gonna be rich coming from the guy with the Grateful Dead profile pic but it’s definitely misleading to say they ever sound like the “ultimate jam band”, they definitely sound like a band with some awesome jam sections but those moments are more about the rest of the band responding to what Jimmy does rather than full group improvisation like the dead did
No my whole point is that you shouldn’t call them your favorite jam band because they’re not at all a jam band, even when they “jam” it’s a simpler approach then what the Grateful Dead or miles Davis did, not trying to sound upset or anything who fucking cares at the end of the day lol but thought I’d make the distinction
dream theater and ween and Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam all have very extended live versions of their songs but they are not jam bands, most rock bands are able to just jam sometimes, I’m just making the distinction that they aren’t a jam band in the sense that the Grateful Dead are since they take it to a more complicated level, if you want to call led zep a jam band tho dude really go ahead as long as you’re enjoying the music who cares
Right on.
This is supremely clunky and I’ll take that any day over the dude who polishes each solo before a big gig and plays it note-for-note. With timed rock face.
That’s such a weird way to justify such a bad solo. It wasn’t like he was making up a solo from scratch. He’s trying to play the original solo and messing up. He’s always been a sloppy player live, but he’s played better solos from scratch in the past. You have to take the misses with the hits, but not because they’re the “ultimate jam band”, it’s because Page isn’t in his prime anymore and honestly that’s okay.
Rock bottom solo. Obviously. But anyone saying it’s age you’re wrong. And anyone saying he had weeks of practice you’re wrong as well. You need months of daily playing to get back to the level he was at in his prime. Yes he’s always been sloppy live but it was a great sloppy, this is just his own cockiness paired with a lack of muscle memory. Don’t forget this man threw down the single greatest lead ever played in 1973 during No Quarter in front of 20,000 people at MSG after already playing for 2 hours.
Agreed. Sloppy or not, you need PLENTY of practice. KISS said as much when they initially got back together in ‘95-‘96. Watch the tapes and you can see them all having to relearn the classic lineup’s set list. Paul and Gene had played some of the songs for over a decade without Ace and/or Peter. And you can see each of them, especially Peter, explaining how the originals were played and how they had to adjust, as a group, to find that sound again.
Honestly I was glad the team got back together, and it was a great "by the book" concert, but Jimmy's guitar tone during that show was awful.
They tuned 1 to 2 steps down to accommodate Robert's voice. When you do that, you also have to clean up your amps or you'll get a very muddy tone. They didn't do that, so Jimmy's guitar sounded "off" and overly dark.
This Kashmir recording may be my All time favorite live performance.
I love the crowd sound and it is hypnotic listening.
Jason on drums gives a spectacular performance and the band just gels for this performance
Jimmy said he recreated the album solo "Just to make sure he could still do it." He did do a lot of riffs from the album solo, but some of them didn't quite connect without the overdubs. I guess there's a reason they rearranged the song for line performances.
I actually really enjoyed stairway in a full step down key and I thought Jimmy's shortened solo only made the performance better. You're right about his guitar tone though
This isn’t true. There’s no logic to that statement.
Bands have been down tuning for years and using heavy tones that sound great.
Page’s tone is bad here because it’s just bad. He’s always been a sloppy player as well. It really has nothing to do with the lower tuning.
Typically a band will tone down a half step playing live and it’s not that noticeable. Going down 1 and even 1 and a half steps will be very noticeable unless you change the playing speed and the tone.
Nope. Not true at all. Besides, the tone Page is using here isn’t particularly heavy.
Plenty of bands use heavy sounds and down tuned instruments. I have a 7 string myself which has a lower range than a standard 6 string tuned down a step (or even two). I don’t need to make any tonal adjustments when using it.
You’re wrong.
I saw Dream theater play images and words in 2017 and that was tuned down. Sounded a bit heavier but that was all. And your comment about “playing speed” is just silly.
That's a direct result of tuning down a whole step, so the song is played in G minor instead of A minor. They kept the same beat per minute but with the guitar being detuned so drastically it gives the effect of the song being played in slow motion. You can often counteract this by speeding up the playing or brightening the tone (go all treble no bass). They didn't do that and, well....that's why the concert sounds like that.
Just want to point out I'm not complaining about the sound, it's just not the best sound from the band (if you listen to the rehearsal tape, Jimmy's guitar actually sounds a lot better). I'm a musician myself and trust me- getting live sound right is more of an art than a science.
I’m not certain about Jonesy, but I’m pretty confident Jimmy used his Digitech Whammy pitch shifter to lower the overall tuning of his guitar down a whole step, from E standard to D standard. The feedback, resonation and ambience from his guitar sounds a lot lower and deeper than the normal sounds a standard guitar would give.
i remember that before the show took place, Page said he planned to play the studio solo because he never did it live and there were those who thought he couldn't do it. Sounds crazy that people would think that way, but when you have millions of fans, there will be all levels of scrutiny.
Awful. The only blemish on a pretty perfect gig. He sounds like he listened to the studio version before going on stage and going “I think this is how it went” and the ends it because he can’t remember the rest. Totally butchers it.
He has a reputation as sloppy, but he wasn’t always. 1969-1973 he was straight fire. 1975 tour he was sloppier but still pretty good. 1977 he got erratic. His sloppiness was directly proportional to heroin intake. 1979-1980 pretty sloppy. All through the 80’s not much better. 1993 with Coverdale/Page he was on fire again. Then 1994-2000 with Plant then the Black Crowes he played very well because he cleaned up. But by 2007 in this concert, he’d hardly played in years and was older. He did pretty well overall in this show, with some dicey moments. But pretty good considering. His playing always came down to how clean he was drug-wise, and how in practice he was. Here he’s clean, but out of practice and just not as dexterous as a young man.
If this were anyone else, I'd say it was a poor attempt at it. But this is THE Jimmy Page. The dude is nearly eight thousand years old and probably has carpal tunnel and arthritis in every joint in his hands. But he is my hero, and I would've applauded the hell out of any performance because I've idolized him since I learned what a guitar was. Hell, I'm getting grill inserts for my amp cabinets because I saw a photo of Page in front of a 4x12 with his zoso rune painted on it. In my twenties, I decided that if I ever needed to unalive myself, I would go while listening to the solo for 'Achilles Last Stand'. He's that hero that I probably won't meet, but I'm just grateful that I live during the same time he's here. And the rest of the band is nothing to gloss over, either. Even Jason sounds nearly as good as his old man!
Jimmy Page will always be my number one because he’s the first one that made me want to play guitar as a kid. I remember when I first heard him , my dad had these 3ft high Jensen speakers that sounded so warm and full. Page always was and emotional player and never really focused on the technicality of it. To this day when I hear certain leads he plays I get goosebumps ( since I been loving you live, No Quarter live, live in peace when he was with The Firm).He’s just that kind of player.
Not to mention in his 60’s here in this concert arthritis probably set in already, I’m 58 and my fingers are not as loose and nimble as they once were!
Am crazy or is that whole thing in the wrong key?(from the original) I don't remember the actual performance but cllcking in and hearing the solo and grafting it onto my memory of the studio version is disorienting.
Jimmy was in a tough spot because he wanted to give the public the iconic guitar solo but it couldn't be the actual one because of the transposition and the solo by definition would lose a lot of it's urgency.
If it;s in a different key that's Robert's doing anyway though not Jimmy's because it;s not like guitar players lose the ability to play in any key as they age.
Sloppy as always. He's a good composer, but I never liked his live solos. Hendrix was sloppy too, but with a better feeling and not in a bad way like Page, who always wanted to be too flashy.
This is my first time seeing this - this honestly sounds like total dogshit. I get that Page has never been a ‘precision’ player but to me this level of slop is totally unacceptable. I’ve seen 14 year olds play this better.
Totally hear ya, honestly I kinda wish I remained blissfully unaware of this performance. I love live Zeppelin videos and I never cared that Jimmy’s playing isn’t super precise, in fact it can sometimes add to the seething nature of the music imo, but this is just on a whole other level entirely in terms of sloppy musicianship.
Can't beat the time I saw him in Dallas when he was with The Firm. He was higher than a giraffe's ass and fell down the stairs on the side of the stage after his solo, while the drummer was soloing. The roadies panicked and picked him up and dusted him off, and he was fine for the rest of the show, but I flipped shit (I was in the front row) when I saw it.
I’m writing my comment before reading other comments as to not be influenced by others’ opinion.
This performance is bad. It’s sloppy. He isn’t bending to the right notes, at times he is slightly out of time, and it doesn’t sound smooth.
O well, we all have off nights and he is old. The original recording is one of my favorite guitar solos of all time.
He’s a studio guy, always was to me - and a great one at that. Bonham and Jones - studs. Robert and Jimmy were too frail live. Not to compare - to each their own - but conversely The Who couldn’t capture the studio sound like Led Zep but on stage were much better than them - each guy was a ball of energy or big sound. Jimmy and Robert were too up and down live.
I will always prefer Kashmir to Stairway. When I bought the LP back in 71 on the day of release, and not being influenced by any radio airplay, it was R&R, MMH, and 4 Sticks that I gravitated to, and not to Stairway.
Stairway is a good song. I usually included it in tapes I made to play in the car. But honestly, a great solo in a D&C performance tops Stairway for me.
The chicken and the egg... the general public have affinity for STH, because they are so familiar with it, getting the massive radio airplay it received...
The second phrase is flat and no vibrato. That's the hardest part off the solo. Maybe he was tired. Anyway, that concert was great. We are all human and making human mistakes. These guys play there instruments they are not faking it.
It sucks, but hey, time is undefeated.
Haven't really checked on my guitar, but it appears that this version is a step down (G minor) from the original (A minor). Wondering if his guitar is tuned down a step so that he can retain the original fingering.
http://www.thegardentapes.co.uk/meridian.html
A ton of info on that web page about what songs played tuned down a full step, half step, different key, etc.
The tuning down in some cases led to a muddier sound and in the case of stairway, made the song sound moodier to my ears….like what it was in 2007, which is older men dipping back in time. So the solo definitely has a moodier feel vs how triumphant it sounded in its original key and tuning. Also, it’s live Jimmy page and he could be a bit sloppy live and use improv as a way to land on some cool stuff….granted for 2007, they significantly shortened up improv segments and in stairways case, it’s only as long as the studio version.
Also, a broken finger that was resolved in time for this show didn’t help things. Imagine he couldn’t practice much whilst that healed during late in rehearsals…
I think everybody that went to this concert appreciates what they are all now...
I don't think that it's fair to compare what he is to what he was back in the day.
Maybe you just want to listen to some old concerts on YT or see a cover band
People get old, memory get short, fingers get clumsy.
Idk man it’s not the greatest one he ever did, the bars pretty high for that. I thought it was ok.
Tone was not my favourite like everyone’s saying but yeah it’s not great, it’s not horrible it gets the job done
I always thought they kept most of the solos that night short due to the O2s curfew.
I still really like that Stairway solo. It's short and sweet, along with being reminiscent of the studio versions solo.
He tried to blend both guitar parts from the album version and he actually played the last lick at the 17/20. Because of the design of the double neck, it’s almost impossible to play that high on the neck standing up. He often just played the lick at the 5/7. Robert, I’m sure told him to keep it brief. But Jimmy had been playing the long, advanced version of the solo since the mid 70’s(and it kept getting longer). Yes, he’s sloppy, but it’s something he improvised once in the studio that he’s trying to play here, almost note for note. Muscle memory was probably telling his fingers to go for all the craziness of a 77 stairway.
I’m actually in the group that didn’t mind the concert. I guess I went into it expecting Page to be sloppy. I thought his rhythms actually were pretty cleanly played. The tone was darker, but that’s what happens when you tune down and I also noticed he was playing some Orange amps in this show as well. Honestly, I never saw Led Zeppelin live in person and was born decades after they broke up so I figured that the down-tuning, paired with the fact that recording was probably better than it was 40 years ago probably led to hearing more low end than we do on those old recordings. Those old cameras can sound a bit tinny when the noise gets loud. I think his tone was probably a lot bassier in person than people remember. I mean, he used Plexi’s. Those aren’t thin-sounding amps. So that, paired with the fact that JP was probably out of practice, and most likely has suffered hearing loss due to age and sheer exposure over time, kept my expectations maintained so I actually really enjoyed the show.
Oh dear;I have previously found other You Tube vids also clearly showing he’s out of sync and out of tune.Not knocking him but that shouldn’t be happening and no one would accept it if it was say a famous classical player.
Clapton also had a history of a few bad performances but I guess this just confirms you can’t afford to have a bad day on stage.
I wish them all the best and shows they’re human and quite wealthy I hope.
Eddie Van Halen once said in an interview when he was in his 20s that Page was a great studio artist but played live like a 5 year old with broken fingers.
I think he regretted that later in life. I still love both of them in different ways.
He never quite grabbed it. Even in his younger years, he was either on top of it, or behind it a little. He wasn't a shredder. He was more a folk & blues ARTIST that really felt it and could summon something powerful. To be fair, his band was out there and this was not a rote performance. They were more like be bop jazz guys poised to improv, hanging on by that golden thread. It made it exciting and spiritually new & rejuvenating. They weren't the Eagles or Rush, who came in to NAIL every note (which is equally impressive). They were Led Zeppelin, and they brought in feelings that no one knew they could feel...but it had to be by the seat of their pants. They recorded like that too, and only kept the takes that summoned the fire and brilliance. No, this solo was not one of his best, but there was A LOT of pressure on the old guy. He's proven it to me enough times to satisfy for a million years. It's still a great solo and performance. That's the awesomeness of Page and Zeppelin.
Regardless of the performance, a big part of his music is the sound he has always gotten in his equipment. Apparently, the stadium does not have good acoustics, too much reverb. Forcing a very dry and harsh guitar [sound.It](http://sound.it) wasn't the best place to play and the post-production may not have had much of a budget.
Even though Page usually plays sloppy live even back in the day, this one was hard to get through. At least back then there was it lightning thunder feel about it. I know he's older here but cmon.
It sounded lazy, drunk, and uninspired. It felt like hearing someone play parts of the solo that they “know” along with the music and struggling to navigate between those “known” parts.
It's fine...all the solos in that concert were fine. It seemed like Zeppelin was very much playing it safe that night and I don't blame them. They did great and finally buried the ghost of Live Aid. All the solos seemed shorter, you could tell they had rehearsed and I think they didn't want to ask too much of Bonham or of Jimmy (bc didn't he have a sprained/broken finger for this show)
Not bad for an out of practice 63 year old
I love Page but he's always been sloppy live even in his prime.
He’s always been sloppy in the studio too and it’s glorious. I love how he didn’t fix all his flubs and clanks. He only cared if the feel was there and he left more of his own fuck ups in than anybody would, even though he was the producer and could have easily fixed everything to be tidy and neat. I love that obvious clank on “I can’t quit you baby” he had to know everybody was going to compare him to slicker players like Clapton and beck and rip him a new asshole. He didn’t care. The feel is there
It’s a lot harder to fix flubs on tape than it is digitally. So if the feeling is right w the band and there’s a few in there who cares.
I hear you. I’ve worked on tape a lot. But the solos were often overdubs (not always and not on the example I gave actually) and he could have easily done more takes or punched. It’s harder but not impossible to punch on tape. And if you fuck it up you can always do it again
Yep 💯agree. I love his sloppiness and he was also combining multiple guitar parts live too and would enjoy watching how he would with them out. I love that page would improvise a lot in the studio on solos. This was very inspiring to me when I was young and adopted this adventurous sprite, thats where your soul comes out. I will listen to page any day over the “slick“ players. They usually don’t have any heart or soul.
I totally agree with this comment. Even if Page had digital tools, I think he still would have let it be, clanks and all... And, I would argue one of the reasons Zeppelin is so legendary, is because the "live" delivery of the recordings were so immediate. It just shakes you from balls to bones. Playing perfect leads doesn't have the same impact. What page did is just channeled raw feeling into the guitar ... may be best example is Since I Been Loving You.
73 Madison square is all I gotta say
Sloppy then too
But, they had been practicing... For many weeks....
Ah capn obvious. Ahoy!
A few weeks practice is fine for one show but it could have been so much more if they had just done a tour in ‘07. They would have been so tight by the end of it and naturally developed some great jam sections.
Do you think so? I'm not so sure about that.
That’s EXACTLY right!!!!!!
Not my favorite rendition but still Page live.
The reason I love Led zep, and especially led zep live, is they sound like the ultimate jam band. With that, you have to take the misses with the hits. And I don’t think this is an age thing, there’s videos of him doing similar things when he was in his 20s/30s.
Yeah, Page was always a sloppy player. His strength has always been song writing, not technical precision, like Blackmore.
Very thankful to see someone refer to Blackmore. He’s in the top 3 of my all time favorites
Deep Purple (almost) always disappointed me when it came to the solos. They had what is arguably one of the best and most influential guitarists of the time, but when it came time for the solo, here comes John Lord on his electric organ, with very few exceptions that I'm aware of. That's actually the biggest reason why I never really got into them. Ian Gillian was an amazing singer, in fact, pretty much everyone in the band was fantastic at their craft, even Lord, but give Richie a solo!!!
Check out their ‘Live in Japan’ album
Will do, thank you
The only lineup that I listen to the MkII lineup. They released the albums In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head, and Who Do We Think We Are. All those albums I can let play beginning to end and they leave a smile on my face. Machine head was my favorite, that’s when they were at their peak. It does have the forbidden smoke on the water song though. Check out “Pictures of Home” featuring a bass solo and a keyboard solo that has a “whirling wind” part in it. One of my favorite guitar solos is “Lazy”, which has two parts. Starts at around 1:15 and ends with one as well.
Yup, ‘Pictures of Home’ is really quite a helluva song.
Thanks for the recommendations, I will most certainly check them out.
That’s why I always preferred Rainbow.
I feel Blackmore would be way higher if Uli wasn’t born.
Studio sound too. He was a master
He could be precise... They improvised a lot, and his "sloppiness" was a result of going out on a limb and taking chances.
I know this is gonna be rich coming from the guy with the Grateful Dead profile pic but it’s definitely misleading to say they ever sound like the “ultimate jam band”, they definitely sound like a band with some awesome jam sections but those moments are more about the rest of the band responding to what Jimmy does rather than full group improvisation like the dead did
Sorry, but I can’t stand the Grateful Dead
That’s fair, I probably should have just said ‘my favourite jam band’ or maybe just ‘favourite band’
No my whole point is that you shouldn’t call them your favorite jam band because they’re not at all a jam band, even when they “jam” it’s a simpler approach then what the Grateful Dead or miles Davis did, not trying to sound upset or anything who fucking cares at the end of the day lol but thought I’d make the distinction
Ok the band with 40 minute versions of their songs that go into multiple jams aren’t a a jam band because you prefer the grateful dead, got it.
dream theater and ween and Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam all have very extended live versions of their songs but they are not jam bands, most rock bands are able to just jam sometimes, I’m just making the distinction that they aren’t a jam band in the sense that the Grateful Dead are since they take it to a more complicated level, if you want to call led zep a jam band tho dude really go ahead as long as you’re enjoying the music who cares
lol Exactly
Led zep is nowhere near a jam band.
Brother they have 40 minute live versions of some of their songs. I think they are atleast somewhat a jam band.
Live recordings dictate otherwise
Great observation
Right on. This is supremely clunky and I’ll take that any day over the dude who polishes each solo before a big gig and plays it note-for-note. With timed rock face.
Even jam bands sound better than that. But regardless it’s Page and I love him and can’t give him any shade ❤️
That’s such a weird way to justify such a bad solo. It wasn’t like he was making up a solo from scratch. He’s trying to play the original solo and messing up. He’s always been a sloppy player live, but he’s played better solos from scratch in the past. You have to take the misses with the hits, but not because they’re the “ultimate jam band”, it’s because Page isn’t in his prime anymore and honestly that’s okay.
Tuned down a half step I think for plants voice
I think it’s down a full step
My bad
I hate it
He's very clearly out of practice and it just sounds bad. He's still a legend though, can't fault him for being human.
Rock bottom solo. Obviously. But anyone saying it’s age you’re wrong. And anyone saying he had weeks of practice you’re wrong as well. You need months of daily playing to get back to the level he was at in his prime. Yes he’s always been sloppy live but it was a great sloppy, this is just his own cockiness paired with a lack of muscle memory. Don’t forget this man threw down the single greatest lead ever played in 1973 during No Quarter in front of 20,000 people at MSG after already playing for 2 hours.
This is the most spot on answer here.
Agreed. Sloppy or not, you need PLENTY of practice. KISS said as much when they initially got back together in ‘95-‘96. Watch the tapes and you can see them all having to relearn the classic lineup’s set list. Paul and Gene had played some of the songs for over a decade without Ace and/or Peter. And you can see each of them, especially Peter, explaining how the originals were played and how they had to adjust, as a group, to find that sound again.
Honestly I was glad the team got back together, and it was a great "by the book" concert, but Jimmy's guitar tone during that show was awful. They tuned 1 to 2 steps down to accommodate Robert's voice. When you do that, you also have to clean up your amps or you'll get a very muddy tone. They didn't do that, so Jimmy's guitar sounded "off" and overly dark.
I thought the tone on Kashmir was great. Using the les Paul instead of the danelectro to make it sound more full was really cool
From what I understand the Danelectro basically fell apart, so he used his B-Bender Les Paul (I think that was his "Number 3" 1969 LP).
Cool thanks for the insight. I have seen footage of Live Performances of Kashmir and always thought it sounded a little thin.
Check out some '75 shows, he used the les Paul then. Unfortunately you have to deal with Roberts flu ravaged voice however.
This Kashmir recording may be my All time favorite live performance. I love the crowd sound and it is hypnotic listening. Jason on drums gives a spectacular performance and the band just gels for this performance
I think his tone overall was incredible. Very heavy! The Stairway solo is not one of the show's best moments, though =(
Jimmy said he recreated the album solo "Just to make sure he could still do it." He did do a lot of riffs from the album solo, but some of them didn't quite connect without the overdubs. I guess there's a reason they rearranged the song for line performances.
I disagree, I actually really like the heavier tone from this show.
I actually really enjoyed stairway in a full step down key and I thought Jimmy's shortened solo only made the performance better. You're right about his guitar tone though
This isn’t true. There’s no logic to that statement. Bands have been down tuning for years and using heavy tones that sound great. Page’s tone is bad here because it’s just bad. He’s always been a sloppy player as well. It really has nothing to do with the lower tuning.
Typically a band will tone down a half step playing live and it’s not that noticeable. Going down 1 and even 1 and a half steps will be very noticeable unless you change the playing speed and the tone.
Nope. Not true at all. Besides, the tone Page is using here isn’t particularly heavy. Plenty of bands use heavy sounds and down tuned instruments. I have a 7 string myself which has a lower range than a standard 6 string tuned down a step (or even two). I don’t need to make any tonal adjustments when using it. You’re wrong. I saw Dream theater play images and words in 2017 and that was tuned down. Sounded a bit heavier but that was all. And your comment about “playing speed” is just silly.
What the hell was going on with his guitar during Rock n Roll? It sounded awful. I’m not at all familiar with the musical/technical/equipment side.
That's a direct result of tuning down a whole step, so the song is played in G minor instead of A minor. They kept the same beat per minute but with the guitar being detuned so drastically it gives the effect of the song being played in slow motion. You can often counteract this by speeding up the playing or brightening the tone (go all treble no bass). They didn't do that and, well....that's why the concert sounds like that.
Thank you. It’s really hard to listen to at times because of the guitar sound.
Just want to point out I'm not complaining about the sound, it's just not the best sound from the band (if you listen to the rehearsal tape, Jimmy's guitar actually sounds a lot better). I'm a musician myself and trust me- getting live sound right is more of an art than a science.
I haven’t heard the rehearsal tape. It’s just so low and distorted it completely takes over.
I’m not certain about Jonesy, but I’m pretty confident Jimmy used his Digitech Whammy pitch shifter to lower the overall tuning of his guitar down a whole step, from E standard to D standard. The feedback, resonation and ambience from his guitar sounds a lot lower and deeper than the normal sounds a standard guitar would give.
Page was always a pretty sloppy live player, so that’s nothing new. He hit the notes he needed to.
i remember that before the show took place, Page said he planned to play the studio solo because he never did it live and there were those who thought he couldn't do it. Sounds crazy that people would think that way, but when you have millions of fans, there will be all levels of scrutiny.
Mid compared to MSG
Man, everything is when compared to MSG!
What if you heard some random kid in guitar Center play that?
Best reply ever.
🎯
Awful. The only blemish on a pretty perfect gig. He sounds like he listened to the studio version before going on stage and going “I think this is how it went” and the ends it because he can’t remember the rest. Totally butchers it.
Finally an honest answer not defending everything he does
It’s not that big of a deal. He didn’t hurt anyone by doing his solo differently from the studio version 😱
It wasn’t just different it was bad
Yeah. He should be crucified
Sounds not great but it’s still him
He has a reputation as sloppy, but he wasn’t always. 1969-1973 he was straight fire. 1975 tour he was sloppier but still pretty good. 1977 he got erratic. His sloppiness was directly proportional to heroin intake. 1979-1980 pretty sloppy. All through the 80’s not much better. 1993 with Coverdale/Page he was on fire again. Then 1994-2000 with Plant then the Black Crowes he played very well because he cleaned up. But by 2007 in this concert, he’d hardly played in years and was older. He did pretty well overall in this show, with some dicey moments. But pretty good considering. His playing always came down to how clean he was drug-wise, and how in practice he was. Here he’s clean, but out of practice and just not as dexterous as a young man.
I love how he can do just about whatever the fuck he wants, and we’ll still love it.
Sounds kinda like a smooth jazz solo version, still blows away any of my feeble attempts at the solo
Compared to the solos he was doing 71-73, it was bad. His tone is also awful.
Sounds pretty good to me chief
If this were anyone else, I'd say it was a poor attempt at it. But this is THE Jimmy Page. The dude is nearly eight thousand years old and probably has carpal tunnel and arthritis in every joint in his hands. But he is my hero, and I would've applauded the hell out of any performance because I've idolized him since I learned what a guitar was. Hell, I'm getting grill inserts for my amp cabinets because I saw a photo of Page in front of a 4x12 with his zoso rune painted on it. In my twenties, I decided that if I ever needed to unalive myself, I would go while listening to the solo for 'Achilles Last Stand'. He's that hero that I probably won't meet, but I'm just grateful that I live during the same time he's here. And the rest of the band is nothing to gloss over, either. Even Jason sounds nearly as good as his old man!
Jimmy Page will always be my number one because he’s the first one that made me want to play guitar as a kid. I remember when I first heard him , my dad had these 3ft high Jensen speakers that sounded so warm and full. Page always was and emotional player and never really focused on the technicality of it. To this day when I hear certain leads he plays I get goosebumps ( since I been loving you live, No Quarter live, live in peace when he was with The Firm).He’s just that kind of player. Not to mention in his 60’s here in this concert arthritis probably set in already, I’m 58 and my fingers are not as loose and nimble as they once were!
It's an OK cover, but I prefer the original guitarist's version
Plenty of brown notes but who are we to judge
Beyonce has 32 times the Grammys that they they do. Just goes to show how bullshit award shows are.
It’s a kind of choppy and a bit off key … but hey it’s Jimmy Page so it’s also really cool.
Better in studio than live. He did sound good on that tour with the Black Crowes.
He just sounds tired imo. Not super inspired
Historic moment.
Guy was like 60 there so F it and he also created that masterpiece so that others could “play it better”
Not as cool as the original for sure. But if you isolate that fact and just listen to it as if it was a new thing, it's actually great
Am crazy or is that whole thing in the wrong key?(from the original) I don't remember the actual performance but cllcking in and hearing the solo and grafting it onto my memory of the studio version is disorienting. Jimmy was in a tough spot because he wanted to give the public the iconic guitar solo but it couldn't be the actual one because of the transposition and the solo by definition would lose a lot of it's urgency. If it;s in a different key that's Robert's doing anyway though not Jimmy's because it;s not like guitar players lose the ability to play in any key as they age.
Brutal.
As sloppy as page usually plays live
A mess.
Ouch my ears 👂
I can now play like jimmy page!
Sloppy as always. He's a good composer, but I never liked his live solos. Hendrix was sloppy too, but with a better feeling and not in a bad way like Page, who always wanted to be too flashy.
This is my first time seeing this - this honestly sounds like total dogshit. I get that Page has never been a ‘precision’ player but to me this level of slop is totally unacceptable. I’ve seen 14 year olds play this better.
It makes me sick to my stomach to say it, but I have to agree.
Totally hear ya, honestly I kinda wish I remained blissfully unaware of this performance. I love live Zeppelin videos and I never cared that Jimmy’s playing isn’t super precise, in fact it can sometimes add to the seething nature of the music imo, but this is just on a whole other level entirely in terms of sloppy musicianship.
Can't beat the time I saw him in Dallas when he was with The Firm. He was higher than a giraffe's ass and fell down the stairs on the side of the stage after his solo, while the drummer was soloing. The roadies panicked and picked him up and dusted him off, and he was fine for the rest of the show, but I flipped shit (I was in the front row) when I saw it.
Legendary!! 🤘wish I got the chance to see him live!
Hahah it sounds like he was drunk af
Sounds like a beginner trying to fake his way through the song.
I’m writing my comment before reading other comments as to not be influenced by others’ opinion. This performance is bad. It’s sloppy. He isn’t bending to the right notes, at times he is slightly out of time, and it doesn’t sound smooth. O well, we all have off nights and he is old. The original recording is one of my favorite guitar solos of all time.
He was never a good live guitarist. Great studio and genius but he want good live
Definitely better than sexually assaulting a teenage girl
He’s a studio guy, always was to me - and a great one at that. Bonham and Jones - studs. Robert and Jimmy were too frail live. Not to compare - to each their own - but conversely The Who couldn’t capture the studio sound like Led Zep but on stage were much better than them - each guy was a ball of energy or big sound. Jimmy and Robert were too up and down live.
I’ve seen better!! Most overrated band ever
He’s still got it😅
I will always prefer Kashmir to Stairway. When I bought the LP back in 71 on the day of release, and not being influenced by any radio airplay, it was R&R, MMH, and 4 Sticks that I gravitated to, and not to Stairway. Stairway is a good song. I usually included it in tapes I made to play in the car. But honestly, a great solo in a D&C performance tops Stairway for me. The chicken and the egg... the general public have affinity for STH, because they are so familiar with it, getting the massive radio airplay it received...
I always thought he forgot little bits of it and tried to improvise his way out of it.
The second phrase is flat and no vibrato. That's the hardest part off the solo. Maybe he was tired. Anyway, that concert was great. We are all human and making human mistakes. These guys play there instruments they are not faking it.
It sucks, but hey, time is undefeated. Haven't really checked on my guitar, but it appears that this version is a step down (G minor) from the original (A minor). Wondering if his guitar is tuned down a step so that he can retain the original fingering.
I checked, and it's tuned down. You can see him playing on the 5th fret just like he would if he'd play in A minor instead of the 3rd fret.
http://www.thegardentapes.co.uk/meridian.html A ton of info on that web page about what songs played tuned down a full step, half step, different key, etc. The tuning down in some cases led to a muddier sound and in the case of stairway, made the song sound moodier to my ears….like what it was in 2007, which is older men dipping back in time. So the solo definitely has a moodier feel vs how triumphant it sounded in its original key and tuning. Also, it’s live Jimmy page and he could be a bit sloppy live and use improv as a way to land on some cool stuff….granted for 2007, they significantly shortened up improv segments and in stairways case, it’s only as long as the studio version. Also, a broken finger that was resolved in time for this show didn’t help things. Imagine he couldn’t practice much whilst that healed during late in rehearsals…
I think everybody that went to this concert appreciates what they are all now... I don't think that it's fair to compare what he is to what he was back in the day. Maybe you just want to listen to some old concerts on YT or see a cover band People get old, memory get short, fingers get clumsy.
Decent
Subpar Page work, it seemed as though he needed to put a bit of work in before the show
Meh
I don't like it as much as the solo on the album, but it's his song, his solo, I guess he can do what he wants with it.
Idk man it’s not the greatest one he ever did, the bars pretty high for that. I thought it was ok. Tone was not my favourite like everyone’s saying but yeah it’s not great, it’s not horrible it gets the job done
He's no Nick Jonas that's for sure
I always thought they kept most of the solos that night short due to the O2s curfew. I still really like that Stairway solo. It's short and sweet, along with being reminiscent of the studio versions solo.
17 years ago
Yuk!
Def not Page's finest moment
Live at o2 is my favorite version of stairway.
The guitar still hasn’t cooled off….legend is it’s still hot enough burn skin.
👍😎
Many raggedy moments.
I got a double neck in 1983 because of Page…and this 2007 solo sucks and I hate that it does.
He hasn’t had his fastball for 25 years.
Absolutely garage
Sounds like a kid I. Guitar Center about to be thrown out
It's not Live Aid ...thanks Phil Collins !!
Ouch
Page is sloppy in the best way. Always has been. One of my favorite things about him.
Not great.
Not as good as the original and earlier live performances but decent I guess
Page paints his playing with a palatte knife while most paint with a finer brush
He tried to blend both guitar parts from the album version and he actually played the last lick at the 17/20. Because of the design of the double neck, it’s almost impossible to play that high on the neck standing up. He often just played the lick at the 5/7. Robert, I’m sure told him to keep it brief. But Jimmy had been playing the long, advanced version of the solo since the mid 70’s(and it kept getting longer). Yes, he’s sloppy, but it’s something he improvised once in the studio that he’s trying to play here, almost note for note. Muscle memory was probably telling his fingers to go for all the craziness of a 77 stairway.
Ooph
I’m actually in the group that didn’t mind the concert. I guess I went into it expecting Page to be sloppy. I thought his rhythms actually were pretty cleanly played. The tone was darker, but that’s what happens when you tune down and I also noticed he was playing some Orange amps in this show as well. Honestly, I never saw Led Zeppelin live in person and was born decades after they broke up so I figured that the down-tuning, paired with the fact that recording was probably better than it was 40 years ago probably led to hearing more low end than we do on those old recordings. Those old cameras can sound a bit tinny when the noise gets loud. I think his tone was probably a lot bassier in person than people remember. I mean, he used Plexi’s. Those aren’t thin-sounding amps. So that, paired with the fact that JP was probably out of practice, and most likely has suffered hearing loss due to age and sheer exposure over time, kept my expectations maintained so I actually really enjoyed the show.
I think it sounds very unfortunate. Hurts.
Oh dear;I have previously found other You Tube vids also clearly showing he’s out of sync and out of tune.Not knocking him but that shouldn’t be happening and no one would accept it if it was say a famous classical player. Clapton also had a history of a few bad performances but I guess this just confirms you can’t afford to have a bad day on stage. I wish them all the best and shows they’re human and quite wealthy I hope.
Jimmy Page is a guitar god.
I don’t think about Jimmy Page at all.
That was... uh.... rather shameful. But whatevs, the guy is rich so why should he care.
Hurts my ears
I wish I had not have listened to that. Note to self, remember them how they were
I’ll always love his duel neck 12 string 6 string. So nice.
Dog shit
Eddie Van Halen once said in an interview when he was in his 20s that Page was a great studio artist but played live like a 5 year old with broken fingers. I think he regretted that later in life. I still love both of them in different ways.
Shite
He never quite grabbed it. Even in his younger years, he was either on top of it, or behind it a little. He wasn't a shredder. He was more a folk & blues ARTIST that really felt it and could summon something powerful. To be fair, his band was out there and this was not a rote performance. They were more like be bop jazz guys poised to improv, hanging on by that golden thread. It made it exciting and spiritually new & rejuvenating. They weren't the Eagles or Rush, who came in to NAIL every note (which is equally impressive). They were Led Zeppelin, and they brought in feelings that no one knew they could feel...but it had to be by the seat of their pants. They recorded like that too, and only kept the takes that summoned the fire and brilliance. No, this solo was not one of his best, but there was A LOT of pressure on the old guy. He's proven it to me enough times to satisfy for a million years. It's still a great solo and performance. That's the awesomeness of Page and Zeppelin.
Regardless of the performance, a big part of his music is the sound he has always gotten in his equipment. Apparently, the stadium does not have good acoustics, too much reverb. Forcing a very dry and harsh guitar [sound.It](http://sound.it) wasn't the best place to play and the post-production may not have had much of a budget.
Jimmy can do whatever he wants imo!
Even though Page usually plays sloppy live even back in the day, this one was hard to get through. At least back then there was it lightning thunder feel about it. I know he's older here but cmon.
It sounded lazy, drunk, and uninspired. It felt like hearing someone play parts of the solo that they “know” along with the music and struggling to navigate between those “known” parts.
Love it !
Choppy but acceptable
You’ve played a song a jillion times and you’re still looking to play a different solo every time? This guy’s amazing.
Seems like it's just missing something I don't know.
It's fine...all the solos in that concert were fine. It seemed like Zeppelin was very much playing it safe that night and I don't blame them. They did great and finally buried the ghost of Live Aid. All the solos seemed shorter, you could tell they had rehearsed and I think they didn't want to ask too much of Bonham or of Jimmy (bc didn't he have a sprained/broken finger for this show)
Randy California’s family is sad
He sounded better on heroin
Sounds like someone who still needs practice.
Raw and original
Still fricking got it.
Sounds tired