Ssoccia ragazzi Jimmy Page!.... I mean, Jimmy Page!... not renzulli or poggipollini!
Ahah I can’t help but laugh, this devil of a man has been accompanying me everywhere (or haunting me?!?) without me truly knowing why; it’s like one of those ridiculous movies where the guardian angel (devil) is always beside the protagonist to make sure everything goes well for him. An as indecipherable character, if you try to understand his facets, as he is simple if taken for what he’s known to be. His creation, the LZ, is practically James Patrick Page cubed. "No one will ever really get to know me..." he already said to a Canadian newspaper back in November 1969. Despite his showmanship on stage (a real rock star from demeanor to clothing), Page's personality was essentially reserved and calm. This all fueled his enigmatic image and that of the band. He managed to make sure that the LZ were both a band of enormous success and a cult band at the same time... practically impossible! Being one of those who loved them always made you feel part of a sect, only to find out they were the band with the greatest commercial success (alongside the Beatles) considering the group’s span. Everyone’s tastes are indisputable, but that the LZ are the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the broadest sense of the phrase is undeniable. For everything they did and for the aura that always surrounded them. The Who can't boast the quality of their discography and their cohesion, the Rolling Stones their technique and musical variety, the Deep Purple had too many lineup changes and aren't quite "wicked" enough (obviously I adore these three bands). And above all, no one can say we’ve always been the same 4 and stop! Plus Grant, Cole and stop.
I would like this guy, now a seventy-three-year-old in great shape, to be remembered for all he qualitatively gave to music. Jimmy had (and has) a musical openness that few in rock can boast; that's just how he is! always open to new sounds and new experiences. When I hear about LZ "the hard rock band" I wonder who that particular "music critic" is who’s babbling. Jimmy's love for blues, folk, psychedelia, and oriental or African music was (and is) visceral. He even went to punk concerts where he was insulted and mocked as "The dinosaur" ahah. Probably not the most technical guitarist, not the most extravagant, not the fastest, not the most talented... simply the most complete. His role as a producer is too often overlooked; as few others, he smartly put into practice everything he learned as a young esteemed session musician and band member in the early sixties. Jimmy was a sponge; he absorbed every "trick" and then used and improved it. He always had extremely clear ideas, with dozens and dozens of anecdotes and facts proving it.
This particular autobiography is based on over twenty years of interviews with the author, Brad Tolinski, long-time editor-in-chief of "Guitar World," the industry’s reference magazine. "A compelling and definitive look at the professional life of a genius told in his own words".... Professional, indeed. This is the only book authorized by someone from the band. You’ll find nothing of Jimmy or LZ offstage or out of the recording studio. It won't talk about drugs, breakdowns, how many groupies he's bedded, minors, brawls, orgies, souls sold to the devil, etc., etc. It simply talks about his passion: music. A truly interesting book; from his career as a session musician, to the Yarbirds and his relationships with Clapton and Beck, to the story/legend with his LZ. It teaches us how to mic a drum, tells us about his studies of blues and jazz, the forced reading of music, the recordings of "Untitled (LZ4)," the tragedy of Bonham’s death, post-Zeppelin work, the new collaboration with Plant, and so much more; always and only music, with a couple of brief digressions on his passion for the occult and his meeting with Elvis. He’ll never say it outright, but his words have always made it clear; John's death and the breakup of LZ were a real tragedy for him (much more so than for the others). He lost a friend and, I repeat, his creation, at the same time. A band to which he dedicated body and soul, which he shaped, loved, and to which he will always be viscerally connected. He’s done good and bad things since then, but he was never the same Page. His soul was (and is) stuck in those years. He didn’t want to play anymore, his heart no longer pumped feelings.
Let’s take all the good he’s given us, and I smile happily seeing him in such good physical shape; from '76 and for the next decade, he was destroyed. I remember how I felt seeing him on TV as an eighteen-year-old at Live Aid, unable to play and hold the stage; "But how?! My Jimmy?! The one that drives me crazy, makes me rejoice, and leap every time I hear him?! The one from Led Zeppelin?!" My little, great tragedy. I was very upset, my childhood "hero," the great Jimmy Page, the first time I saw him, was mocked by the whole world...
Thank you very much, Jimmy, keep accompanying me always and everywhere. Proud of you, of what you've done, of who you are, and of the passion you’ve always put into it, paired with a lot of class.
"I'm not concerned with technique, but with emotions," one of your phrases imprinted on my soul.
Read this book! It's passion, but also technical descriptions, for those of you who understand it, there will be wonderful stories. Read it even if you don’t like LZ, because he is Jimmy Page the legend! Even if recalling a phrase from the noble @algol, "if one doesn’t love LZ, he’s hearing-impaired," ahah!
"Without Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin wouldn’t exist. Without Led Zeppelin, today’s rock would be orphaned."
Enjoy your reading!!!
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