The important parts of alchemy are invisible
Mage Music 24
Very little that anyone has or creates is original. Almost all "innovation" is built on the work of others, even when the work is the artist's own. Nevertheless, to take one step beyond, to go where no one has gone before, is by definition original - and few have ever knowingly taken such a step. Forging on, no matter how broad the shoulders of those whose work you have stood on, is hard work with no guides, few clues, and no guarantees of success.
Alchemy limits as well as enables
Contrary to popular belief, Magick doesn't actually require any specific rituals to work. Rituals simply provide focus and boundaries for the Mage. Whatever ritual works best for the Mage is the best ritual to use, although some ritual may call to or be easier to use than other ritual for any given Mage.
Alchemy however, as it is more like a science than an art, does require specific formulas to work - formulas that can be repeated by the alchemist or apprentices or, theoretically, anyone else with sufficient desire and will. In its fixed approach, alchemy both makes the
search for the Philosopher's Stone both easier and extraordinarily limiting at the same time. Alchemy applied to music makes it difficult to create Magick outside of the established formulas and rituals.
The post-Zeppelin challenge
With Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page was more of an alchemist than pure Mage. He combined the unique ingredients of sound of his bandmates with his own musical abilities using formulas he had developed over time and rituals he invested tremendous desire and will in; the resulting alchemical mix infused the music with Magick.
On his own after Led Zeppelin, however, the framework and ritually harmonious input provided by the other musicians that had stood Jimmy Page so well was no longer there. In a new era of experimentation, in a renewed search for the musical Philosopher’s Stone, Mr. Page’s search for the unique ingredients of sound produced mixed results and his Magick could not be routinely evoked. The technique was still there, the music still as extraordinary as one had come to expect from a master musician, but the reliable formula was lost when the ritual circle was broken with John Bonham's death.
The songs in this week's playlist, chosen by Dave Lewis in his
book,
Led Zeppelin: A Celebration (Omnibus Press, 1991), are all from the 1980s and all represent a new epoch for Jimmy Page, a time when he was perhaps not quite as certain as he had been, when he was unable to wield his powers as Mage or musician as easily as he had.
The Death Wish II pieces pick up themes that Jimmy Page had explored 10 years before and carry them forward. The ARMS version of Stairway is an extraordinary demonstration of willingness to forge on, a statement that he could - and would - stand alone in his own powerful Magick. Midnight Moonlight and Radioactive push the musical envelope with eerie chords and soaring guitar sequences, and the use of tonal light and shade ( for instance, soft, acoustic classical guitar melodies flowing into heavy fuzz metal electric guitar tones). Emerald Eyes is a gem in truth – a deceptively simple melodic song in which, like the ARMS version of Stairway, there are no vocals; Jimmy Page does not need a human voice to carry the message that has always been in his own hands and soul. In Blues Anthem, once again, we are given the softer acoustic guitar sound when Mr. Page accompanies the vocals, and then his own solo, a lovely but brief interjection of his own instrumental voice in a pretty song.
We know that Jimmy Page had other challenges in his life during the 1980s, and that he did not need to generate more music or Magick to keep his title of Master Mage. Still, throughout those ten years he did keep searching for the perfect mixture of components that would enable him to manifest his personal musical vision. Like a phoenix rising from ashes but not yet ready to fly, Jimmy Page had yet to find his musical self in new ritual, new Magick. His quest, begun in the 1960s, taken up again in the 1980s, was to continue into the next decade.
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Future posts:
Led Into Gold (Part 4), 1990s. Or maybe I won't. Depends on what I feel like writing!
The Chicken/Egg quandary (the neurophysics of music)
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Playlist for Alchemy: Led Into Gold (Part 3)
Individual songs
1982
Who's To Blame (Main Title) (studio) Japanese issued single/Swan Song. Dave says of Who's To Blame: "...the use of a Roland synthesiser guitar, a curious device with a rod linking the body and fretboard, which adds yet more colour to the canvas."
Note: The two Death Wish II excerpts recommended by Dave are not on the soundtrack album; the links provided here are outtakes.
1982 Carole's Theme (Dave bundles this with Who's To Blame) (studio) Japanese issued single/Swan Song. Dave says: "..a poignant instrumental over which Jimmy stretches and slides a guitar solo of immense purity."
The guitar part of Carole's Theme begins at 1:06
1984
Stairway To Heaven (live) ARMS concert video soundtrack. Dave says: "...one quarter of Led Zeppelin alone in the spotlight for the first time, paying homage to their most famous song..."
1984
Sea Of Love (studio) Album: The Honeydrippers. Dave says: "The solo which graces this Fifties do-wop cover is a lovely string-bending affair..."
Solo at 1:39
1985
Midnight Moonlight (studio) Album: The Firm. Dave says: "...originally conceived on the ARMS tour when it was known as 'Bird On A Wing'... [it] harks back to the adventurous spirit of his previous quartet."
1985
Radioactive (studio) Album: The Firm. Dave says: "...a total off-the-wall descending chord sequence that swivels across the speakers with delightful regularity. Pure James Patrick..."
1988
Emerald Eyes (studio) Album: Outrider. Dave says: "...differing approaches and textures of his playing... signaled a return to the guitar diversity of the Zeppelin era."
1988
BluesAnthem (If I Cannot Have Your Love) (live) Arizona 1988 (
Note: Dave recommends the studio version from the album: Outrider, which I could not find on YouTube, so if you have Outrider listen to that version like I have!). Dave says: "A reassuring example of the emotional quality Jimmy Page can still attain in terms of both performance and composition."
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Bonus:
I'm Down (live) Jimmy Page joins Yes, June 24, 1984. Dortmund, Germany. Just for fun!
