On this day 17 September

 "This is my invitation, I want to change your destination..."

~ Cadillac, from The Firm's Mean Business album

1984 17 September On This Day 

• 1968 Led Zeppelin - Malmo, Sweden at Folkets Park 
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Honolulu, HI at Honolulu Civic Auditorium
• 1984 Jimmy Page with The Firm – finished recording Long Black Cadillac at The Sol
• 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Mesa, AZ at Mesa Amphitheatre
• 2013 Jimmy Page attends Queens of the Stone Age concert

1971

Hard to imagine this show isn't available to hear today. Somebody's got to be hoarding a tape!

1971 Led Zeppelin - Honolulu, HI at Honolulu Civic Auditorium (day 2)

1971

1975

Melody Maker Awards

1984
Given the experience of all the members of Jimmy Page's band, The Firm, it's no wonder they were able to record songs in one take. Recorded and mixed at Jimmy Page's Sol Studios in Berkshire, England, Cadillac appeared on The Firm's second album released in 1986, Mean Business.  There, it is just plain Cadillac, not to be confused with various versions of The Long Black Cadillac performed by other artists, light-years different from The Firm's song. Jimmy Page's Cadillac is dark and dirty. Magick oozes from his guitar.

As far as that version of "Cadillac" goes, we were lucky to get it. Because it was a live number and you can't do that in a room with a couple of takes because it has to be alive...
~ Jimmy Page, Guitar World July 1986, page 87

The Firm and Mean Business never did take off, though they were decently high on the charts. People still were expecting the Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, when in fact there was - and is - much more to Jimmy Page than that. 

Sad so many are so blind to that lovely musical Magick.

1988

2013 Jimmy Page backstage at Queens of the Stone Age (Ross Halfin photo)

2013 Jimmy Page with Josh Homme and Troy Van Leeuwen backstage at
Queens of the Stone Age concert (Ross Halfin photo)

2013 Jimmy Page and Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age

♪

♪  Cadillac (Jimmy Page The Firm, Mean Business 1986) 
♪  Cadillac (Jimmy Page The Firm, Birmingham England 1985) 
♪  Jimmy Page Outrider Tour (Mesa AZ at Mesa Amphitheatre, 17 September 1988) 

On This Day 18 May

In 1977 on this day Led Zeppelin played in Birmingham and in 1985 The Firm played in Birmingham - different countries on different continents, though. And of course, on this day in 1975 Led Zeppelin played the second of five sold-out nights to 17,000 fans at Earls Court Arena, London England.

In 1977 On This Day Jimmy Page was in one Birmingham or another

• 1967 Yardbirds- Versailles, France
• 1968 Yardbirds - Lewiston ID at Casey's
• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Minneapolis MN at Tyrone Guthrie Theatre
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Dallas TX at Dallas Memorial Auditorium
• 1975 Led Zeppelin - London at Earls Court Exhibition Centre
• 1977 Led Zeppelin - Birmingham AL at Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Arena
• 1985 The Firm - Birmingham England at NEC Arena 
• 2006 Scarlet Page photo exhibition opening, "Your Child", at the Proud Gallery in Camden

1975:
Earl's Court, day 2. Robert Plant's voice not what it once was, but the boys were hot, hot, HOT.  It's worth hunting for one of this day's bootlegs to hear the whole set. YouTube's been pretty well stripped of videos from this day's show. 

Jimmy Page - 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

John Paul Jones & Jimmy Page 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Robert Plant & Jimmy Page - 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Jimmy Page 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Jimmy Page on Theremin - 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

Jimmy Page 1975 May Led Zeppelin at Earls Court

♪

♪  Rock And Roll (Led Zeppelin, Earls Court 1975) YouTube
♪  Since I've Been Loving You (Led Zeppelin Birmingham 1977) YouTube
♪  Cadillac (The Firm, Birmingham UK 1985) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

On This Day 02 April

Did those journalists really think Led Zeppelin needed to play France?

1973 02 April On This Day Led Zeppelin, Paris (day 2 of 2)

• 1969 Led Zeppelin - Cardiff Wales atTop Rank Ballroom
• 1970 Led Zeppelin - Charleston WV at Charleston Civic Center Coliseum
• 1973 Led Zeppelin - Paris at Centre Sportif (day 2 of 2)
• 1986 The Firm- Mean Business album released

1969:

This show was a benefit in for the Biafran Relief Organisation. Led Zeppelin did their part, but in the middle of How Many More Times the revolving stage was engaged and cables suddenly were jerked out of the amps' sockets, some broken off. That was the end of that.

1973:

The band had already cancelled two shows in France because of the audiences. They came back to Paris (actually a suburb to the north of the city) to play the Palais des Sports de Saint Ouen. Roy Hollingworth of Melody Maker reported:  "Zeppelin kicked a great hole in the night..."  But it was too late for France. Led Zeppelin was done with that country.

1973 Led Zeppelin get more gold discs

1973 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin, Paris

1986 Mean Business, by The Firm

1986:

You're probably tired of my whining about The Firm, but tough. It's my blog and I'll whine if I want to. And here I go:

The problem with The Firm is there's too much of Paul Rodgers and not enough Jimmy Page. Hey, I'm not putting down Mr. Rodgers. He's a great singer. But, as I've described elsewhere in this blog probably too many time, Paul Rodgers isn't giving it up to the muse that Jimmy Page answers to. Unfortunate for The Firm, because Jimmy Page is the one channeling the magick.

Cadillac, from The Firm's 1986 Mean Business, is a good example of when Jimmy Page gets to open to that channel and let it flow. Paul Rodgers comes through in this one to deliver lyrics and melody that match the setting Jimmy Page has provided. But then on the same album we get Free To Live, which doesn't come up to those standards. 

Cadillac roils with Jimmy Page's dark twisty tones, gasping pauses, and shocking thrusts of high notes. Free To Live starts out with promise: Slade's thumping and the growly guitar in the intro really work nicely together to hint of... well, we never find out, because Paul Rodgers starts singing and the other members of the band just back off and support him. At 2:00 Jimmy Page comes back in and takes over and we get some good stuff working - and then the song recedes to that old band-supports-the-vocalist format, where the singer is making lyrics the music instead of letting words serve the music. That's traditional but it's also boring. And unfortunately, as good as the quartet was, traditional was too typical of The Firm's work. The band was very good, but it was not innovative. We had already heard it all before. And what a shame. It didn't have to be that way.

So I, for one, don't love The Firm as much as I might. That's why I'm hoping that Jimmy Page will soon put out new music that leaves him free of the anchor of a traditional vocalist and rather lets his guitar do the singing.

♪

♪  Dancing Days (Led Zeppelin, Paris 02 April 1973) YouTube
♪  Cadillac (The Firm, Mean Business 1986) YouTube
♪  Free To Live (The Firm, Mean Business 1986) YouTube
♫  Mean Business MTV promo 1986usiness 1986) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube
♪ Page & Plant playlist at YouTube

NOTICE: April 11 will be the last daily On This Day post as that will be a full year's worth.  I won't post any more unless Jimmy Page's website offers some new ones. Stay tuned for new posts here on the Mage Music blog about the music and Magick of  JIMMY PAGE and previews of new Mage Music projects!

On This Day 09 December

Here comes the brilliance!

1964 09 December On This Day Jimmy Page at Brill Building
AUDIO: Here Comes the Night (Lulu)  Soundcloud

• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Coventry, England at Coventry Locarno Ballroom
• 1983 Jimmy Page ARMS Charity Concert Tour - New York at Madison Square Garden (day 2)
• 1984 Jimmy Page The Firm - London, England at Hammersmith Odeon  (day 2) 

1964
The Brill Building is famous for its music industry tenants.

Text from Jimmy Page's website:

I visited the Brill Building in New York.

I arrived in New York today in 1964, in transit to Los Angeles as a guest of Bert Berns and his wife Ilene. It was my first time in the US. Bert was a legendary R&B producer and songwriter for Atlantic Records who was responsible for countless hits including The Isley Brothers' Twist & Shout, Irma Franklin's Piece of My Heart and Solomon Burke’s Everybody Needs Somebody. During my stay Bert took me to the legendary Brill Building and Atlantic Records where I met Jerry Wexler, Nesuhi Ertegun and Tom Dowd. When people visit America, the very first port of entry always has a lasting effect on them. It certainly did for me, feeling the energy of New York and being introduced to these musical icons.

I had first met Bert when he came over to England. Atlantic Records were being distributed by Decca in the UK at the time. It was a pretty unique situation to have a producer come over from the States to work with in-house artists. One of the sessions that Bert did in London was Here Comes the Night with Lulu, which he was also to produce with them. Lulu’s version was recorded in Decca Studios in Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead. She sings a really credible version, which is worth hearing. I played guitar on this and also did some guitar overdubs on it.

1971

The show is interrupted after the first three songs by an IRA bomb scare.  Although authorities attempted to clear the building, many in the audience just took it as an opportunity to score closer positions to the stage.

Later, during Dazed and Confused, Jimmy Page lost his grip on his bow and it flew out into the crowd.

1983

"On the ARMS tour I realized the fans wanted me back."

~ Jimmy Page, as quoted by Dave Lewis

How could he have ever thought otherwise?  

1983 Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, ARMS MSG

1983 Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, ARMS MSG

1984
Full Circle, written by Gene Clark in 1972, refers to a wheel of fortune and the unpredictable nature of fame and fortune. It was released initially by Clark exclusively in The Netherlands, but is probably more known for its inclusion on the Byrds' 1973 reunion album, and has been covered by a number of musicians.

We'll be coming around to a full circle in 2016.

1984 Jimmy Page / The Firm Hammersmith Odeon London

2007
What exquisite torture it was waiting for this concert. What frustration it was if you were one of the many millions who couldn't be there.

2007 09 December - getting ready for the concert of the century

♪

♪  Cadillac (Jimmy Page/The Firm, Hammersmith Odeon 1984) YouTube
♪  The Full Circle (Jimmy Page/The Firm, Hammersmith Odeon 1984) YouTube
♫  Pre-show, interviews, concert footage (Jimmy Page/The Firm, Hammersmith Odeon London 1984) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

On This Day 17 September

"This is my invitation, I want to change your destination..."

~ Cadillac, from The Firm's Mean Business album

1984 17 September On This Day Jimmy Page with The Firm – finished recording Long Black Cadillac at The Sol

• 1968 Led Zeppelin - Malmo, Sweden at Folkets Park 
• 1971 Led Zeppelin - Honolulu, HI at Honolulu Civic Auditorium
• 1984 Jimmy Page with The Firm – finished recording Long Black Cadillac at The Sol
• 1988 Jimmy Page Outrider Tour - Mesa, AZ at Mesa Amphitheatre
• 2013 Jimmy Page attends Queens of the Stone Age concert

1971 Led Zeppelin - Honolulu, HI at Honolulu Civic Auditorium (day 2)

1984:
Given the experience of all the members of Jimmy Page's band, The Firm, it's no wonder they were able to record songs in one take. Recorded and mixed at Jimmy Page's Sol Studios in Berkshire, England, Cadillac appeared on The Firm's second album released in 1986, Mean Business.  There, it is just plain Cadillac, not to be confused with various versions of The Long Black Cadillac performed by other artists, light-years different from The Firm's song. Jimmy Page's Cadillac is dark and dirty. Magick oozes from his guitar.

As far as that version of "Cadillac" goes, we were lucky to get it. Because it was a live number and you can't do that in a room with a couple of takes because it has to be alive...
~ Jimmy Page, Guitar World July 1986, page 87

The Firm and Mean Business never did take off, though they were decently high on the charts. People still were expecting the Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, when in fact there was - and is - much more to Jimmy Page than that. A shame, to be so blind to that lovely musical Magick.

2013 Jimmy Page backstage at Queens of the Stone Age (Ross Halfin photo)

2013 Jimmy Page with Josh Homme and Troy Van Leeuwen backstage at
Queens of the Stone Age concert (Ross Halfin photo)

2013 Jimmy Page and Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age

♪

♪  Cadillac (Jimmy Page The Firm, Mean Business 1986) YouTube
♪  Cadillac (Jimmy Page The Firm, Birmingham England 1985) YouTube
♪  Full set (Jimmy Page Outrider Tour, Mesa 1988) YouTube

 

Inner Wolf

“The caribou and the wolf are one; for the caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf that keeps the caribou strong.”
― Farley Mowat

Mage Music 62

Wolves are scary. They are apex predators - meaning they are some of the most savage, ruthless killers on the planet. They are smart. They are organized. They will persevere until they've achieved their goal and they will overcome whatever they need to get there.

No wonder they're so scary. Wolves are just like us.

Humans fear and are attracted to wolves because we see ourselves in them. The power of the wolf is an irresistible lure. It calls to our souls, because while we label wolves apex predators, of course it is humanity that holds that title.

Nowadays people tend to hide from the predator and the power it represents within us – a mistake. Repression never deals with an issue; it only makes it more powerful, encourages it to seek out other avenues of release. Predators will not be caged. Wolves don’t run from things - they run towards things.

The inner wolf
Humans live with feet in two planes of reality – that of the body and that of the mind. The physical body shares aspects of all physical life. The mind shares aspects of the energy of the Universe.  The two parts need each other to be strong.

 
The power of the body and of physical reality is the power of the wolf. It appears to be a dark and dangerous thing when it is cloaked in the guise of the predator. When a person chooses to seek other realities - to connect with the energy of the Universe - the power of the wolf can be transmuted. For the artist, the flow of creativity is opened. For the Mage the energy of the wolf becomes the energy that changes reality.

We hear the song of the wolf, but it is wolf no more. We come to the call in fear or joy, but we come nevertheless.

♫

Play this song, Cadillac (The Firm/Mean Business Hammersmith Odeon, 12-09-1984) while reading this post and looking at this week’s Mage Music artwork (click on artwork to enlarge, so you will see details you might otherwise miss). If you don’t feel the wolf, I'm pretty sure you are working hard to hide from it.

♫

It's Your Magick Too

"A rock concert is in fact a rite involving the evocation and transmutation of energy."
~ William Burroughs, Crawdaddy Magazine, June 1975. Rock Magic: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, And a search for the elusive Stairway to Heaven 


Mage Music 43

This week's Mage Music came about because of a birthday playlist request.  You may have noticed I stopped doing playlists in these posts.  I realized how much time choosing the right music takes and, as important as this blog is to me, I nevertheless decided I needed to use that time for other things.  That makes this playlist a little more special.

I wanted to pick songs that have Magick for me personally (even though the list is meant for someone else), not just songs that are well performed.  The songs are not necessarily beautiful, the playlist doesn't even flow well from one song to the next.  I picked the songs because it seems to me in each one Jimmy Page was pushing, exploring, reaching for something deeper and more meaningful than ordinary music conveys.  I chose these particular songs, too, because the more closely I listen, the more they prompt me to join in that reaching.

This made me think about Mr. Burroughs' comment about what a rock concert is about, and what music brings to us, the audience - or, more specifically, about the Magick from the audience point of view whether or not the audience is at a live concert.

But I'm not going to talk about any of that this week.

You'll have to forgive me - or be PO'd if you prefer - for my not going further with these ideas right now.  I'm taking a little time off for other work.   Perhaps some of you have thoughts on this - I welcome them.  Right now, though, I'm leaving you with the birthday playlist and getting back to my other work.  Enjoy!





PLAYLIST

Note:  I recommend not looking at the visuals, and not paying attention to lyrics.  These songs are about the vision of Jimmy Page as expressed through the music produced by his own guitar.

White Summer Black Mountain Side	1969 (live)  Led Zeppelin June 27, 1969 London's Playhouse Theatre First released on LZ 4-disc boxed set 11/08/90
Lucifer Rising Outtake 2	1972 (studio) Jimmy Page, Album: Lucifer Rising
Guitar Solo	1977 (live)  Led Zeppelin  May 30, 1977 Landover MD (from bootleg Double Shot - sorry, the end of the song is cut off for some reason)
Cadillac	1986 (studio)  The Firm, Album: Mean Business
Emerald Eyes	1988 (studio)  Jimmy Page, Album:  Outrider
Saccharin	1993 (studio)  Jimmy Page, David Coverdale.  Unreleased.
Domino	1999 (live)  Jimmy Page, NetAid Benefit Concert.  Unreleased.
Nobody's Fault But Mine	2007 (live)  Led Zeppelin + Jason Bonham, Celebration Day O2 Concert
Ramble On	2008 (live) Foo Fighters, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones.  Wembley Stadium.
Summer's Day	2011 Happy birthday, Sue Clement.  Hope your day is special.