Showing posts with label The Firm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Firm. Show all posts

Saturday, May 11, 2024

11 May

1973
 

  • 1969 Led Zeppelin - Seattle, Washington at Green Lake Aqua Theater
  • 1973 Led Zeppelin - St. Louis, Missouri at St. Louis Arena 
  • 1974 Led Zeppelin meet Elvis in LA 
  • 1985 Jimmy Page - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at The Spectrum
  • 1986 Jimmy Page - Richfield, Ohio at Richfield Coliseum
  • 2005 Jimmy Page at NY Stock Exchange



1969



1973

♪ The Firm (Philadelphia PA at The Spectrum, 11 May 1985)



Monday, April 29, 2024

29 April

 

1985

  • 1985 The Firm - Madison Square Garden, New York City NY USA
  • 1986 The Firm - Purdue University Elliott Hall of Music, West Lafayette IN USA
  • 1995 Page & Plant - Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont IL USA


♪ 

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

12 March

 

  • 1970 Led Zeppelin - Dusseldorf ,Germany at Dusseldorf Rheinhalle
  • 1975 Led Zeppelin - Long Beach, CA at Long Beach Arena
  • 1985 The Firm - Tempe, AZ at Arizona State University Activities Center




Sunday, February 11, 2024

On this day 11 February

 UNDER CONSTRUCTION FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG. I'm working on another (time consuming) project that takes precedence. Note that info on this page has not been fully updated yet and links may not work properly. Thank you for your patience.

A firm step back to music
1985 11 February On This Day The Firm released
AUDIO: Closer rehearsal track (Soundcloud)

  • 1967 The Yardbirds - Paris at La Locomotive
  • 1967 The Yardbirds - Aulney-sous-Bois, Paris at Le Tube
  • 1985 The Firm album released 
1985:
Jimmy Page seemed to have lost his musical way after John Bonham's death, but his work with The Firm was a step back to his creative life. The members of what was referred to as a supergroup were seasoned musicians that Jimmy Page could count on, but unlike with Led Zeppelin the combination wasn't an alchemical mix of talent that created a new and separate entity greater than the sum of its parts. 

I have no doubt that Jimmy Page was aware of what he had. He has said that the short lifespan of the band was planned, and for that I am grateful. The music is good but for Jimmy Page The Firm was a way to jump-start his career rather than a venue for musical magic.


Jimmy Page - The Firm years

1985 Jimmy Page


2020






♪  Make or Break (The Firm, 1985) 

♪ Midnight Moonlight (The Firm, 1985)




Saturday, February 3, 2024

On this day 03 February

UNDER CONSTRUCTION - working on another (time consuming) project that takes precedence. Note that info on this page has not been updated yet and links may not work. Thank you for your patience.

I wonder if Joe Walsh ever inquires about the health and happiness of Jimmy Page's #1?
2001 03 February On This Day Jimmy Page went to Joe Walsh show in Miami FL

  • 1975 Led Zeppelin - New York City at Madison Square Garden
  • 1986 The Firm - Mean Business released 

1969:
Four shows in New York City were cancelled when John Bonham flew back to England because Bonham's three year old son, Jason, was ill.  The shows weren't rescheduled.  Jason, as we all know, recovered quite nicely.

1975:
Jimmy Page's smashed finger (he slammed his ring finger in a train door in England prior to leaving for the US Tour, breaking the tip) was well enough for the band to return Dazed and Confused to the set list, dropping How Many More Times.  

Madison Square Garden had the fastest sellout in their history with this show. People magazine declared: "Led Zeppelin are bigger than the Beatles".

Well yes. Yes, they were. And are.

1975 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden





1975 Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden
1986:
The Firm's Mean Business didn't shake the music world, but it's a solid album. Paul Rodgers is a great singer, but if you've been reading this blog all along, you know I've never felt he was right for Jimmy Page's music. According to Jimmy Page, The Firm had never been meant to stay together forever and that was just fine with me.

2001:
There are all kinds of stories out there about how the Gibson Les Paul guitar went from Joe Walsh's possession to Jimmy Page's. I'll say this, if the two men have been friends this long, whatever the details of the exchange it is fine with both of them today.  

"I like to give people equipment and stuff,” Walsh said in a 2012 Guitar World interview. “For me, it’s a kind of payback. Anyone who is an influence or hero for me, I’m always concerned with how I can balance the karma.”

Saturday, December 9, 2023

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.


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 (that would include me).

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



 Jimmy Page/ARMS (New York City at Madison Square Garden day 2 - JP starts at 1:08:40, 09 December 1983)
♪  Jimmy Page/The Firm (London at Hammersmith Odeon, 09 December 1984) 
♫  Pre-show, interviews, concert footage (Jimmy Page/The Firm, Hammersmith Odeon London 1984)

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

On this day 05 December

 

1984 05 December On This Day Jimmy Page with The Firm at Hamburg
  • 1983 Jimmy Page ARMS Charity Concert - Inglewood, CA at The Forum 
  • 1984 Jimmy Page The Firm - Hamburg, Germany at Audiomax
  • 2007 Led Zeppelin + Jason Bonham, Shepperton rehearsal

2007
Ross Halfin photos of Shepperton rehearsal 












♪  Jimmy Page ARMS Charity Concert (Inglewood, CA at The Forum, 05 December 1983) 
♪  Jimmy Page The Firm (Hamburg, Germany at Audiomax, 05 December 1984)
♪  Led Zeppelin + Jason Bonham, Shepperton rehearsal, 05 December 2007)

Monday, December 4, 2023

On this day 04 December

 Led Zeppelin.  The end of an era of greatness but never the end of the Magick.

1980 04 December On This Day Led Zeppelin disbanded 
  • 1966 The Yardbirds - Lima, OH at Springbrook Gardens Teen Club
  • 1972 Led Zeppelin - Glasgow Scotland at Green's Playhouse (day 2)
  • 1980 Led Zeppelin disbanded
  • 1984 Jimmy Page The Firm - Ludwigshafen, Germany at Pfalzbau

1980
To "disband" is to break up an organized group; to cause the break up and end the functioning of an organized group. The word is even more apt when applied to a musical group - a band.


Disbanding is not the same as saying the members of the group can't keep going on individually.  They can "reband", they can soar on their own, they just can never go back to what they were.

The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not "get over" the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.
~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross & David Kessler, On Grief and Grieving
1984
“The main aim is to play some rock ‘n’ roll and have some fun.
Jimmy Page

1984 Jimmy Page The Firm - Ludwigshafen, Germany at Pfalzbau

1984 Jimmy Page The Firm - Ludwigshafen, Germany at Pfalzbau



♪   Led Zeppelin, Glasgow Scotland at Green's Playhouse - day 2, 04 December1972) 
♪  Jimmy Page The Firm (Ludwigshafen Germany at Pfalzbau, 04 December 1984)

♪  All the King's Horses (The Firm, 1986) YouTube
Note that Paul Rodgers was married to Machiko Shimizu when this song was written

Sunday, December 3, 2023

On this day 03 December

 Remembering Michael Lee.

1972 03 December On This Day Led Zeppelin at Green's Playhouse, Glasgow

  • 1972 Led Zeppelin - Glasgow, Scotland at Green's Playhouse
  • 1973 Jimmy Page with Roy Harper - London, England at Royal Albert Hall  
  • 1983 Jimmy Page ARMS Charity Concert Tour - Daly City, CA at  Cow Palace
  • 1984 Jimmy Page The Firm - Frankfurt, Germany at Kongresshalle
  • 1998 Page & Plant - Frankfurt, Germany at Festhalle Frankfurt 

1972 Led Zeppelin at Greens Playhouse, souvenir book

1972 Led Zeppelin at Greens Playhouse, souvenir book

1972 Led Zeppelin at Greens Playhouse, souvenir book

1972 Led Zeppelin at Greens Playhouse, souvenir book

1972 Led Zeppelin at Greens Playhouse, souvenir book
1973
Jimmy Page joined Roy Harper on stage at Royal Albert Hall for a guest appearance, playing Male Chauvinist Pig Blues.  According to Dave Lewis, the concert was professionally taped but never released. If anyone has this performance of the song with Jimmy Page playing, please share!

1983
Last date of ARMS gig at Cow Palace
1983 Jimmy Page ARMS at Cow Palace (Larry Hulst/Getty Images)

1983 Jimmy Page ARMS at Cow Palace (Philip Anderson photo)

1984 Jimmy Page with The Firm, Frankfurt
2008
Jimmy Page attended the Darlington, England funeral of drummer Michael Lee, who had died from an epileptic seizure at 39 years old.
2008 Jimmy Page at drummer Michael Lee's funeral
2012
Read Dave Lewis' text of a Steve Sauer report on the Late Show with Dave Letterman appearance of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones and Robert Plant.
2012  Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Dave Letterman 

2015
JP signed a guitar for a charity auction but I've lost the details of the event. Anyone know?







♪ Led Zeppelin (Glasgow Scotland at Green's Playhouse, 03 December 1972)
 Jimmy Page ARMS Charity Concert Tour (Daly City CA at Cow Palace - day 3, 03 December 1983)

Sunday, September 17, 2023

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)