Showing posts with label Tight But Loose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tight But Loose. Show all posts

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Jimmy Page biography by Martin Power (2016)

Chris Charlesworth on the forthcoming Jimmy Page biography by Martin Power:
Via Dave Lewis

Here’s a piece via Chris Charlesworth’s excellent Just Backdated blog about the forthcoming Jimmy Page biography by Martin Power – due out via Omnibus next year. I met with Martin a few months back to discuss the book – he is very thorough on the music and his credentials include the much acclaimed Jeff Beck book Hot Wired Guitar -The Life of Jeff Beck.
Over to Chris:
While editing the early chapters of a forthcoming biography of Jimmy Page this week, three of which are devoted to his work as a session player between 1963 and 1966, my attention was drawn to the guitar playing on ‘My Baby Left Me’ by Dave Berry and ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’ by First Gear, just two examples of the casual brilliance Jimmy brought to records that weren’t even hits. Guitar playing like this certainly hadn’t appeared on records by The Beatles or Rolling Stones up to this point.
Page young
Of ‘My Baby Left Me’, author Martin Power writes: “Alongside the likes of drummer Bobby Graham, bassist Alan Niven and, on occasion, legendary big band trombonist Don Lusher, Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan helped form the crack team that Dave Berry had dreamed of. By the autumn of 1963, some of them had also cut Berry’s own favourite of all his studio recordings, a sterling cover of Elvis’ ‘My Baby Left Me’. ‘Yep, that’s the one I’d like to be known for,’ he said ‘Nothing like the Arthur Crudup original, nothing like Elvis, just our own version of the song. Jimmy Page on lead guitar, Alan Niven on slap bass – there were actually two basses on that, you know. But yes, a good song. I’m happy with that and really glad Jimmy was on it.’ Page was actually all over it. Providing a master class in snappy riffs and clattering chords throughout the verse and chorus before letting fly with a quite superb solo, Jimmy took Berry’s already spirited reading of ‘My Baby Left Me’ to another level.  ‘I remember the great solo that Jimmy did on that session,’ Sullivan later recalled. ‘It’s one of the best constructed rock solos on record.’”
Here’s a link to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqL71rZjb2s
Of ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’, Martin writes: “Page’s performance on First Gear’s ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’ must surely rank as one of the finer guitar solos of the sixties. Signed to Pye records and managed/produced by Shel Talmy, First Gear were at the time tipped for big things, their North eastern cocktail of Elvis-style rock’n’roll and Mersey-approved beat pop as gritty, energetic and potentially promising as Van Morrison’s Them. With Talmy at the helm, the band entered the studio in the autumn of 1964 to record a single version of Ernie K-Doe’s ‘A Certain Girl’. In itself no slouch, ‘A Certain Girl’ motored along nicely on the back of lead singer Dave Walton’s behind-the-beat falsetto, some pleasing female backing vocals and Jimmy’s countrified string bends.
“But it was when First Gear and Page ran through the B-side, a cover of Little Willie John’s ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’ that Shel Talmy’s interest was truly peaked.  ‘Jimmy was about 18, 19 at the time, with bushy black hair, and very quiet,’ Dave Wilton recalled to the BBC. ‘But then he did this off the cuff, lightning guitar break on ‘Leave My Kitten…’. Well, Shel came racing down from the control room and said, ‘What did just you do to get that!’ So, he (told) Jimmy he was going to take it again. First take, Jimmy played it note-for-note perfectly.’ The resultant solo really was a thing of beauty. All twists, turns and racing speed pick work, Page’s contribution to ‘… Alone’ distilled all he had learnt from James Burton, Scotty Moore and Buddy Guy into just 23 seconds. Yet, there was also something else that was utterly distinctive and unique. At the start of his solo intrusion, Page’s guitar actually sounded like it was riding a wave of electricity. No distinct notes per se, more a wash of undulating sound. Quite unlike anything else Jimmy (or anybody else) had recorded up to that point, it was the first real pointer of where Page’s muse would take him in later years.”
The book, entitled No Quarter: The Three Lives Of Jimmy Page, will be published in the spring of next year. Updates on its progress and further extracts will appear on Just Backdated over the next few months.
Chris’s blog link:

Mage Music note:  Chris tells me that the biography is not authorized by Jimmy Page.


Friday, May 25, 2012

TBL Plug - Thanks, Dave Lewis!

Dave Lewis will be guest blogger for MAGE MUSIC for Sunday, May 27, 2012.  Thank you Dave!

Tight But Loose issue 32 –once again taking you closer to the world of Led Zeppelin…

The new issue of the Tight But Loose magazine is simply one of the best issues ever with a host of news, views and features, all guaranteed to take you closer to the world of Led Zeppelin.

If you are new to TBL – this is the ideal issue to step on board!

If you a past subscriber - don’t miss out –re-subscribe now!

TBL 32 kicks off the three issue TBL 2012 subscription. By subscribing  to the magazine you will never miss out (past sold out back issues are in regular demand on eBay) and each issue will be sent to you as published (TBL 32 May –TBL 33 September and TBL 34 January 2013).  

Tight But Loose – The essential Led Zeppelin Magazine 32 page all colour content. Beyond mere websites – this is the tangible printed word you will want to collect and read again and again…

Here’s the expansive line-up for the new issue:

TBL Investigates: Exactly when and where did Led Zeppelin stage their first band rehearsal? Mike Tremaglio gathers the facts in an extensive research feature that offers the most accurate timeline ever published of The Yardbirds transistor into Led Zeppelin. Plus the TBL Two step out onto the streets of Chinatown in search of more proof of when history was made in August 1968.  The end result is one of the most insightful features in this magazine’s long history.

Warren Grant: ‘’My father was the man who Led Zeppelin - these are my memories’’: Warren Grant relays his memories of being right in the centre of the world of Led Zeppelin as the son of the man who just happened to be their manager and one of the most powerful figures in the music industry. In the first part of the interview, Warren recalls his early years at their Horselunges manor house in East Sussex as his family reaped the rewards of their father’s many years of hard work plus his experiences of being at the curtailed Tampa show and Oakland Coliseum show in 1977 –all illustrated with photos from warren’s personal collection.

Led Zeppelin 1972: Thunder Down Under: Mike Tremaglio tracks Zep on tour in Australia and New Zealand 40 years on – every show of the tour analysed and illustrated with rare photos and images.  Plus Gerard Sparaco highlights the unofficial CD releases that capture key Zep live on the road moments during their Australian and New Zealand tour dates.

The Taping of The Thunder Down Under - The Live in Sydney TBL interviews: A revealing insight into how the Led Zeppelin February 27th 1972 Sydney Showgrounds concert was recorded by a member of the audience on a National Panasonic tape deck – and how the tape was  subsequently restored nearly 30 years later.

John Paul Jones: The TBL Interview: Talking Led Zep, bass guitars, opera and guest appearances and the Kettle’s Yard Composer Portrait event in an exclusive TBL interview.

John Paul Jones News Reports: At  the London Bass Guitar Fair, Floating in Warwick with Robyn Hitchcock, down under with Seasick Steve, at the John Cage Musicircus and the Kettle’s Yard Cambridge Composer Portrait event.

JimmyPage.com Website Watch: Simon Cadman reports on the Jimmy Page web site activity of the past three months.

Jimmy Page Lucifer Rising and other Soundtracks: Dave Lewis steps in through the soundscapes to dissect the recently released great lost Page soundtrack album of the 1970s.

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters in Gloucester: The live debut of Robert Plant new ad hoc line up caused the biggest Zep related ticket rush since the 02 reunion. Dave Lewis reports from down the front on the  welcome returned of the old witchdoctor.

Plus Justin Adams in another exclusive TBL interview relays his thoughts on the Gloucester Guildhall gig, Ju Ju summer festival dates & a decade of working with Robert Plant.

Multi-tracking Led Zeppelin 11: Ian Avey dissects the recently surfaced multi-track recordings of four songs from the Led Zeppelin II album.

Jeff Strawman’s Instrument Watch: The first of a regular TBL series focusing on the instruments and gear deployed by the members of Led Zeppelin. In this issue, Jeff chronicles Jimmy Page’s Gibson EDS 1275 double neck guitar.

Underground Uprising: Gerard Sparaco rounds up the latest underground CD releases including Berkeley Daze First Night, LZ Riders in AZ and The Calm & the Storm.

From A Whisper To A Scream –the Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin: Details of the new book by Dave Lewis via Omnibus Press, This is an extensive album by album track by track analysis of every Led Zeppelin recording. The book is guaranteed to take you make to the music with fresh perspective and there is –with news of the exclusive TBL edition due for publication in July – signed by the author and only available via the TBL website.

Plus News Round Up: Jimmy Page in attendance at Genesis David Bowie book launch and comments on his plans ahead to BBC 6 Music, : Ross Halfin Jimmy Page photo the 100,00 digitised shot in National Gallery, Neal Preston’s Gods And Rockers London Exhibition, BCC Live In Europe CD and Bonzo’s Birthday Bash all star rock drumming event, Mica Ertegun Oxford Scholarship, Peter Grant memorial Scholarship and latest Robert Plant news roundup -  Plus Loose Talk – a quick snapshot of latest Zep related happenings

Here is just one of many satisfied subscriber feedback comments:
‘’I’m an avid reader of Mojo, Q, Uncut, Record Collector and Rolling Stone but my subscription to TBL is far and away the best value for money.’’ Michael Rae, Australia


To order the TBL 2012 Subscription which commences with TBL 32 - go to the TBL 2012 Subscription link here and follow the instructions to pay via paypal.
http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/tblweb09/?page_id=1469

You can also order TBL 32 as a single issue on its own at this link

Get on board for the Zep Fix you can rely on!