MAGE MUSIC

Saturday, July 11, 2015

On This Day 11 July

2000 11 July On This Day Jimmy Page with Black Crowes on Conan O'Brien

1967 The Yardbirds - Algonquin, IL at New Place
1969 Led Zeppelin - Laurel, MD at Laurel Park Racecourse - Laurel Pop Festival
1998 Page & Plant - Albany, NY at Pepsi Arena
2000 11 July On This Day Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes -Late Night With Conan O'Brien Show

1969 Led Zeppelin Laurel Pop Festival, MD (Photo Tom B.)

1969:

The 2-day Laurel Pop Festival was a one-time event. Led Zeppelin was the closing act on the first day, with Buddy Guy, Al Kooper, Jethro Tull, Johnny Winter and Edwin Hawkins Singers (Oh, Happy Day) having performed before them. The next day's lineup was Jeff Beck, Ten Years After, Sly and the Family Stone, The Mothers of Invention, Savoy Brown and Guess Who.

Led Zeppelin was in the middle of their first US tour, and were considered the headliner act for the first night of the festival. According to one report, the power was cut off during Led Zeppelin's performance and Robert Plant just kept singing until the power came back on. More photos of this festival.

2011 Lemmy Kilmister & Jimmy Page iTunes Festival (Photo Ross Halfin)

♪ Your Time Is Gonna Come plus interview (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes -Late Night With Conan O'Brien Show 2000) YouTube

Friday, July 10, 2015

On This Day 10 July

Like guitar heaven.

2000 10 July On This Day Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, Wantagh, NY at Jones Beach Amphitheater video

1966 The Yardbirds - Hastings, East Sussex, England - Pavilion Ballroom
1967 The Yardbirds - Theinville, WI at Teensville
1973 Led Zeppelin - Milwaukee, WI at Milwaukee Arena
1998 Page & Plant - Philadelphia, PA at Core States Arena
2000 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Wantagh, NY at Jones Beach Amphitheater

"The Crowes are really known for jamming and ad-libbing. And that's what I've been doing ever since I've been playing. So it's complementary. And I know people respect the fact that there are musicians trying every night to put themselves right on the edge."
~ Jimmy Page, Guitar World July 2000

The Black Crowes provided a springboard for Jimmy Page's magic, but it wouldn't have come about if Mr. Page hadn't been asked to be music director for the 1999 benefit concert for the charities SCREAM (Supporting Children through Re-Education and Music) and ABC (Action for Brazil's Children) Trust (see previous Mage Music post).

Jimmy Page was looking for a band to back his guitar for that concert and his buddy, Ross Halfin, suggested The Black Crowes. Jimmy Page was familiar with the band because he had jammed with them in February of 1995.

The SCREAM performance of 10 songs was successful enough that Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes put together a tour that allowed Page to get back to his hard rock and blues guitar work and leave the Egyptian orchestra behind.

"When we did 'Ten Years Gone' it was the first time I'd ever heard all the guitar parts from the record played live. It was like being in guitar heaven."
~ Jimmy Page, Guitar World July 2000

July 2000 Guitar World

♪ Celebration Day (Led Zeppelin, Milwaukee 1973) YouTube
♪ Celebration Day (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, 10 July 2000) YouTube
♪ Shape of Things (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, 10 July 2000) YouTube
♪ Heartbreaker (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, 10 July 2000) YouTube
♪ Whole Lotta Love (Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes, 10 July 2000) YouTube

Thursday, July 9, 2015

On This Day 09 July

Taking a day off now and then is a good thing. I think I'll do the same.

2000 09 July On This Day Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes chilled out

1966 Yardbirds - Derby, East Midlands, England at Bass Recreation Grounds
1973 Led Zeppelin - St. Paul, MN at St. Paul Civic Center Arena
1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Belfort, France at Eurokeennes Festival

Here's some stuff I like. You might, too.

Take Me For A Little While, Coverdale/Page YouTube
As Long As I Have You, Led Zeppelin 1969 YouTube
Drone Orchestra - quite strange but compelling YouTube
Laura Marling, Short Movie YouTube
Happy Drum Drum Monkey Girl, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussein YouTube

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

On This Day 08 July

1997 08 July On This Day Rainer Ptacek’s tribute album released with the Page/Plant track, Rude World

1966 The Yardbirds - Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland at Raith Ballroom
1967 The Yardbirds - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at Kerrisdale Arena
1995 Page & Plant - Unledded Tour - Frauenfeld, Switzerland- Out In The Green Festival
1997 08 July On This Day Rainer Ptacek’s tribute album released
1998 Page & Plant - Virginia Beach, VA at Virginia Beach Arena
2000 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Camden, NJ at E-Center

1997:

Rainer Ptacek (1951–1997) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter whose work influenced many musicians. He was not widely known to the general public, but with his own distinctive approach to blues and guitar techniques he earned the reputation of "musician's musician". Ptacek impressed Robert Plant enough that Plant flew Ptacek to the UK to record the B-side tracks for the Fate of Nations singles, including Whole Lotta Love and 21 Years.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant recorded Ptacek's Rude World for the album, The Inner Flame - A Tribute to Rainer Ptacek. Here's the review I wrote of the track.

Look, the voice of Robert Plant of the 21st century isn't the voice of Robert Plant of the 20th. We all get that. Too bad, too sad. Here's the thing: even if there was some other vocalist to pair with the musical magic of Jimmy Page's guitar, the chemistry wouldn't be the same.

There's chemistry in Rude World. It's that alchemical mix of sound that churns the soul and makes you wonder if you're acting funny in public while listening to it. It's a song that when you've heard it for the first time you feel like it's been in you forever. And oh, that guitar...

A fitting tribute to Rainer Ptacek, who was no slouch himself in the music magic department.

2014 MOJO July #248 featuring 21 pages on Led Zeppelin

♪ Rude World (Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, 1997) SoundCloud

♪ 21 Years (Robert Plant and Rainer Ptacek 1993) YouTube

♪ Whole Lotta Love (Robert Plant and Rainer Ptacek 1993) YouTube

♫ Rainer Ptacek and Robert Plant at RAK Studios, London 1993 YouTube

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

On This Day 07 July

Honoring Bonzo on this day

1980 07 July On This Day Led Zeppelin, Berlin Final show

1980 07 July On This Day Led Zeppelin Berlin

1968 Yardbirds -Beds, England at Student Union, Luton College
1973 Led Zeppelin - Chicago at Chicago Stadium
1980 Led Zeppelin - Berlin, Germany at Eissporthalle Jafféstraße ^^^
1998 Page & Plant - Washington, DC at MCI Center
2001 Page & Plant - Montreux Festival, with Bill Jennings and Mike Watts

Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin Chicago 1973

Led Zeppelin Chicago 1973

2001 Page & Plant Montreux Jazz Festival

2001:
This night at Montreux was a tribute to Sun Records, founded by Sam Phillips. Phillips was a DJ, radio engineer, producer, label owner, and talent scout throughout the 1940s and 1950s. In 1950 he started up the Memphis Recording Service for amateurs (then!) such as B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Howlin' Wolf. Phillips launched the Sun Records label in 1952. The Memphis Recording Service became the Sun Recording Studio, which was the first to record Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. Phillips recorded what may be the first rock and roll record: "Rocket 88" (discussed previously in Mage Music).

At Montreux, Page & Plant were introduced by Claude Nobs and Ahmet Ertegun. The playlist below provides links to the original versions that Page & Plant covered, with the final link being the 2001 Montreux show.

2014 Jimmy Page (Ross Halfin Photo)

2014 July Guitar World cover (Ross Halfin Photo)

♪ Good Rockin' Tonight (Roy Brown) YouTube
♪ My Bucket's Got a Hole in It (Sonny Burgess) YouTube
♪ Heart in Your Hand (Page & Plant, Walking Into Clarksdale 1998) YouTube
♪ Candy Store Rock (Led Zeppelin, Presence 1976) YouTube
♪ Endless Sleep (Jody Reynolds) YouTube
♪ How Many More Years (Howlin’ Wolf) YouTube
♪ My Baby Left Me (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup) YouTube
♪ Baby Let's Play House (Arthur Gunter) YouTube

♪ Live at Montreux ( Page & Plant 2001) YouTube

Monday, July 6, 2015

On This Day 06 July

A band like Led Zeppelin really did need a manager like Peter Grant.

1969 06 July On This Day Led Zeppelin at Newport Jazz Festival

1969 Led Zeppelin - Newport, RI at Newport Jazz Festival
1973 Led Zeppelin - Chicago, IL at Chicago Stadium
1995 Page & Plant Unledded Tour - Barcelona, Spain at Sports Palace
2000 Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes - Bristow, VA at Nissan Pavilion

1969:
Led Zeppelin was scheduled to close the Newport Jazz Festival but "...in the interests of public safety" the festival promoter, George Wein, attempted to knock Led Zeppelin off the bill. He had not considered Peter Grant. The band went on at 1 a.m. and as NME reported, proceeded to "completely destroy the audience".

Bill Harry created the weekly Mersey Beat in 1961, writing about the Liverpool music scene. Harry had gone to art college with John Lennon, and the Mersey Beat was the first to cover the Beatles. He was a publicist for Led Zeppelin 1969-1970.

Harry recalled, "The point was - no publicity. It was carefully managed by Peter Grant that [Led Zeppelin] wouldn't do TV. I remember doing just one show with them for TV. They wouldn't do interviews. It was part of a thing he created which was successful. While everyone else was giving interviews for every other paper, the laws of trying to get as much publicity as possible, they didn't. It was more like keeping the press off them."
~ Bill Harry, in an interview with Gary James

1969 Backstage at Newport Jazz Festival

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Newport Jazz Festival (Photo P Tarnoff)

1973:
There was so much audience noise and fighting during this show that Robert Plant had to constantly ask for peace and quiet. Not that it did any good.