Jimmy Page’s best guitar work wasn’t on a Led Zepp album

[Doctor Jeff]

It was on an Al Stewart album: Love Chronicles. Relistening to old Al—a favorite from my high school days—I delved into his great seminal album Love Chronicles. All the songs are great, but the title song is a 17-minute rehash of Al’s love life up until that time. (Not kidding) He has quite a way with lyrics, kind of like Paul Simon mashed with Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.

Sample lyric:

And I sat all huddled upon my bed
Watching her in my innocence
And it was no sense at all, but too much sense
That took me to the bridge of impotence
Oh Artaud's anthology lay spread on the floor
And the thoughts that she gave me
I'd not met before
And stranded half hypnotised
I watched her in awe
Of everything that she stood for…

Artaud’s Anthology?? A mystery to me.

Anyway, what’s amazing is the Jimmy Page backing guitar. He wails for almost the entire song, kind of counterpointing Al’s lyrics. Sounds like a Fender Tele, with heavy use of wah pedal. John Paul Jones is the bassist, btw.

Incredible work. Arguably one of the best session guitar efforts of the 60’s.

The rest of the album features Richard Thompson on guitar, who is similarly impressive.

The early Al Stewart albums before he hit the big time with Year of the Cat—still a great sonic soundscape, even 50 years later—featured some pretty prominent sessionists like Jimmy and Richard and Rick Wakeman. His folky stuff was hit or miss, though I am a sucker for the historical songs like Road to Moscow. Still gives me the chills every time I listen to it. (How many rock songs have been written about Heinz Guderian? Or Warren Gamaliel Harding, for that matter?)

I found out that one of his session and tour drummers from the late 70’s was a fine singer and drummer whom I saw last week, “Handsome” Harry Stinson, lately one of Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives. Great singer, and rock solid drummer.

Anyway, smoke a doob and give this one a listen and pretend you’re 19-20 years old again.

[Hep To The Jive]

Well ain't that the clickbaitest title if there was one! That's the best Jimmy Page work? I could smoke a doob and pretend I'm 0 years old again, but I couldn't sit through listening the whole thing to find out! My mind just goes numb after about 3 min. No wonder Jimmy said he got sick and tired of session work before he formed Led Zeppelin lol

[Doctor Jeff]

Well ain't that the clickbaitest title if there was one! That's the best Jimmy Page work? I could smoke a doob and pretend I'm 0 years old again, but I couldn't sit through listening the whole thing to find out! My mind just goes numb after about 3 min. No wonder Jimmy said he got sick and tired of session work before he formed Led Zeppelin lol

He’s not fronting his own band, he’s supporting the main guy. Does an excellent job I think.

Compare this to Mike Bloomfield supporting Bob Dylan. Bloomfield gets all the accolades, but his stuff is pedestrian compared to Page’s work.

[Hep To The Jive]

He’s not fronting his own band, he’s supporting the main guy. Does an excellent job I think.

Compare this to Mike Bloomfield supporting Bob Dylan. Bloomfield gets all the accolades, but his stuff is pedestrian compared to Page’s work.

Yea he does a good job judging from a few licks I hear. Jimmy Page was in a top form before and during Led Zep, kinda suck after, but that's irrelevant. I'm talking the main guy, what a flop! Not even the talents of Page and John Paul Jones can save him.

[JFranck]

You can still find Artaud's anthology Amazon.com

[Phil59]

I agree.

Well ain't that the clickbaitest title if there was one! That's the best Jimmy Page work? I could smoke a doob and pretend I'm 0 years old again, but I couldn't sit through listening the whole thing to find out! My mind just goes numb after about 3 min. No wonder Jimmy said he got sick and tired of session work before he formed Led Zeppelin lol

[Phil59]

Pedestrian? Bloomfield on Highway 61 Revisited? Surely you jest. Page here is different. And good. But no, Page doesn't wail throughout the song, judging from the various snippets I heard. And no, not better than his many great Led Zeppelin performances.

He’s not fronting his own band, he’s supporting the main guy. Does an excellent job I think.

Compare this to Mike Bloomfield supporting Bob Dylan. Bloomfield gets all the accolades, but his stuff is pedestrian compared to Page’s work.

[Doctor Jeff]

OK, I agree a little clickbaity. And of course I think Bloomfield's playing on Highway 61 etc was much more influential, but I don't find it as interesting, maybe because it's been done to death.

I do think Page pushes the boundaries of guitar accompaniment for this kind of music and keeps it interesting. I would put it up there with some of the best of the late 60's. He's not stepping out there and soloing as he does in Zeppelin, but it's also challenging in a different way to support a song when you're not the main act.

As far as Al Stewart, I have a soft spot for him and listened to him a lot in the 70s. Love Chronicles is not his best song, but it did say something to me as a 17-year-old kid. He is a very good tunesmith with an ear for a clever turn of phrase. And a very good acoustic guitarist, as he shows on his folky songs.

[Kirk Garrett]

Thanks for hipping me to the earlier, pop version of Al Stewart. I knew his folk stuff somewhat.

Bloomfield, I never got the appeal….which is true of many hero guitarists for me. Page is great in many ways though.

[strumcat]

I thought Page and the bass player and drummer from Led Zeppelin sounded better backing Donovan on Hurdy Gurdy Man. Even if you could eliminate the vocal from this (to hear Page better), the chords seem sort of pointless and meandering, but maybe that's just me.