Was it difficult working with Jimmy Page? The answer itself

For some hard-to-understand reason, many music fans tend to think of the lead singer as the lead in a band. In case of Led Zeppelinthe dynamic was different: the guitarist jimmy page he was the one who guided the group, not only because of his previous experience as a studio musician, but also because he was the producer of all the albums.

This, of course, is not to say that the other members did not have a say in the creative process. Especially because “choking” the talents of Robert Plant (voice), john paul jones (bass) and the nostalgic John Bonham (drums) would have been a bad idea. Even so, Page he had the final say.

In an interview with Guitar Player (via Music-News), jimmy was asked about the working relationship he had with his former colleagues. The musician recognized that he is a perfectionist – even if only in the artistic side, not in the business part -, but he pointed out that he never had the impression of being someone difficult to live with in the professional environment.

“I don’t think I was difficult to work with. I don’t think anyone in the band thought I was.”

Then the guitarist and producer elaborated a bit more:

“You are always trying to push yourself to be better and better. That is all. And sometimes, whatever you’ve done isn’t good enough. So always do your best. But, you know, that’s my thing. And I haven’t changed. That’s how I am.”

Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin these days

Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980 after the death of John Bonham. Despite sporadic reunions at events, the band never actually returned.

For this and other reasons, they would most likely find it difficult to continue their work in today’s world. In the same interview (via Igor Miranda website), jimmy page declared that the group adopted some practices in those days that would be impossible today, due to what he called the “immediacy” of such a connected society.

One of them was to premiere previously unreleased songs at the shows. This was done to test the audience’s reaction and see if any parts of the song should be adjusted.

“We put songs that had not yet been recorded in the repertoires of the shows, just for fun. We did that with the song ‘Immigrant Song’ at the Bath Festival in 1970 and nobody had heard anything like it.”

If I did that today, the material would be on YouTube in almost real time. The whole world would know the song even before it was finished.

“Nowadays, you no longer have that freedom, because it would be posted immediately on the internet. The 1970s were a fun time as a creative musician, a fun time to be in a band.”