Led Zeppelin guitarist shared reflection when commenting on IV, one of the most acclaimed albums in the history of the musical genre
Rock fans who have never come across the “old albums were really good” speech are probably having an isolated experience with the musical genre. In fact, the most acclaimed works in the style were recorded decades ago. AND Jimmy Pageresponsible for some of these records, has an explanation for this.
In a 2014 interview with Classic Rock (via Music Radar), the guitarist of Led Zeppelin was asked to reflect on the power of the untitled 1971 album known as Led Zeppelin IV. The record in question sold more than 35 million copies across the planet.
Initially, he agreed when the interviewer pointed out how side A of the vinyl — which brings together the classics “Black Dog”, “Rock and Roll”, “The Battle of Evermore” and “Stairway to Heaven” — is powerful. Page says:
“It’s good, isn’t it? You get the full sense of this band’s creativity. It’s coming in full force. It’s showing the whole picture of what this band is musically. There’s no doubt about that at this point.”
Jimmy’s theory came up to explain why old albums sound so good compared to more recent ones. For him, the difference was in the fact that bands, at that time, had to play together in the studio to record their songs.
“They were really honest performances. If you recorded a song, it wouldn’t be recorded one word at a time and all put together with the ProTools [programa de edição musical muito usado a partir dos anos 1990]. That’s one way of doing things. I’m not saying that’s necessarily wrong, because I really like what they do with modern mixing. But back then it was a real performance – you feel the dynamics and it’s a hand mix.”
Finally, the English musician ended up resorting to a word that he is not a big fan of:
“The whole thing is really… I don’t want to use the word ‘organic,’ but you know what I mean!”
Led Zeppelin IV song order
At another point in the conversation, another important point for old rock bands was highlighted by Jimmy Page: in those times, they were concerned with the album as a whole. In recent years, the music market has once again prioritized singles. When commenting on the definition of the order of the Led Zeppelin IVhe said:
“We were creating albums for the album market, which is what everyone was doing outside of pop singles. It was important to have the flow and the rise and fall of the music and the contrast, so that each song had more impact against the other.”
Asked if he considered putting “Stairway to Heaven” at the end of the album as a whole — instead of ending just side A — Page responded:
“No, no, no! ‘When the Levee Breaks’ had to close. You had your opening statement, which is the A-side of the record. But I thought that ‘Levee Breaks’ I had to finish the overall sound picture of what we had done, because she was so sinister. It’s sinister, dense and would disturb people. After caressing them with ‘Stairway’now you will disturb them! But that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Conjuring all these different emotions.”
Led Zeppelin’s greatest merit, according to Jimmy Page
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
