The English guitarist’s history with the American group he mentioned dates back a long time and even led to a partnership
In the years following the end of Led Zeppelinin 1980, Jimmy Page embarked on a series of musical adventures. Unlucky supergroup created The companyregistered with Roy Harperhas resumed its partnership with Roberto Piantaworked with David Coverdaleventured into a solo career and so on.
However, nothing seemed to have surprised more than his partnership with Black Crows. The English guitarist joined the American band – formed in 1984, but popular since the 1990s – for a series of six shows in 1999, playing Zeppelin songs and blues and rock classics. He also produced a live album, Live at the Greco (2000).
At that time the collaboration with Plant had already cooled down and Page seemed to want to preserve his pace of activity. For the Black Crowes, this brief collaboration became an extremely important milestone in their journey.
In a 2008 interview with Rolling Stone USA (go Lontano magazine), Jimmy briefly and complimentarily mentioned the work together with his younger colleagues. At that moment he was answering a question that had nothing to do with it: the interviewer, David Fricke, wanted to know if Page had ever considered the idea of having a second guitarist in Led Zeppelin, a group in which he had previously played. Yardbirds next to Jeff Beck.
Originally Answered:
“In the Yardbirds, when Jeff was there, we played the riffs in harmony. The approach was almost like a big band with brass – the power of that applied to the guitars. In Led Zeppelin, I never thought about duplicating anything, because we were such a complete unit. We felt we could do anything internally, certainly on records.”
Then came the Black Crowes quote, underlining how playing with the American band had improved the music “Ten Years Gone”from the album physical graffiti (1975). He states:
“When a song went on tour, those parts changed, especially when there were a lot of guitar parts on the record. We played “Ten Years Gone” and it has a lot of guitars in it. We made a really good version, but it wasn’t until I played with the Black Crowes that I heard all those parts live. It was exciting for me.
Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes
In a 2022 interview with Classic rock magazine (go Igor Miranda’s website), Jimmy Page recalled how the partnership with the Black Crowes was born. The guitarist said he met the musicians during a benefit show Café De Paris – which, interestingly enough, aimed to help the Brazilian entity Brazil taskwith which the artist developed a collaboration and allowed the creation of Jimmy House.
“The Robinson brothers have arrived. Rich (Robinson) has a brilliant guitar sound and riffs, while Chris (Robinson) is an absolutely incredible singer. Playing with them that night was incredible. Shortly after, their manager called me and asked if I would return the favor by traveling with them across the United States. I said I would like it.”
After accepting the invitation, Page assumed he would work in rehearsals. I’m wrong. He comments:
“I thought I should show them how to play this and that in rehearsal. But not at all, they knew all the songs. I thought, ‘This is great, there’s a lot of love and mutual respect here. We’re going to have a lot of fun.’ And that’s what we did.”
There has also been much praise from the Robinson brothers over the years. In an interview with World of guitar (go Igor Miranda’s website), Rich Robinson named Jimmy Page as one of the guitarists who shaped his sound and commented:
“Jimmy meant as much to me as anyone. Maybe even more because I played with him on tour with the Crowes. It was an experience I will carry with me forever. His compositional approach, his acoustic and rhythmic playing they were all on a level that he just existed and his solos are so flavorful and full of these moments where he swings back and forth with these beautiful melodies What can I say?
+++ READ MORE: Jimmy Page: How did the musician’s good relationship with Brazil arise?
+++ READ MORE: Was it difficult to work with Jimmy Page? He himself answers
+++ READ MORE: Led Zeppelin’s greatest merit, according to Jimmy Page
Source: Terra
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.
