How Well Did Jimmy Paige Know Theory?, or the other members? Options

[fkalich]

Hmmm.. I grew up with Zep and I believe that if they were starting out today they would be popular.. here’s why.

Throughout the seventies they were the kings of heavy rock. Not because they were masters of complexity but because they wrote catchy hard rock songs, with a variety of sounds (Physical Graffiti as an example) and they possessed tremendous stage presence. Say what you want about Page.. but he was a creative guy. During the time there were plenty of guitar players with better technical skills (lets see.. Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Howe and Jeff Beck come to mind) however these guys never achieved the level of success that Zeppelin did. Look at U2 now.. is the Edge really that technical of a player? or how about Lady Gaga for that matter

That said I just watched a Jeff Beck concert on the Palladia channel that was taped in London in 2007.. That dude is a true guitar god.

Page's skill level was nothing to be ashamed of w.r.t. his peers at the time. And his ability to compose was head and shoulders above those guys (Page was a very intelligent guy). The previous post was making the mistake of looking at a past epoch and judging it as if it were occurring today. It is not like Page and the band had the past 40 years to pick from at the time, to support their play and style. That is like saying Einstein was a dummy because he did not understand String Theory. Much of what has occurred in the past 40 years, came from Zep. If they had been born a few decades later, with their talent they would be at the skill level as guitar gods of today, and probably coming up with 5 times as much creative composition as most guys today, same as they did in their day. And as you say, they were a great stage act, very charismatic.

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This post has been edited by fkalich: Sep 9 2009, 07:12 AM

[Gary]

If they had been born a few decades later, with their talent they would be at the skill level as guitar gods of today, and probably coming up with 5 times as much creative composition as most guys today, same as they did in their day.

Amen brother.. your Einstein / string theory analogy is spot on. The guitarist who arrived later in no doubt received a huge benefit from the works of Page and co. Had Zep entered the fray later they would have had their inherent creativity + higher developed skills which likely would have yielded more creative and interesting compositions.

It does beg a question though that popped into my feeble mind last night.. In the day pretty much everyone between 12 and 35, male and female, was into Zeppelin..the release of a new album or announcement of a concert tour was HUGE. Make no mistake, they were the true definition of a "super group". In the end those who enjoy their music are probably lucky it happened when it did, with the skill set that was in place. If Page could play like Paul Gilbert zep would have likely "priced themselves out of the market" with complexity... It's likely that those in the know (musicians) would adore them but much of the music would likely "get lost in translation" with the general public. Food for thought..



Gary

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[Staffy]

I should'nt say "It was better in the old days....", but one thing that is obvious is that talented musicians with technical/musical skills was always on the top back then. There was no "hidden" scene with musicians just adored by musicians like today. I think that was because the musicians HAD to perform live in order to get recognized. The record companies didn't made records with bands that couldn't play. MTV came in the beginning of the 80'ths and turned everything up and down. (at least in my opinion) We also have a totally different flow of information, trends etc. today, and the music scene is so much bigger than it was then.

With this in mind, try to imagine a super-group like Zeppelin today. I would say that there is no market for super-groups anymore, no matter how good they are. The same goes for all artists, singers etc. No one will ever be as big as Elvis, Beatles etc. Why? Because the music industry is so huge today, and we are consuming music in a totally different way than before.

Well, the discussion was about Page and theory. I will say that he knew very well what he was playing, which is the only thing that really matters. What you call it in terms of standard music theory is one thing, theory is good for analyzing what other people play, but when it comes down to the bottom line - you play what you hear. My jazz teacher in the old days always said: "Learn theory - and then forget it".

//Staffay

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[Fsgdjv]

I would say that there is no market for super-groups anymore, no matter how good they are. The same goes for all artists, singers etc. No one will ever be as big as Elvis, Beatles etc. Why? Because the music industry is so huge today, and we are consuming music in a totally different way than before.

This is so true. And this is probably the main reason why the good old days aren't even half as good as it is now. Sure, I wasn't around back then, but it's what I think.

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