John Paul Jones Archives - Page 5 of 6

The singers Jimmy Page considered for Led Zeppelin before Robert Plant

Certain pillars of cultural history seem so inextricably linked to one another that the thought of an alternative is largely impossible. Imagine Gordon Ramsay without the word “fuck” or David Beckham with a receding hairline. You can’t, can you? The same goes for Led Zeppelin, in all honesty – I mean, how could their greatness […]

The power of desperation: Robert Plant hates his vocals on the first Led Zeppelin album

While we might love artists like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Black Sabbath, all of whom defined their own corners of rock and pop music, classical composers would despise them. This isn’t me pointing out the obvious and saying that maybe the palette of classical musicians from centuries will be different to Jimmy Page’s; however, […]

The record Jimmy Page said captured Led Zeppelin’s best live moments

It goes without saying that 1972 was a mammoth year for British stadium rock. The three biggest bands on the planet were all at their creative and live peaks as The Rolling Stones fired off one last classic entry of the golden album run with Exile on Main St, and The Who were setting the […]

“That’s better”: the album John Bonham almost lost a leg over

Whenever I watch a live show, there’s always one person I want to be: the drummer. One foot in their own world, and the other with their bandmates keeping time, they always look like the ones having the most fun. There’s a physicality to it that I envy, something that embodies the primal spirit of […]

What was “The whole story”: The song that signalled the end of Led Zeppelin

As a music critic, I often find myself conflicted over the balance of evolutionary innovation and the mastery of one single craft. Take David Bowie, for example; his entire DNA is rooted in his mercuriality that shifted with every new album. By the time the campaign rollout for his third album came, we were used […]

Why ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’: The Led Zeppelin song Jimmy Page called “trance music”

Surprisingly, Robert Plant was never a huge fan of the Led Zeppelin track ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’. It was less the song as a whole that he had a problem with, and more his vocal performance that he hated. “Songs like ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’… I find my vocals on there horrific now,” […]

“It was extraordinary”: The one person that led Jimmy Page away from Led Zeppelin

From day one, Led Zeppelin was always the brainchild of Jimmy Page. Sure, the band could have been a democracy when it wanted to, but there was nothing on any of their records that didn’t get Page’s approval or had his signature touch for production behind the scenes. Although most of the members were free […]

The jam that made Robert Plant ditch Led Zeppelin: “I’m going home”

Any band getting back together must have a good reason to get back on that stage. It’s easy to figure out why some people either don’t want to speak to each other or are too past their prime to make the magic happen like they id in the early days, and it’s no surprise why […]

The album Jimmy Page said changed everything for rock music: “So many ideas”

Every generation has those defining records that hold a place in people’s hearts from subsequent generations as well. As much as listeners might have thought they sounded fresh at the time, certain records have that kind of magic that makes everyone want to listen again and wonder how they got to it before the days […]

When Joe Walsh gifted Jimmy Page a Les Paul: “One I just was saving for a rainy day”

In the age of instant gratification and impatient consumption, would a solo like Joe Walsh‘s in ‘Hotel California’ become as iconic? Forget the fact that guitar solos are more sparingly performed in the modern day; I don’t think the charts would allow for a two-minute solo at the end of a six-minute song anymore. Whether […]