Dez's Top 30 Guitarists: The High Priest Professional

10. Jimmy Page (session work, The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Firm, solo):

I don't think I need to talk too much about Led Zeppelin here. All self-respecting rock fans know Zep's canon by heart. One aspect of Led Zeppelin's music that is often overlooked, though, is its diversity. Jimmy Page was primarily responsible for that. Not only did they supercharge the blues and take it to another place entirely (Led Zeppelin I and II), but they were equally adept in the folk/acoustic realm (Led Zeppelin III and elsewhere), as well as being early world music experimenters ("Kashmir," "Black Mountain Side.")

Before Zeppelin, Page was the session guitarist in mid and late-60's London. What that means is that the guitar on many classic British Invasion singles from the 60's feature Mr. Page. He is all over tunes from Donovan to even early Who and Kinks singles (Pete Townshend and Dave Davies were great guitarists, of course, but it was common practice in the mid 60's for producers and studios to bring in hired guns to play the solos and some other instruments. Jimmy Page was the primary hired gun in London at the time.)

My favorite Page solo comes, funny enough, on the overblown Zeppelin live album, The Song Remains the Same. His solo in the second half of "No Quarter" is perfect Page - speed, fire, in your face. One of those solos where he gets going so fast that it gets a little sloppy, but that doesn't matter. A solo that makes you forget the goofy Norse mythology lyrics and Robert Plant's melodramatic vocals of the previous 6 minutes. Led Zeppelin is one of those rare bands whose entire catalogue is essential listening. NOTE: The Song Remains the Same has been remastered, but the performance of "No Quarter" on the remaster is a different take, and not nearly as good as the original.


ABOVE: We all know that Page can rip on the electric, but he is a fine folk player as well. Check out this absolutely gorgeous version of "Going To California." (That's Zep's underrated bassist/multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones on the mandolin.)