Jimmy Page has stockpiled a stack of material for a solo album – and insists it won’t be overshadowed by his Led Zeppelin catalogue, because he faced that challenge down with the band’s 2007 reunion show.
The guitarist has already said he’s turning this thoughts to putting a band together for a recording and touring project next year.
Page says in the latest edition of Classic Rock, on sale now: “There is pressure – but you have to put it in context with putting your arse on the line for one night at the O2. What sort of pressure is that? You can imagine that it was like for one shot.
“When you’re recording an album you’ve got more than one shot at the solo. You have to look at it like that.”
He argues: “New music is new music. It has to be good; it has to be vital; it has to connect with people. It doesn’t want to be limp and half-hearted. That’s what you’re doing – you’re a musician. You’re not thinking about whether it’s paling in the shade of Led Zeppelin. What sort of nonsense is that?”
Page says his new material will be “a summing up of where I am at this point of time” and adds: “It’s got various moods to it, various textures. There will be real surprises in it. There would have to be; I wouldn’t be happy about it unless there was.”
The full interview appears in Classic Rock 203, on sale now, also featuring Rainbow, Prince, Billy Idol, Taj Mahal, Suzi Quatro and more, plus a free 15-track CD of Zeppelin-style music from some of the best new bands around.
If your newsagent isn’t selling issue 203 of Classic Rock, you can order it online from MyFavouriteMagazines. Alternatively you can download the Classic Rock magazine app from iTunes. Also: for this month only, customers buying copies of Classic Rock in branches of Asda will save £1 off the normal retail price.
