Jimmy Page has just completed an epic remastering, but told JOE he is now planning a “guitar project” – after a little rest.
We were invited to an exclusive playback of unheard Led Zeppelin material hosted by Page at Olympic Studios in West London, in the same room in which the band recorded their first self-titled album in 1968.
Page, 71, has spent the last three years foraging and listening to unreleased Zepp material, resulting in a reissue of three of the band’s albums: Presence, In Through The Out Door and Coda, which Page described as “a passionate body of work”.
Speaking in a Q&A afterwards, Page said: “I have spent hundreds of hours listening to get the companion disc, it isn’t just a band putting out a re-release with bonus tracks. It is a passionate body of work, it is cool.”
It sure is…
But even though he is “jubilant” that the task is finally over, he won’t be putting his feet up for long.
“I’m going to take it easy for a while but I’ll be working on a new musical project,” he announced.
“I’d like to do something with a guitar, being seen. The guitar is another thing to get obsessive about.”
We were treated to the first listen of never-before-heard tracks including Pod, St Tristan’s Sword and Sugar Mama.
There were also rare recordings of Page and Robert Plant’s trip to Bombay in 1972, a beautiful alternative version of When The Levee Breaks (If It Keeps On Raining), The Wanton Song and another alternate take of In The Light.
When asked for more information about his next plan, Page smiled and answered cryptically: “I like to present surprises…”
Deluxe editions of Presence, In through The Out Door and Coda will be released globally on July 31.
