Jimmy Page Butchered the Guitar Solo Zakk Wylde Called ‘Some of His Greatest Playing’
Jimmy Page tackled many styles of music with Led Zeppelin, including folk, prog, and reggae, with seeming ease. Still, his best guitar solos became classic rock staples. Take those away, and Zep would have been a far different band. Yet a solo that fellow guitarist Zakk Wylde called some of the best playing of Page’s career became a lost solo when Page edited it down for a reissue.
Jimmy Page butchered the guitar solo Zakk Wylde called ‘some of his greatest playing’ on a live version of ‘No Quarter’
Black Sabbath guitarist Tommy Iommi and former Osbourne collaborator Randy Rhoads seem to be more direct influences on Wylde’s playing style. Still, Page sat at the top of the list when he revealed his top 11 guitarists to Revolver (via YouTube).
Wylde, Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist and the founder of the metal band Black Label Society, started by praising Page’s “Whole Lotta Love” solo. Led Zeppelin’s founder would probably be proud to hear that song singled out. After all, he put in a lot of work behind the scenes to make the psychedelic freakout sound the way it did.
Yey Wylde also called out Page for butchering his “No Quarter” solo from The Song Remains the Same soundtrack.
“I also love his guitar playing, the solo … in ‘No Quarter’ on the live album, it’s weird because I listen to it now, and they edited it down, they cut a bunch of it out, which I have no idea why, considering it was some of Jimmy’s greatest guitar playing.”
Indeed, Page’s “No Quarter” solo from the earliest The Song Remains the Same pressings was a restrained, lush, and well-executed affair that built to a satisfying climax. Some people called him a sloppy guitar player, but Page nailed the live version of “No Quarter,” which he recorded in 1973 for the 1976 album. (A version from an unverified account lives on YouTube).
The newer cut, such as the version on Spotify (roughly 5:12 in), doesn’t align with the original and removes some of the emotional buildup. And that is version is now the standard The Song Remains the Same. Fans who want to hear Page’s non-butchered version of the “No Quarter” solo need to track down old copies of the soundtrack.
Page has been in control of Led Zeppelin’s music from the beginning. He curated the band’s various box sets and reissues over the years, including for The Song Remains the Same. Page takes the blame for butchering one of his greatest solos, and Wylde wasn’t the only one who hated it.
Led Zeppelin fans weighed in on Page’s new solo on the band’s website
Wylde publicly gave his opinion on the edited live ‘No Quarter’ solo. He didn’t understand why “they edited it down,” but it was Page who chopped up some of his greatest playing as he has always had final say on Led Zeppelin’s music.
Like Wylde, many Zep fans were miffed.
A fan forum hosted on Led Zeppelin’s website contains a thread with dozens of comments sharing the same sentiments. The user who originated the post asked if the 2018 remaster of The Song Remains the Same included the “butchered version” of the “No Quarter” solo. The first reply indicated it did. A few posts below the top of the thread, someone rhetorically asked, “What the hell is wrong with Jimmy Page?”
Out of thousands of solos he performed on record and on stage in his career, the live “No Quarter” solo on The Song Remains the Same might be one of Jimmy Page’s greatest. The fact he butchered it and made it harder to find puzzled Zakk Wylde and many other Led Zeppelin fans.
For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.
