Jimmy Page’s First Solo Song Sounded Nothing Like Led Zeppelin, Thankfully
Jimmy Page cemented his status as a classic rock guitar legend in Led Zeppelin. Years before that, he was just a session musician who realized he needed to quit to satisfy his creative interests. And before that, he was briefly a solo artist who made a record that sounded nothing like Led Zeppelin.
Jimmy Page released ‘She Just Satisfies’ in 1965
Led Zeppelin proved Page’s greatness as a guitar beyond a measure of doubt. He showed his skills extended beyond the guitar during his stint with the band. The guitarist also produced, engineered, and mixed their records. He typically stuck to guitar, but Page flashed banjo and bass skills in Led Zeppelin.
He did the same on “She Just Satisfies,” a solo song from 1965.
Page’s first solo song sees him play all the instruments and sing, but you have to squint pretty hard to find anything that remotely resembles Led Zeppelin.
Page’s solo song is nothing like Led Zeppelin
Page cut “She Just Satisfies” before he left behind his session musician life and joined the Yardbirds in 1966. He quickly segued and formed Led Zeppelin when that band folded. Page must have gone through a major musical growth period between 1965 and 1968. Page’s solo song “She Just Satisfies” sounds nothing like the Led Zeppelin music he started making in 1968.
The punchy two-chord riff that anchors the song is so unlike the playing Page became known for. He was a master of call-and-response riffing in Led Zeppelin (think “Celebration Day” or “Houses of the Holy.”) The bare-bones phrasing on “She Just Satisfies” (listen on YouTube) resembles early tunes by The Kinks and The Who, not the more sophisticated playing he did with Zeppelin.
Page’s guitar tone is wildly different, too, and it’s almost jarring. Technology evolved rapidly in the late 1960s. Guitar players emerging at that time had effects pedals to alter their sound. Page’s light distortion and reverb on “She Just Satisfies” don’t sound anything like the thicker, meatier tones he achieved later. He used only a few added effects on the first five Led Zeppelin albums, but those were enough to give him the signature sound he lacked on “She Just Satisfies.”
As for his other instrumentation, let’s just say we’re glad Page hooked up with Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones. He’s hardly a singer, and the drummer on the song barely rises above music class beats.
At least Page admits to his shortcomings. “There’s nothing to be said for that record except it was very tongue-in-cheek at the time,” Page said, per Yahoo. “[I]t’s better forgotten.”
He only released one proper solo album during his career
Though he’s spent decades in the music business, Page’s only true solo record. He had some help — Robert Plant and John Bonham’s son, Jason, appear — but the 1988 album Outrider was the first and so far only album with Page’s name on the front.
The guitarist composed the music for the 1982 movie Death Wish II, but that doesn’t quite fit the criteria of a solo album.
That said, Page was still a main creative force on several albums in his post-Led Zeppelin career. He formed The Firm in 1984, joined up with singer David Coverdale for the Coverdale/Page record in 1993, and re-teamed with Plant on 1994’s No Quarter (a quasi-Zep reunion that didn’t include Jones) and 1998’s Walking Into Clarksdale.
Jimmy Page’s first solo record sounded nothing like Led Zeppelin. We likely speak for most classic rock fans when we say we’re glad Led Zeppelin sounded nothing like “She Just Satisfies.”
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