The Led Zeppelin Outtake That Proved the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Guitarist Was Ready to Make Music Again
Led Zeppelin’s influence on musicians that followed them showed up in interesting ways. He seemingly alienated Jimmy Page on tour, but Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson also defended Page from those who said he played sloppy. For Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, his mastery of a Led Zeppelin outtake told him he was ready to record music again after a low point in his life.
Led Zeppelin’s ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ outtake inspired John Frusciante to make music again
The Chili Peppers’ rocket ride to fame with their 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik didn’t sit well with Frusciante. He felt uncomfortable with the adoration and used drugs to cope. The guitarist left the band but continued using drugs. In time, he couldn’t live his life without heroin.
Frusciante’s addiction to heroin spiraled to a point where he was dangerously thin and inching toward death before accepting help, entering rehab, and embracing sobriety. He eventually rejoined RHCP, but only after mastering the Led Zeppelin outtake “I Can’t Quit You Baby” proved he was ready to make music again.
Page scoured the archives and put the best songs on Zep’s posthumous album Coda in 1982. A 1970 rendition of “I Can’t Quit You Baby” made the cut. The song is essentially four minutes of Page’s finest soloing with whirlwind drums, bass, and vocals around him. Frusciante mastered Page’s playing on the song, which proved he was ready to make rock music again. His solo work from the mid-1990s focused on sound experiments and avant-garde techniques. Keeping up with Page was a sign he was ready for more.
“I thought if I could do that, then I was going to be good enough to go into the studio,” he told Total Guitar (via Louder).
Frusciante set a high bar for himself. The Coda version of “I Can’t Quit You Baby” is quite a workout. Page throws in lightning-quick hammer-ons, wild string bends, fast and furious picking, and a slide up the fretboard, and that’s all within the first minute. It might have been the bluesiest of Led Zeppelin’s songs, and the solo work was some of Page’s best. When Frusciante mastered it, he knew he was ready to make his rock music comeback.
Frusciante begged Jimmy Page to record a guitar part for his friend’s band
Mastering Page’s Coda version of “I Can’t Quit You Baby” proved to Frusciante that he was ready to play rock music again. He hoped to play alongside the Led Zeppelin legend.
The Chili Peppers guitar player met Page at a 2004 awards show. A few days later, he faxed Zep’s founder asking him to play on a record by The Mars Volta. Frusciante was close friends with the members of that band, and he hoped to persuade Page to record a guitar part and email the file in time for the band to use it on their album.
It didn’t come to pass.
Page’s playing didn’t show up on The Mars Volta’s Frances the Mute album (released in 2005), but Frusciante brought in another famous friend. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea played trumpet on the album while Frusciante provided some guitar.
John Frusciante felt emboldened to ask Jimmy Page to play on his friends’ album after a brief meeting. He might have perceived a kinship after mastering the Led Zeppelin outtake “I Can’t Quit You Baby” before returning to making rock music after years of drug addiction.
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
