Review by Booklist Review
As a guitarist, Jimmy Page resides in the rock pantheon beside Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. His technical facility and pre-Raphaelite curls set the template for rock god, and he was worshipped and desired. Before reaching stratospheric heights of success with Led Zeppelin, Page was in demand as a session guitarist, appearing on Tom Jones' It's Not Unusual, Donovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man, and records by Them, Lulu, and others. He joined the Yardbirds and soon found himself as lead guitarist after the departure of Jeff Beck. When the Yardbirds disbanded, Page took over, fulfilling contracts as the New Yardbirds, soon rechristened Led Zeppelin. Salewicz (Bob Marley, 2010) thoroughly recounts Page's artistic vision, including album design and the cultivation of a macabre persona with a major debt to the occultist Aleister Crowley. He depicts the band's legendary performances and recordings, their creative process, the groupies, drugs, thuggish behavior, and downward spiral culminating in the death of John Bonham. Page was on the cusp of being a rock-and-roll casualty, but he survived to have a post-Zeppelin career as guitar hero and curator of the Zeppelin legacy.--Ben Segedin Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Salewicz (Bob Marley) sketches an exciting portrait of the rise to fame of Led Zeppelin guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page. Salewicz takes readers through Page's childhood in 1950s Feltham, England, where he picked up a Spanish guitar when he was eight; by age 15, Page formed a rock group called Jimmy Page and the Paramounts. In the mid-'60s, Page played with guitarist Jeff Beck, pianist Nicky Hopkins, and drummer Keith Moon on Beck's album Bolero. Soon after, Page, looking for a lead singer, met Robert Plant, who introduced him to drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones, which led to the formation of Led Zeppelin in 1968. Salewicz takes readers through to the early 1980s and explores the significance of the band's music (he describes "Stairway to Heaven," for example, as a "kind of blues lament against selfish gold-digger females"). Salewicz also chronicles Page's drug use, his attraction to the occult and the writings of Aleister Crowley, as well as the band's infamous infighting and aggressive behavior, especially toward women and journalists ("Do not make any eye contact with John Bonham," stipulated written rules for interviewers). This is an excellent biography of Page, evenhanded and exhaustive. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Guitarist Jimmy Page formed a skiffle band when he was 13, joined the Yardbirds at age 22, and became the creative force behind Led Zeppelin two years later in 1968. This biography deals largely with the enormous success-and excess-of the seminal rock group in the early 1970s. Longtime rock journalist Salewicz (Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer) draws heavily from published interviews with Page and others and from the archival work of Dave Lewis (e.g., Led Zeppelin: The Concert File). Salewicz explores the interpersonal dynamics of Led Zeppelin but fails to capture the essence of Page. Near the end of the book he inserts himself as a character and pads the already overlong text with two long interviews he did with his subject in 1977 and 1979. His writing is often overly casual, and his fondness for block quotes cries out for a good editor. VERDICT Somewhere in this saga a more focused biography is struggling to escape, but the minutiae in this book will overwhelm even the most obsessive Led Zeppelin fans.-Thomas Karel, Franklin & -Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A full-length biography of Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page (b. 1944), whose reclusive habits have only added to his mythic status.London-based music journalist Salewicz (Dead Gods: The 27 Club, 2015, etc.), who has interviewed his subject many times over the decades, chronicles Page's rise from working-class London roots. Like many of his generation, Page went to art school on the way to finding a musical career. Inspired by American rockabilly records, Page became proficient enough at a young age to find work as a studio guitarist, making good money backing up popular acts. As the British blues revival flowered, he became the lead guitar player for the Yardbirds, following Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. When that group broke up, Page formed Zeppelin, mapping out the band's path with iron control. Salewicz follows the group through recording sessions and world toursZeppelin was especially popular in the United Stateswith attention to the band's excesses, which included destruction of hotels along with other violent outbursts, heavy use of drugs and alcohol, and sexual encounters of all sorts. The author also devotes considerable attention to Page's mystical side, especially his fascination with Aleister Crowley, perhaps giving it more credence than it deserves. Salewicz delves into Page's battle with drugs, especially heroin and cocaine, and includes copious reminiscences from groupies who linked up with Page over the years, along with plenty of quotes from interviews with the famously reticent musician and with others who were part of the scene. With the band's dissolution, Page's hermetic tendencies became more pronounced. Salewicz chronicles the solo projects, the reunions with singer Robert Plant, and the painstaking project of reissuing Zeppelin's recorded legacy. Dedicated listeners may want more analytical explorations of the music, and, like many rock journalists, the author tosses around superlatives with a free hand. Still, the book is a must-read for die-hard Zeppelin fans.This close look at one of the ultimate guitar gods should find plenty of readers interested in 1960s and '70s rock. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
