Jimmy Page “doesn’t give a damn” about those who think his guitar playing is sloppy, according to producer Max Norman
“He doesn’t care because he knows people are gonna like that.”
Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Despite being one of the most revered guitarists to walk the face of the Earth, Jimmy Page has faced his share of criticism with regard to his playing. But the Led Zeppelin legend “doesn’t give a damn” if people think his guitar playing is “sloppy”, according to producer Max Norman.
Speaking on the Talk Louder Podcast (transcription via Killer Guitar Rigs), Norman says Page’s stance could be down to his confidence; he says most musicians delete recordings they make mistakes on in case they start to suffer from “demoitis”.
“If you want to talk sloppy, you got Jimmy there,” he says. “Jimmy doesn’t give a shit. Jimmy plays it twice, picks one of them, and walks out. He doesn’t care because he knows people are gonna like that. People are going to hear that mistake three times, and they’re going to like it.”
Norman – who has worked with some huge names including Ozzy Osbourne and Megadeth – urges musicians not to keep the takes featuring mistakes in case they get “demoitis”. This is when a musician struggles to decide between multiple takes, often romanticising the first take despite errors.
Norman continues, “If you’re in a studio, you’re doing an overdub, and they sing the wrong part – erase it immediately. Don’t keep it, just get rid of it because if you hear it three times, you’re gonna like it, and now you got the wrong part. Later on, you’re gonna go, ‘Oh, that’s the wrong part.’ You go, ‘I like it, though.’ Now you get demoitis. You got to be really careful about that stuff!”
Recently, Page – who turned 80 in January – took part in the official opening of the new Gibson Garage, its first flagship store outside of the US. He was there alongside Brian May, James Bay, and Tony Iommi to mark the occasion, and brand president and CEO of Gibson Cesar Gueikian said that Page “deserves a very important chapter in the history of Gibson.”
It was later announced that Gibson is releasing a new Jimmy Page signature model – a replica of his iconic EDS-1275 double neck guitar.