PAGE TRER

HOT ON THE HEELS OF HIS AMAZING NEW BOOK, JIMMY PAGE DISCUSSES HIS EVOLUTION AS A GUITARIST, HIS LEGENDARY GEAR, THE CREATIVE PROCESS THAT WENT INTO THE HOLY TRINITY OF LED ZEPPELIN SONGS — “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE,” “KASHMIR” AND “STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN” — AND THE TIME HE PLAYED AT “FULL ACCELERATION” WITH THE ROLLING STONES

- CHRIS BIRD

IT IS AN EXTRAORDINARY STORY, and as Jimmy Page puts it, quietly but firmly, only he is qualified to tell it. He has a new book from Genesis Publications, titled simply Jimmy Page: The Anthology. It is what he calls “an autobiography with photographs,” and a “companion volume” to 2010’s Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page. The focus is on his music and guitars, his artistry and evolution as a player. But there is also the sense, as he explains it, that Page is setting the record straight, in answer to the many unauthorized biographies of himself and his band, Led Zeppelin.

“There’s so much mythology about me,” Page says. “In all those other books, because people don’t have all of the information — they make things up. So at least with my book I could be really authoritative, because I was the one who knew what happened. So, let’s do it. Let’s start telling the stories as they really are.”

Speaking to us from his home in London, where he has remained since the outset of the global pandemic, Page is in a relaxed mood, happy to talk about every aspect of his life’s work: the groundbreaking music he made, first with the Yardbirds and then with Led Zeppelin; and the tools of his trade, iconic guitars such as the Black Beauty (more on that later), and the amps and effects with which he explored new sounds.