News The Led Zeppelin song Jimmy Page always regretted
Jimmy Page’s unwavering creativity and innovative spirit were instrumental in the success of Led Zeppelin, making them an enduring cornerstone of rock music. His decisive leadership and willingness to push boundaries ensured that the band stood out from their peers, ultimately contributing to their record-breaking achievements. Without Page’s visionary approach, Led Zeppelin may not have reached the heights of success and influence that they ultimately did, underscoring his pivotal role in shaping the band’s legacy in the annals of rock history.
Most of the time, Page was happy with his decisions, regardless of how far away they were from what was the norm. That being said, no one is perfect, and as such, throughout his career making musical decisions that would propel the band on to further milestones, there is one call he made on a track that he still regrets.
Led Zeppelin was renowned for their heavy psychedelic style, which was more present than usual on the albums Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II. As such, the band tried to tone it down when it came to the third iteration of the self-titled series. Granted, the blues and distorted guitar feel that fans knew and loved was still present, but more than anything, it was a much more tame outing, with a few acoustic numbers making their way onto the LP.
One of these efforts was ‘Tangerine’, a song that is good but begins in a way that Page can’t help but wince at when he hears it back. Before the song starts, you can hear him fiddling around with his acoustic guitar, plucking his way through a couple of chords in what was an honestly captured moment of Page setting the pace of the track and getting ready to record. It was never supposed to be part of the finished product, but Page decided to leave it on.
It seems that he regretted his decision the minute it was put onto vinyl. “That’s commonly known as a false start,” said Page in 1970, “It was a tempo guide, and it seemed like a good idea to leave it in. I was trying to keep the tempo down a bit. I’m not too sure it was a good idea.”
Despite Page’s reluctance to embrace the decision to include his impromptu fiddling, many fans like the sound of it. Recording music was an art form at the time, and the product that went out to the consumer had been polished and polished again. This introduction by Zeppelin seemed like a much more honest look into the process of putting a song together, and as such, was a welcome change of pace for many people.
It is now a common trend in modern music that artists leave snippets of themselves talking at the beginning of a song to seem closer to their listeners when it plays. What Page did might have been unconventional at the time and, as such, something which didn’t quite sit right with him. He managed to, intentionally or not, bridge the gap between musician and listener.
