The following content is related to the January 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.
Jimmy Page is regarded as one of rock’s greatest guitarists, bandleaders and producers for the incredibly rich canon of music he created with Led Zeppelin. But not everything produced by the man was as crushingly heavy as Zep favorites like “Whole Lotta Love,” “Heartbreaker,” “Black Dog” and “Rock and Roll.”
Jimmy was often quoted as saying his true passion was to create a combination of “light and shade” in the form of contrasting and complementary musical sounds. These sounds often found their roots in acoustic English and Celtic folk music, and can be heard as well in the proto-metal electric sounds of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream and Page's former band, The Yardbirds.
A standard technique found in English and Celtic folk music is the incorporation of alternate tunings, utilized by some of Page’s favorite guitarists, such as Bert Jansch and Davey Graham.
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