Eddie Kramer: “Well, that’s a whole different ball game. A very interesting one. I met him… you know, we mentioned The Kinks in ‘63, ‘64, and I think on that song, You Really Got Me – either You Really Got Me or one of the others – I remember seeing Jimmy Page come in and doing an overdub.
“Now there is some contention about that, but that’s how I remember it. I was an assistant engineer in those days, but he was the guy. You know, you bring in this young, amazing guitar player or session guy – 17 or 18 years old or something, I don't know – but damn, he was good.”
You ended up in the studio with Jimmy for Led Zeppelin II, but were you a fan of their first album?
“It’s funny because, by 1968, I had gone to America and was working at the Record Plant. But I called John Paul Jones to catch up during a visit back in England, and he said, ‘Come over. I want to play you something.’ So I went to his house, and he played me the acetates of the first album, saying, ‘This is the band I’ve been working with.’ I couldn’t believe my ears and said, ‘What is this? It’s amazing.’
“So John said, ‘We’re called Led Zeppelin.’ I thought that was the worst name I’d ever heard. I thought, ‘Man, how could you be so stupid and wrong?’ But they got it right, and that first record was amazing. And later, in ’69, while I was getting going at Electric Lady Studios, I got a phone call from Jimmy Page, saying, ‘Do you want to work on an album with us?’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’ They brought in the tapes from England, and off we went.”
Jimmy is something of a studio wizard himself. What was it like matching wits with him?
“The cool thing was that I’d set up the mics how I did it, and Jimmy would listen and say, ‘Yeah, great.’ There was never a point of contention. It was an exchange of ideas and a lot of give and take. I appreciated that Jimmy knew what he was looking for, and he knew I could get the take and make it sound good. While we were mixing Led Zeppelin II, like with Jimi Hendrix, we laughed a lot and created a lot of great sounds. We had a very compatible relationship.”
Seeing how diverse Zeppelin’s Seventies records are, it seems the atmosphere didn’t change after they became kings of the world.
“The magic word there is ‘diverse.’ I loved the fact that Page was able to play acoustically so beautifully. And here’s the thing: dynamics is a huge part of what Zeppelin did, you know? All the greats, like [Frank] Zappa, Hendrix or whoever, understand that dynamics within music are important. They would bring the music down low and then come back slamming. I love that, and Page was an expert at that. So was John Paul Jones. It wouldn’t have been the same experience in the studio without both of those guys.”
Can you pick out a solo or moment from Jimmy Page as a favorite?
“Led Zeppelin II stands out for me because of the guitar work. Every album they did was magnificent, but I have a special place in my heart for Zeppelin II. The dynamics and the fact that we created some things through panning and using frequencies to create a vibe make it special. But I also must call out the live record; The Song Remains the Same, which was done under some challenging circumstances but did a great job of reflecting their energy and interaction on stage.”
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Some guitarists swear by improvising and feeling out their solos, others prefer composing them. No matter what your particular preference is, though, you probably wouldn't want someone to desperately try to get your attention while you're laying one down.
Such, however, was the situation that Jethro Tull's Martin Barre found himself in when cutting the solo for the band's now-classic tune, Aqualung.
In a recent interview with Guitarist, Barre recounted how none other than Jimmy Page came close to derailing him just as he was weaving some spontaneous magic.
“[Aqualung's] solo was all done on the fly,” Barre said. “I think it was take two – and if I hadn’t got it in two then it would have been a flute solo. But that’s when Jimmy Page, who was recording with Led Zeppelin in the basement of Basing Street Studios, came up to say hello.
“He was in the control room window, waving madly. I was in the middle of the solo, and I thought, ‘Sorry, but I can’t stop.’ And I didn’t. I just turned my back. Which was a bit rude. But that was the solo on Aqualung.”
