Joe Bonamassa recently discussed fellow rocker and guitar hero Jimmy Page, disclosing the one truth most people don’t realize about the British icon on a sit down with Guitar World.
It might be fair to say that Jimmy got numerous criticism for his guitar playing since various people, from prestigious critics to random Reddit users, had commented that he could be ‘sloppy’ at times. Any average Led Zeppelin fan or Page enthusiast might get offended by that, and Bonamassa was among those.
He appreciated Jimmy’s unique approach to the six-stringed instrument and dared Page haters to try and play one of his brilliant solos. Joe also felt that people often forgot to realize that the guitar icon was a top-notch guitar player long before his career with the Yardbirds or Led Zeppelin since the rocker was a celebrated session musician early on in his career.
Bonamassa on Jimmy’s talent as a guitarist, criticizing those who called him sloppy:
“A lot of people like to call Page sloppy, and that’s fine. You can call him sloppy all day long, but can you play it? …Try to play ‘The Rain Song’ as well as he played it. You won’t be able to. Not a chance.
The thing about Jimmy Page that most people don’t realize is he was a very in-demand session guy before the Yardbirds and Zeppelin. He did boatloads of amazing things before he even was in those bands… Call him sloppy, but he was a once-in-a-generation talent.”
Joe started discussing the criticism Page received after mentioning he also received similar criticism, which never affected him anyway. He was a guitar hero in his own right, and even a guitar legend, such as Jimmy Page, would receive this type of criticism; it only made facing the negative reviews easier.
