James Patrick Page (Jimmy Page) - Session Man (1963-1967) 2CD

Before he was a guitar god with Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page was a guitarist for hire, bouncing from studio to studio while lending his growing talents to a host of British beat groups. Session Man, Vol. 1 gathers up some of those recordings he made as a session cat between 1963 and 1965, along with both sides of a rare solo single he cut in 1965, two Yardbirds tracks from 1967 BBC sessions, and the original version of "Dazed and Confused" as recorded by Jake Holmes, which had no Page involvement whatsoever. (The compilers of the disc added it because they thought Holmes' version was "brilliant in its own right" — fair enough and correct, as it turns out.) The early tracks on which Page played are mostly pretty standard beat group stompers and mid-tempo ballads worth hearing only for the guitar breaks on which his wildness totally eclipses the otherwise bland band. When Page's inspired playing is added to an inspired track, the results are breathtaking. Examples of that rare magic are the Sneekers cover of the Kinks' "I Just Can't Go to Sleep," which benefits greatly from Page's oddly reverbed backing licks; the First Gear's pounding cover of "Leave My Kitten Alone" featuring Page's rhythm playing, which gets more and more frantic before bursting an insane solo; Mickey Finn's very Them-sounding "Night Comes Down;" and Lulu's tough as nails cover of the Rolling Stones "Surprise Surprise" — the one song where the singer's intensity matches Page's. As for his solo single, it is pretty good; the A-side, "She Just Satisfies," is a tough and rollicking chunk of Bo Diddley inspired garage rock with Page's vocals coming off surprisingly strong. The B-side, "Keep Movin'," is a rocking instrumental that is marred by a bad mix, but, as usual, Page's confident and imaginative playing saves the day. The Yardbirds' songs are very raw BBC sessions which have since been officially released. In fact, many of these songs have shown up on other collections of Page's early work. Despite that and the sometimes low fidelity (which is not too surprising given the quasi-bootleg nature of the release), Session Man, Vol. 1 is still worth checking out as the song selection is very good and Page's solos are sure to knock your socks off.

Session Man, Vol. 1

 

1. Chris Ravel & The Ravers - Don't you dig this kinda beat (1:49)

2. The Zephyrs - Sweet little baby (2:38)

3. Pat Wayne & The Beachcombers - Roll over Beethoven (2:58)

4. Carter-Lewis & The Southerners - Somebody told my girl (2:38)

5. Dave Berry & The Cruisers - My baby left me (2:05)

6. The Brook - Once in a while (2:38)

7. Mickie Most & The Gear - Money honey (2:22)

8. Mickie Most & The Gear - That's alright (2:09)

9. The Sneekers - I just can't go to sleep (1:58)

10. First Gear - A certain girl (2:20)

11. First Gear - Leave my kitten alone (2:22)

12. The Primitives - How do you feel (2:24)

13. Bobbie Graham - Zoom widge and wag (2:37)

14. Jimmy Page - She just satisfies (2:02)

15. Jimmy Page - Keep movin (3:32)

16. Mickey Finn - Night comes down (2:11)

17. The Pickwicks - Little by little (2:29)

18. Lulu & The Luvvers - Surprise surprise (2:19)

19. The Yardbirds - Little games (2:29)

20. The Yardbirds - Most likely you'll go your way (2:56)

21. Jake Holmes -  Dazed and confused

 

 

Session Man, Vol. 2

 

Before he was a guitar god with Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page was a guitarist for hire, bouncing from studio to studio while lending his growing talents to a host of British beat groups. Session Man, Vol. 2 gathers up some of those recordings he made as a session cat between 1963 and 1965, along with a fuzzily recorded live track, an electric take on the solo instrumental "White Summer" from a the New Yardbirds date cut in 1968 at the Marquee Club in London. The early tracks on which Page played are mostly standard beat group stompers and mid-tempo ballads worth hearing only for the guitar breaks on which his wildness totally eclipses the otherwise bland band. When Page's inspired playing is added to an inspired track, the results are frequently breathtaking. Examples of this include the storming "I Like It" by Neil Christian & the Crusaders; the heavy, fuzzed-out "Baby I Go for You" by the Blue Rondos; Lulu's wonderful "I'll Come Running Over," which features Page with some ahead of their time wah-wah effects; Billy Fury's rollicking "Nothin' Shakin';" and the really dumb "Everybody Knows" by Sean Buckley and the Breadcrumbs that is totally redeemed by Page's Ike Turner on acid solo. Of special interest is the hard rocking cut "Is It True?" by the usually non-hard rocking Brenda Lee and the cover of "The Train Kept a Rollin'" by the Scotty McKay Quintet, which features an over-dubbed solo by Page that out hustles the Jeff Beck solo on the Yardbirds' version. Despite the fact that many of these songs have turned up on other Page collections and are sometimes low fidelity (which is not too surprising given the quasi-bootleg nature of the release), Session Man, Vol. 2 is still worth checking out as the song selection is very good and Page's solos are sure to blow you away.

1. The Sneekers - Bald headed woman (2:30)

2. Wayne Gibson& Dynamic Sounds - See you later alligator (2:25)

3. The Zephyrs - I can tell (2:44)

4. The Talismen - Castin my spell (1:43)

5. Mickie Most - The feminine look (2:30)

6. The Untamed - I'll go crazy (2:13)

7. The Redcaps - Talkin bout you (2:23)

8. Neil Christian's Crusaders - Honey hush (2:13)

9. Neil Christian's Crusaders - I like it (2:14)

10. Mickey Finn - The sporting life (2:33)

11. The Blue Rondos - Baby I go for you (2:09)

12. Lulu & The Luvvers - I'll come running (3:02)

13. Brenda Lee - Is it true (2:20)

14. The Pickwicks - I took my baby home (1:53)

15. The Lancastrians - The world keeps going round (2:26)

16. The Talismen - Master of war (2:23)

17. The Primitives - You said (2:20)

18. The Scotty McKay Quintet - Train kept a rollin (2:25)

19. Sean Buckley\Breadcrumbs - Everybody knows (2:10)

20. Billy Fury - Nothin shakin (2:17)

21. The New Yardbirds -  White summer (Live)

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