JIMMY PAGE 60`S BOOTLEGGER A FASCINATING INSIGHT INTO HIS PRE-ZEPPELIN HARD ROCK APPRENTICESHIP

https://youtu.be/fNPzpqbPCCQ?si=RJKgBFft33W4DNLf

For all you Zep fans out there, and I know there are plenty of them, I stumbled across this album of bootleg recordings by pure chance featuring pre-Led Zeppelin songs which Jimmy Page made when he was a clean cut handsome teenager with many obscure bands, it was originally on sale at my music store for $32 but I picked it up for $4, yeah what an insult that is to the legend of blues hard rock.

JB Hi-Fi was having a stocktake sale, this album was even cheaper than the Best of Duran Duran (laugh). 

The name of this recording is JIMMY PAGE AND HIS HEAVY FRIENDS HIP YOUNG GUITAR SLINGER. 

It was released on the Castle label, an offshoot of the Sanctuary label. There are so many quirky little ditties on here, the songs go all the way back to June, 1963, proving Jimmy Page didn`t just spring up out of nowhere when Led Zeppelin was formed in 1968.

Some songs, especially on disc 1, yes it`s a 2CD-er, are very reminiscent of The Kinks, to a lesser extent you can hear some Beatles and Dave Clark Five influence in the mix on occasions, while disc 2, which starts off
with three well known songs that Page recorded with the Bluesbreakers, featuring John Mayall, is more inclined towards his blues based output of the mid to late 60`s
just prior to forming Zeppelin. 

Apart from John Mayall, and The Kinks (yes there are two songs here actually featuring Page and The Kinks as one) I wouldn`t have
a clue who any of these artists/bands are which Page collaborated with to come up with all these bootleg songs. 

The songs REVENGE and BALD-HEADED WOMEN, very charming of the lads, are the ones featuring Ray Davies alongside Page. 

The Primitives feature twice, The Lancastrians feature four times while early on disc 1 Gregory Philips gets two songs.

Putting it quite simply, JIMMY PAGE AND HIS
HEAVY FRIENDS is an unofficial best of compilation which features Page`s more notable, albeit amatuerish efforts as a session musician before the rise of Led Zeppelin. 

As a young man that`s what Page was, a session musician, essentially when forming Zep with Robert Plant he wanted to form a band of his own with its own identity. 

Dont expect any of the songs to sound like
Zep, there are a few which bare a little blues
rock influence but for the most part it comes
across as being more Tin Pan Alley with some psychedelia, skiffle and rockabilly chucked in as well. 

There is no denying that Jimmy Page was an admirer of Buddy Holly, I have never seen or heard any comparisons being made between the two but the front cover shot of a younger Jimmy Page cradling a Les Paul is uncannily like Buddy Holly.

The only difference is that Buddy wore horn rim glasses and played a Fender Telecaster in place of a Les Paul.