jimi vs. jimmy - hendrix or page?

Jimi wins cos he didn't have to defer to another vocalist to handle his message. Plus he was a black musician working in a "black" idiom of blues rock, whereas Jimmy, bless him, just didn't have that soulful edge with him at all moments. Additionally, I've never lost my shit and forgot where in the world I was listening to Zeppelin (save for one acid trip with "Hats off to roy harper" cranked on headphones) unlike Hendrix where I'm transported to that yawning cave of otherness rather frequently. Psych over metal 8 times outta 10.

jimi for off the cuff blues n' soul spontaneity, and screaming guitar...

so as a guitar player i'll go with jimi, and as a track maker i'll go with jimmy.....and the answer to the question?

probably jimmy is more triumphant, jimi more tragic

"Hendrix' take on the blues was far fresher and less overly/crippingly studied."

Maybe true (to a certain extent, anyway) with regard to Led Zeppelin's songs, but, I don't think it's true with regard to Page's leads.

a recurring theme in this post seems to be that hendrix was somewhat not quite 'real' rock compared to page and the rest. i wonder if the jimi vs. jimmy question was asked in 1973 or so, what sort of answers i would get (not sure why i would want to know that but n/m).

Have you never listened to "In the West" or any of JH's live output, of which there has been waaaaaay too much. Hendrix was as capable
with the endlessly masturbating heavy blues jam as anyone. In fact,
he's one of its fathers.

Sure they are. Lots of live albums from many artists were their defining records, often the one's which broke through to the public. Many were also only "live" in the sense that there is crowd noise on them.

This is not so with Hendrix but his record company, handlers, hagiographers and estate manipulators have socked a great deal into ensuring they trample his studio work. And, by and large, one you get past the first thrill of hearing one, they're not that great.

Examples?

Yeah, both Noel R. and Billy Cox (whom I've met a few times here in Nashville).

"In the West"

What about Beck vs Page?

His "clumsiness," I think, comes from playing at the limit of his chops. He pulls the stuff off, though. I really love his ferociousness.

Interestingly, it seems to me that both of them (esp Hendrix) have had greater influence on modern jazz/fusion than on contemporary pop/rock. Even Tool and System of a Down almost totally eschew any sort of soloing, improvising, or blues modes but you can hear their direct influence all over Fiuczynski, Ulmer, Frisell, Abbasi, probably Scofield, . . . I dunno, maybe this is obvious to some people.

OTM about hendrix's rhythm guitar strengths, i think this is where page suffers on LZ's records. or maybe its just a different type of rhythm guitar.

Production: Page, for reasons already stated. Led Zeppelin weren't the greatest band in the world: They just made the greatest ALBUMS in the world, and Jimmy Page's mic-placement wizardry was a big reason why. And of course his "sidemen" were no slouches! By the way, I don't agree that John Paul Jones as a bassist was inferior to Billy Cox or Noel Redding - many of whose bass lines were actually played by Hendrix. Nothing against Cox or Redding (or Hendrix), but Jones was a lot more free-ranging & imaginative. Or maybe Jimi just kept his bassists on a shorter leash.

Hair: Peter Frampton!

Now I have to consider it I think I love them both about the same.

Hendrix is awesome no doubt about it but Page is everything.

He is going to california, whole lotta love, black dog, black mountain side, white summer, EVERYTHING.... what about the stairway to heaven solo???? its just perfect.

What can i say ... Allman Page and Hendrix are my favorite guitar players of all time. I get nervous when asked this question.... i dont stop talkin but i prefer page thats all i wanted to say jajaja

just watch me.

The bottom line is that one guy is JIMMY FUCKING PAGE and the other guy isn't.

Jimi and Jimmy are both great. I think Page wrote better compositions and Hendrix seems to have created songs out of guitar solos. I prefer better songwriting, personally. And Jimi's songs just don't do much for me as far as lyrical content or vocal delivery, so Page wins.

whatever, dude. as if that phrase can be that easily applied to all hendrix solos.

"Imagine what a funky version of Stairway would've sounded like"

you make it sound like hendrix played corny 80s-styled funk-rock guitar, which he didnt.

Fair enough, but I like the Meters and Curtis Mayfield better than Black Dog and Misty Mountain Hop.

so basically what Myonga Von Bontee said upthread.

whatever, dude. as if that phrase can be that easily applied to all hendrix solos.

Yeah, that's what I mean. Think of If 6 was 9, Third Stone From The Sun, The Wind Cries Mary. All great songs, but because that style, that spacey sound is applied to all the songs I called it tasteless. "Tasteless" refers to everything getting the same treatment, not that he wasn't skilled in the treatment; the treatment itself was tastefully done, if a bit repetitive. I'm sure this is what Hendrix's "Stairway" would've sounded like and I don't like everything painted with a thick funk brush.

But the best hair award goes to Robert Plant...Hands down.

i read that clapton left the yardbirds because he wanted to stick to the blues, and you have to admit the yardbirds were leaning more in the pop direction a lot of the time

eric clapton was awesome in his cream days, and i think he still would be now if he'd turn his damn amp up. im not saying he is anything but a great guitarist, but its just kind of boring stuff, after cream anyways

jimmy's playing sounds a lot more aggressive sometimes, but i think that has a lot to do with his choice of guitar as well. even the old telecaster he used for the first album and with the yardbirds - that thing sounded way edgier and chunkier than a strat.

i like this discussion, as these are my two favorite guitarists, and as a guitarist i try to emulate them. i've become pretty fluent with my lead stuff on the guitar, and i have a strat and a les paul. i cant seem to want to play hendrix stuff on my les paul, or zep stuff on my strat. also, i find that when trying to immitate them, the jimmy page stuff i try to play comes out kind of sloppy just like him, and the hendrix stuff tends to come out clean and groovy. i think jimi used a lot more hammer-ons and pull-offs in his really fast solos, and threw in a lot more odd notes, part of some scale i dont know because i dont read music... where jimmy was a speed-picker who stuck to a more basic pattern usually. you can tell that in songs where page uses a more exotic scale, he has practiced up on it quite a bit and uses it more exclusively, rather than blending it so much with the blues scale. jimi hendrix on the other hand seems to have a totally magical ear, he didnt stick to one single scale, if he wanted to throw in a note out of the scale, he did, and he did it often. in learning to play his stuff, i'm starting to get all these patterns that i hear only in his music, no other guitarist seems to have that randomness to them. i read somewhere someone said 'if jimi hit a wrong note, he'd bend it untill it sounded good', and thats just the perfect description of it. jimi knew where the sounds he wanted were because he felt them, he played the guitar like an extension of his brain, like he was born to do it

i might sound a little pretentious here, but sometimes i feel like that when im playing. my strat will go out of tune after a couple of dive-bombs, and ill compensate for the flat notes by bending a little as i hit them. its a great feeling, after a while the guitar starts to feel like this extension of you, and your not following scales or patterns on the fretboard anymore, the communication between your hands and the guitar becomes so clear and fluid that you start playing the notes that you feel within you, rather than the next logical note in the scale your playing. maybe that sounds stupid because i dont read music, i dont really know

i feel this in jimmy's solos as well as jimi's, but hendrix wins by far, i think jimmy page was a really fast guitar player, an awesome producer, and they were both great songwriters, but i dont get the same feeling in my soul listening to page as i do listening to hendrix. with maybe a couple exceptions for jimmy - since i've been loving you is deffinitely one of them, and i know there are a few more zep recordings that give me that shiver down my spine and make me feel inferior

Jimmy Page didn't sing, but he did play lead and rhythm. His live playing sometimes felt shallow because he didn't have a rhythm guitarist. It was all him playing either lead or rhythm, but not both at the same time.

Jimi Hendrix had a rhythm player going on all the time.

the jimi hendrix experience was 3 people. i know that he had a rhythm guitarist in all along the watchtower, playing acoustic, and maybe he had one in other specific songs as well, but for the most part he handled the two tasks all on his own

the reason jimmy page's live playing was 'shallow' as you describe it, was because he couldnt do this, or at least not nearly as well as hendrix. listen to machine gun. in the beginning, hes practically playing rhythm, lead, and bass at the same time. its not that hard to play, but then go and listen to castles made of sand, little wing, the wind cries mary, are you experienced. if little wing isnt rhythm and lead at the same time, then what is? the dude only had 2 hands like the rest of us, its not like he was struming chords and playing a solo up on the 12th fret at the same time

but back to the point

jimi hendrix didnt have a rhythm guitarist

Page tended to spawn imitars who remained extremely obscure. But you ought to dig up the Want's only album, it's really great. People thought Kingdom Come were going to stick but it never really happened.

but what your talking about, the overdubbing, is not the same thing as playing lead and rhythm at the same time, obviously. anyone can overdub, its just studio magic. didnt eric clapton used to re-record like 3 tracks of all of his guitar solos to make them sound thicker and have more character? thats another thing i read anyways

but i think jimi more or less invented a way to play rhythm and lead at the same time. jimmy page did more of a...play the rhythm part, then do the little lead riff really quick, then back to rhythm, you know, that just reinforces what i said earlier that he was a really fast player. castles made of sand, little wing, and other hendrix songs of this style - theres simply nothing i've heard by jimmy page in this style - turning lead and rhythm into one, mastering every note on the fretboard to be able to do that so easily

Hendrix didn't create the lead/rhythm double duty. He wasn't a very technically proficient fingerpicker (a la Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James), but was tapping the same vein as those guys in his own way. What Jimi had was the most incredible sense of rhythmic awareness in the blues - he knew exactly where every note should go. So, without the polished technique of lead/rhythm of the old blues guys but the same insane rhythm sense, he went with his own style of play.

You also cannot discount his playing on the Chitlin Circuit for helping him to form the chordal ideas he uses. Much of Curtis Mayfield's playing springs from the same well.

I had drinks with Kramer one night; he claimed his main job was to figure out how to get something so fucking loud on tape. He'd be the last to take credit for content.

Page I see as a sound architect and songwriter; guitar was the way he made his structures. He was great if you like the sort of thing Zep did--I'm nonplussed--but the actual playing wasn't revolutionary. It was the sound. The layering of sounds.

The effects thing has me puzzled: What was available in 1967? Fuzz, wah, tremelo? And in the studio, primitive phasing and tape flanging?

Listen to hendrix at Woostock. Not only can no pedel create those sounds, it's often hard to conceieve--ESPECIALLY if you're a guitar player--that they were ever created.

No doubt that they have introduced as well as taken the art of electric guitar playing (specifically soloing) into an exciting level unto which many great guitars of the new geration would soon embark in this musicial journey towards virtuosity. A new dimension of guitar playing which all of us, lovers of guitar will soon emulate and incorporate in our playing. These players will always stand the test of time...because the world of guitar was never the same again when Hendrix, Page and Clapton burst into the scene.

No doubt that they have introduced as well as taken the art of electric guitar playing (specifically soloing) into an exciting level unto which many great guitarists of the new geration would soon embark in a musical journey towards virtuosity. A new dimension of guitar playing which all of us, lovers of guitar will soon emulate and incorporate in our playing. These players will always stand the test of time...because the world of guitar was never the same again when Hendrix, Page and Clapton burst into the scene.

My answer to the question is "No one is better than the other"

Each has a body of work which makes them recognizable and proficient in any aspect of guitar playing such as Hendrix's employment of guitar effects to convey a certain message (using his music as an outlet) encompassing political,mental,psychological and emotional realms and Page's diverse appoach to convey his musical message encompassing new ways to imbue blues,rock and roll,funk and so on (Page in an interview wanted to orchestrate the guitar like an army using different treatments.

A lot of guitar players especially in our generation when modernization has made everything possible, seem to have lost the authenticity thus they don't quite have a lasting quality compared to these guys. Hendrix and Page have contributed a huge dose of musical legacy especially in spearheading the revolution of rock music. I do consider Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton as three of the most influential if not the greatest guitarists of all time. And the reason is their "distinctness". They were able to imbue their personalities into the guitar. Despite the annoyance of most great underground musicians unto the popular music scene, these three players retained their musical aspirations and passions to give listeners a bulk of musical masterpieces for all of us to enjoy. Each has their own kind of style and approach to guitar playing that makes them great players and musicians placing them in the pantheon of the greatest rock guitarists of all time.

No doubt that they have introduced as well as taken the art of electric guitar playing (specifically soloing) into an exciting level unto which many great guitarists of the new geration would soon embark in a musical journey towards virtuosity. A new dimension of guitar playing which all of us, lovers of guitar will soon emulate and incorporate in our playing.

These players will always stand the test of time...because the world of guitar was never the same again when Hendrix, Page and Clapton burst into the scene.

Since I've Been Loving You" is a classic blues song featuring heartfelt interplay by all four group members and would become a performance staple of their live concerts, especially from 1971 through 1973. The verse portion of this song is heavily influenced by the Moby Grape song, "Never" (from their 1968 album Grape Jam).

GET ONE WILLIE DIXON, FUCKSTAIN.

xpost

Led Zeppelin worked as band, because of the amazing chemistry between robert, john paul, jimmy and john B. Not specificaly from the particular talent of just one of them.

Yeah pagey is good, he is up there (just about) with Jeff Beck, Clapton etc, he's particularly a great riff man. But Hendrix was streaks ahead of all them-more like a jazz musician in his approach to guitar playing. I also have to break the news to you Zep fans that don't know, that white summer and black mountain side were plagurised from Bert Janchs black water side. Also the intro to stairway, was pinched from a song by a band called Spirit. But their sound together was indeed very unique.

Basicaly Page and Hendrix are oranges and apples. Same name both guitarists-that's about all they have in common. I don't know why they are often so compared?! I think Hendrix v Jeff Beck more appropriate.

Although their styles were different... page and hendrix were definitely the best, most influencial, and most creative guitarists of all time... no matter, there is still various comparisons to be made.

Page didn't write all the songs in LZ, Robert Plant wrote a majority of the lyrics and the musical arrangements were written by Page, JPJ and John Bonham. JPJ wasnt just a bass player-he played keyboards and arranged and composed, played mandolin, 3 necked guitars you name it. I really think the over-rating of Page as a guitarist-is due to his fame because of the enormous success of Zep in the states. I don't mean to dminish his talent- he is great-but people just get out of proportion IMO.

- Better and more melodic songs
- The innovator of the two - was an important influence on Page
- Better albums with better and more psychedelic production
- Was also a singer, and a considerably less insufferable one at that than Robert Plant

"Stairway To Heaven" is a better song than anything Jimi ever wrote though.

Get thee to your headphones and away from your keyboard!

lol i spend my time on the comp puttin together my tracks so this goes in hand...

I challenge everyone here to buy the new led zeppelin 2 disc live dvd set... watch all there is on it... and even try to tell me how Jimmy Page is not the best guitarist of all time.

uh, I really don't think this is true. If anything Clapton is MORE famous than Page precisely because Page hasn't put out "coffee table" albums that end up in every home, coffee shop, and SUV in America.

also Clapton is GODAWFUL, but that's another thread.

No he isn't. That's the mouth of a man attached to an undiscerning ear right there. Which means, of course, who cares what it says? Clapton has some songs I hate like Tears In Heaven and most of Cream, but he also has hundreds of songs spread across far and wide that display the talent for which he has become a legend. He's up there with the all time greats, probably in 1st place on many charts. He is known as "the King of Tone." And that won't change because of any argument you could dream up.

Hendrix Hendrix Hendrix.

Nocentelli.

Is that really what you meant?

Man, true!

I guess we don't have any more to talk about on this topic.

Clapton is not exciting. Oh well. I don't find Hendrix all that exciting often enough. He has an exciting style which can be about as subtle or surprising as a gorilla at the zoo once you get used to it. Clapton has songs that old blues guys who listen the shit out of their music love to hear over and over because of the subtley, taste and tone. And, actually, it's so fluid and flawless, it is quite exciting. But, you have to know what you're listening to in order to appreciate it.

third time's a charm.

plus... he does have the bow skills on clapton lol

I also think that if you happen to be on acid, hendrix (especially live) beats the shit out of page and led zeppelin. sounds like he's contacting aliens in an era before the popularization of the synthesizer.

(and no, i don't think everything sounds good on acid)

There's the flaw in your argument.

Is there a new one or is this the one that came out with How the West Was Won?

this one... its the newest one... came out a couple years ago i think

some second division sixties rock

one all-time classic album, which owes as much to duane allman as clapton himself

a bunch of shitty soft rock covers

and pseudo bluesman cash-ins ever since

also I would like to say that this thread is the new Jay-Z vs. Nas, only lovers of the Jay-Z vs. Nas thread will probably wanna append all sorts of abusive modifiers in between "the new" & "Jay-Z vs. Nas thread"

Hendrix was a shaman.

Outrider v Axis Bold as Love.

I would say yes Outrider is a good underated album-but not even a close second to Axis.

OK it is fine to say you like Page better or whoever because it is your PERSONAL TASTE, but don't form an argument based on total ignorance.

Most of the great guitarist now all say Hendrix was streaks ahead of everyone and no-one has ever really matched him.

now to the point, i think jimi hendrix is a better player but page had better songs, as said before by others.

i use hendrix as my emotional inspiration and page as my composing inspiration as both are very important aspects to me as far as guitar playing goes. if i wanted to get good at jamming, i'd pick hendrix, because page seemed to repeat himself live on improv parts. as far as making a song altogether, i'd definitely pick page.

If you think SRV has matched Hendrix in virtuosity-it just shows that you know J.S about Hendrix.

It doesnt matter page didnt write all the songs... it wasnt bonzo, jpj, or plant that playes the guitar for him! And page was anything but repetitive live, he never played a version of a song twice, he constantly added riffs and most likely imprivised his amazing solos like all the greats did (i am so jelous)... and just to let you know... thats why angus young is not rated as high as most ppl think he should because despite his top notch showmanship ( and spaz guitar playing on the floor) he played ac/dc songs the exact same over and over almost to the exact note in the solos.

"It doesn't matter Page didn't write all the songs" hmm ok but ppl are crediting him with this. What is characteristic about Zep more than any other band- is that the four of them were integral to the sound. Why do you think they never carried on with another drummer after John Bonham died? Because it just wouldnt have been Led Zeppelin anymore. Why do you think Page is so desperate to work with Plant, JPJ again? And why they don't want to do. It's so rare for musicians to find the chemistry and compatability. Yet they wouldn't be Zep and everyone expects them to be Zep. So the argument rages on.

If you think of Achilles Last Stand-probably Page's best guitar work-what makes it sound so spine chilling apart from Page is particularly-Bonhams powerhouse drumming behind him. So to really judge just the guitar playing you got look at some of the solo work.

And if you think the abum with Coverdale is rubbish-then think again. Page's guitar work is back to what is was like at his peak on that album.

However if you think Hendrix albums shiver in comparison to Led Zeppelin albums-I can't believe you could have possibly listen to Electric Ladyland all the way through and think that. That was a landmark album. I well recommend it and the Band of Gypsys live album which has superb guitar playing on it-where he stood rooted to the spot for most of it. And as I said b4 Hendrix wrote and produced and arranged most of his work. There were ppl that backed him and played sessions but Hendrix was definatly the major creative force. I wouldn't say that of Page with Led Zeppelin not to diminish his talents.

I really would hasten to judge Hendrix if you've not really listen to him- if all you've seen is Hendrix doing Wild Thing on MTV-and Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock.

Strange that Roland Kirk, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Santana, Steve Vai, Joe Satrini, Eric Clapton, Brian Jones, Pete Townsend amongst many others thought Hendrix was streaks ahead of so many guitarists. Strange that when Hendrix came to london he played to clubs full of wall to wall muscians who I am sure went just to watch him eat his guitar and set it on fire.. I suppose they couldn't get into see Page at the time who was obviously blowing them away.. Steve Vai is famously quoted as saying that the guitar playing at the Band of Gypsy Filmore east concert is the best that has ever exsisted. Guess these muscians need to clean out their ears then like me huh?

As you can tell by my handle, I'm a Jimmy Page fan. Does that make me biased? Sure! Isn't everyone? That's the purpose of this poll/thread.

So rather than just throw my two-cents into the ring and post my take on this topic, I felt I should "qualify" and "quantify" my answer. Am I just some dude with an opinion? Yes. But at least I feel mine has some weight behind it. Take it as you will. That's the beauty of this message board.

I've been playing guitar now for over 30 years. Simple pickin'-n-grinnin' stuff to droning, boring rhythm and up to lead guitar. Listened and played most of all music genres (Rap and Hip-hop are a joke so lets not even go there). Electric, acoustic, mando, banjo, steel, slide, and even a sitar. Now that's a tough instrument to play! Ouch!

So to settle as to who's better? Hendrix or Page? Well, each had their strenghts. You knew I was going to say that, right? Well of course they did! EVERY guitar player has their strengths and weaknesses. Hendrix had both as did Page.

So let's break it down a bit. Starting with Hendrix...

Jimi was cool. Beyond cool. Soul oozed out of this guy in his playing and music. Jimi was a "first". Short-lived, but a first. Music fans of that era were looking for something with more feeling or meat to it if you will. Seriously, "I wanna Hold Your Hand" was a little too bubble-gumish after the second or third time you heard it, right? So along comes Jimi. He saw his moment, took a chance, and scored BIG! Blew everybody away! Great sound. Great style. Great technique. Great improvization. Could he sing? Same say "yes". I say he "spoke" his music. He didn't sing it, per se. Jimi expressed himself in his music so his voice didn't really matter. His music was deep and at times a little erie. He'd bring you down and blow you up, all at the same time. A mind-blowing experience. Experienced? I think Jimi knew it and tried to get music lovers to understand him and his message.

So Jimi is great. No doubt. But only to an extent or limit. His legacy will live on forever. His music range or style was limited. He knew it, his fans knew it, and it scared the hell out of him! So much so that he didn't know where to go or how to evolve. He'd pretty much done what he could in the short time he was alive. See, with music, it has to grow. It can't remain stagnant. It can become memorable, but it can't become stagnant. Jimi was becoming this whether he or his fans will admit it.

I'm not going to rate Jimi Hendrix on a scale of 1-10 as its not fair. Is he a top-10? Sure. #1? No. Here's why Page is better and should be #1.

Page knew his limits. Page knew his music. Page knew the production-side of music. I use the analogy of "Would you rather listen to someone whistle or an orchestra?", meaning...the whole production?

Page had his faults. He couldn't sing. Stumbled on some of his licks. At times an awkward playing style. Page could have come on to the scene with LZ and said "let's blow them away with my guitar" but why? There's much more to music than just a six-string. Page sought-out a singer and a band. He knew he wasn't a one-man show like Hendrix. What for? Music is much more than wah's and teeth yanking on strings. Show makes dough and fills the coffers...but real music fills the heart, and that my friend, will never empty.

Page played in multiple tunings. Played various stringed instruments. Experimented with sound, soul, blues, and timings. His clumsiness led to his greatness. Page inspired more guitarist due to his recordings than Hendrix ever will.

Page's playing was like a carival of rides. Some happy. Some sad. Some suductive. Some melodic. All of them memorable and inspiring.

So to wrap this up, to say Page is better than Hendrix is well, my opinion. I know what "moves me". Hendrix impresses me and captures my attention, but its limited. Page will take you to a gallery of sound, heights, beginnings, and endings that you'll never forget.

Jimmy Page gets my vote.

haha - I didn't know there were people who still actually said things like this.

But, if forced to take a stand and defend it, I go with Jimi, becuase he never had to face the ignominy of trying a comeback with Paul Rodgers at the helm.

Surprise, not everyone sees things the same.

PS, No guitarist would be anywhere without Link Wray. You baby boomers may not even know him, but i suggest looking into him.

who is this mysterious Bink Wray you refer to...?

First of all, Hendrix and Page were both sloppy players at times. There have been many players since with better technique. I don't say this to diminish either of them, but it's true.

Secondly, they were both innovative and influential, but Hendrix is the clear winner in this category. It's hard to imagine a good argument for Page's superiority.

Hendrix wins.