Jimmy Page discusses ‘evil sounds’ heard on new Led Zeppelin remasters

In an interview with Guitar World, available next week, Page said he wrote the song, the opener on 1970’s ‘Led Zeppelin II’, by trying to imagine the full arrangement before entering the studio. He added he always envisioned the song’s signature middle section would be “pretty avant garde”, but was concerned he was going to have edit it down to make it more palatable.

“I detuned the guitar radically and just basically pulled on the strings to make an assortment of growling noises – evil sounds that you’re not supposed to hear on commercial radio,” he said, adding the experimental sounds and recording techniques were things no one had ever tried before the session in 1969.

“That’s how forward thinking we were, that’s how avant-garde it was, and that’s how much fun we were having,” he said. “That was the advantage of having artistic control. None of that might’ve happened if we had an outside producer. They might’ve questioned, or not understood, what I was doing, or thought I was just making a bunch of noise. I was able to make sure our ideas were carried out without interference.”

‘Led Zeppelin I’, ‘Led Zeppelin II’ and ‘Led Zeppelin III’ have been digitally remastered by Page and will be released on June 2, each featuring various bonus tracks and various unheard takes. Page announced the reissues earlier this year. He also recently said he had been working on writing “lots of songs” of his own.

Source: NME