Saw them live at Madison Square Garden around 1973. Garden had a haze of marijuana smoke rising. The solos for Stairway and Heartbreaker were deliberately played somewhat like the record, but greatly elongated and improvised. This was not a problem to the audience. Totally different seismic, visceral experience from the records and live films altogether. Not only could you hear the music, but you could feel it. Crowd went crazy. Blew the roof off the place!

Forgiven Marty . I know you are a Page fan. I'm a 60 year old Page fan and been playing Jimmy's guitar style and music since I was 13 When I play for people its always the Zeppelin songs that people seem to be moved by. Though I'm average, people seem to consider me a really good guitarist, I feel, because I have been so influenced by Jimmy Page. I says so much about the man.Thanks for making this video Marty.

I don't think Jimmy ever played anything the same twice.

I saw them play live in 1969 at a festival. You're right, not just the solos, but the whole show was improvised. You never knew what tune they were going to play, or if they would suddenly shift to another song. It was really impressive, I would say the best rock performance I've ever seen.

Personally, I thought the live Stairway solo in TSRTS was epic! I liked it even better than the studio version.

Jimmy Page is a virtuoso when it comes to guitar and inspired tons of guitarists in some way he doesn't play things the same way twice because he's the kind of guitarist who likes to improvise and he doesn't like to play stuff the same way twice I can listen to Zeppelin all day and not get sick of it they're one of the most iconic and greatest classic rock bands and you can't deny that

Page had a way of creating his own style , which a lot of times is erratic , but it's what made his personality imprinted into his playing. Sort of you hear a few notes and go "Yep, that's JImmy Page" . May not have been the most technical player, but very few could match him in composition and recording ideas and sounds etc...

I've been wondering about this for years, Marty. Finally, we have the explanation. It was literally impossible to do it. You're right, he should have had them custom make it differently!!!

I never saw him struggle on the Stairway solo. Sounded great to me.

Page didn't struggle! He's a great improviser! He becomes a guitar the guitar becomes him! That's why I love about the Zeppelin not every show was played note for note! The whole band became one and played off each other that's why you could never replace a member of Zeppelin!! Long live Bonham!!

Page weighed about 6 stone (joke) whilst wearing a coffee table around his neck. plus heroin. he Rocked

The energetic sound of an intense electric guitar I spend the day cheering for my friend's music. Have a nice day friends too. Thank you 🤠❤☘

Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd was different from his contemporaries. Even though his playing was also blues-based, he could play his iconic solos again and again - note-for-note without losing the feel.

didn't know what to expect from the title, but I found a great guy talking about a great guitarist.

I always thought that bands especially Zep never wanted to play a song live exactly like the record. I know sonically it’s impossible because of double tracking and adding bits to a recording. I just thought with Jimmy it was never a case of “can’t” with a solo. I just thought when he played live he just wanted to go with the moment and feel the music and the band was so tight they all could play along that way. They could never really duplicate again any particular live performance.

Sure it was a struggle to duplicate the studio version, but the live version is really another song. The live version, while it's is indeed "Stairway" is a masterpiece in it's own right. Sometimes the solo wold be a few minutes, sometimes as long s 7 unites or longer. Every night was different, and this is what made Zeppelin who they were. His style was sloppy, loosely tight .....but this is his brilliance. However , great vid man!!

Excellent. Have to say, I never gave the different solo on the live version any thought probably because I always listen to the studio version and have heard the live version maybe twice. Great to note that he couldn't do that ending trill due to the SG double neck design constraints. Very interesting vid thankyou.

Great take on this Marty !! Love your channel and everything you do bro!! Glad that there’s still a bunch of us passionate about all this and the way you described the 70s and just going for it was something more people need to hear! Anyways , great stuff my dude !! Funny quick story… one night many years ago , I brought my future baby mama home from a night out… I had a digital deadbolt and she asked the code…. I said , well think Van Halen ya know !? She didn’t get the 5150 reference… needless to say I’m a single parent now!! 😂

A delicate subject handled respectfully & nicely resolved. 👌

Interesting hearing you mention that 70's guitarists were more like blues or jazz players. I don't know if that's really an apt comparison, especially in the traditional jazz genre with its complex phrasing, modulation, and chord melody arrangements. Even in the jazz-rock space, musicians were on a whole different level compared to 70's rock guitarists. I started playing guitar in large part because of Page, but when I heard Carlos Rios' solo on Gino Vannelli's song Brother to Brother (1978) I realized that there was more to the electric guitar than bluesy pentatonic licks. That solo blew me away!

Great insight Marty into Jimmy’s playing of this song and how sometimes it’s played not so good . I was only watching a video of Led Zeppelin and Jimmy playing Stairway To Heaven live and the solo was pretty bad. SORRY to say this because his an awesome guitarist, but unfortunately it is what it is sometimes the beauty of this song is lost in the performance. It’s funny sometimes this song gives me goosebumps other times it falls way short of the mark. Anyway the world is a better place with the magical Jimmy Page. Thanks for this video 🙏

The thing many comments forget, it is NOT if Jimmy wanted to play it same way or not. But that he couldn't play it the same way because of a shorter neck.

I was really looking forward to hearing you play more of the song

Good to know! I always wondered. PS when you played the 12 string part it reminded me of a cool thing I discovered while listening to Stairway on headphones. The guitar layering had the unintended effect of creating what sounds like a female voice which you can hear (if you listen very hard) singing “aaaaaaaaaahhhhh” throughout the section.

I remember my earliest guitar teacher saying that his stairway live solo was just an extended jam to fill time. But in my mind I was thinking "but why then do I know and hear it note for note which seems to fit it absolutely perfectly." Over all my years of rare recordings and having a friend who was a massive collector of bootlegs and my own collection let me assure those of you only having the SRTS movie and record that you have his best live performance of stairways solo, he never topped that night at Madison Square on any live recording I've ever heard.

The « mistakes » are the whys this solo is such a legend

Brilliant video. Well done--very well clarified. I had no idea. Great channel.

Marty, I appreciate you. Good video!!!

Page is brilliant. My favorite solo by him is from Since I've Been Loving You. Like most of his solos, it was improvised in the studio. Absolute beauty. Achilles Last Stand is also amazing, as is Stairway to Heaven. I was triggered by the title of your video, but didn't know about the cutaway limiting access to 17th position until you mentioned it.

you're absolutely right : I also have a 1275 and I never figure how Jimmy was able to play this part as I was struggling a lot (of course I'm not Jimmy) and I was thinking that he has bigger hands than me to be able to reach the notes but now I know why he played often the lick one octave lower

The face you make at that crucial point is priceless, and hilarious. Love it Carry on.

I so empathize with the tambourine thing. I was singer in a band that covered Steely Dan.... 45 total seconds of vocals.... six minutes of jamming.

Well I was at the 1973 MSG concert and his solo was brilliant but he went thru a period where he was going thru a huge substance abuse and a heroin addiction and he was pretty bombed on stage at times but if you look at his Page/ Plant tour he was simply brilliant and just look at the one time concert from Celebration Day and he was spot on so his playing has been fantastic since he stopped smoking and partying for decades now..I got to spend time with him a few times because his girlfriend is a dear friend of mine and he is at his best right now, check him out when he played with the Black Crowes on tour he was simply brilliant!

If the solo is played, and is different from the record, that’s not a mistake. That’s called artistry and talent. The only time a solo, for that matter a song, is identical to the record, is when you listen to the record again. Music is alive, songs evolve. Do you really want Jimmy Page to mime to the record?.

Thanks for that insight. Never occurred to me that the SG doubleneck structure was so much to blame.

I have an Epiphone G-1275 double neck, and while it is still quite difficult, that ending trill part to the studio solo is achievable. It actually makes out like the telecaster in the studio (which definitely had vaster fret range over the EDS-1275). Great video!

For me, Page's live playing was great all the way thru Physical Graffiti. I love the Presence record, but the smack and other drugs did him in from 1977-1983 or so. But man, he came back with a vengeance in the late 90's. I went to several of the "Clarksdale" gigs where I have not seen Pagey play as great since 1975. Unfortunately, a nostalgic audience hit the hot dog and beer stands whenever they played a new song from "Clarksdale" (which is better than several of the LZ records), and that wasn't going to be tolerated by Robert Plant who is about the here and now. The two have not made a record since because fans are too scared to be challenged musically by something new. "When The World Is Young," "Walking Into Clarksdale," "Burning Up," "House of Love" and several other cuts from "Clarksdale" are as great as LZ in their prime. The fans ruined it. I actually screamed at a fan who went for a $15 beer when they broke unto "Burning Up": I screamed "Do you fucking realize this could've been on Physical Graffiti? All you're going to do is make Plant a solo artist. We won't tolerate this from fans."

Let yourself be carried away by natural vibrations, that was the way guitar legends done it, no right or wrong, it was rock&roll!

That Gibson enjoyed huge popularity for stage work in the 70s among prog bands. Steve Howe of Yes used it on "And You And I" and Alex Lifeson used it on "Xanadu". I think Steve Howe's main beef with it was the weight. But you're right about guys from that era thinking more like jazz musicians when it came to solos. Their solos were usually a different animal every night, and not all of them were pretty to look at!

Great video. Thanks! ✌️❤️

When you think about guys like Page and Gilmour, they truly are remarkable in every way. It still blows my mind how great the songs are.

Jimmy Page played all of his solos different when live. That's why Zeppelin was killer live

thanks Marty, this was a great vid

Cool. Appreciation.

Dang. 60 years old, been playing for forty-six years, can play that solo note-for-note _on my SG, or my Gibby L6._ For all that any of that matters (it really doesn't, lol), I never considered the fact that not only is the end of that solo out of reach on the 1275, the last fret that would provide the highest note for the pull-offs _isn't even there!_ Cool video Marty, thanks. Oh, and btw, there was _one_ shredder then: Frank Marino. Just sayin'...

1st guy to ruin it for me on a 1275 was Alex in ESL on Xanadu. Arguably my fav solo by him. Nobody looks cooler than Page with a Red 1275 and that dragon suit 😎🤘

enjoyable and funny to boot - thank you

I am so happy you referenced jazz as a possible answer. I love jazz especially free jazz and that is what is so cool about seeing jazz played live - it is always different, depending upon moods, emotions, feelings, etc...I know it is cool to see and hear how well bands perform live and duplicate the sound of the tune like it was recorded in the studio. But that is what makes Zeppelin so cool because of their ability to jam live. Pay close attention to Bonham during Page's solo - amazing as he is improvising from the studio sound as well as accenting Page's riffs, really pushing the music to whole new dimension...I love it, and don't forget about Jones as he is masterful with the bass - or in this case Jones is on the keyboards - so groovy. truly unique and I hope the fans that night in the garden appreciate what they heard and witnessed because it was special. '

The Stairway solo on TSRTS is one of my favorite solos on the planet, it's brilliant. That "bowlero" part is on another level, I've never heard anybody cover that like Jimmy plays it. The tone on his SG is one of my favorite guitar tones anywhere. The trill part at the end is pretty much a nothingburger.

"Correctly" is an interesting concept in this context. It was his solo, and he could do what he wanted with it. Many many versions sprang out of that studio version. Page was never going to Steely Dan that sh*t in concert. He definitely wasn't trying to copy the album version.

Thanks. Never thought of that. I have noticed in some photos though, that Jimmy (like Hendrix and Peter Green), has some extremely, longer than normal fingers. Envy that double neck !!!

Zappa said that playing a solo the same as on the record was pointless. It’s a musical point of view and you play what you feel on the night . I’ve played solos in the studio , in the moment, and have struggled to recreate them .

It drove me crazy that he never got it right in concert. That solo has some of the most famous hammer-ons and string bends in history.

"Didn't play the solo right?" Surely you know he really pushed and stretched the music when he played live, liked to experiment and improvise, and he was more interested in evoking emotion than he was in technique. He was very experimental and pushed boundaries. All of that is why he is so great. Anyone trying to determine whether he played anything "right" is pointless because it was right for him at the time he played anything and that's all that counts. Sorry, thumbs down. ;)

Great explaination!

Video all in fun, I enjoyed it. the real question should be, how can we do any solo loaded on "H" oh right, Jimmy can and most of us wish we were him on any huge stage, in front of thousands of people having a blast. You are 100% right, difficult to do live. For most of his live footage, he would just pull off on the high notes instead of bending vibrato. If he just tried to do the studio version live all the time, it would be boring. That's what makes Page, Page and that's why we are all fans of him. Robert is one fantastic Tamborine machine with a lot of practice too lol. .

I love Zeps studio albums but I just couldn't get into their live stuff they would just turn songs into horrible long and different songs all together I just couldn't get into it but Zeppelin was definitely one of my favorite bands that forged the way for many bands after them

No, Jimmy pulls off the ending solo in the movie!

I totally agree but I think we must agree that the improv solo at madison square gardens was a work of art in itself it was melodic soulful melancholy.

I was just at Boleskine House on Loch Ness...it was awesome! It burned down a while back so you can just walk right in. I did the "Star Ruby" ritual in the front yard...probably yards away from where it was written by Crowley. lol

He never struggled. It’s called alternate arrangement and improvisation

You're working on the assumption that a solo is only 'right' or 'accurate' if it's exactly like on the record. Why on earth can't Jimmy plays his solo on his song any way he likes? There's no 'right' or 'wrong' or 'mistake' when it comes to improvising a live solo, it's about staying in the moment and keeping the creative momentum going. Simply replicating the solo on the record is for cover musicians (and boring to my ears), not someone with Jimmy's improvising abilities. Same goes for any performer in jazz & blues or any genre who can actually improvise, it's what make them exciting and different every night

Great Analysis!

having tried the double neck SG, you are absolutely right, it is a beast, and while he was the master of it by that time, I think he rocked the solo most of the time, TSRTS movie was good evidence of that. I will agree that LIVE, Jimmy loved to move around, and you can tell when he is moving around, you may miss a note or two, or hit something different, sweat as well, all a factor. Jimmy is my all time icon favorite player, and a true legend for many of us. I appreciate the vid on talking about it. \m/!

I disagree with the term "struggled" I prefer the way he played it live especially 1973, over the studio any day. I would say that the studio version struggled to achieve what the live versions were able to accomplish.

^ ^ Imagine how boring it would have been for Jimmy Page to play exactly the same solo every night! I think he said in an interview that he would always go for feel rather than accuracy.The man was just on fire! For example the ridiculous solo he does on Heartbreaker then ends it by going ....gwaannn gwaan gwaan gwaan....oh just kidding! Then the band hits it like a steam train!!!!!Ouch sorry run out of superlatives to decribe Jimmy Page. Foxy Love fae Scotland VVxx

I think it was just all about the approach of the band in question. You mentioned Lynyrd Skynyrd..... those guys (like the Eagles) played every song and every solo note-for-note live. Zep was more improvisational and Page wasn't trying to play the Stairway solo note-for-note, but he'd revisit certain themes. When live, I think the solo section would go on for many more bars than the studio recording anyway. Personally, I prefer the improv approach to the note-for-note method.

Sorry to tell you, you got it wrong. Here's where: You played E on G-string 8th fret. Page's rhythm is playing F-maj. Next time play F on G-string 9th fret. (Why would you play an E note over an F-maj rhythm chord?) Look into it you'll see . .

That's crazy, awesome video thanks!

I just watched a Vido, about Rush, working to make sure what they record they can play live

I love that guitar and had never thought about the scale length before good point. I wouldn't say he struggled but good points overall liked the content.

Nice video....Now watch Don Felder and Joe Walsh playing H.California solo live. It is always very close to the studio version....

Because he recorded it with a Telecaster, ran through a device that made it sound like a keyboard....he gave the details in a rock magazine during the 1990's interview. Then he used a Les Paul without the studio setup live later , so it was impossible to make it sound exactly like the record.

Nicely done and very informative thanks Marty. Do you do guitar lessons on this song .From listening to the studio version on their album it sounds like your playing this song spot on! All other guitar lessons on you tube I've seen sounds like they have it mostly correct but contain at least 1 or more mistakes/flaws

For tone chasers, on my channel,. I replicate and build all the pickups used at Madison Square Garden in 1973, including the Double Neck Set which is very different to their modern set .They have all the "Chime" that is missing today.

I don't remember much jamming during Roundabout by YES. The goal was to reproduce they biggest hit and signature tune. There was often a long solo section in Yours Is No Disgrace, but also Wurm and I've Seen All Good People.

Awesome video my man! Idk if you’ve ever watched it, but if you haven’t try to find video of Stairway to Heaven from August 11, 1979 at Knebworth! This has probably the best shot of Jimmy playing the licking question! That’s how I figured out how he did it live!

Thank you for this video. It was a revelation for me to learn about "the lost frets" on the double-neck, and I didn't know that he used a Telecaster on the recorded solo. Slightly off-topic and not necessarily meaningful, when one considers who looks good or in synch when holding a guitar....Jimmy is the man!!!!!

If I wanted it note for note I'd buy the album. A concert is a one off, just for the audience, special.

The sign of a true artist nothing sounds the same twice.

I'm 66 and I think you've got it right about the seventies. Many of the rock bands I saw did the same. They extended solos and crucially they improvised . . .a very Jazz thing to do . A lot of the guys had heard jazz in their younger days. I would say tbat shredding did exist but it was slower than the eighties guys you mention. Good video . . .

Jimmy page was asked if there were special messages playing his music backwards. He said no, it’s hard enough playing it forwards.

Dude I’m so glad you totally went over this as a video topic cause I’ve always wondered why he wouldn’t or I thought couldn’t play the song live as it sounded on the studio version, so it’s cool to get a perspective about it. The only thing I’ll say that makes me think is, I remember seeing a doc or maybe just an interview with robert talking about after awhile he actually got frustrated with keith going on 10-15 minute solos, so like was it know that’s what they were going for at the time like you said or did keith just say fuck everyone I’m gonna go on a long solo cause I want to and I’m gonna play the song differently just because. Idk makes me wonder

I always wondered why it was never played like the original recording Marty, thanks for explaining this. I was thinking of learning this solo and was wondering if I could use a single neck Gibson SG as it’s the only humbucker equipped guitar that I have access to? Thanks in advance for a reply. 🌅🌌🌠🕊

That's all right, he always looked cool trying. Chalk it up to inferior equipment. In fact, when I saw them in Raleigh/Durham in '69, his amp quit right at the point the Whole Lotta Love solo began. They got it fixed, and after a couple other tunes, they came back on and played the song again just so the audience could experience the song with the solo. I was 15 and went with my older brother who was 17. He got right up front but I was more comfortable in the back.

Thank you for the breakdown of solo. The 70 and transition of the guitar as a feature in the song. Most great pickers kept it simple as a melodic flight to or call response making the notes speak. Then there were the Steve Howe or Carlos Santana that punched thru with blazing runs were supported by killer bands. Very appealing yet to much of anything we love it til we get weary of it. Move on. Other waves move in . The new Young guns take the ball and have their fingerprint of sound. The gifted keep slogging at it with new projects and some reunions and it is fresh and nearly as fibrant and sometimes sweeter til they all succome to time.

HA! HA! "the seventies , like the sixties, were pretty experimental" cue the pic of Page chugging from a bottle of Jack.

Alvin Lee was a great shredder of the '70s, with Ten Years After, I think.

I wonder why they didn’t make the 12-string be the shorter neck, and the 6-string the longer?

Lord, what a guitar!

JP has said he is not a technical player, he’s an emotional player

I'm with you. I had an EDS 1275 (cherry just like yours !) and when we would try and play that song I always had to improvise the ending because of that fretboard being short on frets at the higher registers. It was a fun guitar that always got the crowd going, but, not suitable for "blistering" solos.

Listen to his solo during the Stairway sessions, it’s awesome and nothing like the recording

I like to think that Jimmy page and all of the band for that matter were so entranced by the music and just really feeling the atmosphere, I’ve never played on a stage before, let alone in front of the thousands of people Zepplin did but I can imaging the adrenaline rush is crazy and you’re just so into it you don’t even realize how long it has gone on for and how different it was, everybody was just so in the zone that they didn’t care because they were all happy to be a part of it. Long live rock and roll ✌️❤️

4:43 recently saw this video and it seems more interesting now that Gibson are doing a new limited run of the double necks. I bought the recent Squier Paranormal Jazzmaster xii and its a pretty good affordable 12 string for my amateur purposes.

Interesting for sure.

Live at earls court was pretty good too🎶

I have the Epiphone 1275 and it's the same exact thing. There's just no way to get into the A minor position in the upper octave.

He didn't struggle- the live solo was always an elaborate jam (only later on post Zep did the solo revert to more normal). And you can do the last lick but it is not easy. Barre the E and B strings with your index finger at 17 and hammer on E 20 with your middle finger and release the index finger off 17 so you can move your hand to move leverage and do the bend on E at 20 with the middle finger. It takes lots of finger strength to get the full bend but it can be done. I've always found the harder part was going from the 12 to the 6 heading into the solo.

Totaly think everyone that saw the video title was on the attack and thought you were a bashing him . On the contrary you made some great points about the gear and the difficulty of playing it. If anything you are standing up for him and people just don't get that.