THAT’S THE WAY

10 Jimmy Page rare cuts

PJ PROBY “HOLD ME” (DECCA, 1964)

Page, 20 years old, is the second-best session guitarist in London. He plays rhythm. London’s best, Big Jim Sullivan, plays lead.

THEM “BABY PLEASE DON’T GO” (DECCA, 1964)

A 19-year-old Ulsterman called Van Morrison puts his band Them through its paces on one of their first original recording sessions. Page provides rhythm guitar.

THE WHO “BALD HEADED WOMAN”

(BRUNSWICK, 1965)

Page plays rhythm guitar behind Pete Townshend. “Sometimes established musicians could be dismissive of young session players. The Who made me feel at home.”

THE MANISH BOYS “I PITY THE FOOL” (EMI, 1965)

Page provides a hard-rock solo for the future David Bowie. “It was a Bobby Bland cover version, but you could tell David had something because he brought a special drama to it,” says Page.

CLIFF RICHARD “TIME DRAGS BY” (COLUMBIA, 1966)

Page, the in-demand session harmonica player, steps up. “I liked not having to drag two guitars into town for that session,” he says.

THE YARDBIRDS “HAPPENINGS TEN YEARS TIME AGO”

(COLUMBIA, 1966)

Page and Jeff Beck’s lead guitars vie for lysergic pre-eminence on this druggy pop roustabout. Produced by Simon Napier-bell, it also features session bassist John Paul Jones.

JOE COCKER “WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY

FRIENDS” (REGAL ZONOPHONE, 1968) Page assists Cocker as he turns the Lennon/ Mccartney composition to chart gold.

THE ROLLING STONES “ONE HIT (TO THE BODY)” (ROLLING

STONES RECORDS/COLUMBIA, 1986)

As a session musician, Page played on several early Stones cuts. Here, he pops up on the Dirty Work album to donate a solo following a friendly jam with Ron Wood.

JIMMY PAGE “THE ONLY ONE” (GEFFEN, 1987)

For his solo album, Outrider, Page strikes out alone and can therefore hire anyone he likes. He picks Robert Plant for vocals and Jason Bonham to play drums.

LED ZEPPELIN “DAZED AND CONFUSED”

(ATLANTIC, 2016)

Taken from the Complete BBC Sessions boxset, this previously unreleased, 11-minute, darkly atmospheric live version was recorded in June 1969 at the Playhouse Theatre.