Every Led Zeppelin song Jimmy Page wants to delete from history
Led Zeppelin rarely made any mistakes throughout their decade at the top of the music business. They set themselves a high bar to hit with their musical output and would only allow something to be released under their name if it met their standards.
Although Led Zeppelin were four incredibly talented musicians who shared a unique chemistry and brought heavy rock to never-before heights, it’s important to remember they were humans. While their hits vastly outweigh their misses, members of Led Zeppelin later grew to resent certain songs in their back catalogue.
Led Zeppelin were a well-oiled machine that moved in the same direction on or off stage. Still, they comprised four larger-than-life individuals, and naturally, they had disagreements over their work. It would have been impossible for them to constantly be on the same page, and in all likelihood, it would have made for boring music.
Like any high-flying rock ‘n’ roll outfit, Led Zeppelin had to accept that differences of opinion were part of the job if it wanted to be the most dominant force in rock music. Ultimately, the group worked because it was a democracy, and, on occasion, the band released music which one member detested.
The most important voice in Led Zeppelin was Jimmy Page. In addition to being their lead guitarist, Page helped craft their lyrics and acted as a producer. His fingertips are laced in almost everything Led Zeppelin created, but Page doesn’t love every song they made. Page is a perfectionist. He showcased this skill magnificently on eight studio albums with Led Zeppelin and created an abundance of tracks that are the definition of perfect in terms of rock ‘n’ roll. However, in the view of the band, there is the odd occasion where they let their brilliance momentarily slip.
The beautiful blend featured the mercurial Page on guitar alongside expertly delivered bass from John Paul Jones and Robert Plant’s world-class searing vocals. To top it all off, they were underpinned by the masterful drumming of rock’s most incredible powerhouse, John Bonham, which proved to be a recipe for the ages.
Unlike many rock ‘n’ roll giants, Led Zeppelin called it a day at the right time. They’d recently lost Bonham and realised they’d be a pale imitation of their former selves without his presence. Furthermore, even before his passing, they showed signs of losing their way.
One body of work that Page isn’t proud of, however, is the entirety of the band’s final album, 1979’s In Through The Out Door. In 1993, Page said he and John Bonham considered it “a little soft” and told Guitar World: “Presence had been an electric guitar album. [Then] Jones had this writing renaissance because he hadn’t written whole numbers before and suddenly he had.”
Bonham and Page felt useless as their two bandmates, Plant and Jones, were the creative forces driving In Through The Out Door. This was an uncomfortable and foreign situation for the guitarist, who was used to occupying the driver’s seat. “Bonzo and I had already started discussing plans for a hard-driving rock album after that,” he added. Sadly, Bonham’s untimely death in 1980 prevented them from creating the record that the pair of them had dreamt of making together, and instead, their last album would be one that neither was fond of.
One song in particular from the record signified Page’s discontent towards In Through The Out Door: the heartfelt ‘All My Love’, a track which showcased a more tender side to the band. “I was a little worried about the chorus,” Page said in an interview published in Brad Tolinski’s Light and Shade. “I could just imagine people doing the wave and all of that. And I thought, ‘That is not us. That is not us’.”
However, despite not liking ‘All My Love’, Page didn’t want the song taken off the album as it was a composition Plant delivered straight from his heart. The track was one of the most poignant pieces on the LP as it addressed his grief towards the loss of his late son, Karac. “In its place it was fine, but I would not have wanted to pursue that direction in the future,” Page added with a guarded sense of responsibility for his friend and his artistic integrity. Whilst the song isn’t to his taste, the sentiment is one he got behind even if he didn’t like the execution.
Furthermore, ‘Livin’ Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)’ is another song by the group that Page loathes. Notably, it’s one of the few tracks by the group that they never played live. Although Plant has played it live several times as a solo artist following the group’s split, Page has barely acknowledged its existence.
It’s unlikely to be a coincidence that Led Zeppelin never performed the song, but as soon as Plant broke free from the group, it entered his setlist.
The song appeared on their gear-shifting sophomore album, Led Zeppelin II, one of the finest albums in rock history. ‘Livin’ Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)’ flows perfectly after ‘Heartbreaker’ in the second half of the record and plays a vital role on the LP. Nevertheless, it does include misogynistic lyrics, such as, “Alimony, alimony paying your bills/ Living, loving, she’s just a woman/ When your conscience hits, you knock it back with pills/ Living, loving, she’s just a woman”.
Page’s riff on the track is phenomenal, but the lyrical content, as shown above, was inexcusable even back in 1969. The song is drenched in misogyny toward a real-life groupie who used to follow the band around. In all likelihood, Page is embarrassed about the lyrics, explaining why Zeppelin never performed the number live. While he’s never confirmed his reasoning for his intense dislike for the track, this is the most rational explanation.
Apart from his issues with In Through The Out Door and ‘Livin Loving Maid’, Page holds no other regrets about Led Zeppelin. The body of work they created is an endless source of pride for the musician, who once said to Uncut, “What I mean is: when you talk about a band as a collaborative musical unit, we were the best. I am not talking about one or two genius songwriters, and everyone else tagging along. I am talking about a collection of musicians who are each at the top of their craft in their own right. In Led Zeppelin, we were exactly that.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.