The man kept EVERYTHING!
Every guitar, every non-guitar instrument, every amp, every effect, every iconic piece of clothing. He kept shirts, pants, and jackets you'll recognize from iconic photos — from his session days, through the Yardbirds, Zeppelin — all the way to the present. He tells you where he bought or acquired things, and the stories behind item. He has copies of (seemingly) every single he ever played on as a session man. Hand written daily diaries containing his session schedules in the pre-Yardbirds days. Tour posters, photos, copies of bills, tour schedules, and more.
So many artifacts. Beautiflly compiled with Jimmy's eye for chronology, continuity, and artistic detail. When Jimmy Page finally checks out (hopefully a long time from now), he has enough stuff in his estate to create a rather large museum, fully dedicated to the enormous talent, career, and yes, ego of Jimmy Page. Jimmy Page: The Anthology is like getting an early tour through that museum with Jimmy as your personal tour guide.
The stunning, high-quality photos are printed on heavy, art-book stock, so the book has the quality feel you’d expect from a man who wants everything to be just so. The accompanying text required me to don some dime store reading glasses because the text is small. However, the content is well written, and in Page's own words. It would be easy to flip thorugh these pages and just marvel at the photos. However, if you’re a Jimmy Page freak, the text here is well worth reading, despite the cumbersome nature of this physically large, heavy, coffee-table book.
The book contains gear details and photograps galore. Moreso that we’ve ever gotten out of Jimmy in the past (including a summary of all gear, makes and models at the end of the book).
There are some facts and clarifications here that were new to me. Some of which seemed to contradict things Jimmy’s said in the past. For example, in early interviews, Page stated that he recorded Zeppelin I with the Tele and the Supro amp. Later, in Brad Tolinski’s 2012 biography, Light and Shade, Page implied that he used a Vox Super Beatle. Jimmy Page: The Anthology states that he used the Supro on the album, but played the live work of the Zep I era with the Super Beatle through the Rickebacker Transoinc cabs.
I didn’t think the man could squeeze any more money out of me than he already has, but he did. And this book was worth every penny. I got the normal (non-limited, not-signed, not-bagged and boxed) edition which was a bargain at $36 from Amazon. This book feels very much like the definitive, and likely final word on what Jimmy Page used, when, and where. Perhaps because for the first time, these are Jimmy’s own words, in a book of his own creation, that has his name on it as the author. He did it right. And this book rules.
A feast for the eyes AND a great read!