No Quarter: The Three Lives of Jimmy Page

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 31 OCT. 2016

Power's staggeringly deep history will likely stand as the definitive tale of the man who founded Led Zeppelin. Drawing on a series of new candid interviews (but none with Page himself), Power (Hot Wired Guitar: The Life of Jeff Beck) traces the guitarist's work back to his session days with the Who and the Kinks. Tired of doing session work, Page joined the Yardbirds in 1966. The Zeppelin years make up the large middle section of the book, and though longtime fans are familiar with the band's by-now mythical status and Page's obsession with the occult, Powers provides a fresh voice in the retelling. Considerable space also is allocated to Page's post Led Zeppelin career, which began on Dec. 4, 1980, three months after drummer John Bonham died. Powers, who keeps much of the focus on music, adds a "fourth life" to Page's story with a coda about the 2016 lawsuit claiming the band plagiarized "Stairway to Heaven.". A jury cleared the band of any wrongdoing, but the case demonstrates how, almost a half-century on, Led Zeppelin still matters. A select but detailed discography puts Page's body of work into context for both new and experienced listeners.