NEWS, REVIEWS
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30 March 2010
A Portrait Of The Rock
Guitarist: It Might Get Loud
Featuring Jimmy Page, Jack White and The
Edge, Davis Guggenheim’s “It Might Get
Loud” was the talk of the town long before
its release. First screened in Toronto,
Canada in September 2008, it finally made
it to Tallinn, Estonia in February 2010 and is
still the subject of many a conversation –
some say “but it never does [get loud]”,
others call it “the greatest rockumentary
ever made”, and a few are still wondering
about “that third bloke in the funny hat”.
Granted, U2 guitarist The Edge may seem an
odd choice for the cast, but in truth, his
inclusion was a stroke of genius. Coming
across as an intelligent, thoughtful man and
musician (check out his slide playing on “In My
Time Of Dying”!), he gives the picture its title
and provides the best quote throughout:
“Spinal Tap – that's a movie that I watched. I
didn't laugh, I wept… ‘Twas so close to the
truth.”
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“The guitar players look damaged
They've been outcasts all their lives.”
“Jigsaw Puzzle”,
The Rolling Stones '68
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Perhaps out of consideration for Mr. Page, the Spinal Tap footage used here
excludes images of Nigel Tufnel playing his guitar with a violin, but we do get a
glimpse of Derek Smalls’ doubleneck bass; later on, we also learn how “Stairway
To Heaven” made it necessary for Page to introduce his trademark doubleneck.
While both The Edge and Jimmy Page seem to treat the film as a straightforward
documentary, Jack White takes the opportunity to add scenes as if out of Zep’s
“The Song Remains The Same” flick: portrayed as a cartoon character here and
accompanied by a childhood version of himself there. There can be no doubting
his sincerity, though, when he holds up a Son House LP and admits the image of
the White Stripes was created mainly as a distraction “to keep people away
from what was really going on, which was we was just really trying to play this,
you know… Still are.”
The Song Remains The Same
And then there’s Page. With a limited edition leather-bound photo biography in
the works and three new pieces of music to present, including one that only
appears on the DVD, he obviously has the most to share and, somewhat
paradoxically, the most to gain from this exposure. In related interviews, Page
has stressed he felt it important to have some new music for the movie, and also
that he intends to get some new stuff recorded and released before the end of
2010.
“It Might Get Loud” follows Jimmy Page’s career from a teenager playing skiffle on
a TV talent show through his days as a studio musician (he actually played on
“Goldfinger”, folks!) to rock stardom with The Yardbirds and, indeed, Led
Zeppelin. We see his current self revisiting Headley Grange, now a family home,
a visit reportedly made a tad bit uncomfortable by learning the estate gates had
been stolen during the Zep O2 turmoil simply because they had “Headley
Grange” written on them.
The most we see of the man is when he is actually talking music – there’s a
sincere, almost childlike joy and awe in his eyes when playing air guitar to Link
Wray’s “Rumble” or exclaiming “That’s just two people!” as Muddy Waters’ “I
Can’t Be Satisfied” hits the turntable. That joy and awe are very much mirrored in
The Edge and Jack White when Page himself rips into “Whole Lotta Love”, a riff
his peers must have heard – and quite possibly played – a million times, but
which still lures them in like moths to a flame. For ultimately, it’s all about the
music, and it’s envigorating to see that it still is for these three superstars who
would never have to play another lick if they didn’t feel like it. But that’s just it –
they still do!
Strangely for a film advertised as “a documentary on the electric guitar”, “It Might
Get Loud” ends with the three predominantly electric heroes strumming away in
by-the-bonfire mode on The Band’s “The Weight”. I don’t know if it really is the
longest piece of music in there or just seems like it, but whether you’re a die-
hard fan of The Band, a headbanger waiting for the ultimate loudness, or a
believer in the Keith Richards school of thought which insists the true measure
of a guitarist is how well he handles the acoustic and not the electric guitar, it is
bound to be a bit of an anti-climax. Which is not to suggest that the big three
aren’t masterful acoustic players – having learned and rehearsed the song on
camera, they simply lack the opportunity to shine.
From Hank To Hendrix
However, if we forget the film’s stated purpose and rewrite the sales pitch to
read “a documentary on the guitarist”, it all starts to make sense, the different
characters and their various approaches and influences come together. What
emerges is the crystallized image of the guitar player as a Byronic hero, a
romantic, rebellious misfit, an image applicable to all the greats from Charley
Patton to Django Reinhardt, from Jimi Hendrix to Kurt Cobain.
“Those who fail to click with the world and society at large find safe haven in
music – to sing, write songs, create, perform,” wrote Paul Westerberg in his New
York Times obituary to the Box Tops singer Alex Chilton, and he couldn’t have
said it better. But let’s rewind and cut and paste and try to piece this jigsaw
together:
The Edge: “The economy was in the toilet. We just didn't believe that anything
could change…”
Jack White: “It was uncool to play guitar. To play an instrument was the most
embarrassing thing you could probably make up...”
Jimmy Page: “Pop music was rubbish, so we weren't gonna be playing that…”
Jack White: “Hip-hop and house music, that's what everyone wanted to hear,
DJ's and rappers…”
The Edge: “The thing that we started out with was a clear idea what we did not
want to sound like...”
Jimmy Page: “Not going with the flow…”
The Edge: “There has to be more than this!”
There is, gentlemen, there is. And we thank you for it.
ANDRES ROOTS
Link: It Might Get Loud website
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