'When Giants Walked the Earth' by Mick Wall -- latimes.com

'When Giants Walked the Earth' by Mick Wall -- latimes.com:

"Anyone familiar with Page knows that he admires early-20th century Magus Aleister Crowley. This is not a passing fancy or a superficial flirtation: Page, Wall says, found in Crowley's work a philosophy that embraced self-expression, not the devil. That, however, didn't stop the band from being seen in that light.

Associating music with the devil didn't start with Led Zeppelin. As Wall points out, the myth begins with bluesman Robert Johnson, who, legend has it, sold his soul at a deserted crossroads so he could play guitar.

Page, Wall reminds us, forged his chops and style not at the crossroads but as a much-wanted session man who wanted to do more -- more than the pop hits that the Yardbirds were scoring when he joined them alongside fellow guitarist Jeff Beck.

Yet as Zeppelin's success skyrocketed in the early 1970s, Page and Plant openly courted an unearthly, occult identity for the band. There seemed to be an obscure system of symbolism and ritual at work that seeped into the albums and performances, creating for Page 'an energy . . . that the audience picked up on and sent back to us. Really powerful stuff. . . .'" Sphere: Related Content