Jimmy Page VS. Ritchie Blackmore

I've known both guitarists for a long time. However, now I've decided to study them closer. I've listened to several songs by both, but I am no expert yet. What I would like is, a couple of people to write a few sentences about Page and Blackmore's respective styles and trademarks. Also, you could include it if there are any special song which pretty much sums up their style.
Well, basically, tell me a little about how they differ from each other.

I can't wait to start buying their albums!

- Oh, and by the way, I've got a version of Smoke on the water, but when I heard the song on the radio, the solo was different... longer? Are there several versions of this song? I think I preferred the song with the longer solo. And no, I don't think any of the versions was live.

[Edited by jleraan on 02-09-2004 at 11:03 AM]

wow okay you picked to amazing guitarists there with some what similar styles. both created amazing riffs just look at smoke on the water - blackmore and whole lotta love - page both hugely well known riffs.
in the way that there styles differ:
Jimmy Page was more influenced by folk than blackmore if you look at some of zeppelins stuff such as going to california very folky an he was also very blues based in his approach. i dont think there is a particular song that covers jimmy as his styles vary so much, also not only was he a great guitarist but he was also amazing at arrangement. songs to look at for his diferent styles are
1. Stairway to Heaven (obviously, shows his folk roots with an amazing arrangement, the best solo ever written(no arguments!) an a kick ass riff!)
2. The Rain Song - most beautiful thing to have come out of a guitar! arranged by page its damn damn good!
3.Since I've Been Lovin You. - My favorite ever blues track again amazing solos!
right okay cant be bothered going on any more so there are just three.
Ritchie Blackmores style was similar but id say leaned further to the classical side of things. (as far as i can remeber not quite as big fan of deep purple) songs often used more organ, at first found it off puttin but soon got used to it. to some up his style hmmm kind of difficult in one song again my favorite album of theres was deep purple in rock.
Overall i'd say zeppelin had a more eclectic style (encompassed and played more styles) than Purple judging from what i have heard. if your gonna buy a zeppelin album i suggest remasters (its a best of really, got a hell of alot of stuff on but expensive cos its double cd) or any of there older albums avoid coda and in through the out door

Thanks a lot. I understand a lot already! Page more bluesy - Blackmore more towards classical. Thank you.

damn is that all i had to say? bugger

Deep Purple played a combination of blues, classic music and hard rock, so you can say ritchie blackmore is not only a blues based player like page but also a prog rock player.
Some blackmore tunes you should check out-
Lazy , Highwaystar from deep purple's machine head
April pt3 from deep purple's self titled album (i think its the first rock solo with sweep picking, 20 years or so before malmsteen's era)
Rainbow's long live rock'n'roll
Hmm basicly any other blackmores solo

Blackmore, no question. I'm a huge Page fan, but I like Blackmore's style more. Blackmore was also much more consistent live, just compare Made In Japan, Made In Europe and Live In Germany with The Song Remains The Same and How The West Was Won.

Both were pretty sloppy live, but that's just part of their charm.

Well, in terms of technique I'd have to say Blackmore.

But I think (after hearing a lot of his playing over the years), Jimmy Page very well COULD played the things he did, and possibly more (even getting up to that late 70s Yngwie level). Page doesn't play very complicated guitar parts really, and lets face it, he was sloppy. But he was fairly determined and for the style of music he was playing, he played very fast. Now, neither of them (in my opinion at least) compare to players like John McLaughlin, or even Al Dimeola, but Page in particular always had that "Hey that kid could be really goood some day" sound to him.

Jimmy is definetly my favourite guitarist out there. The way he changed his styles so much throughout the Zep career. I love the folk stuff (going to california is such a beautiful song). I like their rock stuff. And I like their stuff towards the end like No Quarter and Achilles Last Stand.

I can't stand Smoke On The Water. It may not have been as over played as Stairway, but the riff was so easy, that every kid learns it and thinks they rock. At least Stairway requires some skill, even though it is fairly easy to play.

All in all, I think Jimmy kicks Blackmore's ass. I think Jimmy ventured out into the unknown world and brought it back to rock, more than any other guitarist ever did.

Originally posted by Jimmi431
damn is that all i had to say? bugger

No, come on. I just thought of the big picture. You wrote in detail and great. Don't worry, I learned a lot.

Page is first and foremost a blues guitarist, and he did some amazing solos in his day

check out the live version of "no quarter" on 'the song remains the same' amazing solo

Page was definatly sloppy, but thats his thing, and he makes it work

Blackmore is amazing tooslightly more neo classical, but also very bluesy

he is also arguably the first shredder

I'm a huge Zeppelin fan, so i'm a little more partial to Page, but they both are without a doubt two of the most influential players of all time

I would just learn everything u can from both

hey, jleraan i was jokin! i enjoy writin crap like that seriously! keeps me from the borin task of history essays or business definitions!
have to say although jimmy page was sloppy i actually think this is a good thing. i've always thought that if you've spent ages and ages learing to play the most technical things in the most perfect way your kinda missing the point of guitar. although i spent ages trying and learning loads of technical stuff i always see myself coming straight back to a more pagey type approach to playin and being messy but not caring cos its how i like it to sound and feel cos i dont like the strain of thinkin "right i got to get this sweep in to impress an show how good i am". also i think a messy kind of improvised style shows more soul and feeling than someone who just blasts up and down an arpeggio pattern they've learnt. e.g. yngwie.
But page is the best guitarist ever!

Originally posted by Jimmi431
hey, jleraan i was jokin! i enjoy writin crap like that seriously! keeps me from the borin task of history essays or business definitions!
have to say although jimmy page was sloppy i actually think this is a good thing. i've always thought that if you've spent ages and ages learing to play the most technical things in the most perfect way your kinda missing the point of guitar. although i spent ages trying and learning loads of technical stuff i always see myself coming straight back to a more pagey type approach to playin and being messy but not caring cos its how i like it to sound and feel cos i dont like the strain of thinkin "right i got to get this sweep in to impress an show how good i am". also i think a messy kind of improvised style shows more soul and feeling than someone who just blasts up and down an arpeggio pattern they've learnt. e.g. yngwie.
But page is the best guitarist ever!

Oh, okay. I thought you were dead serious about the little comment there. Heh. It could look like I just read a few lines of what you read, but never mind.

Well, I have to say I agree with you on the thing about the Page style. Think about Iron Maiden. You know, they had Adrian Smith/Dave Murray as guitarists from 1981-1988. Then on the 1990 album, No Prayer For The Dying album, another guitarist featured with Murray instead of Smith. This man's name is Janick Gers, he is in Maiden still today, You might know him as a guitarist? Well, anyway, at least on the Internet, MANY critizise the way Janick plays, especially his solo style. He is quite a contrast to Adrian Smith, who always structured the solo's perfectly and played them with perfection and made them sound melodic all the time - focusing less on speed.

While mr. Gers on the other hand, has a more 'dirty' style, if you understand. Not in a bad way, if you ask me. His style is just not as clean as Smith's all the time. And I like that! Makes it sound interesting. Now, Gers has got speed, but not neccessarily in the Yngwie Malmsteen way. Not that technical. Now, that's maybe not so strange, as Gers is influenced by Page, amongst others.

Wonder if you've heard anything by Janick Gers, or Iron Maiden at all.

ha guessed you might have thought that! i've not really heard that much iron maiden stuff only really heard run to the hills and hmm what the hell was it called ... (thinks long and hard) errr Hallowed be thy name. new i'd get there in the end. so don't really know of the guitarists that well although what i have seen always seems to be good they play quite alot of harmonies together dont they.

Yeah, they are harmony maniacs - and it sounds good! You should really check them out. I would like to hear your views on the band with Murray/Smith as guitarists vs. the material done with Murray/Gers. If you don't know, Smith is back in the band now, making them a triple guitar attack. So on some songs live, the harmonies sound very nice, one plays the basic melody, the second guitarist plays the same melody i.e. a 3rd above, while the last guitarist plays the same notes - but an octave higher. Very nice sounding stuff. However, often one guitar supports the bass on the rhythm, letting the two other guitarists do the harmony.

Allright, about the Iron Maiden albums. I guess The Number Of The Beast maybe is the most popular (at least most well-known) Maiden album in the 80's (probably it still is!). Another fan favourite is Powerslave, and don't forget about Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. That's three albums with Murray and Smith on the guitars.

As you know, Janick Gers took over for Smith in 1990. That year they released the album No Prayer For The Dying. You could listen to that. Gers was doing his best to show the fans how his playing was. The next album is Fear Of The Dark. Not as raw as No Prayer, this album has more feeling I'd say. Both albums are sometimes slagged off even by the fans. That's on the Internet however.

And as a final album to check out you can't go wrong with Brave New World from 2000. That's the year Adrian Smith rejoined the band, taking with him Bruce Dickinson back in the band, to replace the one who was the Maiden vocalist from 1995-1998-99. So actually, on this album you get all three of the guitarists.

I understand that you won't buy all those albums in the nearest future, but what you could do, is check out the official Iron Maiden website, browse through the "Albums" section, and see if you can find a few songs for each of the mentioned albums. Then download a couple and give it a show. Maybe you get temped to buy them as well! You're here by warned.

Allright, that's it. Did I get carried away or did I not? I think I did.

Originally posted by jleraan
Yeah, they are harmony maniacs - and it sounds good! You should really check them out. I would like to hear your views on the band with Murray/Smith as guitarists vs. the material done with Murray/Gers. If you don't know, Smith is back in the band now, making them a triple guitar attack. So on some songs live, the harmonies sound very nice, one plays the basic melody, the second guitarist plays the same melody i.e. a 3rd above, while the last guitarist plays the same notes - but an octave higher. Very nice sounding stuff. However, often one guitar supports the bass on the rhythm, letting the two other guitarists do the harmony.

Allright, about the Iron Maiden albums. I guess The Number Of The Beast maybe is the most popular (at least most well-known) Maiden album in the 80's (probably it still is!). Another fan favourite is Powerslave, and don't forget about Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. That's three albums with Murray and Smith on the guitars.

As you know, Janick Gers took over for Smith in 1990. That year they released the album No Prayer For The Dying. You could listen to that. Gers was doing his best to show the fans how his playing was. The next album is Fear Of The Dark. Not as raw as No Prayer, this album has more feeling I'd say. Both albums are sometimes slagged off even by the fans. That's on the Internet however.

And as a final album to check out you can't go wrong with Brave New World from 2000. That's the year Adrian Smith rejoined the band, taking with him Bruce Dickinson back in the band, to replace the one who was the Maiden vocalist from 1995-1998-99. So actually, on this album you get all three of the guitarists.

I understand that you won't buy all those albums in the nearest future, but what you could do, is check out the official Iron Maiden website, browse through the "Albums" section, and see if you can find a few songs for each of the mentioned albums. Then download a couple and give them a chance. Maybe you get temped to buy them as well! You're here by warned.

Allright, that's it. Did I get carried away or did I not? I think I did.