Sonic Boom: The Impact of Led Zeppelin. Volume 1 - Break & Enter. Frank Reddon
volume into a large amp and were amazed by the results: unbelievable high-end distortion, sustain and tone. (Note: Bob's brother Larry, a great electrician and guitarist himself, was in on this, too!). “Jeff Beck’s sound!” we exclaimed. I used this as my stage set-up. Another thing that contributed to the overall sound was my 1959 Gibson “Melody Maker”. This was probably a student model guitar, but it had the best neck action and tone ever. My brother, Dean, who’s a professional musician, has taken it around the world.
REDDON:
That’s wild! I’m amazed at how you were able to do that. I can see how Jeff Beck and The Yardbirds, and later Jimmy Page as well, had a huge impact on your musical development as an aspiring, young guitarist. Could you please elaborate on that?
COTTRILL:
The early Yardbirds albums with Jeff Beck playing on them were vastly experimental. The Shapes of Things is one example I gave you. But there were many others, too. Beck was the first one to my knowledge to explore the whole realm of musical possibilities associated with distortion, feedback and creatively harness and control such sounds for artistic expression through the use of the electric guitar. Jimmy Page was on the same level, in my opinion.
REDDON:
Your observation that Jeff Beck was the first guitarist to fundamentally pioneer the use of distortion and incorporate it into his guitar style is something I hadn’t really thought about. I just naturally assumed it was Jimi Hendrix who did all of those innovative things first.
COTTRILL:
No, no, no! Beck was the original for a lot of the guitar wizardry, turning his mastery and use of huge volumes and distortion into a meaningful mode of musical expression. I remember people saying when Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced? came out, “Wow, isn’t that something!” like it was the first time all those amazing distortion sounds had ever been done. And I would think, “No, actually Jeff Beck had already been doing that quite some time before Hendrix did.”
REDDON:
Really? That’s fascinating because I always thought Hendrix came up with almost all of the truly astounding sounds of the electric guitar. How do you think the common perception evolved, of Hendrix being first to pull off all those innovative guitar sounds?
COTTRILL:
There’s no doubt that Hendrix was a brilliantly talented musician. I think it’s because Hendrix had a much wider audience and much greater exposure than Jeff Beck and The Yardbirds did. As I mentioned earlier, The Yardbirds have always been a relatively obscure band. They didn’t receive the publicity or achieve the notoriety that Hendrix did. Hendrix was a great showman and would set his guitar on fire, leaving a profound impression on the audience. He also popularized that great sweeping technique of the tremolo (whammy) bar on the Strat.
The notion of Hendrix single-handedly developing almost all of the innovations of the electric guitar, well, I don’t believe that to be the case. Without a doubt in my mind, it was Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page who pioneered those guitar sounds we have become familiar with today. Since Beck, Page and Eric Clapton were all friends and acquaintances, it’s nearly impossible to say who did what in some ways I suppose, because they were all influencing one another in the early days when they were jamming.
REDDON: Yes, it’s like the chicken or the egg argument, isn’t it?
COTTRILL: Yes, you could say that.
REDDON:
I’ve never heard anyone put forth that school of thought on Hendrix, Beck and Page, and it’s a fascinating one for anyone interested in popular music to consider. Thanks for bringing up that unique perspective!
If we could, I’d like to ask you a few questions about seeing TheYardbirds in a rather unlikely venue in Northern Ontario: the Hidden Valley Ski Resort. What do you recall about seeing The Yardbirds there?
COTTRILL:
Yes, I did see them at the Hidden Valley Resort in Northern Ontario. My friend, Ray, who was the bass player in our band had his driver’s licence and was driving us around. (Thanks Ray!)
I remember The Yardbirds went on about two hours late. Lead vocalist, Keith Relf, said that The Yardbirds had been delayed at the border, coming through customs. Hidden Valley was a very unlikely place to see them! They should have been at a place like Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, a much bigger venue. But there they were, at this rather small resort. Why they played at Hidden Valley, I have no idea.
There were probably fewer than two thousand people there. There was an upper balcony-like area, with a space between the balcony and the stage. We were in the balcony for that show and we could look straight across at the stage and TheYardbirds. It was something else to see them like that!
REDDON:
What did you think of The Yardbirds as they performed? Did you find them to be any louder than any of the other British groups you had ever heard?
COTTRILL:
I was very impressed with them and they were fantastic! As far as volume goes? The Yardbirds were ultra-loud. I had never heard a group that loud before and it went right through you. I was used to the 1965-66, “San Francisco sound” as I mentioned earlier and that kind of music isn’t all about huge volumes.
REDDON:
As a musician, I’m sure you picked up on this. What kind of equipment was Page using the night you saw him with The Yardbirds at Hidden Valley?
COTTRILL:
I was amazed with what he was using! He had three Fender Dual Showman amplifiers! Usually, one would be more than adequate for most musicians. I expect they were wired in series to get that sound. Each amp was 100watts RMS. Quite often, when groups played near Toronto, which is such a large city, they would rent amps from a big music equipment store like Long & McQuade. Maybe that’s what TheYardbirds did in this case, but I was stunned at the power he had on that stage with those amps. Add the Telecaster Page was using, with the light gauge strings and, therefore, outrageous vibrato and what a sound he had! Page to me was beyond belief! He looked tired and stressed out, as did the others, no doubt from touring, yet Page pulled it all off. I will always remember Heart Full of Soul. Jimmy did the first four bars as regular, then did the second four in harmony (five above). The crowd went nuts. Myself included!
REDDON:
Yes, because most of The Yardbirds and early Led Zeppelin photos I’ve seen show Page using Rickenbacker Transonic 200 amplifiers. He purportedly used his leftover equipment from The Yardbirds days and the Rickenbackers were part of what he took with him into Led Zeppelin. I’ve spoken with people who saw Led Zeppelin on the First U.S. and Canadian Tour of 1968-69 and they also said some of their equipment was rented at the time they saw the group. I guess it only makes sense…and dollars, really, when you’re a touring rock’n’roll band!
COTTRILL:
That’s right. When you’re on tour, depending upon how the tour is set up and where you’re going and so forth, it’s probably best in most circumstances just to rent the equipment you need so you’re not hauling it all over the place unnecessarily. It saves time and money and that’s what it’s all about when you’re touring. That’s probably what The Yardbirds did in that case. They may have had most of their equipment shipped to another location that was more metropolitan. Hidden Valley wasn’t a big gig for them by any stretch.
REDDON: What did you think when you saw Page play his guitar with the violin bow?
COTTRILL:
I thought it was more for show than anything else, versus actual musical substance. He created some unusual sounds all right. But since the strings are strung flat on the guitar, especially on a Telecaster, and there’s no raised contoured bridge as on a violin or a cello, you can only effectively bow the inside and outside strings. That’s very limiting, musically, but