Jimmy Page Shares Rare ‘Rock & Ruin’ Demo
via Emile Rock/YouTube
He Called XYZ’s Music “Really Good”
Jimmy Page has shared a rare sample of “Rock & Ruin”. This is in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the XYZ sessions with his short-lived supergroup members Chris Squire (Yes) and Alan White (Yes).
He wrote on social media, “The first playing I did after Led Zeppelin split up was with Chris Squire and Alan White – the rhythm section of Yes. They got in contact and said they had some material and I said I had a studio. This was the best medicine I could have had at this time and I knew that playing with them might be quite challenging, knowing the quality and precision of the music they had established with Yes. In fact, the combination of the three of us proved to be substantial.”
He continued, “Chris had supplied bass, piano and vocals, with Alan on backing vocals and drums. Chris even had a name for the outfit – XYZ – and I believe they hoped Robert Plant would have a listen but I think he was occupied. And the party was over. However, the music that was done at this point was really good.”
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Their name came from “eX-Yes-Zeppelin” and they enlisted the help of former Greenslade keyboard player Dave Lawson. Page invited Led Zeppelin bandmate Robert Plant to be their vocalist and while Plant attended one rehearsal, he turned down the offer. It wasn’t long before this side project was shelved.
In October last year, Page talked about the possibility of officially releasing the XYZ tapes and he commented that “it’s all speculation.”
Check out the demo in his website here.