Jimbert: Physical vs Cerebral
An observation/analysis
As a newer fan of Jimbert (and Led Zeppelin as a whole), I have been trying to make more sense of their relationship dynamic by going a little deeper and connecting some of the dots. Within the Led Zeppelin myth Robert and Jimmy act as each other's foil, representing the light and shade, the sun and moon. They are opposites in just about every way including how they percieved each other in their relationship. For Jimmy the relationship was more physical while for Robert it was a more cerebral experience.
Before meeting Robert, when Jimmy was merely conceiving of a band, he envisioned a good looking front man that could attract an audience. The physical was already a priority for Jimmy when it came to a lead singer. It makes sense that Jimmy is more physically aware of Robert than others.
"Oh, I thought you were the roadie". — Jimmy Page (his first time meeting Robert Plant in July 1968)
Jimmy takes immediate note of Robert's tall muscular physique on his first meeting with Robert.
If you want to relate Robert to a sexual image, and a lot of people are doing that, he’s all those things one would associate with it. He’s good looking (I’m not saying Jim isn’t), he’s got the virile image, he moves very well on stage and he looks right and he sings well — his whole thing is total sexual aggression. — Jimmy Page interviewed by Ritchie Yorke for NME, April 25, 1970
In this interview Jimmy was asked his opinion about Jim Morrison, The Doors frontman, specifically about how Morrison compares to Robert. Jimmy was laying it on thick here but I think he is being honest. Jimmy was very forthcoming with his negative criticism of Morrison so I believe he is honest with his praise of Robert's "total sexual aggression". He makes it clear he found the attractive frontman he was looking for.
Jimmy sinks down even farther in the sofa till his knees touch his chin and he tells you: Robert—"he's tall, blond, masculine and sleepy. We tease each other a lot and that's sometimes difficult if there's an ego involved. As soon as Robert tries to let his ego show, he gets shot down. It's a healthy thing, a healthy attitude really. But Robert's an A-1 singer, a Leo... fiery, ambitious. — Underground Groove Interview with Jimmy Page
In this interview Jimmy is asked to describe all of his members. He does not touch on the physical aspects of the other two at all. He speaks of their musical talents and their personalities but nothing about how they look. For Robert the physical is the first thing he mentions and his singing ability is one of the last. This is also true of the quote above where Jimmy is comparing Robert with Morrison.
…I knew that he would never have heard anything approached like this before. I wanted to see how we could work with improvisation and tantalise him with something that could be absolutely amazing. — Jimmy Page in Jimmy Page: the Anthology (2020)
Tantalise: to excite or attract with an offer, to torment, to tease, to lure, to tempt. There are many different meanings and interpretations but I believe it to have a sexual connotation. From Jimmy's own admissions about how he was seduced by the guitar and how the guitar was his mistress, you can conclude that music is a sexual and physical experience for him. Here Jimmy is admitting to tempting Robert with something new, exciting, and stimulating.
On the other hand, Robert was 19 years old when he first met Jimmy, the older, far more experienced studio musician who was offering him money and the possibility to make his dreams come true. Jimmy being a shy introverted man made getting to know him a time-consuming cerebral experience for Robert. I think the experience, while a challenge, was a rewarding and life altering one for Robert.
Well, I love Jimmy immensely, I love him with my whole heart, really, because we’ve shared so many of these experiences that I’ve mentioned and we are akin in our thoughts towards them. But he’s far… he’s a very wise man, he knows so much more than I know about the things that mystify us all. He’s a true scholar along many lines. Some of them I haven’t even gotten into with him yet. ‘Cause we’ve got years and years to go. — Robert Plant interview with Steven Demorest June 1975
Robert's connection to Jimmy is more openly emotional and reverent. He looks up to Jimmy, seeing him as someone with more experience and wisdom than him. Jimmy is the mentor/master/teacher and Robert is the student/mentee. Robert learned a lot from him and was inspired by him. He is Jimmy's biggest fan.
“Jimmy’s personality initially was… I don’t think I’d ever come across a personality like it before. He had a demeanour that you had to adjust to; certainly it wasn’t very casual to start with. Bonzo and I were much more basic in every respect, in how to deal with everything – including Jimmy. Because he had to be dealt with.” — Robert Plant | Led Zeppelin interview with Rolling Stones 1990
This statement is interesting. Jimmy's strange introverted shy personality has been noted by many people before but I'm not sure what Robert means exactly by "he had to be dealt with". But seeing as Jimmy is the cerebral type I think Robert meant it was a challenge to truly get to know him.
It wasn’t a foregone conclusion that I was going to be the singer at all. But Jimmy said, “Why don’t you bring some of your favorite records down to Pangbourne and let’s spend an afternoon together?’ We had a glorious time and realised we were dealing from the same pack of cards. You can smell when people have traveled and had their doors opened a little wider than most, and you could feel that was the deal with Jimmy. His ability to absorb things and the way he carried himself was far more cerebral than anything I’d come across before and so I was very impressed. — Robert Plant interview with Nigel Williamson in Uncut 2005
It is clear here that Jimmy and Robert have a natural compatibility. Robert picked the same records that Jimmy was planning to show him. It is almost mystical, fitting for LZ. Even though they have this natural compatibility they are at different points in their lives and careers. Robert's love of music is not the same as Jimmy's professional experience in playing it and in-depth understanding of it. Again Robert admires and respects Jimmy's knowledge.
Interviewer: Basic differences between 1969 and 1990? Robert Plant: ...And then I think I was, I probably felt a bit like Doug must've felt when he was just saying about kinda being inflicted on all this kinda information. That’s what happened to me when I first met Page because he was much more musically aware than I was. Even though I had quite a good knowledge of west coast music and the San Francisco scene and the blues and rock & roll. He was much more intense than I was. And he stretched me a lot. Interviewer: What was it Jimmy Page had you listen to? RP: Well, no, exactly the same as I was already listening to but deeper into each area. We were absolutely in tune perfectly. We knew each area but I didn’t know so much about each of those areas. — Robert Plant Much Music West, Canada interview 1990
This last quote just further demonstrates the point made above. Jimmy and Robert have simpatico. While Jimmy was more experienced and accomplished than Robert when they first met, they were still perfectly in tune. Jimmy being mentor/master "stretched" him by expanding his understanding of music and challenging him.
In conclusion, Jimmy and Robert are very different people and even experience the same relationship with each other differently. Here we see that Jimmy is very aware of Robert in the physical sense because that is how Jimmy understands music. While Robert, the ingenue, had his mind opened to understanding music in ways he did not before. It is through the music that we see how they experience each other: through the mind and body. They are the sun and moon. They compliment and contradict each other. They are a "picture of true completeness". And this is only a small piece to understanding them and their life long relationship.
Thank you for reading. If you have anymore quotes or examples to add to this pls do!
