David Coverdale says Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has too much amazing unreleased music to keep waiting for his former bandmates to agree to tour with him again.
The Whitesnake frontman recently embarked on a project similar to Page's current one with Led Zeppelin in combing through his band's archives to put together reissues of Whitesnake's hugely successful Slide It In, Whitesnake and Slip of the Tongue albums.
But Coverdale says the big difference between his friend Page and him is that Whitesnake is still a viable band that can make new music, perform and move forward together. With Led Zeppelin, Page does not have that -- a fact underscored by the feverish anticipation and eventual let down when rumors of a Zeppelin reunion were shot down by the organizers of last year's Desert Trip festival recently.
“The saddest thing for me, and my dear, dear, dear beloved friend Jimmy Page,” he told Sweden Rock. “I think one of the reasons he’s explored the Zeppelin catalog so significantly is because he can’t get the guys to commit to making a new record or touring.”
But the singer has a solution that he said could rejuvenate Page as an artist. Coverdale points to Carlos Santana's smash hit Supernatural album in 1999, which introduced Santana to a new generation of fans and reminded Santana's early fans what they loved about the guitarist.
"Jimmy’s got all these great songs. I said, ‘I’m there for you. I’ll do a couple of songs for you, without a doubt.’ I said, ‘Do something like Supernatural. At least you’re playing.’ It breaks my heart, ’cause he’s such a f—ing valuable musician."
Coverdale continued:
"With what he’s already given to us, he doesn’t really owe us anything, but I just know that he’s still valid and relevant and can still play amazing guitar and write amazing songs. Where do you go after f—ing Led Zeppelin, dude? Where do you go?”
Coverdale and Page collaborated in 1993 on their album Coverdale - Page.
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