Stairway to Heaven one of probably the top five songs ever written in the history of rock 'n' roll. There are a lot of really interesting things about this song. This is of course written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant in early 1970 when they were hanging out at a Welsh...they got a cottage that they used as a vacation spot. And they did a lot of composing there especially for this album and a lot of earlier stuff too. A lot of the acoustic stuff from Led Zeppelin III. And again it was just a very creative place for them.

Stairway to Heaven is a very interesting song in terms of its creativity since there is so much going on with it from a musical perspective. One of the most amazing things occurring within its sound in the multipart arrangement since it would seem that five separate parts of the song could be made into a unique or individual song on its own. Within the song there is an amazing construction of a brilliant acoustical beginning part that is known for its amazing descending baseline. There is a minor key found at the beginning that is not unlike the song Taurus. Taurus is found on Randy California's band Spirit's first album. Debuting in 1968, this album featured a number of psychedelic rock and progressive rock style tunes. Frequently, this type of sound is called "proto prog." Much of the instrumental sound the band was known for would emerge out of this type of sound. A great deal of experimentation went into this particular album which is why it is so well known for being somewhat "spacey." Again, the song Taurus featured a rather identical baseline that was played in a somewhat different manner. The songs sound the same and then switched gears from a D minor chord and back to an A Minor. This is not to infer that Jimmy Page stole material from Randy California. Many songs share similarities. You will commonly see similar progressions in a variety of songs. A similar descending baseline, for example, can be found in The Beatles song "Michelle" by Paul McCartney.

As such, the common complaint that Jimmy Page "borrowed" heavily from Taurus may not be the most valid description. But, the songs do share more than a few similarities. Ironically, during their first American tour, Led Zeppelin was the opening act for Spirit. It is really no secret that Jimmy Page learned a great many musical concepts and gained numerous insights from Randy California. Randy California was known for his ability to innovate with the theremin. This was a device used in the Beach Boy's Good Vibrations. This odd instrument was rarely used but those that did employ it discovered it has tremendous value. The theremin is considered one of the earliest versions of a synthesizer ever developed. Some have dubbed this instrument a 'voodoo device' because of its using ability to twist and distort radio waves. At the time, most people hearing it found the sound to be extremely odd which contributed to its appeal.

There are many different components to the song which make it somewhat of a suite. There is a descending base found in Section A which can be considered the official introduction to the song. There are recorders which contribute to the medieval sound the song is known to present. When the guitars start to kick in, we are treated to a more folk inspired sound. Picking through the chords will reveal such a notion. When Robert Plants' lyrics start to kick in, we experience a song that is spiritual and philosophical. This all creates the amazing aura of the song.

Among the most amazing aspects of the song is that the intensity builds within it. Each section becomes louder and more vibrant. We can hear a 12 string guitar and it plays things in a much more powerful form that other guitars. The drums do come in at one point when we hear the "bustle in your hedgerow" line. All of this leads to a truly spectacular ending that is forever memorable. We also have the drumming part and then the improvisational electric guitar comes into play. This is a rather abstract solo. All of this plays out of time in a somewhat intentional manner. Also within this component is a very confusing set of beats which then turn into an ending which is clearly among the very best ever produced. The A minor, G, and F chord progression is about as simple as you can get but it works brilliantly since Page is able to make the entire sound work brilliantly.

It is certainly true that Jimmy Page cut many leads. He truly delivered much of what was expected of him in such composition. Page generally understood what was required of him when it came to starting out his numbers. But, he often did not know where he should go with his material. This is why he was known for improvising a lot. He generally performed a lot of take to get his material right. With this song, he was not happy with the results and the band was ready to scrap it completely.

And in these days people didn't spend months editing guitar solos and putting together the bits and pieces that they liked which became a little bit more common a little later. David Gilmour did a lot of stuff like that. Some of David Gilmour's greatest solos are actually patchwork quilts from different takes. But Jimmy Page didn't do that too often. As a matter of a fact Jimmy Page had some really spectacular improvised solos. The most notable one would be in Heartbreaker from Led Zeppelin II. But save that discussion for another time.

As far as improvised lead solos Heartbreaker is one of the greatest out there. Most solos that you hear in songs are not really improvised. They're pretty well worked out with just little nuances and changes that happen from time to time. But in the case of Heartbreaker it was just him raw. I think even in a hotel room. Just ripping. And this is an unaccompanied solo by the way too that shows up in there just in the middle of the song. If I'm thinking about the right song. Yes I am!

The final point about Stairway to Heaven that needs to be pointed out is that when it was played live, it somewhat suffered to a certain extent. That is because the solo always needed to be delayed to a certain degree. That required the establishment of the rhythm first in order to play the chords in the proper manner. Not having a rhythm guitar player also made the process a little more difficult than it necessarily needed to be. Some feel that Robert Plant could have served such a role on his guitar but there is no way to say for sure this would have been the proper recourse to take.