French Maze

If I had to name a favorite tune, it'd be Maze. This one's the best I've heard; from Paris, France circa 1997. Check Page's big hair solo at ~4:30.



Special thanks to Silverchair97

Comments

themanatee said…
maze is your favorite song? that is intriguing, def one of my least favorite
Jon Kussmaul said…
very interesting choice of favorite. it so happens I've been listening back to that Winter '97 European tour; heard most of the Paris show yesterday. Definitely a great version of that tune.

As a cornerstone of the "speed jazz" era, this tune sort of languished for years imo. Once the funk hit, the band's interests went to groove, and Maze became mostly a high-energy shred fest, not a break-neck musical exploration. With the exception of The Gorge '03 (probably the most unique version of the tune ever), the band wasn't really doing much with Maze.

The past year, I think, saw a real revival of the tune. Ripping versions at The Greek, Deer Creek, Amherst, and MSG saw both Page's and Trey's solo sections being pushed out further harmonically than at any time since the Return, if not longer. I'd particularly point to the Trey/Page interaction during Page's solos, which are like a mini-master class on harmonic tension and jazz chording.

Here's to more great Maze's to come.
aphishianado said…
Very strange write-up. Is this you, Broseph?

The problem with Maze is, it's played the exact same 9.99 times out of 10. For me, it's a 'Pauly takes a nice long piss song'.

Sure, it's had it's moments, but surely it nowhere NEAR the top of a favorite tune list for 9.99 out of 10 vets.

Curious to hear why you dig it so much?

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