Led Zeppelin: ‘The Ocean’ Has 1 of Jimmy Page’s Most Underrated Guitar Solos

Jimmy Page didn’t need long to prove he was a guitar solo maestro in Led Zeppelin. The band’s 1969 debut album features some of his best guitar solos, and every record they made included their guitarist playing in the spotlight at least once. He has several classics to his name, but Page’s most underrated solo might be his playing on “The Ocean.”

Led Zeppelin paid homage to their fans with ‘The Ocean’

Contrary to their name, Led Zeppelin soared into the stratosphere soon after they launched. Fans in the United States reacted strongly to the band’s music, confirming Page’s belief that he had assembled a stellar group. 

Led Zeppelin’s fans turned out in droves to see the band perform, and Zep honored them with the Houses of the Holy song “The Ocean.” It’s not a coincidence the group broke the Beatles record for concert attendance soon after the album came out. 

Plant sings about singing to the ocean (of fans) and hearing the ocean roar back. The main guitar riff rises and recedes like waves crashing on the beach, but Page’s closing solo on “The Ocean” is the high point.

Why Jimmy Page’s second solo on ‘The Ocean’ is so underrated

We’re not going to argue that “Stairway to Heaven” isn’t a classic or that “Since I’ve Been Loving You” isn’t one of the greatest solos ever. But “The Ocean” secretly has one of Page’s strongest solos.

On the studio version, Page multi-tracked guitars. One stereo channel contains his solo, and the other has some vaguely surf-inspired strumming behind it (in keeping with the semi-nautical theme). 

Also, “The Ocean” might be Page’s best use of string bends. He was a master of manipulating notes with bends (see the aforementioned “Since I’ve Been Loving You”), and he uses them to great effect during his closing solo. He employs a few small string bends before a huge rise around the 3:50 mark, just before he does some quick-fingered playing midway through his second solo.

The guitarist also busts out his whole back of tricks during his time in the spotlight. In addition to the big bends and flashy fingerwork, Page’s solo sees him add some texture with several string rakes throughout his performance. 

Finally, production-wise, “The Ocean” solo might be one of Page’s brightest-sounding solos. The guitarist has said that Houses of the Holy was the most fun Led Zeppelin album to record. Between the notes he hits and the crystal-clear sound, we get a sense of just how much joy Page felt playing the solo.

Page’s playing during the closing solo is restrained and controlled yet still emotive. The rakes, bends, fast fingerwork, production, and multi-tracked stereo guitars combine to make “The Ocean” one of Page’s most underrated solos.

How Led Zeppelin’s ‘Houses of the Holy’ performed on the charts

Led Zeppelin resisted releasing singles, so “The Ocean” never saw the light of day as a short player. (“D’yer Mak’er” and “Over the Hills and Far Away” were the only Houses of the Holy songs to become singles). Still, “The Ocean” closed out one of Zep’s most successful albums.

Houses of the Holy cracked the top half of the Billboard albums chart when it debuted in mid-April 1973 and reached the top by mid-May. The record held the top spot for two weeks during its 106 weeks on the charts. Houses achieved RIAA gold status (500,000 in sales) less than two weeks after its release. It eventually went platinum (1 million in sales) 11 times over.

Jimmy Page’s underrated second solo on “The Ocean” might be one of his secret high points with Led Zeppelin. He uses every trick in his arsenal — multi-tracked guitars, bright production, big bends, string rakes, fast fingers — during his turn in the spotlight. Listeners had to wait until the closing moments of Houses of the Holy to hear it, but it was worth it. 

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