Joe Matera at Ultimate-Guitar.com recently caught up with producer/engineer PHILL BROWN, known for his work with LED ZEPPELIN, JIMI HENDRIX, PINK FLOYD and numerous other high profile artists. Ane xcerpt from the discussion is available below:

UG: What was it like working with Led Zeppelin in the studio?

Brown: "The full band were there - John Bonham, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and east end heavy, Peter Grant, with a couple of minders. Peter was vast, probably 20 stone, and had difficulty squeezing into the luxurious, high-backed leather chairs that were positioned on the riser behind the Helios desk. To me he appeared very seedy, with thinning long hair, sweaty skin and ill-fitting clothes. He dealt with me and the other minions around him in an off-hand manner and gave off a somewhat threatening vibe. Control room 2 was not a large room, measuring only 15 by 20 feet. With the brown-carpeted walls on the floor and ceiling, dull lighting, desk and machines, nine people (band, manager, minders, myself and an assistant) and this strange aggressive attitude, the sessions were immediately claustrophobic and scary.

The members of the band, apart from Bonham, had long flowing curly hair - looking like Jesus or some Greek gods. Jones was friendly and polite and on another planet altogether. Bonham and Plant were relaxed and relatively easy to deal with, but Page was dark, moody and difficult. I found him particularly hard to communicate with. He was self-centered and into some form of weird spiritual crap. A great fan of the writings of Aleister Crowley, he owned Crowley’s old residence, Boleskine house.

We worked mainly on two songs; 'Four Sticks' and 'Stairway To Heaven'. The backing tracks had drums, bass and some electric guitars already recorded and there were good vocals on both tracks. We spent most of our time working on 'Stairway To Heaven' - trying out flute parts on the introduction with John Paul Jones and overdubbing guitar ideas and solos with Jimmy Page. We worked on lead guitar parts to 'Stairway To Heaven' endlessly, trying out different styles, sounds and effects. We tried the guitar through Leslie, desk distortion and various pedals and recorded takes continuously. The guitar overdubs took days to perform and get right. Listening to the final version of 'Stairway To Heaven', it’s hard to imagine how bad some of the playing and tuning was. There were many loose timing mistakes and wrong notes from Page, and the control room atmosphere remained intense.

There was very little direct communication from any of the band, and having Peter Grant sitting beside me did not help. I found him belligerent and rude, and aware of the many stories about Grant’s well-known bullyboy techniques, I was disturbed by his presence. On his death in 1996 there were glowing obituaries in newspapers and music magazines, describing him as 'always being on the side of the artist' and 'fair.' I would have first hand knowledge of this so-called 'fair' attitude to artists later, while working with JEFF BECK.

The sessions with Zeppelin were long, with no convenient breaks and I would be at the desk for some 15 to 18 hours a day. I had to maintain a constant high level of concentration and vigilance during this time - it was not easy. You couldn’t fuck up on projects like these. It was very tiring and the severe atmosphere generated by Peter, his minders and the band, did not leave me with warm memories. I thought Page was a good guitarist but not on a par with Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton. I was relieved when the Zeppelin sessions were over and I could return to projects that were more laidback and easygoing."

Click here for the complete interview.