JIMMY PAGE’S SOUNDTRACK TO KENNETH ANGER’S ALEISTER CROWLEY FILM: LUCIFER RISING
I have been hearing about this infamous falling out between Led Zeppelin maestro Jimmy Page and filmmaker, writer Kenneth Anger for decades now. Sadly the only the material I can find on the net still seems to the same variety of articles that appeared in rock fan magazines back in the seventies. This is actually one of the few great legends in the world that I have some sort of connection with. Well, in a sort of incalculably indirect way. I saw Page with Zeppelin back in 1977 in Ohio, and briefly met Anger at a book signing at the fantastic Scarecrow Video store in Seattle, where he signed my special copy of Hollywood Babylon with the Aleister Crowley quote Do What Thou Wilt from The Book of the Law. I had a nice little collection of Crowley books, most from Samuel Llewellyn Press at one time, though I doubt it could compare to the collection by Anger and of course the filthy rich Jimmy Page who was reputed to have had at one time the 2nd largest collection of Crowley books and memorabilia in the world, including Crowley’s Boleskin House, perched on the cheery shores of Loch Ness in Scotland. It was one of three fantastic houses a then young Page owned (all have since been sold I believe). He also owned a house in the Kensington district of London called the Tower House, designed by Victorian architect William Burgess and formally owned by Richard Harris, and it is in this house that the drama between Anger and Page unfolded.
Anger had been inside the rock circle for some time, in part due to his avant garde (a fancy word for confusing usually) films such as Scorpio Rising which had a score of old rock music that actually prevented the film from being shown publicly for decades due to copy write issues. He met Anita Pallenberg who was seeing soon to be deceased Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones. She would later become Keith Richards’s common law wife. The Stones took a liking to Anger and his liberated views views on life and vast knowledge of occult matters, and in particular his passion for British occultist Aleister Crowley. Their public image would shift from Brit bad boys to decadent and sinister rockers during their time with Anger. Their song Sympathy for the Devil from On Her majesty’s Satanic Service was inspired by conversations with Anger. Jagger would even score an Anger film called Invocation of My Demon Brother. I have seen the film and it is a really horrendous soundtrack in my opinion. Some repetitive experimental sounds on what sounds like an early Moog synthesizer. Jagger is a good musician as well as singer and could ahve done something a little better maybe.
Jimmy Page had developed his own interest in matters occult and with Crowley in particular. He owned an occult bookstore called the Equinox and, as mentioned, out bid other rock dignitaries like David Bowie in the purchasing of Boleskin Manor. Page and Anger met at an auction of Crowley memorabilia in about 1973 and a friendship was formed. Anger asked Page if he would be interested in scoring his latest and most ambitious film project Lucifer Rising (or whatever the working title may have been) and Page enthusiastically accepted. Anger was allowed access to a film editing facility in the basement area of the Tower House that was set up to edit scenes for The Song Remains the Same, the Led Zeppelin concert film. Exactly what the reasons for Jimmy’s alleged loss of interest in the project are depend on what source you are reading. A lot of things were said later in the press that seemed fueled by resentment on both men’s part. Essentially after a period of time the friendship began to cool off and Anger returned to one day to find himself locked out of the lower area of the house he was working in. The rest of the house had always been off limits to Anger. as well as the general public, being ast the tiem the only of William Burgess’ houses not open to the public. It seems there was a domestic quarrel between Page and his girlfriend (perhaps Charlotte Martin who Page had a long a stormy, though little publicized, relationship with, including marrigae and divorce) the night before and it was she who locked Anger out. Anger claimed he could not reach Page despite repeated attempts and Swan Song offices did not communicate with him as they are known to do with people and the public regarding Led Zeppelin issues. He eventually gathered his belongings and called the offices to inform them Page was fired as the film’s composer. In interviews following the incident Anger blamed Page’s lack of productivity (after more than year he had produced only 23 minutes of music that Anger found too morbid) on his increasing use of heroin. In some interviews (there is a brief comment by Anger on youtube but the video was all “psychedelic” looking, so I did not link it) Anger does not seem that bitter and says Page is a beautiful person who has let his drug use get control of him. In other statements he has also said Page has a good work ethic and commitment to projects, but that he had basically became a junky and now behaves like a junky in unpredictable ways and asocial ways.
Page seemed surprised by his firing and has said he had been kept busy with Zeppelin matters and getting Swan Song off the ground and thought Anger was happy with the music he had so far produced and that he had more than the 23 minutes but not in a final stage of production. Page was less hostile in press statements than Anger was (what do you think with a name like that, right? Though he was born Kenneth Wilber Anglemyer) but seemed disappointed byt he whole affair. The simple truth is that Page did have a drug problem and it did affect his decisions and performances in later Zeppelin periods. Too what degree that affected this situation, or did not, we can only speculate. However it did not seem like an appropriate issue for someone as normally polite as Anger to keep bringing up publicly. It simply made him appear vindictive and simply too bitter.
Anger would eventually enlist the help of ex-protégée Bobby Beausoleil in getting a finished soundtrack for the film. This was no simple task since Beausoleil had been a California prison since 1969 for a Mansion Family related murder. It was a prior murder of Gary Hinman over a bad drug deal and not of Sharon Tate. A soundtrack of Jimmy’s completed 23 minutes was released in the early eighties on Anger’s own Boleskin House Records, catalog number BHR666 and was limited to a release of 1000 copies on clear blue vinyl and these are considered almost priceless now to vinyl collectors.
Well, I have linked the composition here and you can be the judge of it all. Page plays all the instruments, including guitars, ARP synthesizers, percussion and the theremin (or sometimes theramin, the musical instrument that responds to hand motion). There is some interesting vocal sections near the beginning area that sound like the chorus in 2001: A Space Odyssey when the apes are flipping out around the monolith. The intro to In the Evening from In Through the Out Door is supposed to from some of the recording sessions. It has also been said that some of the incidental music from Death Wish II was based on what Page was working on during the Lucifer Rising sessions. For years I had always heard of this mentioned to as “the Black Album” and it was the substance of myth. Along with the myth of the album were the myriad rumors that began during this period of the late seventies that jimmy’s involvement in black magic had led to the bands misfortunes, such as the death of Robert Plant’s son, Robert’s serious car accident, Page’s health issues and declining ability to work and perform as he once had and finally the death of John Bonham at Page’s house. These rumors and legend still persist in the history of the band. Both Page and Anger, as far as I can tell, got over their period of conflict and moved on with their lives though the friendship was over. In later interviews the men had good things to say about each other and any mention of a black magic curse is done tongue in cheek by the both of them.
Here is the Jimmy Page OST to Lucifer Rising in its entirety:
LUCIFER RISING
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November 16th, 2008 at 2:46 am
I’ve always heard of Kenneth Anger, but I’ve never seen any of his work though.
November 16th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Keith
well check back in a couple days for a sketchy essay of his conflicts with Jimmy Page. I actually met Kenneth Anger once and and had his Hollywood Babylon book signed to me with an Aleister Crowley quotation in Seattle, at the legendary Scarecrow video store, where alot of my interest in all this stuff developed. I still the K. Gordon Murray post to finish. Also seems that my BTs are back on and I can connect to mIRC again (so need now to learn how to use it), but I am gonna give it a week or so to see what happens. Over the last weekend I have gotten in four movies, The Leech Woman, Attack of the Giant Leeches (I see a double feature here), Cool Hand Luke and Olga’s Girls. I hope it keeps up.
November 16th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts about Anger & Page as well as K. Gordon Murray! Thanks for sharing this music with your readers. I must confess that I voted for more music posts in your latest poll.
November 17th, 2008 at 3:17 am
Good luck with everything. I hope it all works out. That sounds cool about those movies. I think I remember reading about Kenneth Anger in a book actually called Lucifer Rising.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Kimberly
Thanks. I should have had those finished by now. I am trying to get another blog off the ground right now too and I am finding I often choose topics that take more than ten minutes to do the essay on. I usually like get the graphics up first then post them to force myself into finishing them before rather than start a new one and have 5 drafts I am juggling. I will have those finished tomorrow and hope I have time to read some other blogs I am currently only skimming due to time and energy.
Keith
I will try to do a good post here, so that is why it is taking too long. It will take a few cups of coffee I think. I am downloading Fathom as well, thanks to your review. I am trying to get a film called Hammerhead too, a Eurospy movie with Vince Edwards, but so far no good BT, no seeders
See ya.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:11 am
Hey Bill. I’ve never seen that film Hammerhead. I hope you enjoy Fathom.
BTW, I tagged you in a meme on my Sugar & Spice blog.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Kimberly
No fear, more music coming. Sort of a lot of work to do that. In my poll I am jesting in a sense about gals with big hooters, but my pin up style posts get all the hits in Google Analytics. I have some Tangerine Dream coming I think, for downloading too. Stuff I listen to while I am “working”.
January 2nd, 2009 at 2:39 am
Sorry for the dumb question, but how exactly do I go about downloading this?
January 2nd, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Not a dumb question at all girlygirl. In fact the MP3 site seems to have changed a little and I cannot see the download button anymore. It only has a play list option. So thanks for bringing this up. If you check back in a few days I will have added a direct link to my Boxster.com account and you can download from there. I will have to go back and redo all my sites with MP3s… so thanks and sorry.
Bill
January 2nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Girlygirl and all, looks like the download option is gone for now. To be honest I do not see me wanting to go back and redoing all the sites with MP3s and uploading them to a new and host and yadda yadda and then 6 months from now I am back in the same place. It is a lot of work to do MP3 sites and so they may become a thing of the past though some of my music posts got the most favorable responses. I just do not see what fun it is unless you can download the stuff though not all my posts had that option anyway. A lot of so called “free” file storage site a sort of free but can delete your files at anytime really. Boxster is a good free site but the free ride is over there I guess… for now anyway. If I can find a suitable solution (anybody know one?) I will be back to offering free, hard to find music.
Bill
January 2nd, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Thanks for the update!
January 26th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Just finished listening to these tracks, and all of Death Wish II ones, and i love them both !
its a shame that pagey never got more recognision for this type of work as well dont u think
January 27th, 2009 at 6:25 am
Yes I do and I think the negative criticism pushed away from exploring more soundtrack material. I liked his work with the firm and with David Coverdale, but I had always wished maybe Jimmy would have explored other musical avenues as well such as an all instrumental soundtrack album, like Lucifer Rising but with better production. I also wished maybe he had done an all acoustic fingerstyle album or a studio album of collaboration with eastern musicians. I actually regret to a small degree he only redid his Zeppelin catalog over in one guise or another. In this area I have to tip my hat to Robert Plant who explored many diverse musical areas despite criticism.
I was lucky to see Zeppelin in 1977 in Ohio. I also saw Plant solo for the Manic Nirvana tour in SA Texas and then Page and Plant for Unledded in Eastern Wa State. Great stuff and wish there had been more.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
hey these two parts of lucifer rising gave me chills,
i also found this other piece,was wondering if you could validate where this it actually comes from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdXaoVeMgWw&feature=channel_page
or if its really page or not, the dude writes that its only an outtake so maybe?
January 28th, 2009 at 6:11 am
Steve
I have had some Zeppelin outtake stuff before. I did not have this on any of the collections. I lost all of them in a hard drive disaster and never really downloaded any again as I did not like the quality. This could well be real as I have read there was more recorded than the 21 or 23 minutes released on the album. It certainly sounds similar to what is on the album but I guess there is no real way to know for certain.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Hmmm, I almost wonder if this finally solves my own mystery… way back in the mid-to-late eighties, I was rummaging through records in a record shop, and I swear on what ever tome you consider holy, there was an all black album (Thin AC/DC Back in Black) with raised type (No other color) that simply said Jimmy Page and below that 666. I didn’t buy it because it eminated raw evil
, and I was not a Jimmy Page devotee. But now I rue the day I did not buy it, as no one believes me when I recount the incident…
Maybe it was related to Angers soundtrack?
I did buy the Deathwish soundtrack, which I still have.
Thanks for the interesting article, fills in a few blanks I did not know.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Yea sounds like you stumbled across one of the rare albums that were released. I used to have that yen to collect something that was obscure and strange. I think it is long past., I think a person needs money to do that and I am a rich man. But it certainly sounds like you found a dark gem there. I am not crazy about this soundtrack really. Some parts are interesting but I feel the production could have been better. I had the Deathwish II on vinyl long ago. The MP3s I posted of the DW II album here was ripped from vinyl but it sounds great. Thanks for the nice comment.
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
For those who aren’t familiar with Anger:
Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Anger
Fireworks on Google Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5641651904666515230
Lucifer Rising on Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1710883728662460695
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:35 pm
If anyone is interested, there was a re-recording/reinterpretation of Jimmy Page’s soundtrack done a few years back: http://www.ikonowerk.com/christopher_lucifer_rising.mp3
It syncs up to the final edit of the film. Enjoy
February 24th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Christopher
Thanks I am certainly interested. I tried to do a personal project and removed the Bobby Beausoleil score and put on the Page score using some video editing software. I even replaced the credits at the beginning. it was not a tight project and I may redo it and try to get it uploaded to Google Video before they stop taking uploads, which is a real calmity in some ways. Thanks.
November 21st, 2009 at 5:38 am
So you said the blue vinyl is hard to find. I have a copy I bought back in the 80′s and was always wondering about it, so thanks for the info. Do you know if they were numbered? the on I have is numbered “32″ in the right bottom corner where it also has “QABALISTIC ISSUE NUMBER ____”.
November 21st, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Karl
I believe the disk was limited to 666 copies and would assume (but may be wrong) that you have number 32 of 666 which sounds cool to me. Not sure what the Qabala number is about. The Qabala was a Jewish book of mysticisma nd numerology that Crowley was partial to. To be honest I find this exciting news that you have a copy. If you would like to take some good digital pictures and send to my email I would post them here with a short article. Maybe you could just tell the story of how you came across it and such. My email is:
uranium.cafe_66@yahoo.com
I am sincerely curious about this. I may do a follow up post and feature your story if you are interested.
Thanks
Bill
December 6th, 2009 at 2:45 am
I have a copy of Lucifer Rising Jimmy Page Blue Vinyl LP if anyone is interested.
December 22nd, 2009 at 5:33 am
J. Miller: I’d be interested in your copy of Lucifer Rising on Vinyl. How much are you asking for it?
email me: Todd
filmnoir23@hotmail.com
January 1st, 2010 at 5:37 am
I can’t believe I’m finally hearing this!! Thank you so very,very much!
January 9th, 2010 at 2:35 am
Thank you for this a thousand times. Oh, and if someone uses Firefox for their browsing they can download the audio files via the Download Them All add-on.
January 9th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Yes you are right. I did not think of that and I will update my download instructions soon. Mine sound a little convoluted really. In fact the Fast Video Download add-on would do the same thing I think, for video or audio. Will get n that eventually.
Thanks
Bill
April 9th, 2010 at 6:09 am
THANK YOU! This is the first time I’ve visited your site, and what a wonderful introduction. I’ve been wanting to hear this for years – and it’s no disappointment. Fascinating listen.
By the way, both 1977 Led Zeppelin shows in Cleveland, Ohio are legendary. You probably know this, but if not, you can buy the bootlegs and remind yourself (just a little) of what it was like. Thank you very much, again.
April 9th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Degamore
Thanks back. I had some issues with all my audio files, a few dozen at the least, a while back and am in the process of updating those posts. Advice: do not rely on ‘free file’ storage and hosting. I have a paid site and did not realize how easy it it is to host the files locally, from my own site. Anyway, the short of it is I have some more Page stuff coming up. The Death Wish II soundtrack as well as John Paul Jone’s soundtrack to Scream for Help which features Page on on some tracks. It is great that many of those old bootlegs are out there still. The Song Remains the Same was okay but not one off their magic moments. Check back soon for the Death Wish II soundtrack.
April 24th, 2010 at 5:44 am
If Anger’s film Lucifer Rising was only 26 minutes long and Page’s soundtrack was 23 minutes couldn’t Anger have waited for three more minutes to be composed by Master Musician Page? Page’s soundtrack is vastly superior to what Anger used in his film. The film looks and feels so amateurish. I’m sure today Page is more than fine with not being associated with the production.
April 24th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Excellent point and I think that over time both men have put the incident way behind them. I did not like the music by Bobby Beausoleil all that much really either. I have the soundtrack and it is not horrible but the choice seems like it would have been clear. There had to have been personal issues involved at the time. Who knows really. The soundtrack by Page is not really a super-masterpiece either but there are parts that are very interesting and it is certainly required listening for Page enthusiasts, though others may find it wanting. Actually I guess I never really liked the film that much or Anger’s other works but I have checked them out. Sort of too abstract to really get into but since they are short they are not really a total waste of time. Good points. Thanks.
Bill
April 27th, 2010 at 3:43 am
This probably is not the right venue for this question, but I’ll ask it anyway. All the history of Page being into the occult/satanism/ or a follower of the religious philosophy, Thelema created by Aleister Crowley, was any of it ever true? Yes, I understand he purchased Boleskin by Loch Ness and the strange deaths of Plant’s young son, and then Bonham dying. Is it believed that these deaths were just accidental or did they have something to do with Page’s involvement in these areas?I read somewhere lately that the church at Boleskin burned to the ground with the parishoners inside and they are laid to rest in the graveyard on the estate. He is such a elusive man, the sign of the hermit and the way his face is covered or hidden duirng performances. Just curious if he has continued in this direction or was just young and dabbling. Taya
April 27th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
well it seems like the right venue as far as I am concerned. I am still a fan of the guy. I was luck enough to have seen them in Cincinnati on April 17th of 1977 and later with the Unledded tour. I think it was pretty fashionable at the time for British rockers to have some sort ‘occult’ connection without appearing to be overtly Satanic, the way later heavier band did. Again there is so question as to how truly Satanic some bands really were or are and how much is corporate Satanism.
Page outbid David Bowie for the Boleskin manor. Bowie had an interest as well in the occult and Crowley obviously. I am not an expert on Page in these matters but I think it wold be fair to say that he may have a genuine interest in Crowley and the darker side of the occult. He owned an occult bookstore for many years called The Equinox. Now does this mean that he had some sort of temple in his attic or basement and practiced rituals there? I cannot say. I think people can have an interest that is historical or cultural and not really be a serious practitioner. I have read that Page has returned Boleskin House to the locals and they have made it into a guest house with a special ‘Jimmy Page’ room. He has sold the house where all the stuff related to Anger and Bonham’s death occurred.
Who knows right? He is not the sort of guy who does not pose with his fingers in some sort of Satanic symbol with his tongue hanging out. He usually looks rather normal and gentlemanly in pictures. He wore all the cool but strange stage costumes for the Zep tours on stage, but off stage he was usually in jeans and some funky looking cowboy type shirt. My guess would be he has an interest but not a dedication to some types of esoteric beliefs. Surely not on the level that the Scandinavian Black Metal bands take it all.
I think an indication of what the guy may be more like in real life is the Jimmy Page House in Rio De Janeiro. , a sort of halfway house for street kids in Rio. The dark stuff is cool to exploit on a site like this maybe but I think the guy may be more down to earth than the legends would have us believe.
Thanks for a cool question. Sorry If I had no definite answer, but life is more interesting without all those definite and final answers I think.
April 27th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Taya
I see you have some connection to The Uranium Cafe retro site. I was inspired by my travels along route 66 while going from San Antonio Tx to Seattle to name this site after the diner I saw some information on somewhere along the way. I forget where now. This site was originally going to be more of a retro type site too but it quickly tuned into a cult movie/culture blog instead.
I will add you to my Facebook page soon okay?
Bill
April 29th, 2010 at 3:52 am
Sure add me to your Facebook page. I had the fantastic experience of seeing Mr. Page in OKC on two different occasions. There used to be so many bands to go and see in the 70′s(for a reasonable amount of money) compared to now. I think the same as you about Page, he might have an interest in many things, as you and I do, but does that define who we are 100% of the time? Absolutely not. From what I’ve read his ex-wife Jimena helped him to establish the half way house in Brazil. So you live in China? I don’t remember how I stumbled across this website, but it has been great to have this little tete a tete with you. Have you seen, “It Might Get Loud”? I watched it twice in a row while I was on the treadmill. Silly I know, but those guys and their intuitive sense of music. All I can say is WOW. I have heard, through I don’t know how reliable a source, that Led Zeppelin might do another concert like the one in London in 2007, but in the States? Keep in touch. Taya
April 29th, 2010 at 7:40 am
Taya
I tried to add your Facebook but lately (maybe something has changed there) all I can do is click that I like a site. I can accpet friend invites but cannot send them. Not sure what is up with that. If you can you cans end me a friend request and I will accept it.
Not familiar with It Might Get Loud and will check into it.
About the cost of tickets now and zen: Yea I saw Led Zeppelin for $17! Unbelievable.
April 30th, 2010 at 5:21 am
Not quite sure how to add you as a friend. I tried to look you up using Uranium Cafe, but didn’t pull anyone up. What is your Facebook name.