'It Might Get Loud' Shows the Private Side of Jimmy Page, Edge and Jack White

Posted on Aug 12th 2009 2:30PM by Mike Ayers
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We know that Jack White steals the show in Davis Guggenheim's forthcoming guitarist documentary, 'It Might Get Loud,' but that's not to say that there weren't other moments where distinct personality traits of the Edge and Jimmy Page became apparent. The documentary traces the roots of U2 and Page's pre-Led Zeppelin career, showing that each have different histories with the rock's grand instrument.

"Jimmy's evolution was about searching as a kid for records. In London, you just couldn't find those great blues records," Guggenheim tells Spinner. "His excitement comes out when he's talking about his records. Edge is all about staying up late and working, becoming the mad scientist. He's very methodical, very systematic and focused. Jack is very aggressive about smashing things and refusing to be conventional. I let them tell their own story, so their personalities come through, the same way it does on the guitar."

Indeed, the film depicts a host of these activities: late nights with the Edge as he's fiddling over tech equipment, a visit to the school that stood as the site for one of the first U2 gigs as well as Jack White making a diddley bow on camera. But for all the music geeks out there -- and surely this film was made with them in mind -- one of the finest moments of the film comes when we're allowed not only inside Jimmy Page's house but a quick peek into his record library.

"It was like entering the inner sanctum," Guggenheim says. "I'd asked him a bunch of times, but towards the end he said, 'Come on over. I'll show you my albums.' Those are the most precious things, you get a sense. Maybe his guitars are more precious, but he's always hunting for that next album, hunting for that clue to the next song he writes."

It was a precious moment, but 'It Might Get Loud' has one more moment where the three show off their collective love of what the guitar can do. As the film is winding down, we catch the three spontaneously tackling the Band classic 'The Weight.' It's one of the few moments you get in the theatrical version of all three playing on one song together, but we were told the DVD version will possibly have some extra treats: namely, the three performing Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir,' the White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' and U2's 'Bullet the Blue Sky.'

Sign us up. 'It Might Get Loud' hits select theaters this Friday, with showings around the country lined up throughout the fall.