Besides hardcore
Led Zeppelin fans, it's a little known fact that
Jimmy Page produced and played on a 1970 album by theatrical rocker
Screaming Lord Sutch,
Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends. In addition to
Page's appearance (he also co-penned a few tracks), the other 'friends' included
John Bonham,
Jeff Beck,
Nicky Hopkins, and
Noel Redding. Since the album is quite difficult to find nowadays, select tracks have popped up over the years on compilations, such as the 2000 set
Rock and Roll Highway. While
Sutch's vocals can be quite grating at times, it's interesting to hear songs that come close to approximating the
Led Zeppelin sound at the time (namely
Led Zeppelin II -- "Wailing Sounds," "Union Jack Car," "Flashing Lights," etc). After a while though, you start to wonder how much better these blues-rock compositions would have been if they included a more capable singer (namely
Robert Plant). Also included on
Rock and Roll Highway are a few tracks from
Page and
John Paul Jones' days as session musicians -- "Everything I Do Is Wrong" and "Fabulous." If you're interested in sampling the playing of
Page,
Jones, and
Bonham outside of
Led Zeppelin, then
Rock and Roll Highway is recommended.