Studio Daze: "Downtown"

It is well known that Jimmy Page worked as a studio session guitarist for numerous years after his stint with Neil Christian, and before he joined up with The Yardbirds. I want to explore some of these recordings in an ongoing series titled "Studio Daze". For the first of these, I've decided to take on the bombastic song "Downtown" by Petula Clark.

Jimmy performed on this session in October 1964, and it was released a month later becoming an international hit, reaching #1 in the U.S. and #2 in the U.K. Jimmy contributed the rhythm guitar part so that is what I intend to focus on.

This is not a particularly hard song to play, it didn't take me all that long to decipher, but to get it right does require some attention to detail. Additionally, when you play the guitar parts play in short succinct phrases, basically hit the chord and mute it with your hand, kind of like swift stabs into the music (think of abrupt reggae).

Below are the chords, you need to play and when they appear in the song. I must note that on the recorded version, Jimmy's guitar doesn't appear in the mix until a minute into the song, or the start of the second verse, however I've enclosed the whole thing because it doesn't make sense to just to start playing a song beginning with the second verse.

E    
When you're alone
            A          B7
And life is making you lonely,
        E         A   B7
You can always go downtown
E
When you've got worries,
        A             B7
All the noise and the hurry
E                      A   B7
Seems to help, I know, downtown

     E                          C#m
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
E                                C#m
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
Abm
How can you lose?
A
The lights are much brighter there
           B7
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go

E         A
Downtown, things'll be great when you're
E         A
Downtown, no finer place for sure,
E         A            B7          E
Downtown, everything's waiting for you

E
Don't hang around
             A           B7
And let your problems surround you
          E           A   B7
There are movie shows downtown
E
Maybe you know
            A         B7
Some little places to go to
           E           A   B7
Where they never close downtown

     E                         C#m
Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossanova
E                              C#m
You'll be dancing with 'em too before the night is over
Abm
Happy again
A
The lights are much brighter there
           B7
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go

E        A
Downtown where all the lights are bright,
E         A
Downtown, waiting for you tonight,
E         A            B7         E
Downtown, you're gonna be alright now
 
    E                             C#m
And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
E                                C#m
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to
Abm
Guide them along
A
So, maybe I'll see you there
          B7
We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares and go

E         A
Downtown, things'll be great when you're
E         A
Downtown, don't wait a minute more,
E         A            B7          E
Downtown, everything's waiting for you

E   B7    E   B7    E   B7    E   B7
Downtown (downtown) downtown (downtown)

It's a campy song, not very Rock and Roll, but it's kinda fun, and just because it doesn't fit within the confines of the genres you might normally associate with Jimmy Page, doesn't mean it isn't important to his evolution as a guitarist and a musician.

"The Hired Gun"