Phil Collen, the longtime guitarist for Def Leppard, is uniquely qualified to weigh in on a funny moment from an episode of Ted Lasso.
In the season three episode titled “La Locker Room Aux Folles,” viewers see Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) take part in a chaotic press conference. However, instead of talking about AFC Richmond, Beard is ranting about classic rock guitarists. The room of reporters is taking him to task over saying, “Joe Walsh is a better guitarist than Jimmy Page.” Beard pushes back saying, ” … What I meant was that Joe Walsh, underrated. Jimmy Page, overrated! I mean, Joe Walsh is a poet. Jimmy Page is a f—ing court stenographer on Adderall.” (The whole scene can be viewed here, but there is some NSFW language.)
Collen recently appeared on WCSX’s Big Jim’s House when this Ted Lasso debate came up. Collen began, “First off, Joe Walsh is underrated. He’s amazing. I learned to play slide guitar listening to Joe Walsh.”
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He continued, ” … There was a ten-minute tutorial on YouTube. It’s Joe Walsh going, ‘You should on that guitar like this. You get this straight. I learned it from Duane Allman,’ and all of this. And it’s like, ‘Oh my God, it works. I can play slide. Thank you Joe!’ I love his playing. He’s underrated.”
As for Page, Collen says, “Jimmy Page is a genius, and he’s underrated for being a composer, if this makes sense. It’s apples and oranges. They are two very different [guitarists.] So, Joe Walsh is underrated as a guitar player. Jimmy Page is underrated as a composer, as an icon, as a pioneer. And there wouldn’t be so much of Joe Walsh if there wasn’t people like Jimmy Page.”
Collen adds, “Jimmy Page, there’s a real depth there, so it’s not as easy as just comparing oranges to oranges, because they’re not. So, it’s oranges and apples right here. So, I think they’re both underrated, but for different things.”
He concludes saying, ” … [Page]’s a composer/arranger. Those Zeppelin things are outrageous! And let’s not forget, Joe Walsh gave Pete Townsend the Gretsch guitar that he played ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’ So when you hear that, that’s a guitar that used to belong to Joe Walsh. So, if that puts any perspective into anything, I don’t know. But there you go.”