The film documents the varied playing and recording styles of guitarists
Jimmy Page,
David "The Edge" Evans, and
Jack White. Page's history with guitar traces back to his childhood when he played in a
skiffle band. After desiring to do more than play pop music, Page "retires" from guitar playing to attend art school. He later revives his music career as a session guitarist, only to be discouraged by the realization that he is playing others' music and stifling his own creativity. At that point, Page begins to write and perform in the bands
The Yardbirds and
Led Zeppelin. Page discusses the skiffle and
blues music that influenced him at the time. For many of Page's scenes, he is seen visiting
Headley Grange, where several songs from
Led Zeppelin IV were recorded, and in one scene, explains how the distinctive drum sound from "
When the Levee Breaks" was achieved from the acoustics of the house in which it was recorded. Edge's history with guitar traces back to building a guitar with his brother
Dik and learning to play. In the film, he visits
Mount Temple Comprehensive School and recalls forming
U2 in his childhood. He also demonstrates his playing technique, in how he eliminates certain strings from chords, as well as his use of echo and
delay effects to "fill in notes that aren't there". He also discusses his purchase of his signature guitar, the
Gibson Explorer, in
New York City and the
punk music that influenced him. In other scenes, he plays early demo tapes of "
Where the Streets Have No Name", discusses his inspiration for "
Sunday Bloody Sunday", and spends time experimenting with guitar effects for the riffs to "
Get on Your Boots". White traces his musical background to his childhood in a rundown neighborhood of
Detroit. Living with two drum sets and a guitar occupying his room and sleeping on a piece of foam due to taking out his bed for more room for his instruments, White struggled to find a musical identity, as it was "uncool" to play an instrument and his nine siblings all shared a musical propensity. His strong interest in blues and
roots music ran counter to the
hip hop and
house music popular in the predominantly Latino neighbourhood at the time. White eventually finds a niche in a
garage rock band called
The Upholsterers while working as an
upholsterer, which paves the way for his future bands
The White Stripes and
The Raconteurs. White's philosophy is to limit and challenge himself in various ways to force creative approaches to recording and playing. The touchstone of the film is a meeting of the three guitarists at a Los Angeles soundstage, dubbed "The Summit", on Jan. 23, 2008. In these scenes, the three guitarists not only converse about their influences and techniques, but they also play each other's songs together, showing each other how to play "
I Will Follow", "
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", and "
In My Time of Dying". The film concludes with the men playing an impromptu cover version of
The Band's "
The Weight" on
acoustic guitars. == Reception ==