In my view Zeppelin captured what went on before and created something new. And they lasted a few years !

I'm in Chicago and we got Whole Lotta Love up the kazoo!  I would have to agree that Stairway was, by far,  worse though!  It was almost like LZ was a local band with the amount of airplay they got.  I also agree that Money & Brick were trashed from overplay as well.  My point though was that the earlier comment about 'word of mouth' causing the band's success was misguided.  They got copious airplay from the get-go in some major markets. 

sorry man but you have got your head up your *** i have seen this band no less than 7 times from 1969 to 1980 and they did nothing but progress in their style and choice of music,from  early blues to folk with a bit of reggae put in the melting pot the sheer depth and emotion they put into the concerts speaks for itself get hold of DVD and judge for yourself.I saw the Earls Court shows and the first festival appearence in Bath in 69 and  last in Knebworth 1980 but the highlight was Cardiff Capitol 1972 3 and a half hours of sheer bliss 10 rows from the front, so unless you have seen a band live, any band dont go slagging them off RAMBLE ON

Oldhippy,

 

Head up my…? With my old back I’d never be able to get my head anywhere near my ass. There’s another post on this thread that ripped me for trying to bring some context by listing some of my rock and roll resume. Yours is impressive and implies a thorough British LZ background. As I’ve said, I saw them only twice and both shows were in Chicago (72, 75).  Too bad Chicago is not a very good town for hearing electric blues. If only there had been some clubs and theatres and maybe an outdoor street market where one could catch Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Paul Butterfield, or maybe even Otis Rush. “Going to Chicago: sorry but I can’t take you.” – Memphis Minnie/Joe McCoy – 1927.

 

And if I quote Memphis Minnie it’s only fair to quote Plant and Page – “I told your mamma I'd get you home but I didn't tell her I had no car. I saw a lion he was standing alone with a tadpole in a jar.” Dancing Days (Page/Plant). Deep, really deep. Car and jar. Just when you get this image of a guy with a girl and no car, BANG there’s that tadpole in a jar. SO deep. And by deep I mean insightful and soulful not deep like a bass voice as in “When I step out, strut down with my sugar, she'd best not talk like Barry White!” - Royal Orleans (Bonham/Jones/Page/Plant)
Slag On by Gollum

Peter Grant,

Overeducated? As compared to? I went to several schools. I won’t list them because that bugs you.

 

Resume flashing? Just putting things in context for the people like you who are curious about the genesis of my opinions. Oops, big words. Why I think stuff that I think. You make several references that might indicate that you’ve got some insecurity about you’re ability to put ideas together. Don’t sell yourself short. You may be wrong about LZ but the, “I have been to the rodeo and I wasn't the clown” line is very good. I googled it and it looks original. Since you’re an LZ worshipper I was worried that you’d stolen it from some old blues guy. (Google In My Time of Dying + Blind Willie Johnson and compare with LZ lyrics. The guy was blind for godsakes and he was dead so Led Ego went and ripped him off.) (But what a great double phallic name; Willie Johnson.)

 

High horse? I’m just having some fun with Led Zeppelin’s position as the greatest band of all time. Really, there’s none better. Every note and every word. And they got lots of underage girls so they have to be great right? As I’ve said before, look at the title of the thread and if it doesn’t sit well with you, stay away. For some people who’ve commented, this may be the first time they’ve ever heard someone knock Led Zeppelin so in a way this is an educational thread.

 

Speaking of resumes, thanks for including your R&R resume. It’s fun isn’t it? Very clever of you to slam me for doing it, then do it too and claim you did it to show how boring it is. Feel better? How was that Duran Duran concert? Did they do Girls on Film? I bet that was special. And you’re a David Lee Roth fan. You’re a David Lee Roth fan.

 

So anyway, never saw Good Will Hunting. How was it? Did David Lee Roth have anything to do with the soundtrack? Maybe he and Steve Earle covered Girls on Film. Or maybe it was Hungry Like The Wolf.

 

But why the Peter Grant handle? Fat. Dead. Drug addict. Megalomaniac. Go get a copy of the BG autobio “Bill Graham Presents.” Open to chapter 15. It’s all about your beloved Zeppelin. It seems that Grant’s little boy was stealing signs off of dressing room doors. That scamp. One of Graham’s guys stopped him. Grant pulled the big shot nobody does that to my kid crap. Then Peter Grant trapped the guy in a Winnebago and beat him within an inch of his life. Grant tried to weasel out of it and buy everyone off. But Graham and his people held their ground. Grant, Bonham and two other guys did the perp walk in handcuffs. On TV. The Oakland police caved a little but Graham was not going to let these thugs buy them off like they had countless hotel managers and other “little people.” Later Graham got a call from someone claiming to be Peter Grant. 

The Guy was speaking real low. He said, “I hope you’re happy.” Those were his exact words. Bill said, “What are you talking about?” He said, “Thanks to you, Robert Plant’s kid died today.” And he hung up the phone. We found out later that Robert Plant’s son had died. They had to go home. They canceled New Orleans and they never played in America again as the original Led Zeppelin.”

 

So enjoy the Peter Grant name. Nice hero to have. Why not David Lee Roth ? Oh I forgot. I’m an idiot. It has to be true ‘cause I read it on the internet.

I listened to Chicago AM & FM in the late 60's and 70's ..WLS & WCFL.  so what if they rotated a song or 2 of Led Zep..they didn't play the whole album. I didn't see them advertise the album in print.  Also, I used to listen to Triad ..WXRT.-FM ...   ."Songs From Across the Big Swamp" in the mid 70's ...outta Chicago.. at night...that was the first time I heard of Glass Harp..with Phil Keagy..great music  &  lyrics. Anyone else remember Triad? Anyway..if you don't like Led Zep..that's OK..you won't phase me from digging electified old blues by a powerhouse quartet. If you don't like Led Zep's thunder..go listen to the Carpenter's. Case closed.   Heh.     PS: SAVE THE GRAHAM VAULT!!!!

Zeppelin's reign never ended..teens today (the New Generation) are digging the roots of todays music.Zep has been copied over,and over, and over. They only disbanded as a real group when Bonham died.Since then, it has been Page & Plant with backups. I also like Plant's solo work. Peace.

that's it!

http://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/topartists.asp

I agrree with a bit of what you said, but I think Led Zeppelin was influentail and still are. I dont think a lot of bands would sound like they do now if it wasnt for Led Zeppelin. And how are the Doors overrated?, i barely hear anything about them anymore. I think The Beatles were influentail but didnt have any impact on Led Zeppelin. Sure Led Zeppelin got SOME of there songs from blues musicans, but most of  THERE music was there own.

thats the thing about rock music.  It is always evolving.  Zep was influenced by the beatles.  The only way that they could have no impact was if they had never heard them and i know from reading biographies and pretty much the fact that the beatles were heard by everyone involved in music that zep had a good idea of what they were about.  Zep's noteriety comes through their influence.  they were the first 'metal' band to come to fame as well as in a sense glam rock band.  there again is the evolution with bands like guns and roses taking the metal laid before them and bowie with the style.  rock and roll will never die, just change.

The Beatles had a FAR larger impact than Zeppelin. They not only changed music, they influence the entire culture of the 60's. Classical composers and jazz musicians praised them.

Anyhow....if you want to hear heavy electric blues, go buy Truth by the Jeff Beck Group. Incidentally, Truth was released before Zeppelin was formed. Page the plagiarist pretty much used the JB group as a template for Led Zeppelin, even boldly stealing their heavy arrangement of You Shook Me for the first Zeppelin LP.

If you like nerdy psuedo-intelligent lyrics about wizards and magic then stick to Zeppelin, but if you crave great blues rock listen to Cream and the Jeff Beck Group, who were both heavier, more talented, and more exciting than Zeppelin (and they paid royalties to the artists they borrowed from)

p.s. I defy any of you to cite any sort of musical innovation by Zeppelin. None of them did anything with their instruments and songs that hadn't been done before.

rock and roll is a reflection of the times.  when zep flourished it was the end of an era where rock was counter culture and used as a catalyst for protest and demonstration against a unifying cause.  by the time zep had hit it big rock was now main stream, it was a multi million dollar industry, and in what many historians call the apathetic 70's (if you dont know what i mean watch the movie Dazed and Confused, i think it helps illustrate my point).  with little happening socially there is not much to portray artistically.  And songs which lyrically have little thematic importance follow suit perfectly.  zep was not nessecarily innovative musically, but the way they portrayed themselves was cutting edge.  everything from their manager to their stage act.  rock and roll is more than the music its a persona and you cannot only judge it on a single level.  Now even if you are not a fan of the band and believe they do not live up to their hype, you cannot deny with any credibility that there was no hype (i mean we wouldnt be having this discussion if there was not some kind of hype) how did the hype arise?  according to a few posters it wasnt the music, then what was it?

This is an unbelievably long string.  Are we debated their music, their place in history or if their place in history was deserved?  It is impossible to tell.  What is a fact is they are in the history books.  Whether or not Page was an incredible guitarist (I believe he was but since he was a drug addict often performed badly) or Plant singing sucked (To Who? - Voice coaches?  Opera stars? ), you don't go to a rock show to  give a report card on the techical merits of a band.  You go for the experience and tell others about the experience.  A band does not sell alot of records unless people love the music the band plays.  Whether or not Plant was off key or Page was sloppy, people love the feeling they get when they hear the music. Newsflash: The best actors in the world are not movie stars.  Movie stars are the people with the best image that can act.  People want to see image as much as acting.  . . .  and the same goes for Rock and Roll.  Every rock star cited created an image.  Elvis, The Beatles, The Doors etc. and in my opinion Zeppelin created one of the best.  They were the first band to completely capitalize on the commercial firestorm they created (first to demand their own Jet Airplane, first guaranteed arena sellout demanding upfront payment in advance for selling out their entire US Tour before the first ticket was sold..)  It was a kickass image and they played kickass songs.  Whether or not they stole the songs, nobody had ever played them the way they did.  And it meshed perfectly with what people in the times resonated with.  WEhat the *** was Lennon and Yoko's Bed In if not pretentious.  The Beatles went and saw the Dali Lama and if Zeppelin could they'd punch you in the face, steal your song and screw your women.  That's the feeling they conveyed and that was their uniqueness-- Raw uncontrolled irreverant of their roots power.  People may have ethical problems with stealing music but who the *** goes to a rock concert to debate ethics?  And if you do, don't listen to Zeppelin.  People listen to Zeppelin when they want to absolutely and completely Rock and feel like a bad ass. 

C'mon guys, I like Beck and perhaps he plays better than Page, I got "Truth" on vinyl, they sound like a garage band compared to LZI and if I guess right they did just two albums with the same line-up.