How not to be Led Zeppelin. No chipmunk singers. Rape is not cool. Unless you’re Focus and you’re doing Hocus Pocus, no yodeling. When you’ve got a good groove going, do not stop to show off. Give credit when you “borrow” more than a lick or a line. Don’t write about elves and gnomes because they don’t write about you. Popularity does not mean quality.

Cream, Rush and the Who have been mentioned in the thread. Rush? Blame Canada. Rush breaks the no chipmunks rule. I have to admit that when Rush was at its peak of popularity I was busy with the Ramones, Clash, Gang of Four and Bruce Springsteen. And I paid attention to any band with girls in it. Take off, to the great white north eh? (New album May, 1 2007. Snakes and Arrows.)

The Who. Well, they occasionally overreached creatively but they never pandered or sold out. Is it art? Most of it is. Did they rock? If that’s what they wanted to put across, they never failed. Could they write? Absolutely. And not a bustle in a hedgerow to be found. Were they original? Always, even if the effort fell short. I’d love it if the vault could put up a broader range of their career. They still rocked live even when they lost their beloved drummer. Match that, Zep fans. And though Daltry worked the upper ranges, he never ever embarrassed himself with yodeling. My ears are still ringing from The Clash opening for The Who. Anyone for tinnitus?.

Cream. Listen to the Oct 19, 1968 cuts here on the vault. Play their (credited) cover of Skip James’ I’m So Glad. Slide the slider over to 3:30. Let it ride for 3 minutes. All 12 cylinders firing at once. Intertwining genius improvisation. Rock without losing the Roll. In my humbug opinion, on par with any live improvisatory jazz or rock I’ve ever heard. Hey Peter Grant and the Led Zeppelin apologists, in the hour and 40 minutes here on the vault you’ve got to be able to find me 3 minutes that are more intense and inspired than 3:30 through 6:30 on I’m So Glad. Clapton and Bruce wailing incredibly and playing off of each other and then around 4:40 Ginger Baker kicks into over drive pushes Clapton and Bruce even Further. There you go. Battle of the bands. Of course a few minutes is no way to judge an artist or a performance but give it a shot. Dare ya.     

(Went to a site to find some LZ lyric to get snotty about and here’s what I found, “This artist has requested that the lyrics to their songs be removed from the internet, and we respect this decision.” God bless Led Zeppelin.)