Got your attention didn’t I? Thems are fightin words. It’s all opinion anyway isn’t it?

I’ve been listening to these recordings, trying once again to figure out what everyone sees/saw in this band. All I can find is white boy guitar wanking and strangled cat screeching.

If Jimmy Page played as off key and out of control as Robert Pants sang, you would not be listening to this band. Ever. So that’s a good thing right? Page is often in tune. And he can play really fast. That’s got to be good too, right? Playing fast can cover up a lack of imagination. Same with loud. The louder they play, the less you can really hear so that the part where Jones stops playing bass because the drummer, guitarist and singer all seem to be doing different songs just sort of sneaks by.

Yes but they redefined rock and roll. For the worse. Just because dozens of bands copied the self-indulgent and painful vocals doesn’t mean they were a positive influence. Take a stopwatch to any of these tracks and see how long Plant can go before he goes out of control or pitch. It took 20 years for rock vocals to recover from the damage Plant caused. Singing matters. 

And then they just stop. We are so cool that we’re going to pause for a few minutes so we can show off. Step out and buy a tee shirt if you want. Write a post card home. “Having a wonderful time, wish I could hear.”

I hope the light show was good because the emperor had no clothes.

That must be the stupidest thing I have ever heard! Obviously you have only heard the live recording from 1969. Those were recorded in the beginning of their career and they were experimenting a lot. If you listen to the live recordings that your favourite band have made (and then I don't mean official stuff), I'm quite sure that they will sound as bad as you say that Led Zeppelin are. It is quite hard to get into a band if you only listen to the "bootlegs" like the shows here at Wolfgang’s Vault are. I can’t understand how you can call them overrated since they have been influences for tons of bands out there, probably the ones you like, even if you don’t know it yet. That stuff that “It took 20 years for rock vocals to recover from the damage Plant caused” is just stupid. But everyone has the right to have their own oppinion. I recommend that you listen to their live album "How The West Was Won" which was recorded 1972. If you don’t like it you are out of hope.

Thems are fighting words indeed.

I think that Plant was a revolutionary singer that coined the sound copied my many a band. And while Page's guitar skills were not the greatest, They fit together with the overall sound of the band. Of course, being born in '77 I can't say that I have followed rock's progression, but I can point to one fact; I was born 20 years late and I still get chills listening to the Zep.

lEd zEp    They aren't that bad,  are they?

if only this was true : Ok I' m not in my prime but at anytime I would have been delighted to be such a worst singer.

R U Kidding? Led Zeppelin revolutionized rock and roll for generations to come. They dont play "Off Key," dumbass thats called jamming, and its something this band mastered. Try to play a song like heartbreaker really slow and what you've got is a genius blues song. Jimmy Page was a musical genius whose riffs where some of the most memorable in history. John Bonham, the drummer always, always stayed EXACTLY in tempo with the rest of the band and still pulled off some of the craziest fills ever. Listen to the bass in "What is and what should never be," and "Ramble on," you will find how the amazing bass of John Paul Jones drove one of the greatest rock n' roll bands ever. There is nothing to say about Robert PLant's voice because any man with the tiniest bit of musical sense would know that he has one of the greatest and most fantastic voices in rock and roll history. A song like "Stairway to Heaven," and "The Immigrant Song," are perfect examples of Plant's musical versatility and his understanding of music. In "Stairway to Heaven," somes up the "in sync-ness," of Plant and Page and how perfectly IN KEY they can stay. Furthermore one has not to be a fan of rock to appreciate the sheer genius of one of the greatest bands ever.

Peter H:

Got your attention didn’t I? Thems are fightin words. It’s all opinion anyway isn’t it?

I’ve been listening to these recordings, trying once again to figure out what everyone sees/saw in this band. All I can find is white boy guitar wanking and strangled cat screeching.

If Jimmy Page played as off key and out of control as Robert Pants sang, you would not be listening to this band. Ever. So that’s a good thing right? Page is often in tune. And he can play really fast. That’s got to be good too, right? Playing fast can cover up a lack of imagination. Same with loud. The louder they play, the less you can really hear so that the part where Jones stops playing bass because the drummer, guitarist and singer all seem to be doing different songs just sort of sneaks by.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->

Yes but they redefined rock and roll. For the worse. Just because dozens of bands copied the self-indulgent and painful vocals doesn’t mean they were a positive influence. Take a stopwatch to any of these tracks and see how long Plant can go before he goes out of control or pitch. It took 20 years for rock vocals to recover from the damage Plant caused. Singing matters. 

And then they just stop. We are so cool that we’re going to pause for a few minutes so we can show off. Step out and buy a tee shirt if you want. Write a post card home. “Having a wonderful time, wish I could hear.”

I hope the light show was good because the emperor had no clothes.

I was under the impression that this forum was for discussing the music of the live bands not for Billy Nomates to dabble in some rather pathetic attention seeking...

Peter: do you find just Led Zeppelin's lengthy instrumental jams and medleys offensive or do you also include Blind Faith, Cream, Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd just to name the ones to come instantly to mind?  Sometimes improv works and sometimes it doesn't.  Music was exciting, interesting and unpredicatable, if self-indulgent, especially to the modern listener.  The concert goer never quite knew what to expect.

I suggest you stop listening to music you don't like and don't understand.  Perhaps you prefer something bland, modern and with a video of attractive women in risqué clothing in a vain but ultimately futile attempt to make the music interesting.

As for the "emperor's clothes", Led Zeppelin is probably the most underhyped band in the world.  This band was successful because it was good, because people wanted to see them live, wanted pay too much money for bootlegs, wanted to camp in a muddy field to experience an "Evening with Led Zeppelin".  If you don't like it get over it!  The music industry is the way it is today more due to the impact of Led Zeppelin than any other band, including the Beatles.

Kev

 

To paraphrase Max Yasgur, “I’m a rock fan.” My first album was the Beatles Second Album. 9^th birthday. 1964. My latest is the new Joan Osborne. My tastes are all over the place. Do I like bland and modern as suggested above? Who would that be? I do play it safe sometimes if you can call Los Lobos safe. But I’ve always given everything a try. That’s why I can say I don’t like, oh, death metal, or Yani. Keeping it in the Vault, I love a good short fast song with a lot of attitude (Elvis Costello – Pump It Up 06/07/78) and I love me some jamming (The Flamin Groovies – Road House 6/30/71. Hot Tuna - Death Don’t Have No Mercy 04/30/72) And I love the blues in all flavors when it’s done by masters instead of pretenders. (Electric Flag – I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water 05/18/1968.) 

 

When Led Zeppelin came out in early ‘69 I was 14 and Jeff Beck’s Beck-Ola had already been on the turntable for half a year. Three songs into LZ came You Shook Me. I distinctly remember reaching for Beck-Ola to play Beck’s earlier version. I thought, hey wait a minute. This is a rip-off. And that Rod Stewart guy is a better singer. Yeah, I said it.  (After ‘74 I can’t defend Rod but wait until the Vault puts up Jeff Beck Group’s 07/24/68 show.) At 14 I didn’t know my blues originators so I wasn’t hip to the theft of Jake Holmes’ "Dazed and Confused." A complete rip off but Jimmy Page is credited with writing it. Holmes opened for the Yardbirds in ‘67 and Page just stole it. Then there was Howlin' Wolf - How Many More Years, Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe - When the Levee Breaks, Muddy Waters’ You Need Love = Whole Lotta Love, Willie Dixon - I Can't Quit You Baby, Sonny Boy Williamson - Bring It On Home, Muddy Waters - You Shook Me, Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" = "The Lemon Song." When Cream, The Allman Bros. etc. released an album the real writer was credited. It matters. When you’ve already seen some money from the Yardbirds and the first LZ album it’s pathetic to rob songwriters. And it wouldn't be so sad if they had not come down so hard and humorlessly on Little Roger and the Goosebumps’ parody “Gilligan’s Island (Stairway)” aka "Stairway to Gilligan's Island.” Luckily they did move past their greedy plagiarism phase and into their, elves and gnomes days.

 

Led Zeppelin was everywhere so you had to just go with it. Heard all the albums, saw them in Chicago (‘72 & ‘75) and over time I just came to realize that their lyrics were pretentious and their riffs were derivative and the reason they took 34 years to release a proper live album was because they were too lazy to do the endless overdubs that were necessary to make it tolerable. Let me ask the bootleg experts if your tapes sound more like these sets from the Vault or from How The West Was Won?

 

Most of you mentioned that Led Zeppelin was great because they were influential. By that logic that’s like saying the Cripps and the Bloods are great because they influenced a lot of other violent street gangs. I don’t blame Led Zeppelin for street crime but I do blame them for all of the hair metal bands. And by (hair) extension, the destruction of the ozone layer. The Vault’s blurb says “their arrival tolled the death knell for Peace and Love.” And that’s a good thing? An influence? Yes, a lot more people found Lord of the Rings through LZ than found real blues.

 

I agree that it’s all a matter of taste. And a lot of it has to do with where you were and how old you were when you “discovered” a band. So if LZIIII was on the 8-track when the older kids let you ride with them in the Nova you’ve probably been imprinted like a baby duck and who am I to try to talk you out of it? But one of you really needs to get out of the Nova and get some perspective. “The music industry is the way it is today more due to the impact of Led Zeppelin than any other band, including the Beatles.” I’m speechless. I’m not one of those fans who think the Beatles were perfect and untouchable but if it weren’t for the Beatles, Page would be playing tonight at the Ramada Inn with Neil Christian & the Crusaders and Plant’s career would never have even gotten as far as the Obs-Tweedle band.

 

And I still can’t listen to Stairway without hearing the lyrics to the Gilligan’s Island theme. Thank god (or Clapton.)

 

Peter H

Peter H:

I’ve been listening to these recordings, trying once again to figure out what everyone sees/saw in this band. All I can find is white boy guitar wanking and strangled cat screeching.

Many people get it, but you're not one of them. And it's obvious that it's pointless to talk to you about it because your mind is made up and you're not interested in understanding. So why are you here in the first place?

If you don't like Led Zep you are not a rock fan PERIOD.

Why not try to convince people that the color black is really white and the rest of us just can't see it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a tool, Peter.

 

Very rare that you read the opinion(s) of a Led Zeppelin.....WOW! Well, I'm a Zeppelin lover so I must disagree with everything you said but hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Peter H

If you have recently seen Plant perform with the Strange Sensation, you may change your mind.....He's never sung better in my view

I've been trying to understand for years. These recordings sealed the deal for me.

"So why are you here in the first place?" If you are a fanatic why are you visiting a thread entitled "The worst singer and the most overrated band in the history of rock?"

You might want to start a thread called "The Best Thing That Ever Was and Will Be."

Peter H

Does the word idiot mean anything to you?  There is a lot of stuff on here that ain't my cup of tea, but there is no need to waste a lot of time bashing it.  Move on!

 

Sparky

Thank you for the name calling. That's very deep.

Review of tour manager Richard Cole's Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored by tour manager Richard Cole

    "We get detailed accounts of lead guitarist Jimmy Page's obsession with witchcraft and whips, and of the band's supposed pact with Satan, in which the lads sold their souls to the Prince of Evil in exchange for commercial success. The band got nine mega-platinum albums, tens of millions of dollars and the teen girls; the Prince of Evil got the souls of an alky fetishist, a junkie leather freak, a singer with too much hair and a so-so keyboardist with a wife and kids. Once again, Satan got the short end of the stick.

    But it was a band that was long on influence, and most of it was negative. Virtually everything that is maddening about contemporary rock music comes directly from Led Zeppelin: bad album covers, pretentious lyrics, pointless guitar virtuosity, leaden-footed drumming, skinny singers with too much blond hair, pop Satanism, the complete absence of a sense of humor."

Joe Queenan - Wall Street Journal