Led Zeppelin split up today 40 years ago

retalivity

Saw Robert Plant co-headlining in the point 2 years ago with Van Morrison. Went to see Van mainly, but Plant was absolutely outstanding. Did a lot more zeppelin stuff than I thought, and still has a set of lungs on him.

I-IV are all classics in their own way, Houses of the Holy would be my favourite. The Rain Song, The Ocean, The Song remains the Same. Savage.

chopperbyrne

IV is arguably the greatest rock album of all time.

Black Dog
Rock and Roll
The Battle of Evermore
Stairway to Heaven
Misty Mountain Hop
Four Sticks
Going to California
When the Levee Breaks

Every song a cracker.

Relikk

OldRio wrote: »

Counters with Gentle Giant (One Concept album had the band playing medieval instruments.)

Ah, Gentle Giant. Had my favourite prog bassist (and multi-instrumentalist), Ray Shulman. No mean feat considering the genre had incredible bassists in John Wetton, Richard Sinclair, Greg Lake, Chris Squire, Tony Levin, Geddy Lee, Mike Rutherford... etc.

bodhrandude

chopperbyrne wrote: »

IV is arguably the greatest rock album of all time.

Black Dog
Rock and Roll
The Battle of Evermore
Stairway to Heaven
Misty Mountain Hop
Four Sticks
Going to California
When the Levee Breaks

Every song a cracker.

The Battle of Evermore influenced me so much it sent me on a wild goose chase to fine similar female vocals, of course Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention, but I also discovered Pentangle and Clannad (early seventies stuff) in that search and folk like Roy Harper and Nick Drake

dasdog

retalivity wrote: »

Saw Robert Plant co-headlining in the point 2 years ago with Van Morrison. Went to see Van mainly, but Plant was absolutely outstanding. Did a lot more zeppelin stuff than I thought, and still has a set of lungs on him.

That was a great show and I went to see Van myself primarily. My aunt saw them in 1971 when they played here. Led Zep's first live performance of Stairway was the night before in Belfast so she got to see the second.

I used to love them but would rarely listen to them now. No Quarter and Going to California would be the standouts. And yes, one of the reasons I have a Les Paul.

Dyr

irishguitarlad wrote: »

Way before my time, but I wanted to get the opinions of AHers.

What's your favourite album/song? Anyone saw them live? What's their musical legacy? Were they a bit over rated?
,

Dunno about overated but I could never stand them and I used to listen to a lot of 70s rock. Plants wailing gets on my wick as does the self indulgent hippy bull****.


Also, they launched a legion of cock rock acts that infested Rock and Metal for a decade after.

So yeah, no.

Keyzer

A remarkable band in many ways...

4 gifted musicians in their own right who exploded onto the scene in 1968, much like Hendrix did, with a sonic epiphany. Arguably the greatest band ever assembled.

Phenomenal catalog of albums (albeit the later ones dipped in quality).

Their impact from a musical and cultural perspective is huge.

They also revolutionized the live aspect of the music industry by demanding higher fee's for live shows, at the time promoters made a fortune and bands made very little from live performances. No wonder Jimmy Page's nickname was "Led Wallet".

Like them or loathe them, they played a massive role in the music revolution/evolution of the 1960's with their inspiration and influence still being heard today.

Some have referenced their behavior offstage, something you must remember is times were completely and utterly different back then. That's not to say their behavior should be condoned, but at the time is was nothing out of the ordinary. Any band with a modicum of success were doing the same, if not worse, the Faces to name just one. The Faces shagged anything with a pulse and invented the destruction of hotel rooms, so much so they were globally banned from all holiday inn hotels. Times were different.

I can only imagine hearing good times, bad times for the first time on radio, it must have blown peoples minds.

I adore Led Zeppelin and always will...

OldRio

Immigrant Song

We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new lands
To fight the horde, sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming

2 and a half minutes of utter brilliance.

85603

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFgKVGPJmtI

and no, stairway is not over-rated. its a masterpiece.

kashmir great, immigrant song good too.

they did rip off some other dudes tunes though. but whatever. ive had my fun, and thats all that matters.

Edit; Queen, Floyd, Zeppelin, CCR.

Riddle101

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyOg0mt2R2k

PTH2009

Great band and looking forward to the new documentary thats coming out soon

Lucky enough to see Robert Plant and one of his bands play a gig in Waterford. Kind of a folk band last year

https://youtu.be/gEudN7Sfyq4

completedit

Deep purple live in Japan is the only dad rock I like

chopperbyrne

OldRio wrote: »

Immigrant Song

We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new lands
To fight the horde, sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming

2 and a half minutes of utter brilliance.

You didn't think you needed this in your life, but you did, and still do.

Church on Tuesday

Probably the most over rated band of all time and that is coming from someone who rates Led Zep. Bonham was, of course, a genius but all the same, over rated due to his young demise which it true of other artists who died young.

Greatest 70s rock band? by a country mile Thin Lizzy; they should have conquered the world and most probably would have if certain band members didn't fall ill during crucial touring time, namely in the States.

silliussoddius

Was Jimmy’s wife still underage then?

Dyr

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Probably the most over rated band of all time and that is coming from someone who rates Led Zep. Bonham was, of course, a genius but all the same, over rated due to his young demise which it true of other artists who died young.

Greatest 70s rock band? by a country mile Thin Lizzy; they should have conquered the world and most probably would have if certain band members didn't fall ill during crucial touring time, namely in the States.

Much as we all love lizzy, they were never going to make it to the level Zeppelin and the rest were at, They got the reputation of being a singles band in the era of the album.

Dyr

o1s1n wrote: »

Funny how tastes differ, I was never into punk myself and one of the main reasons is the shortness of tracks and simplicity. Seemed almost neanderthal-ish when compared to the prog rock bands I was listening to.

Give me 20 minute songs with 50 different layers and tangents please

Its all virtuoso ****, the only prog rock acts worth a curse are Hawkwind (not really prog) and King Crimson.

Intesting that back in the early days progressive rock didnt mean twenty minute ****ing synth operas and all that oul bollix

OldRio

First concert I went to was Hawkwind in 72. Space Ritual tour. Unbelievable and unforgettable. One of my favourite bands.

Rothko

Bambi wrote: »

Much as we all love lizzy, they were never going to make it to the level Zeppelin and the rest were at, They got the reputation of being a singles band in the era of the album.

They might have that reputation but it's undeserved. Jailbreak, Bad Reputation, Johnny The Fox, Black Rose: A Rock Legend and Live And Dangerous are all great albums.

One of the best ever. I don’t care what they got up to off stage, they made some of the best music I’ve ever heard. Never seen them live, only in Page & Plant guise (JPJ with them also).

They were all brilliantly talented, but for me JPJ was the unsung musical hero of Zeppelin.

JupiterKid

Led Zeppelin are the stuff of rock legend - and deservedly so.

They have always been one of my all time favourite music acts and I have six of their albums on CD. First heard them as a 14 year old listening to my older sisters Led Zeppelin II. Although their core was rock and blues, they explored folk, traditional and even pop in their albums - particularly on Led Zeppelin III and Houses of the Holy.

My top Led Zep track would be When The Levee Breaks from IV (untitled) - it is just really superb stuff with Memphis Minnie on guitars as well as the lads. Stairway to Heaven is of course a complete classic but Led Zeppelin really had an incredible array of work in the 12 short years they were together as a band. Their peak was around 1971/2 I reckon with their output after 1975’s Physical Graffitti declining in quality.

They emerged almost fully formed - just listen to their debut album Led Zeppelin. Recorded over just a week in the Autumn of 1968 and it still sounds so good after 52 years. Remember that hard rock was only in its infancy in the late 1960s and it is pretty incredible to think how a number like Dazed and Confused was released just a few short years after Beatlemania.

Of course, I would have given my eye teeth to see them live but I was like only 5 when they split. When Jimmy Page and Robert Plant briefly got back together in the mid 1990s I really wanted to see them but alas all their dates were of course immediately sold out.

Can you imagine a band like Led Zeppelin emerging today? Just not possible. People will be listening to their music in 100 years’ time.

razorblunt

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

One of the best ever. I don’t care what they got up to off stage, they made some of the best music I’ve ever heard. Never seen them live, only in Page & Plant guise (JPJ with them also).

You don’t care?
A hedonistic lifestyle is one thing, Jimmy Page and the early teen girl is something different entirely.

Church on Tuesday

Bambi wrote: »

Much as we all love lizzy, they were never going to make it to the level Zeppelin and the rest were at, They got the reputation of being a singles band in the era of the album.

Disagree. While the band was never able to translate the live vibe on the studio albums the albums, in and of themselves, are varied enough with a little bit of everything to keep the listener engaged throughout. Black Rose is a great example of this and Live and Dangerous was a huge huge record for them. Hugely innovative band. Massively charismatic frontman. They had everything.

Only for the fact Phil caught Hepatitis and later Robbo got into that altercation and cut his hand the band would have conquered the States, they were more or less in the process of doing so around the time of Jailbreak and it's a crying shame that luck conspired against them.

Rothko

OldRio wrote: »

First concert I went to was Hawkwind in 72. Space Ritual tour. Unbelievable and unforgettable. One of my favourite bands.

I'm assuming it was very, very loud.

OldRio

Rothko wrote: »

I'm assuming it was very, very loud.

My ears buzzed for a week after.

Also Stacia made quite an impression on this fourteen year old lad.

bullpost

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Disagree. While the band was never able to translate the live vibe on the studio albums the albums, in and of themselves, are varied enough with a little bit of everything to keep the listener engaged throughout. Black Rose is a great example of this and Live and Dangerous was a huge huge record for them. Hugely innovative band. Massively charismatic frontman. They had everything.

Only for the fact Phil caught Hepatitis and later Robbo got into that altercation and cut his hand the band would have conquered the States, they were more or less in the process of doing so around the time of Jailbreak and it's a crying shame that luck conspired against them.

They were down with the punks too. Lynott palling about with the Pistols and forming The Greedy Bastards. I believe Phils record collection contains a huge amount of punk .

Rothko

OldRio wrote: »

My ears buzzed for a week after.

Also Stacia made quite an impression on this fourteen year old lad.

Lol, I can imagine.

Johnny Jukebox

Was a big fan as a young teen in the mid 70s but punk just blew them away. I don't think their legacy has worn as well as other bands of the time, and Page in particular seems like a nasty piece of work.

chicorytip

Did anyone see the once off reunion gig they did in 2009? Apparently, all the songs were played in a lower key than the originals simply because Plant could no longer reach the high notes. Imagine paying 9,000 for that!
Whenever I hear the name Knebworth I automatically say Knob - worth.
Is there something wrong with me?

dasdog

OldRio wrote: »

First concert I went to was Hawkwind in 72. Space Ritual tour. Unbelievable and unforgettable. One of my favourite bands.

That's just not fair :pac: Seeing a gig from that tour would be on my if you could go back in time wish list.

Church on Tuesday

bullpost wrote: »

They were down with the punks too. Lynott palling about with the Pistols and forming The Greedy Bastards. I believe Phils record collection contains a huge amount of punk .

Yes, and then later Metal with Thunder and Lightning with the recruitment of John Sykes.

Phil was no fool and had his finger on the pulse but the thing is is that he genuinely seemed to like the new movements sprouting up once classic rock had had it's time, he was inspired by it.

Lizzy were always like that though, fairly hard to market at the time. For every Bad Reputation there is a Sarah, for every Angel of Death there is a Still in Love with You.

o1s1n

Bambi wrote: »

Its all virtuoso ****, the only prog rock acts worth a curse are Hawkwind (not really prog) and King Crimson.

Intesting that back in the early days progressive rock didnt mean twenty minute ****ing synth operas and all that oul bollix

You clearly just have no taste.

It's okay though, not all of us were blessed with it :pac:

Andrewf20

Gallows pole gets my vote as their best tune.

Album 3 is my favorite.

cj maxx

I hadn't listened to them in years till this thread , enjoying YouTube a bit more now
Cheers

Arghus

Squeeze my lemon baby 'til the juice runs down my leg.

Dyr

Rothko wrote: »

They might have that reputation but it's undeserved. Jailbreak, Bad Reputation, Johnny The Fox, Black Rose: A Rock Legend and Live And Dangerous are all great albums.

Honestly it aint, I think Jailbreak is the only studio album they made that is really all killer and no filler. but my favourite would be Vagabonds personally.

The bould Phil was a genius songwriter but a bit of a magpie in terms of muscial style, whether that was label and management pressure, them trying to hitch their wagon to other acts success or just Phils own personal preference I dunno but it didnt help them

Wibbs

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Lizzy were always like that though, fairly hard to market at the time. For every Bad Reputation there is a Sarah, for every Angel of Death there is a Still in Love with You.

+1. I think by that stage of the music business the marketing had really kicked off and bands had to be easily marketed as one thing or another. I remember reading an interview years ago with some record company bigwig or other who noted that it would be hard to sell the Beatles beyond their very early days because it would be too confusing to the marketing dept and audiences because their output was "too diverse". OK we like the mop tops and holding hands, but WTF is A Day in the Life?? helter skelter!! Are you on heroin(yes. and pot and some acid). And you refuse to play gigs now? And they couldn't have done it without a) being stratospherically huge worldwide before they tried and b) scarily talented so could pull it off and c) being current in a very rapidly changing music and social scene.

Lizzy in many ways were more a "60's band" than a 70's one. Phil had range and the talent to make a rocker rock and a ballad ballad. That's a rare enough thing. Zep were of course bloody good, but were far more consistent within their genre and easier to sell. You knew whet you were going to get. If they had pulled a Sgt Pepper they'd have been screwed. Pink Floyd being a 60's band who had intently watched bands like the Beatles up close and ran with that could get away with it, while adding some of the 70's prog rock stuff. The Who similarly.

Rothko

Bambi wrote: »

Honestly it aint, I think Jailbreak is the only studio album they made that is really all killer and no filler. but my favourite would be Vagabonds personally.

The bould Phil was a genius songwriter but a bit of a magpie in terms of muscial style, whether that was label and management pressure, them trying to hitch their wagon to other acts success or just Phils own personal preference I dunno but it didnt help them

I'd have to disagree. What other acts do you think they were trying to emulate?

Btw, I think Vagabonds is a good album too but the production lets it down a bit.

barney shamrock

Some band, one of the greatest if not THE greatest.
Four musical genius in one band.
Bonham especially, rewrote the template for rock drumming.
Peter Grant was probably the best best band manager of them all, ripped up the rule book and rewrote it.
Plenty of negatives about their off stage behaviour but as a band, with the amount of albums they sold and the attendance records they broke, we will never see their like again.

Wibbs

Bambi wrote: »

Honestly it aint, I think Jailbreak is the only studio album they made that is really all killer and no filler.

Oddly enough B, one of my grandfather's fave albums and he only got into them in his 70's(this was in the early 1980's). He had ordered another album Daybreak by James Last or someone and they got that for him instead. Maybe they were taking the piss?I dunno, as he was a regular in the place looking for classical and jazz stuff. But anyway he put it on and was hooked. Went back into the record shop and bought more of their stuff, which surprised them. I was with him for the trip. I knew something was up when looking through the racks a punk with a mohican said hello to him by name and they had a chat.

Mad_maxx

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Probably the most over rated band of all time and that is coming from someone who rates Led Zep. Bonham was, of course, a genius but all the same, over rated due to his young demise which it true of other artists who died young.

Greatest 70s rock band? by a country mile Thin Lizzy; they should have conquered the world and most probably would have if certain band members didn't fall ill during crucial touring time, namely in the States.

most over rated band of all time is AC/DC

great craic but they are only a garage band who made it huge , zero depth

beauf

Mad_maxx wrote: »

most over rated band of all time is AC/DC

great craic but they are only a garage band who made it huge , zero depth

Can't really agree. Ok they just do one thing. But they do it to perfection. The phrase less is more has never been more apt.

Church on Tuesday

Mad_maxx wrote: »

most over rated band of all time is AC/DC

great craic but they are only a garage band who made it huge , zero depth

Love 'em. I think they are an inspiration in simply how they are still going.

Last truly great album was Back in Black, but yeah, what you hear is what you get with AC/DC. For the most part anyways:

Church on Tuesday

And for what it's worth, Immigrant Song is still a tune.

beauf

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Probably the most over rated band of all time and that is coming from someone who rates Led Zep. Bonham was, of course, a genius but all the same, over rated due to his young demise which it true of other artists who died young.

Greatest 70s rock band? by a country mile Thin Lizzy; they should have conquered the world and most probably would have if certain band members didn't fall ill during crucial touring time, namely in the States.

I had to track back to see who brought Lizzy into this. I'm a big Lizzy fan but there's almost nothing in common between Lizzy and Zeppelin.

The diversity in Zeppelin broadened their appeal. Folk, Blues, Rock and they experimented with lots of stuff.

beauf

I never really got into Zep until I went to the States. They seem too overblown here. But against the backdrop and scale in the US it just seems to click.

its_steve116

Hard to pick just one!

Church on Tuesday

beauf wrote: »

I had to track back to see who brought Lizzy into this. I'm a big Lizzy fan but there's almost nothing in common between Lizzy and Zeppelin.

The diversity in Zeppelin broadened their appeal. Folk, Blues, Rock and they experimented with lots of stuff.

I never said there was, I'm not comparing bands although all the genres you mentioned there can be found in Lizzy's music along with other genres too.

Rothko

My top 3 favourite Zeppelin songs would have to be When The Levee Breaks, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and Heartbreaker. Favourite album would be either LZ II or Physical Graffiti.