It simply is impossible. The band has incredible depth and versatility. Both I and II - released in the same year of '69 - are rockers with bluesy overtones... then they come at you with III, which features some of Page's most soulful acoustic guitar work ever. I wanna plead with NSJ or anybody who thought Presence was a dog to try something one more time. The "ping-pong" Pagey and Bonzo play on "Nobody's Fault But Mine" is amazing. And the first track, "Achilles Last Stand," is cryptic, vintage Zep. The album, I admit, isn't a start-to-finish home run like the others, but those two songs are sensational.

We're gonna feature LZ Friday. Thanks for the push.

Thanks to you Mac this youngster discovered Led Zeppelin for more than their 3 or 4 overplayed tunes on classic rock radio. I'd have to agree and go as so far to say overall they are the best rock band of all-time.I just made a two disc greatest hits collection for my bad over Thanksgiving weekend and we actually had a hard time limiting it to just two discs.

I also found this ranking of bands which I thought was the best list I've seen to date mainly because they actually have a somewhat decent system to their rankings.

http://www.avrev.com/bands/

Another great reason to look forward to Friday!

Keep in mind I like the ranking system, not necessarily how they scored the bands (Do i really need the Dixie Chicks and the Black Eyed Peas on this thing)

music's too subjective to have a greatest or best anything of all time. they were a great band, especially as far as influence.

but they never "got" me, kind of like the rolling stones.

maybe i'm just not a "rocker"...

What a shocker.

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I don't disagree with that either. Maybe I should say in my mind they probably were. It doesn't make them my favorite however if that makes any sense. Someone will get what I'm saying. MattInTheCrown, am I being irrational?

I can't even find an emoticon to display the laughter over here.

Greatest off all time depends on what you have been exposed to.
Would I have to put the Beatles, the Stones and Zeppelin the the top 10. Yeah, I guess I would have to.

However, I know for a fact that I have listened to more songs by bands that have sold 10,000 units total than I ever have with the big three.

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@audioidkid

LIT.

Any thoughts on them not crediting various artists for the songs they "wrote" until years after the fact? I like LZ but was always more of a Stones fan.

If you have some time, I thought this was pretty interesting from the Howard Stern show (go about 1/2 way through to hear the song comparisons)...

http://www.esnips.com/doc/3a626981-005e-4d41-af8f-cc7082144cc1/Stern-Denny-Somach

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You know me like that.

I'll try and make my top ten list for Zep songs

1. Achilles Last Stand, Presence
2. Kashmir, Physical Graffiti
3. Sick Again, Physical Graffiti
4. Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, LZIII
5. The Rain Song, Houses of the Holy
6. Hots On For Nowhere, Presence
7. Thank You, LZII
8. How Many More Times, LZ
9. Fool In The Rain, In Through The Out Door
10. Stairway To Heaven, Zoso

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Okay, Frank... I'll play. Like you your list.... esp. How Many More Times. Noisewater, you're right. Zep covered several Willie Dixon tracks.

1. When The Levee Breaks, IV
2. The Ocean, Houses of the Holy
3. Nobody's Fault But Mine, Presence
4. Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti
5. The Song Remains The Same, Houes of the Holy
6. Achilles Last Stand, Presence
7. In The Light, Physcial Graffifti
8. Misty Mountain Hop, IV
9. Good Times, Bad Times, I
10. Whole Lotta Love, II

Ask me tomorrow and I'll give you 10 different ones. HATE not havin anything from III in my Top 10. Hate it.

the ocean, misty mountain, nobodys fault, song remains the same, goodtimes bad times are some of my favorite songs to play bass to.

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I have no problem with that but they didn't credit many of the artists that they covered. I think that is more a function of the time. Lots of artists, like the Stones, were covering old blues artists.

I was just surprised to hear portions of a song like Stairway that were blatantly ripped off and other songs that they passed as their own until their feet were put to the fire.

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You know me like that.

Hey Mac,
where's "Boogie with Stu" on that list?
I guess after he kicked your ass at the NU tailgate, that song's a tough listen.


My list starts off with 1-7 from LZ II

1. Whole Lotta Love
2. What Is And What Should Never Be
3. The Lemon Song
4. Thank You
5. Heartbreaker
6. Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)
7. Ramble On
8. The Ocean
9. Tangerine
10. Custard Pie

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

Guys........I'm not the biggest Ld Zep fanout there but Stairway is not only the best Led Zep song but maybe the best Rock song of all time. The mellow beginning gave you just enought time to roll one and just as the song gets to that perfect soulful guitar solo, your blood is flowing and every thirteen year old kid in my basement is high and playin air guitar. I love the 70's! That song is art.

Some of the songs, actually, by the time Zep did them (in my time of dying, for example) were actually public domain because they were written in the 20s and early 30s, or were copyrighted posthumously. Many artists of that era were recording and covering various blues artists from yesteryear. Even the Beatles covered 'Twist and Shout'. While Zeppelin did indeed borrow blues riffs, they also gave credit where it was due in songs such as 'The Lemon Song', 'I Can't Quit You Baby', 'Bring it on Home', and 'Boogie with Stu' (No, not Stu-Gotz).

In one of the 4 tours Zeppelin did of the US in 1969, they opened up for Spirit, which is where Jimmy Page got that riff for "Stairway to Heaven." He loved that riff, and got on really well with the members of spirit, and it was sort of unspoken that nobody would really care if he borrowed that riff in a future Zeppelin song. Besides, there's many many other parts to "Stairway" other than that borrowed intro which made the song what it is.

Incidently, Willie Dixon is buried at Restvale Cemetary at 127th and Kostner in Alsip, along with Emmit and Mamie Till, Dinah Washington, and many other blues legends.

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Great point...Eminem singing about killing his wife and sleeping wih his mother really made his music "palatable & safe for white audiences to enjoy."

The Beastie Boys were ground breaking. Paul's Boutique was the first album to mix rock and rap. There would be no Korn, Linkin Park or any other of those rock/rap bands if it wasn't for the Beasties.

Okay, we now return you to you regularly scheduled "Love of Zep" programming.

Not quite. Jazz is the quintessential American form of music and uniquely African-American at the same time. And despite initial resistance, jazz became quite ubiquitous, until being destroyed along with every other significant musical idiom for the pablum we have today. Thank you 60s!

I could go on for pages and pages about the changing of musical aesthetic in Western culture, but I'll spare you the argument and go straight to the conclusion: almost every blues-based derivative, including rock and rap, are structurally flawed insofar that their harmonic language is extremely limited. It's like writing a poem with only vowels. Music is the expression of feeling and emotion through sound; excessive repitition and reliance upon lyrics to the detriment of that sound is an abdication of musical responsibility. For that reason, despite the sounds produced, bery little of what we refer to as "rock music" or "rap music" is music at all.

How does Zeppelin get a 93 for innovation, when many of their hits are blatant ripoffs of other artists ?

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Rap isn't music as it lacks melody and harmony. It simply has rhythmic elements. Therefore, rap most certainly isn't music. It's rhythmic poetry (and some of it can be rather good), but it isn't music.
The chord changes of I, IV, I, V, IV, I are EXTREMELY limiting. Blues and rock fall prey to these limits far too often. However, they most certainly are music.

LZ never grabbed ahold of me as it did many other people I grew up with. I didn't get it. I guess that's my loss. It's good enough, but I don't own any of it.

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Stupidity irritates the crap outta me... and yes, I irritate myself far too often.

Their music is great their songs are crap. I'm always amazed how many people love the breathy, moany, awful voice of Robert Plant.

Spaulding wrote: Their music is great their songs are crap.

Remember Smails, in an embarrassed tone, when his grandson asked the lovely Mrs. Smails, "Are you gonna eat your fat?" "Spauld-ing."

I say it the same way. Spauld-ing!

Crap?

Hey, they weren't a lot of bands with lyrics, but crap?

"See the world is spinning faster,
Are you dizzy when you're stoned?
Let the music be your master.
Will you heed the master's call?"

And Zederman, get back in your cage.

Remember that scene outside of Bushwood when Spaulding pukes in Dr. Beeper's car. He was listening to Zeppelin.

Elihu...will you come loofah my stretch marks?

Spaulding, since you have already gone after one sacred cow, please keep going. I'm really curious to see what comes next.

You're not that far off on Plant, but his 'contribute' to that great foursome is the one that fades farther and farthest into the background as time passes anyway.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

I've got nothing against cows.

All I'm saying is if I wanted to hear a person's impression of a banshee cat mating scream I'd pick a fight with my mother in law.

I love their music and do not deny or not appreciate their contribution to the music world. I love AC/DC and their songs were influenced by LZ. I just can't stand plant's voice.

oh cool a music debate! And I see "crap" and "shittiest" has already been thrown in. This looks like fun...

Great idea Zack!
Maybe we can get Stink to come over out of the Hockey threads and he can piss all over Radiohead.....just like old times.

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@audioidkid