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Led Zeppelin
Posted by Laila Hanson on 21-May-08 @ 03:31 PM|
YEARS OF EXISTENCE: 1968-1980 YEARS OF DECENT EXISTENCE: 1968-1975 BEST RECORDS: Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Houses Of The Holy (1973), Physical Graffiti (1975) WORST RECORDS: Led Zeppelin III (1970), Presence (1976), In Through The Out Door (1979) GO DOWNLOAD: "Dazed And Confused," "Communication Breakdown," "Whole Lotta Love," "Nobody's Fault But Mine," "Wearing And Tearing," "Kashmir," "Stairway To Heaven" (if you have to download that track, accept my congratulations on getting out of the coma) FILE UNDER: There Is A Legend That Never Goes Out SIMILAR SOUNDING DINOSAURS: Cream, Jeff Beck (colleagues), Kingdom Come ('80s cabaret assclowns), Soundgarden, Queens Of The Stone Age (theoretical offspring) THE MUSIC: Who drummer Keith Moon once posited that guitarist Jimmy Page's first post-Yardbirds vehicle would "go down like a lead balloon." Of course, Led Zeppelin went on to be nothing short of the most revered band in the history of rock. Anchored by bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham's monster rhythms, Page's singular fretboard talent and Robert Plant's unmistakable vocal range, Led Zep took standard blues changes on a fuel-injected ride, while delving into other idioms (the acoustic folk-tinged III, the arcane textured Physical Graffiti) and making 1,000-minute soloing at shows mandatory. Besides practically inventing arena rock, the quartet enabled a legion of armchair stoners to proclaim enlightenment (all you needed was a weird album cover, a good stereo and a dimebag), while living a mythic legacy that involved plenty of sex, drugs, booze, occult dalliances and a manager (Peter Grant) who was as fearsome as any mafia don. The ride suddenly came to a halt when Bonham died from alcohol poisoning on Sept. 24, 1980. The band respectfully resigned themselves into the history books, and the ensuing fan worship hasn't stopped since. WHAT THEY SAY: "They established the dominant format for heavy metal, as well as the genre's actual sound." -Allmusic WHAT I SAY: I haven't met a single band who loathed Zep (although Mindless Self Indulgence's "I Hate Jimmy Page" is pretty catchy). Sometimes the rock necrophilia went too far (the Tampa, Florida, radio station which went to an "all Zep" format in 1990), but we should all be thankful the enduring tsunami of adulation happened to them and not Journey. WHY YOUR (GRAND)PARENTS LIKE THEM: Power, majesty, musicianship, mystery, danger: You know, all the stuff that every band on MySpace is lacking... CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Effective Nov. 13, the Zep cabal finally allowed their tracks to be sold as digital downloads. Rhino has issued a best-of collection, Mothership, in addition to reissuing the band's film vehicle The Song Remains The Same with all the original footage. The surviving members reunited at the end of November-with huffy offspring Jason "Doesn't Play Punk" Bonham on the traps-for a memorial gig celebrating the life of the late Ahmet Ertegün, Atlantic Records founder and day-one Zep supporter. There's probably some message-board postings about the event (both sanctimonious and bitchy) showing up right now. Which makes total sense: It's the cross you bear for being legendary. -Jason Pettigrew |
