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Led Zeppelin's OVERALL best song


JimmyPageZoSo56

  

478 members have voted

  1. 1. Which captivates Led Zeppelin the best?

    • Stairway to Heaven
      173
    • Achilles Last Stand
      169
    • Kashmir
      137


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I saw Zeppelin 3 times on the '77 Tour, and I'd have to say.... that KASHMIR was was the Highlight, over ALS and STH. Both ALS and STH were Good..... KASHMIR was just better. VERY powerful as performed with the Zeppelin amplification of 1977.. The analogy of the "the sum of the parts being greater than the whole" is very applicable to the live performance of "KASHMIR". And, if, you don't judge Zeppelin live, then you're missing the boat, imo. :)

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There's a lot out there about Stairway and Kashmir but not enough about Achilles.

But if you truly want the best song to represent all the band members doing something unique, then you have to go with Stairway.

They all contribute to something very special in the song, whereas in the other two, it's mostly Page and Plant.

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i personally with that STH shows a bigger Led Zeppelin persona. they were so big at the time, the song made them bigger. it has all the elements. slow beginning to fast ending, best solo ever written, etc. i am not saying the other two aren't as good, because they are, STH just shows most of their elements in my opinion.

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Much as I love 'Achilles Last Stand' to death (especially live at Knebworth), I found myself trying to choose just between 'Kashmir' and 'Stairway To Heaven'. It's an agonizing thing to decide because I love those two songs equal amounts to each other. After an excruciating pause, I hesitantly clicked 'Kashmir'. When I think of all the punk bands calling Zeppelin a dinosaur, I figure their roar sounds something like 'Kashmir'; fierce, epic and eclectic. 'Stairway', even though it's an enormous songwriting/performance feat, is just a mirage of what Zeppelin is, even if it's pretty. 'Kashmir' is the real thing. It's what Led Zeppelin is anyway: ENORMOUS.

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Much as I love 'Achilles Last Stand' to death (especially live at Knebworth), I found myself trying to choose just between 'Kashmir' and 'Stairway To Heaven'. It's an agonizing thing to decide because I love those two songs equal amounts to each other. After an excruciating pause, I hesitantly clicked 'Kashmir'. When I think of all the punk bands calling Zeppelin a dinosaur, I figure their roar sounds something like 'Kashmir'; fierce, epic and eclectic. 'Stairway', even though it's an enormous songwriting/performance feat, is just a mirage of what Zeppelin is, even if it's pretty. 'Kashmir' is the real thing. It's what Led Zeppelin is anyway: ENORMOUS.

Yeah I had a hard time deciding as well. They're all great.

To divide it up even further, we should consider the studio recording versus the live performances, because I think if you think about it that way, a lot of people's minds may change.

Studio Ranking:

1. Stairway

2. Achilles

3. Kashmir

Concert Ranking:

1. Kashmir

2. Stairway

3. Achilles

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Kashmir...but STH is a close second! Kashmir just brings up more memories to me than Stairway. I love the lyrics, the guitar...Rob's voice in it is just amazing. I also chose Kashmir because its my dad's favourite. Its the song he played the most when I was young and its the first Zeppelin song that I could remember when I was 6. It's carved in my mind since early childhood.

But I also love STH. There is a mystique about it. Its a trully beautiful and unique song for sure.

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"Kashmir" for me. The other two are Zeppelin masterpieces as well, but there is something about "Kashmir." All the band members talents and their ability to change styles and pitches are represented throughout the whole song. It was also the song that got me into Led Zeppelin and has been my very favorite ever since.

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Much as I love 'Achilles Last Stand' to death (especially live at Knebworth), I found myself trying to choose just between 'Kashmir' and 'Stairway To Heaven'. It's an agonizing thing to decide because I love those two songs equal amounts to each other. After an excruciating pause, I hesitantly clicked 'Kashmir'. When I think of all the punk bands calling Zeppelin a dinosaur, I figure their roar sounds something like 'Kashmir'; fierce, epic and eclectic. 'Stairway', even though it's an enormous songwriting/performance feat, is just a mirage of what Zeppelin is, even if it's pretty. 'Kashmir' is the real thing. It's what Led Zeppelin is anyway: ENORMOUS.

Nice post, I love what you say.

For me it was a near thing between ALS and STH. Achilles is such a great piece, also enormous as you say, espically wow - Knebworth! Never makes me fail to sit there with my mouth open in astonishment.

Stairway gets the nod because it's got so many layers of meaning, and musically sums up what the band means to me. It travels from the pastoral to the industrial, from the lyrical to driving rock; it's spiritual and it's sexual; it's light and shade. They all give it everything they've got until by the end anybody who doesn't understand the value of passionate music is just not listening. It's a musical call to our better angels.

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I chose ALS, Page puts alot of emotion in the solo.

Kashmir is pretty good but I doesn't satisfie me so much as ALS or STH

Stairway to heaven is the "brand" of Led Zeppelin, they are "marked" by that song...

=> STH is overrated BUT I still love it B) Especially the version they brought in Earls' Court ('74)

~Christophe

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Much as I love 'Achilles Last Stand' to death (especially live at Knebworth), I found myself trying to choose just between 'Kashmir' and 'Stairway To Heaven'. It's an agonizing thing to decide because I love those two songs equal amounts to each other. After an excruciating pause, I hesitantly clicked 'Kashmir'. When I think of all the punk bands calling Zeppelin a dinosaur, I figure their roar sounds something like 'Kashmir'; fierce, epic and eclectic. 'Stairway', even though it's an enormous songwriting/performance feat, is just a mirage of what Zeppelin is, even if it's pretty. 'Kashmir' is the real thing. It's what Led Zeppelin is anyway: ENORMOUS.

Kashmir...but STH is a close second! Kashmir just brings up more memories to me than Stairway. I love the lyrics, the guitar...Rob's voice in it is just amazing. I also chose Kashmir because its my dad's favourite. Its the song he played the most when I was young and its the first Zeppelin song that I could remember when I was 6. It's carved in my mind since early childhood.

But I also love STH. There is a mystique about it. Its a trully beautiful and unique song for sure.

Nice post, I love what you say.

For me it was a near thing between ALS and STH. Achilles is such a great piece, also enormous as you say, espically wow - Knebworth! Never makes me fail to sit there with my mouth open in astonishment.

Stairway gets the nod because it's got so many layers of meaning, and musically sums up what the band means to me. It travels from the pastoral to the industrial, from the lyrical to driving rock; it's spiritual and it's sexual; it's light and shade. They all give it everything they've got until by the end anybody who doesn't understand the value of passionate music is just not listening. It's a musical call to our better angels.

I love what each of you wrote. I didn't vote as I couldn't decide. The choices are extremely interesting as each has a very special meaning for me. STH and Kashmir are bookends to my Zep experiences. ALS is connected to my post-Zep experiences, when I met the love of my life. The three choices instantaneously evoke other sensory experiences that will forever be associated with those particular songs. It is probably for that reason that I have been accused of being the only person who never tires of listening to STH. I am not just listening to the song; I am reliving some of the best experiences of my life.

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