The Who with Moon did their best work. I simply believe there are there are a few very good songs and good concerts post-Moon. I can't see all of their out-put (what little there is) after Moon's time as being all bad. It's certainly not on the level of what they did while Moon was around. But also my point was that we can't be 100% sure that there decline was because of Moon's absence. I don't begrudge the decision of a band to carry on or to keep going even after it appears their best songs have been written and their best performances have been done. If we'd gone back in time and changed the future to make Zeppelin continue into the 1980s and 1990s, results may have been interesting, but they made their decision and it one we all accept. However I don't begrudge the decision of band to go on after it seems their best work is behind them or their best performances are behind them. Zep didn't move forward, and i accept and respect what they decided.

So... when EXACTLY is the 50th? I guess fans can only hope that as the band as well as those who handle their merchandise begin to talk of the 50th, some of the aforementioned ideas will at least be discussed.

I agree. A box set of 4 or 5 discs, maybe a broad selection of live recordings personally chosen by the band. That would be nice. Choosing live tracks from various years could work very well. Choices could be based on themes, or maybe just a 'best of' live. When you commit to one show only, you have to deal with the bad bits, poorly recorded parts, songs that were less than stellar, etc. So for the 50th, give me a box set of live material, selections of concerts, individual songs, whatever. And no gimmicks like repros of tickets, just put everything in to a thick colorful book that fits nicely n the box.

I think its hard to really make the case that The Who were never the same with a different drummer. First of, they have recorded some excellent music and done some awesome performances after the death of Moon. Secondly, they were experiencing other changes in their lives and their music was changing. So you can't be sure if it was Moon's death or other things that changed them. Its like looking at the progression of the Rolling Stones. They lost Jones, then the acquired Mick Taylor and lost him too. They have had some distinct phases in their 50 plus year career and each brought some qualities different from the previous ones. I'm a big Who fan and I think they have some very fine music post-Moon, although they have not been that active (25 years between albums, for example) As far as I know, it was the three remaining members decision to end things. Was it right? I don't see it as right or wrong. Zeppelin might have made some good albums in the 1980s, toured, etc. Of course its doubtful that they would have produced music as great as they did in the late 60s and 70s, but that does not mean that we would not now be praising their 80s albums to some degree or another.

I am sure they considered touring at various times since their initial break up. They've probably got all kinds of offers and ideas floated by them over the years by people who want to make money. In terms of a tour almost happening but then shit down at the last minute, this might be believable. But what does 'last minute mean'? I would imagine it means that they were set to sign something, but no actual preparations took place. To me, Zeppelin's legacy cannot be tarnished. They could reunite in 2018, sound awful on stage, produce a terrible album or original new songs, and they would still be one of the greatest bands in history. Nothing can change that.

Wow! Some real differences here. Well, the great thing here is that this is art (and high art at that!) so none of us is right and none wrong. There are many days that I would make the case that Houses Of The Holy is their finest. I feel no other Zeppelin album can match its perfection and the strength and brilliance of every track. Even IV cannot do this. Yet IV, while overplayed does contain moments where the band took rock n roll to another level and that's why its #1 for me. But like i said, no list here is wrong

Rank ordering Led Zeppelin's studio albums? Its a very hard choice to rank order the studio albums of one of the greatest bands ever. The top 5 invites heavy debate and clearly they are ranked very closely. And admittedly if I am forced to answer this question in a couple of weeks I could give a different answer. I rank Led Zeppelin IV at #1 even though I haven't played it much in a good while. Physical Grafitti gets to #2 on the strength of containing some of their greatest songs, despite some filler. Houses Of The Holy... cannot go wrong and every track is an absolute classic, same with Led Zeppelin II. When we look at 6, 7, and 8 is where we see some real distinctions in overall quality, I think. For me it's 1. Led Zeppelin IV 2. Physical Graffitti 3. Houses Of The Holy 4. Led Zeppelin II 5. Presence 6. Led Zeppelin I 7. Led Zeppelin III 8. In Through The Out Door 9. CODA

Without question, hands down it's HOT DOG!!! .... .... ... ... Okay, seriously. I would say the three that come to mind are The Rain Song, Ten Years Gone, and Stairway To Heaven. All are just so full of beauty in their own way

We can always hope for a live release because these will always be a possibility. Clearly, there are tons of reels of tape and film all over the place and these could be cobbled into live albums based on one show (or one stay in a given city) or maybe some box set of live performances.

I agree that we will like get none of those things. I do expect some box set or some recording released of some sort. But again, nothing that will excite the fans who have everything already. Now, if one of their best known bootlegs were legitimized as an official releas, that would be awesome. yes,, a one off show, a new album, all that would be awesome.

I agree, at this point it does not look like anything will take place in terms of a reunion performance of any sort. You can expect some TV specials, and rehashing of existing stuff. Maybe, just maybe someone execs will sit down and decide to release new greatest hit package or something. That is awesome for casual fans, but for those who presently own all official Led Zeppelin recordings (and maybe some unofficial stuff too) these things just don't matter. We would feel gifted if there was a performance and/or the release of old live shows. Don't expect either

Every major artist seems to do this "re-issue" thing. And the ones that have not yet done it probably will do it one day. Its just a ploy really. Another trick, one that I think is even more underhanded, is for bands to release a "Greatest Hits" album and throw on one or two 'previously unreleased' tracks or maybe a live track. This compels the long-time, hardcore fan to buy it just to get these tracks. And I find this particularly underhanded because it's preying upon the bands biggest fans. Its just wrong. As a big fan of all the major rock n roll bands of the 60s and 70s, I have found that about 90% of the time there is a good reason why tracks were not released in their time. Its because they simply weren't that good. If they were really good, they would have been on the album. Yes, once in a while there is a real gem that somehow surfaces, but this is rare. What I do hope we get in the future from Zeppelin is what Stones fans (of which I am one) have enjoyed in the "from the vaults" series of concert albums. Surely there's lots of this in the vaults (figuratively speaking - or literally?) for Led Zeppelin.

I have to agree with the OP. Okay, maybe they are not total rubbish in every sense of the word. For the first timer, buying these re-issues might be preferable to buying the early CD editions of Led Zeppelin's albums. But there is very little that compels me to buy them. I have half of the albums in this 'deluxe re-issue' format or whatever the heck they call it. And NONE of those deluxe re-issues have anything that make me want to get all the re-issues. I simply do not need them.

They vary in length quite a bit, don't they?

I have heard many. But I actually think the best is on the Song Remains The Same soundtrack album. There are only a few non-bootleg (Official) live releases of this masterpiece of a song. Something about the keyboards in the SRTS recording is just so beautiful. But I would like to hear if there is a better rendering of this classic that I should be checking out more