Levee Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Are Led Zeppelin really the best band ever? By Neil McCormick Music Last updated: June 7th, 2010 According to BBC2 viewers and Radio 2 listeners, Led Zeppelin are the best band ever. A live poll conducted at the finale of the BBC 2 series ‘I’m In A Rock And Roll Band!’ crowned the Seventies rock gods, after boiling it down to a short list of three: Zep, Queen and The Beatles. All good choices, of course, coming from a longlist of The Clash, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Joy Division, Nirvana, Radiohead, The Rolling Stones & The Smiths. Presumably a lot of names got weeded out along the way but it’s hard to argue with Led Zeppelin, an incredible coming together of great musicians who pushed and pulled rock music in a host of new directions while essentially defining what it meant to be a hard, heavy, sexy rock band. But personally, I would put them third on the list. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are the bands who set almost the entire parameters for rock music in the Sixties. They remain the quintessential rock bands, and everything that followed is a kind of offshoot, either by reacting against them, or following through on their inspiration. Led Zeppelin certainly took up the baton and charged into the Seventies, but by that time the core of what it meant to be a rock band had already been defined. I was talking this morning to the great English folk and rock guitarist Richard Thompson (he’s curating the Meltdown festival which starts this week). I made an observation about how rarely you hear the electric guitar in modern pop records, to which he retorted, “Good, its about time”. His argument was that the truly original and creative use of the guitar dominated rock template was essentially over by 1971, but its visceral and commercial appeal is so great it has lingered on long past its sell by date. For me, there is something undeniable about a triumvirate of Beatles, Stones and Led Zeppelin as the best bands ever, that makes every other possible choice seem merely subjective. But in terms of setting the template that would last for the next few decades, it seems remiss not to have at least debated the merits of such other essential and original Sixties bands as The Who, The Doors, The Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd. And in terms of ticket sales (in which the public vote with their wallets) The Rolling Stones only have two serious rivals, U2 and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (neither of whom featured in the BBC poll). Meanwhile, back here in 2010, Bon Jovi (another absentee) are playing 12 nights at London’s O2 Arena. Which is an astonishing achievement, even if they didn’t manage to break the record for Prince’s 21 nights, as they originally claimed they would. The American rockers have been billing themselves as The Biggest Rock Band On The Planet. I am not quite sure what that means. I keep picturing a line up featuring Buster Bloodvessel, Meatloaf, Mama Cass and Beth Ditto. Their claim sparked off some interesting debate on The Word magazine’s website about what constitutes “biggest”. The Rolling Stones can boast four of the top ten grossing tours of all time. U2 have two. The Police have one. And Madonna, Cher and Celine Dion have the others. And the Stones have the top three tours in terms of attendance numbers, with U2 at four (and Michael Jackson at five). Bon Jovi don’t even make the top ten. If they really want to be the biggest band on the planet, they’re going to have to keep eating the donuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabe Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 In my universe... #1 The Beatles #2 Led Zeppelin Other groups zip in and out of #3 on. Bands from the UK pretty much fill out #3-#9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfman Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Yup. LZ is the best ever imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledded1 Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 There is no doubting the influences of both the Beatles and the Stones and many many more bands but music is totally subjective. From the head and heart shattering 3 and a half minutes of Communication breakdown heard by me as a 12 year old in 1969 there has never been any doubt in my mind who are the greatest band ever for me and it is Led Zeppelin. I never hold with the arguments of biggest grossing tours cos you have to factor in ticket prices and not just necessarily the number of people seeing a show. That said if Zep had have reformed and toured then I believe any Stones attendances and dollar grossings would have been wiped out. The Stones for me are an old novelty act these days but good luck to them and their fans but if I want to see a band without having to auction a kidney for the price of a ticket or having to use a giant telescope to see them on stage I will give them a miss. I preferred them more up close and personal back in the 70's. I love lots of music and bands of many genres but only one flows through my veins and grips my heart and thats Zeppelin. Like my signature says '41 YEARS AND STILL COUNTING' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 There is no doubting the influences of both the Beatles and the Stones and many many more bands but music is totally subjective. From the head and heart shattering 3 and a half minutes of Communication breakdown heard by me as a 12 year old in 1969 there has never been any doubt in my mind who are the greatest band ever for me and it is Led Zeppelin. I never hold with the arguments of biggest grossing tours cos you have to factor in ticket prices and not just necessarily the number of people seeing a show. That said if Zep had have reformed and toured then I believe any Stones attendances and dollar grossings would have been wiped out. The Stones for me are an old novelty act these days but good luck to them and their fans but if I want to see a band without having to auction a kidney for the price of a ticket or having to use a giant telescope to see them on stage I will give them a miss. I preferred them more up close and personal back in the 70's. I love lots of music and bands of many genres but only one flows through my veins and grips my heart and thats Zeppelin. Like my signature says '41 YEARS AND STILL COUNTING' Great post For me I was 9 and it was "I Can't Quit You Babe" and no music has ever moved me as emotionally as LZ! Almost 41 years for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripmender Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 People who say that the Beatles are the most influential artists the world has ever seen would presumably be shouted down by hard-line Elvis fans, who in turn would doubtless be chased out of town by old-time blues purists. The BBC show was dealing with ROCK bands. That's ROCK, not ROCK N ROLL. The Beatles may have been many things, but they were NEVER a ROCK band. To suggest that they were is patently absurd. Thank you, and goodnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starbreaker Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Yes in fact they are. No contest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjin-san Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Hi all, Wonderful and subjective subject! Great posts by everyone. I would not be a member of this board if I didn't think they were the -best- band ever. Danke,to Brother Ally&BIGDAN to opening my eyes to the bootlegs,Holy $#!!,they went for it,that is, all musical directions.Didn't Kurt Loder say in the booklet to the remaster box set: "World music and how little they got credit for it?Or something to that effect? One reads countless quotes from other bands and musicians on how the lads effected music. Thanks for your time. KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyingzepp Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 No one comes close to making the body of life songs that Zeppelin did. There is no contest. Zeppelin is always top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levee Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 Great post For me I was 9 and it was "I Can't Quit You Babe" and no music has ever moved me as emotionally as LZ! Almost 41 years for me Great post indeed. I got my first taste about the same age as the both of you. I remember my older brother had just got Zep I and was hiding out in the closet of our bedroom listning to it, he had a record player and ran an extension cord in there and kept the volume low. I came into the room and he grabbed me and said "get in here", he said he wanted me to hear this, and with the opening of Good Times I was hooked forever. I've thought about that day many times over the years and I think my brother couldn't believe what he was hearing and wanted to share, even with his stinky little brother. So Are they the best? to me yes. They were and still are the yardstick I measure every other band to this day. Having said that I do think you do yourself a huge disservice if you don't keep an open mind about other bands and all music. There's so much great stuff out there and what a joy it can be finding it and checking it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Fills the Air Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Yes they are the BEST band in the world. I watched the show on Saturday night and it was about the best ROCK band, the Beatles were mainly pop. In my opinion the the shortlisted bands should have been Zep, Queen and the Who. Also Zep were the only band to have members shortlisted in each catergory, guitarist, drummer, etc. So I think they deserved to win, and I'm glad that they won. It's nice to see them at last getting some due recognition for the great music that they produced and still lives on today. I work at a university and I saw several of my students wearing Zeppelin T.shirts yesterday, obviously proud that their band won. It's nice to see that their music is being passed on to the younger generation (well, I'm only 31 myself! ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenman Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 People who say that the Beatles are the most influential artists the world has ever seen would presumably be shouted down by hard-line Elvis fans, who in turn would doubtless be chased out of town by old-time blues purists. Musically I don't think the Beatles were as directly influential as Zep, certainly inflential in terms of rock and roll gaining artistic credibility but by the end of the 60's how many bands were trying to directly copy there style? not a vast amount where as tons of bands were looking to copy Zep for a good 20 years with many still doing so today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matjaz1 Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Zeppelin are the greatest!! The Beatles were mainly a pop band with good melodies and harmony singing, even if they did experiment later on. They were also poor instrumentalists! They did set the standard for many things, but most of them were not even music related! The Rolling Stones, have too many similar sounding songs and their vocalist is not that good and it's the same with the instrumentalists.They are good RnB shure, but they are not as good songwriters or musicans as zep!! Zep could write catchy melodies, if they wanted and they also pushed everything else to extremes never heard before, includin the ofstage life!!And i think another thing, that proves the quality of zep is, that almost everyone loves every Beatles song, while many Zep song are so intricate and complex and artistic, that only us fans listen to them and that further proves their quality, because they are world famous and have a huge audience, but a lot of their stuff is not for everybody. They are still huge because of their biggest hits, but that's not all they have up their sleeves!! I really don't know who Richard Thompson is, but if he is a great guitarist, how the hell can he say the guitar went on for too long in the music bussiness???!!! There will always be people, who will love to listen to great guitar playing and there will always be guitarists, who will bring it to the virtuoso level!! How can a (great) guitarist say that the guitar is just something worn out and the music indistry has to move on??? Some things are really not industry related, some things will stay forever!! I agrre with the article, that some other bands should be discussed, but Zep should still win!! And i really don't care how much crappy Bon Jovi tours. Zep would beat them all if they would tour these days!! And he says crap like Jovi plays 12 nights at the o2, which is a place everyone obviously wants to play after zep played there and then he gives a further(and worse) example of Prince playing 21 nights there. Who cares?? Jackson planned to play 50 nights there and it doesn't mean anything at all! I mean all these artists have big audiences and a few hits in cheesy pop, but that doesn't bring them even close to Zep! Yeah Jackson can dance and scretch Dirty Diana and atract sissy pop lovers and even some rockers might enjoy him from time to time, but can he write The Rain song?? And I'm shure Zep would earn more and have bigger tours then even the stones, if they would tour today and even if they wouldn't, they would still be the best music wise, because sometimes corny crap outsells the really good stuff!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bong-Man Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Led Zeppelin certainly took up the baton and charged into the Seventies, but by that time the core of what it meant to be a rock band had already been defined. I would have to agree with this, especially from the angle of live performance and rock culture. The Rolling Stones pretty much defined what a modern arena rock tour and show should be, especially during the years of 66-70. No matter how much of a Zeppelin fan I am, you just can't take that away from them. They also defined what most people view as the 'rock and roll lifestyle' more than any other band. That's my mind talking....my musical heart tells a different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matjaz1 Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 I would have to agree with this, especially from the angle of live performance and rock culture. The Rolling Stones pretty much defined what a modern arena rock tour and show should be, especially during the years of 66-70. No matter how much of a Zeppelin fan I am, you just can't take that away from them. They also defined what most people view as the 'rock and roll lifestyle' more than any other band. That's my mind talking....my musical heart tells a different story. Who cares if they defined things, that are not directly music related!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bong-Man Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Who cares if they defined things, that are not directly music related!! That's what I get for reading the Emancipation Proclamation at a Klan meeting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matjaz1 Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 That's what I get for reading the Emancipation Proclamation at a Klan meeting. Sorry I don't understand what you are saying! I might be too dumb or just not english! I found on the net, what is emancipation proclamation and the klan probably means ku klux klan!! So you are probably trying to say, that this is what you get, by not praising Zep enough on a zep forum?? I'm not saying, that what The Stones defined is not important, but it's not what matters, when you talk about who is the best band!! Only music is what matters in that case and ofcourse the succes with the music! Sure that the succes of the Stones and Beatles with the music created the whole rock culture and fandom, but any truly great rock band that attracts a lot of people could do that. Zep could do it, if they would come a few years earlier. So what really matters is the music and the direct impact it had on people, when you talk about the best and zep defined the best music!! And they also perfected the things that The stones and The Beatles defined!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zep 4 Life Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 I think somebody (I forget who) said it best on one of the Zeppelin DVD's when it comes to The Beatles and Zeppelin. John (Lennon) and Paul (McCartney) would have done just as well with any proficient rhythm section. Led Zeppelin was GREAT because each of the 4 members were amongst the best in their respective fields. I agree with this view, and you don't have to agree with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reids Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 The article left out BTO (Bachman Turner Overdrive) as the "Largest" band in the world. R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstickbonzo Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 IMO, The Beatles will always be the quintessential band of all time because there will never be another act that broke as much ground as they did. Right place, right time in history. Only Elvis compares with those circumstances. Zeppelin's music is timeless and just so well orchestrated in every manner, it will be around long after we are. That being said, Led Zeppelin had more swagger than any act before or after them. That is the core essence of rock and roll. And along with playing their hearts out on stage, they strutted around ontop a nexus that is virtually impossible to replecate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdr Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 About the poll results: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Yep! Absolutely! They are in fact my favorite band of all time, followed by Queen! 100% in agreement with those poll results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangani Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 The Rolling Stones pretty much defined what a modern arena rock tour and show should be. And Zeppelin defined what a modern stadium rock and roll tour and show should be. And Zeppelin defined what the level of musicianship on stage in a rock and roll band should be. Etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bustle In My Hedgerow Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Comparing the Beatles and Led Zeppelin is like apples and oranges. Both were and still are iconic... but in their own ways. The Beatles will always have a special place in my heart because they were the first "old school" band I ever really loved.. but no one--NO ONE--has moved me as emotionally as Led Zeppelin. They were innovative, daring, and amazingly groundbreaking without compromising their own unique artistic integrity as musicians. "Hey Jude".. fantastic song. "The Rain Song".. SOUL-SHATTERING song. No contest, for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poortom Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Im wondering........who would command 20 million request's for application for tickets to see a band's one off comeback? The answer is the one's who did Led Zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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