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Zeppelin vs. the Critics: Tribute in Huffington Post


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It's a piece I wrote, at http://huff.to/WrZTu1

I'm a columnist who usually writes about politics and management, but here I got a chance to write about my first love. I became a huge Zeppelin fan in 1980, just as the end was coming. And I was amazed by how the major rock critics snottily dismissed Zeppelin every chance they get. I wake up practically every morning feeling vindicated that the band is bigger now than those damned fools could ever have predicted.

Happy holiday to Zep fans of all ages.

Rob

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Ha ha! So true, I awaited the critics bashing almost as much as I awaited each new Zeppelin album. I can't remember ever seeing a positive review! I think it was Dave Marsh, reviewing Presence, who wrote that it sounded like "John Bonham had forgotten how to play drums," I guess Dave had forgotten how to count!

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It's a piece I wrote, at http://huff.to/WrZTu1

I'm a columnist who usually writes about politics and management, but here I got a chance to write about my first love. I became a huge Zeppelin fan in 1980, just as the end was coming. And I was amazed by how the major rock critics snottily dismissed Zeppelin every chance they get. I wake up practically every morning feeling vindicated that the band is bigger now than those damned fools could ever have predicted.

Happy holiday to Zep fans of all ages.

Rob

Great, well-crafted article, Rob! I am usually drawn to lyric rich music yet some of my favourite artists create a sound that is undeniably rich and unique. Such as Led Zep - JPJ said it so well - they weren't about songs they were about sound. A response by Page recently from an old review about Led Zep's song writing strength bothered me though. He said their music went over the heads of dismissive reviewers. That comes off as sour grapes while it may be true in some reviewer cases, and I think it's fair to say that lyrically most of their songs are not strong. It was their music/sound, perfectly combined talents and delivery that was their triumph.

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A response by Page recently from an old review about Led Zep's song writing strength bothered me though. He said their music went over the heads of dismissive reviewers.

I agree with Page 100% on that point. The lyrics to In the Light, Kashmir, All My Love and so on fit the songs perfectly. The critics were angry because Zeppelin never wrote songs attacking conservatives or capitalism, so in the eyes of the critics, the music was not worthy. The critics were critics because they never could play a guitar or write a song and instead pretended to know what was important for the population at large.

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Great read this sums it all for me

It created music that would serve as vehicles to display their individual skill and their unrivaled chemistry -- all while sweeping adventurously across the landscapes of blues, hard rock, English and American folk music, rhythm & blues, Middle Eastern and South-Asian melodies, and even chunks of funk and touches of reggae and Bach during their three-hour marathon concerts.

:you_rock:

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I agree with Page 100% on that point. The lyrics to In the Light, Kashmir, All My Love and so on fit the songs perfectly. The critics were angry because Zeppelin never wrote songs attacking conservatives or capitalism, so in the eyes of the critics, the music was not worthy. The critics were critics because they never could play a guitar or write a song and instead pretended to know what was important for the population at large.

Yes their lyrics fit the songs because together the overall impression is the whole sound, vocals included. But as stand alone lyrics read without the music they don't strike me as strong or particularly well crafted. I make the distinction between lyrics in a song, message laden or not, and the soundscapes that LZ created. This was the band's distinction, not a detriment. In that way some critics likely didn't get them. As much as I can appreciate hearing their LPs today, I was lucky to see them perform live twice and to me, that was what they were really about. It was the experience of those extended jams washing over you, raw emotion and energy. I can't think all songs that weren't about a social situation were all dismissed back in the 70s but I never read record reviews then. My friends and I went by what we felt when we heard music. I don't remember us ever discussing what a reviewer thought back then. I had no idea the critics hated Led Zep because there was a lot of resistance to rock music in general back then from our parents' generation and even from people 10 years older than we were who were not open to the development of basic R&R. Typically, the media said no back then, we said yes.

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It's a piece I wrote, at http://huff.to/WrZTu1

I'm a columnist who usually writes about politics and management, but here I got a chance to write about my first love. I became a huge Zeppelin fan in 1980, just as the end was coming. And I was amazed by how the major rock critics snottily dismissed Zeppelin every chance they get. I wake up practically every morning feeling vindicated that the band is bigger now than those damned fools could ever have predicted.

Happy holiday to Zep fans of all ages.

Rob

Very well-written, nice job! And thanks for including that David Lee Roth quote, makes me smile every time I read it!

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Great, well-crafted article, Rob! I am usually drawn to lyric rich music yet some of my favourite artists create a sound that is undeniably rich and unique. Such as Led Zep - JPJ said it so well - they weren't about songs they were about sound. A response by Page recently from an old review about Led Zep's song writing strength bothered me though. He said their music went over the heads of dismissive reviewers. That comes off as sour grapes while it may be true in some reviewer cases, and I think it's fair to say that lyrically most of their songs are not strong. It was their music/sound, perfectly combined talents and delivery that was their triumph.

Thanks, Shadecatcher. Yeah, I saw Page's comments recently to that effect. I do confess that I don't think Robert Plant's lyrics and themes have the deep introspection of a Dylan or Townshend or Springsteen or the political revolutionary heat of the Clash, but unlike the critics, I never held that against them. Zeppelin seemed to be the true heir of Little Richard and Chuck Berry, who were raising a holy ruckus without necessarily singing protest songs against Jim Crow laws. For some reason, the critics couldn't see that or value that.

There was also that whole Tolkienesque world that Plant inhabited, which seemed silly to someone who lives in a Pete Townshend-like space, but which can be appreciated more richly by a generation that just ate up every bit of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

On It Might Get Loud, Page talks a little bit about how the critics bashed Led Zeppelin IV, and he got very emotional for a minute there. I think it's deeply stung him for the past 40+ years, because he never believed that they were competing with Dylan or his ilk.

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I think it was Dave Marsh, reviewing Presence, who wrote that it sounded like "John Bonham had forgotten how to play drums," I guess Dave had forgotten how to count!

Thanks to everyone for the kind words! And chef free, that's hilarious about Dave Marsh, who was pretty much the prototype of the critic who couldn't "get it." But complaining about Bonzo's drums on Presence kinda shows a real spitefulness on his part, an attempt to poke Zeppelin right at its strong point. And he couldn't have been more wrong anyway.

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Thanks, Shadecatcher. Yeah, I saw Page's comments recently to that effect. I do confess that I don't think Robert Plant's lyrics and themes have the deep introspection of a Dylan or Townshend or Springsteen or the political revolutionary heat of the Clash, but unlike the critics, I never held that against them. Zeppelin seemed to be the true heir of Little Richard and Chuck Berry, who were raising a holy ruckus without necessarily singing protest songs against Jim Crow laws. For some reason, the critics couldn't see that or value that.

There was also that whole Tolkienesque world that Plant inhabited, which seemed silly to someone who lives in a Pete Townshend-like space, but which can be appreciated more richly by a generation that just ate up every bit of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

On It Might Get Loud, Page talks a little bit about how the critics bashed Led Zeppelin IV, and he got very emotional for a minute there. I think it's deeply stung him for the past 40+ years, because he never believed that they were competing with Dylan or his ilk.

Yeah, I saw that in It Might Get Loud - good documentary. I'm sure Page has been stung as well as elated by critical reviews over the years. It is part of the territory and it's a horrid thing to be misunderstood. I have the sense he is extremely sensitive to outside opinion, but at some point you have to let it go or it will drive you crazy. What counts in the end is the respect of your peers, how you feel, and that you connect to your audience. I was surprised to see that it still seemed to get him. I've worked with people who are subject to reviews and a bad review can be devastating. Sometimes there are valid points you should pay attention to if it's an honest, well-informed review; other times it is simply malicious and not worth your while to worry about.

Must admit I never paid that much attention to Plant's Tolkien thing. I mean everybody read Lord of the Rings. Lots of us knew about Crowley and the occult. I was under the impression that Page wrote the lyrics for at least the first LP - when did Plant take that over or was it a combination of the two?

As you I wouldn't compare their lyrics with other very strong writers, but for their music, their soundscapes, they worked. No girl I know misinterpreted the meanings, let's put it that way!

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Great article! Thank you . Reading reviews/critics back in the day was an act of futility. They made no sense and got NOTHING of what Zep was selling.

One critic, it might have been Marsh, commented on the Tea for One line "I come 24 hours" as being over the top braggadocios, not even bothering to check the lyric. He went on and on about it. (How come 24 hours seem to slip into days)

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One critic, it might have been Marsh, commented on the Tea for One line "I come 24 hours" as being over the top braggadocios, not even bothering to check the lyric. He went on and on about it. (How come 24 hours seem to slip into days)

Now that's funny, thanks. I imagine it must have been the bane of their existence every time a new Zeppelin album came out. For the sake of length, I left out of the article a story about how I saw a really good cover band at LA's Viper Room a few months back, doing a great runthrough of Led Zeppelin IV. An aging punker came up and introduced Four Sticks as "the song that the stoners had blasting on their car radio as they pulled over to kick my ass. But I finally realized, Hey, Zeppelin's the best, you gotta admit that." Then he screechd his way through a great version of it.

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I'm sure Page has been stung as well as elated by critical reviews over the years. It is part of the territory and it's a horrid thing to be misunderstood. I have the sense he is extremely sensitive to outside opinion, but at some point you have to let it go or it will drive you crazy....

Must admit I never paid that much attention to Plant's Tolkien thing. I mean everybody read Lord of the Rings. Lots of us knew about Crowley and the occult. I was under the impression that Page wrote the lyrics for at least the first LP - when did Plant take that over or was it a combination of the two?

I seem to recall that Plant made some quip at the 2nd Knebworth show, after feeling stung by the reviews of the first show, about how "it's nice to see some friendly faces out there." That struck me as a sign of Robert being more thin-skinned than he needed to be, especially in front of 150k fans worshipping him. But Zeppelin did have that peculiar insecurity. You read the stories about Bonham going to his grave feeling he wasn't "all that" as a drummer. It's a reminder that even the gods worry....!

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I seem to recall that Plant made some quip at the 2nd Knebworth show, after feeling stung by the reviews of the first show, about how "it's nice to see some friendly faces out there." That struck me as a sign of Robert being more thin-skinned than he needed to be, especially in front of 150k fans worshipping him. But Zeppelin did have that peculiar insecurity. You read the stories about Bonham going to his grave feeling he wasn't "all that" as a drummer. It's a reminder that even the gods worry....!

But insecurity goes with the territory of being an artist, no? I don't know one who isn't. I'm insecure about my work no matter how much I've been told it's good (I'm not in music). Aside from the youthful dream of stardom, that isn't why you got into music or art or performance. Creating is a compulsion, how you make sense of yourself and the world around you. When you create something it's part of you and then you put that thing out in the world where it's no longer private. That's scary. More scary when you have an image to live up to - an image created in the minds of others (and ignorant critics). It's very personal stuff and a catch 22 because you have to work and make a living. I really feel for Plant and Page, it's a burden they carry. You can become thick skinned to some stuff, understand that people just admire you or whatever, but there's real pressure to produce better and better each time out. What a luxury to just enjoy playing and have fun with it without worrying how it is perceived or consumed by the outside world. Maybe Plant and Page have come to that place now in life where they can appreciate the past for what it was and just do what they want and damn the expectations. I hope that for them.

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But insecurity goes with the territory of being an artist, no? I don't know one who isn't. I'm insecure about my work no matter how much I've been told it's good (I'm not in music). Aside from the youthful dream of stardom, that isn't why you got into music or art or performance. Creating is a compulsion, how you make sense of yourself and the world around you. When you create something it's part of you and then you put that thing out in the world where it's no longer private. That's scary. More scary when you have an image to live up to - an image created in the minds of others (and ignorant critics). It's very personal stuff and a catch 22 because you have to work and make a living. I really feel for Plant and Page, it's a burden they carry. You can become thick skinned to some stuff, understand that people just admire you or whatever, but there's real pressure to produce better and better each time out. What a luxury to just enjoy playing and have fun with it without worrying how it is perceived or consumed by the outside world. Maybe Plant and Page have come to that place now in life where they can appreciate the past for what it was and just do what they want and damn the expectations. I hope that for them.

Wise words, shadecatcher. I think most artists are wise enough to know that they should do their thing for the love of their art, not for approval. But people are human -- even rock gods are human. As a writer, I deal with a lot of my own insecurities about how good I am or how important I am. That's why I'm often struck to think back to how insecure Zep was feeling around the time of Knebworth and the whole punk-is-now-king era. They seem to be able to look back now at those times with a much greater sense of pride. They've been vindicated in huge ways.

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Wise words, shadecatcher. I think most artists are wise enough to know that they should do their thing for the love of their art, not for approval. But people are human -- even rock gods are human. As a writer, I deal with a lot of my own insecurities about how good I am or how important I am. That's why I'm often struck to think back to how insecure Zep was feeling around the time of Knebworth and the whole punk-is-now-king era. They seem to be able to look back now at those times with a much greater sense of pride. They've been vindicated in huge ways.

Very kind of you dime store guru. I think all of us working in the arts recognize we have insecurities about our work. It didn't hurt that I spent 25 years with a musician so saw that in him too, and understood it. While we need to support and encourage each other, we also need to provide each other critical feedback. Sometimes I get the impression those who perform on the world stage may not receive the most honest of feedback for a number of reasons, the largeness of their persona leading the pack. That's sad because just like you need to know your friends are true not hangers on, honest discussion about your work is important for growth and understanding of how your work is perceived by others. None of us lives in a vacuum. Do you have a website where your writing is featured?

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Do you have a website where your writing is featured?

Oh, I have a couple of different sites, but my main writing lately has been for the Huffington Post. If you click on my name on that article, it'll take you to older articles, which are mainly about politics, management, religion and other topics. Not nearly enough Zeppelin stuff to suit my tastes, but maybe that'll change!

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It's a piece I wrote, at http://huff.to/WrZTu1

I'm a columnist who usually writes about politics and management, but here I got a chance to write about my first love. I became a huge Zeppelin fan in 1980, just as the end was coming. And I was amazed by how the major rock critics snottily dismissed Zeppelin every chance they get. I wake up practically every morning feeling vindicated that the band is bigger now than those damned fools could ever have predicted.

Happy holiday to Zep fans of all ages.

Rob

Happy Holidays and New Year to you as well!

Rob...thank you for writing that article. It's nice to see a genuine piece of writing amongst the meda hype-machine - reading through some of the recent interviews, I've had a sense that the interviewers and magazines were prompted more by their pocketbooks than by an actual appreciation of the band and their accomplishments.

(It's also good to read your comments on the site about "Ten Years Gone," a woefully underappreciated song!)

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Cool article. The little brother factor is real outside of rock critics as well, that generational shift you point out. Through conversation about music with people over the years, i see the divide from the 60s and 70s. I dont have older siblings, so when i was a kid in the late 70s, i found out who the cool bands were by seeing peoples band t shirts, fm radio, and graffiti of rock bands names on walls. the sort of stage before buying records. So i figured the beatles, grateful dead, stones, hendrix, doors, who and zeppelin were all cool bands.

It is funny how there was a divide there and zeppelin and others like sabbath, were outside of that gap of the 60s bands, for some music fans and a lot of the rock critics/media.

Its also always amazing to read about how the rock critics adored punk rock at the end of the 70s, after disliking zeppelin during the 70s.

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Her another long article with similar topic

The Winners' History of Rock and Roll, Part 1: Led Zeppelin

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8821559/the-winners-history-rock-roll-part-1-led-zeppelin

Every band I'm writing about in this series in some way aspired to be like Led Zeppelin; some came closer than others, but nobody has surpassed them. Financial reward, artistic freedom, business intelligence, chemical enrichment, sexual misadventure, posthumous mystique — no matter the conversation, Led Zeppelin is the gold standard.
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It's a piece I wrote, at http://huff.to/WrZTu1

I'm a columnist who usually writes about politics and management, but here I got a chance to write about my first love. I became a huge Zeppelin fan in 1980, just as the end was coming. And I was amazed by how the major rock critics snottily dismissed Zeppelin every chance they get. I wake up practically every morning feeling vindicated that the band is bigger now than those damned fools could ever have predicted.

Happy holiday to Zep fans of all ages.

Rob

Thanks for your great words I've been a fan since i was 11 yrs old I am 46 mow. I can listen to zep all day long and still give me a chill up my spine

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