Introduction and a few thoughts

[Eric Marsh]

Hi Folks,

Last night I had to drive my large step van two hours each way to and from a job. I decided to set my iPod to randomize my Page/Plant Zep collection. This got me to thinking about the band and while drinking a cold bear after I got home (at one in the morning) did a Google for Led Zeppelin. That led me to this site.

First of all, I personally believe that Led Zeppelin is the "Greatest Rock Band of All Time," or perhaps you can just call the band the gold standard. I think of them as kind of a musical perfect storm. Led Zeppelin is great not just because the band members are great musicians. What really set them apart was their love of music that led them to investigate and experiment with a wide variety of musical forms.

A lot of so called Heavy Metal bands came after the demise of Zeppelin. A lot of those bands have tried to follow where Zeppelin led, but most of them got lost after the first step. They don't seem to get that it's not just about loud heavy guitar work and "satanic" vocals. Most of those bands have got pretty much one sound and IMHO are really pretty lame.

Its that one sound thing or the flip side of that "one sound" thing that draws me to the music of Led Zeppelin. These guys could do the heavy bluesy guitar licks with the best of them but that's just where they started from. From there they moved on to acoustic instruments, middle eastern scales and a wide variety of other musical forms. This is why the band is still so compelling. It's music, not just a particular kind of music.

I started listening to the radio in the 50s on a crystal radio. Anybody remember those. I was fortunate to have a lot of my musical influences from the mid to late 1960s when rock music was about innovation, not commercial success. Hendrix was comes to mind as the guy who stood head and shoulders above most of the crowd in that period. After some tragic losses many of that generation's greats were no longer with us. Led Zeppelin took the flag and carried it from there for another decade.

Somewhere around the late 1970s or the early 1980s I realized that most popular music had turned to crap. Strictly Commercial, as Zappa said. I think it was to some extent that the music I had been listening to was about innovation that I had an open mind to different kinds of music. That set me on my own voyage of exploration, though as a consumer of music, not a creator of music. (I wish I could create music, but I guess I was born without that gene.)

My path has led me to classical music, especially opera. Big band, blues, jazz, tango, new age, world music and so forth. One orchestra I recently discovered that I think is really cool is Pink Martini. So I really appreciate Robert Plant's search for new scales.

But I've still got all that Led Zeppelin music in my iPod. Every now and then on a long drive I plug it into my brain and enjoy it while the miles roll by.

[maureen]

Hi Folks,

Last night I had to drive my large step van two hours each way to and from a job. I decided to set my iPod to randomize my Page/Plant Zep collection. This got me to thinking about the band and while drinking a cold bear after I got home (at one in the morning) did a Google for Led Zeppelin. That led me to this site.

First of all, I personally believe that Led Zeppelin is the "Greatest Rock Band of All Time," or perhaps you can just call the band the gold standard. I think of them as kind of a musical perfect storm. Led Zeppelin is great not just because the band members are great musicians. What really set them apart was their love of music that led them to investigate and experiment with a wide variety of musical forms.

A lot of so called Heavy Metal bands came after the demise of Zeppelin. A lot of those bands have tried to follow where Zeppelin led, but most of them got lost after the first step. They don't seem to get that it's not just about loud heavy guitar work and "satanic" vocals. Most of those bands have got pretty much one sound and IMHO are really pretty lame.

Its that one sound thing or the flip side of that "one sound" thing that draws me to the music of Led Zeppelin. These guys could do the heavy bluesy guitar licks with the best of them but that's just where they started from. From there they moved on to acoustic instruments, middle eastern scales and a wide variety of other musical forms. This is why the band is still so compelling. It's music, not just a particular kind of music.

I started listening to the radio in the 50s on a crystal radio. Anybody remember those. I was fortunate to have a lot of my musical influences from the mid to late 1960s when rock music was about innovation, not commercial success. Hendrix was comes to mind as the guy who stood head and shoulders above most of the crowd in that period. After some tragic losses many of that generation's greats were no longer with us. Led Zeppelin took the flag and carried it from there for another decade.

Somewhere around the late 1970s or the early 1980s I realized that most popular music had turned to crap. Strictly Commercial, as Zappa said. I think it was to some extent that the music I had been listening to was about innovation that I had an open mind to different kinds of music. That set me on my own voyage of exploration, though as a consumer of music, not a creator of music. (I wish I could create music, but I guess I was born without that gene.)

My path has led me to classical music, especially opera. Big band, blues, jazz, tango, new age, world music and so forth. One orchestra I recently discovered that I think is really cool is Pink Martini. So I really appreciate Robert Plant's search for new scales.

But I've still got all that Led Zeppelin music in my iPod. Every now and then on a long drive I plug it into my brain and enjoy it while the miles roll by.

Welcome! Very nice post, so great to have such a thoughtful and deep person here! Enjoy

[TheZeppyWanderer]

welcome to the board, eric

[beatbo]

hi, eric! welcome and make yourself at home. very good post-'the gold standard' i like that!

[LukeTheDuke]

Hi and welcome on board the mothership

[Eric Marsh]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone.