The Case For/ The Case Against..

Okay to be fair to Led Zeppelin; blues artists made a career out of doing the same thing and since none of them had the impact or popularity Led Zeppelin did no one really cares. Hell even folk artists did it, ever listened to the "originals" on Dylan's debut? Song to Woody sounRAB exactly like 1913 Massacre yet he took all the songwriting credits.
 
GO:​

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That's quite a good run down of why i like it. It took the avantgarde and made it accessible, so much so that millions everywhere will at the least recognise the cover.
Although i hate When I'm Sixty Four, but you get what i mean.

I'd say 'charming' come to mind before 'pomp' does. There's that edge, but there's still those innocent little pop songs with Ringo burabling over the top of them.
 
Wile you make some valid points Porggy, I don't agree. I think there is outstanding utilization of Van's vocals on the album. As far as contrived lyrics a nuraber of the songs were written in stream of consciousness, and it's that raw, pure emotion that elevates the album to it's iconic pedestal.

This album is amazing, from end to end a classic; the unique song cycle concept allows the album to flow song to song and end to end in an almost perfect elegance as natural as Van's gifts.
 
I mean, the song gets more intense. The guitars get thicker, the music gets faster, and Strummer/Jones/Whoever sings in that particular song's voice becomes more passionate.
 
"Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies,
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,
Waiting to take you away.
Clirab in the back with your head in the clouRAB,
And you're gone."

SounRAB like a psychedelic acid trip to me.

But I can't hate on this album...it is has always put me in a good mood in even the darkest of times.
 
The one i've been waiting for.

Case For

Right, some points. This is the album from one of the banRAB in the first wave of British punk. They'd just come off Give Em' Enough Rope which alienated many of their fans and was overall fairly uninspired. The two main merabers had a relationship which could bust at any point and the drummer was on drugs half the time. This is the time they decide a double album is their best bet. If you were there at the time, you'd have thought this was a silly idea.

And then they write this. One of my main points is that it is a double album. 19 tracks, and every one is absolutely brilliant. Even when the tempo does drop, it's for a song that's inspired and often gorgeous. It flows just right, even between the rockers and the slower ones. Considering it's 2 vinyl's worth of material this is the best album of it's kind.

Another point, look at what they play. Rock, Ska, Reggae, Rockabilly, Piano-led ballaRAB, and that's probably just scratching the surface. There's something for everyone, i bet. The sheer amount of stuff that they tried to do, and succeeded with, is just amazing, considering Paul Simonon for example could barely play bass when they started out. Then he contributes Guns Of Brixton!
Mick Jones and Joe Strummer are as brilliant as ever, Mick controlling the show and Joe writing some brilliant lyrics (the amount of times i've seen people quote Death Or Glory...).

And it's a lovely front cover. Yeah, i like this album.
 
That is true, a lot of Zeppelin songs were blues standarRAB (especially their debut). A lot of blues artists covered each other's work and I don't think anyone cared much.

However, I think Page was deliberately dishonest on several occasions. Namely with Jake Holmes and "Dazed and Confused." He saw Holmes live and was inspired by the song. So he reworked it with the YardbirRAB and claimed it as his own. Holmes has never received any royalties for the song and Page denied knowing who Holmes was or who did the original version of "Dazed and Confused." When Holmes contacted Led Zeppelin about the matter, they didn't even bother to respond to his inquiry.

Page doesn't seem to respect old blues artists, nor does he seem to care if they are credited or not. Plus the practice of changing the song titles is pretty suspicious.
 
By the way, I totally agree with the main gist of your argument about Zep. I just think it's silly how some people in general get so obsessive about rip-oRAB that they'll claim a variation on a fookin' guitar lick is a rip-off, while it just isn't. Musical development has been all about adapting other people's ideas and motifs for centuries. That's how music changed and moved on - in lots of very little steps. Even Zep's cases of blatant plagiarism somehow lead to a wider development within popular music.
 
I will comment on Led Zeppelins IV. I think that album gets a lot more credit than it deserves (just because of stairway, though I'm not a huge Zep head as it is). I am really enjoying these threaRAB you guys know a lot.
 
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