TS: Jeff Beck Group - Truth vs Led Zeppelin - s/t

I listened to these two '68 releases back-to-back this week and was a bit surprised by how much stronger Truth sounded. (It's very possible I'm just a little burnt out since I've heard the LZ so much more.) The blues covers especially worked better, with the JBG's sense of swing and economy and Stewart's vocals. Beck was a tighter and more tasteful player than Page at this point. (Page really came into his own a few albums in imo.) And I'd forgotten how much guitar noise Beck pulled out on this. Wood's bass lines were fantastic too. "Good Times Bad Times" is amazing though. Micky Waller was solid and right for the bnad but he never really matched what Bonham did on percussion.

"Micky Waller was solid and right for the bnad but he never really matched what Bonham did on percussion."

ya think?

truth is great. zep is greaterer though. cuz they wuz zep. unfair fight.

ya think?

Ha, maybe that's obvious. It was one thing that stood out though. I guess I was just surprised to feel like, otherwise, the members of the JBG seemed to equal or even surpass their counterparts (LOOKING STRICTLY AT THOSE TWO ALBUMS). Again, I'm probably not being fair since I've been listening to the LZ album since I was 11 or so and JBG feels a little bit 'fresher'. (I've only known it for 8 years or so and haven't played it that heavily.)

it's a great album. it really is. beck-ola is awesome too. but there are like 4 or 5 songs on led zep that kinda destroy most other living things. its not jeff's fault.

truth actually came out in '68. led zep in '69.

Holy shit, you're right! So sloppy of me.

LZ went on to bigger & better but yeah their debut slighly pales next to Truth. i would argue than LZ might not exist if it hadn't been for that first edition Jeff Beck group, at least not in the way we've come to know & revere.

Truth was a milestone in heavyosity until LZ II went even further

Despite its flaws, Truth doesn't have Robert Plant. So it kind of wins by default.

I was going to say something snarky about how Beck wasn't the thief Page was, but then I remembered the credited-to-Beck "I Ain't Superstitious" ("We asked Howlin' Wolf and he said it was ok" -- right, of course).

Listening to Truth right now and it's fair to say that I'd easily take it over the first Led Zeppelin album, but almost everything Zeppelin did from II onwards is far superior IMO. Still, one of the best albums Rod Stewart has ever been involved with... probably my favourite Stewart-related record alongside Every Picture Tells a Story.

Truth is a good record, but I don't think other than it is less played out makes it cut on LZ I.

That group could have been huge, but with Beck it's the same thing that kept him from being a superstar (which in the end might not have been a bad thing) and considering his vast abilities at guitar is that he didn't write all that much music.

Now what a group where Rod never went solo and his songwriting output went into a group with say The faces and Beck...who knows what they could have done or even if Beck hadn't gotten ill and the original group missed Woodstock. Alternate but interesting histories lie there.

Beck-Ola fucking smokes. 'Rice Pudding'! What a band.

I like Truth a lot but those J. Rod compositions aren't great