Led Zeppelin: Classic Or Dud?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8rpDjoulMY
that 24 minute no quarter i mentioned earlier

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The later part of the mid-career seems like a bitch, but it seems like there's now an established path once you're ready to settle into the legendary old guy role. Johnny Cash's American records and Dylan from "Time Out Of Mind" on seem like the templates. Plant's dignified, covers-heavy solo records seem like a move that way too. Neil's gone full old man on the latest, everybody's digging it. I kind of admire the Stones for resisting the a sitting-down-in-wooden-chairs faux back porch record, even though it might be more listenable than their efforts to stay rockin'.

I've sometimes wished that Jagger would do a solo old-man sitting-down-in-wooden-chairs blues record, preferably playing a lot of harmonica ... but that's not going to happen

oh man I wish that too! maybe we could petition him, I could get signatures

he'd say yes then try to get skrillex in the band

or lenny kravitz

it seems like there's now an established path once you're ready to settle into the legendary old guy role

this is true but it applies to a very very very narrow subset of musicians, ie people who were massively successful in their youth, like, record-breaking giants in their genres. that's not a lot of people.

i dunno, all the old punks in my town are doing blues or alt-country now, even if it's at open mic night at the local

no time for Neil eh

― Οὖτις, Thursday, May 29, 2014 11:46 AM (29 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Neil has plenty of embarrassing albums.

i dunno, all the old punks in my town are doing blues or alt-country now, even if it's at open mic night at the local

well ok but you see how one subset is still making a bunch of money/records/touring and this other subset you're referring to is... not

the idea that a musician can keep making creative music through old age is pretty anathema to how the industry operates. it makes a few exceptions, but they are rare. otherwise you are pretty much expected to stop making music past a certain point, because kids don't care.

Jazz and classical are different obv.

definitely

good point re: socially conscious currents in music vs. escapist/fantasy/horror. I think once everyone started doing acid one quickly led to the other.

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I see what your saying - but I think the ageing baby boom is changing the old person in "pop" music narrative

The best possible thing I could conceive of for Page to do at this age would be a whole album of witchy UK instrumental folk in the vein of Bert Jansch, Incredible String Band etc.... He's never really explored that side of Zeppelin...

but with paul rodgers singing

Agree that it'd be a great use of Page's talents, but is Jimmy Page the type of guy to take on projects because they'd be interesting to him and artistically rewarding, but ultimately be "minor"? Legitimately asking; I know way less about Zep than most people here.

Yeah he won't do it... Esp as an instrumental record

still a good idea

would prefer a reunion of screamin lord sutch's heavy friends with plant singing

Not that he was ever Richard Thompson but who knows if he has even kept up his chops?
2xpost

Plant is the only boomer with an unembarrassing and often surprising solo career.

He's very cool and principled these days. But that wasn't always the case…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95JLrrgQpjo

Jimmy Page raps on that track. Add that to his list of accomplishments.

listening to lucifer rising again

goddamn this gives me the willies

I need to admit something: I have never heard it. Clearly, this must be remedied.

Man, I totally forgot both Toni Halliday and Kirsty MacColl sing on "Now and Zen."

one of the unreleased instrumentals "La La" to be included on the LZ II expanded edition

this is pretty awesome!!
http://www.nme.com/news/led-zeppelin/77597

love it, very Who-like....now I'm gonna have to buy these records again--argh

It's so...cheery!

pretty groovy - yeah, dead ringer for the who in a few parts (and then not so much as the song goes on). this has never been bootlegged?

whoah! awesome

\m/

You know, I have some 11-disc set of outtakes. It'll be amazing if this stuff goes beyond that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caOYoljx1ZY

great song! it's like a Led Zep demo reel of all the cool shit they can do.

the bass drum fill at 3:13 on that new outtake

I didn't get a Who vibe initially, but wow, it's a total dead ringer for "Overture."

(in sound, arrangement, and structure, not in melody or chord changes)

the bass drum fill at 3:13 on that new outtake

Love that. Fucking genius.

I guess I'm the only one who thinks the instrumental is terrible. Led Zeppelin's best stuff is timeless, because they created an entirely new sound. This thing, on the other hand, screams "1969." That fucking organ, are you kidding me? If this is what's gonna be on the deluxe reissues, I'm gonna stick with my 1994 box.

the first theme is very rotten then it gets into classic territory!

I like the cheesy triumphant vintage wheaties commercial theme at the beginning!

I didn't get a Who vibe initially, but wow, it's a total dead ringer for "Overture."

Someone should sue!

I can't imagine anything in the world that would enrage Jimmy Page more than being forced to add "inspired by Pete Townshend" to a writing credit.

lol

Maybe they just thought "Overture" was a traditional tune and added their stamp?

Yeah I mean "overture" wasn't that originally a Mozart joint? That shit was over 200 yrs ago so surely public domain by now, I mean really

Nice to open this thread and see some music posted instead of whining about influence

tbf Led Zeppelin has not been the most productive dormant for 35 years act.