[tonyp]

"In the Evening" was great and " Fool in the Rain" is good. Some of Plant's better solo stuff had a similar ethereal quality.

fool in the rain is my fave zep tune, so much fun to play on the drums too

[S. cerevisiae]

fool in the rain is my fave zep tune, so much fun to play on the drums too

My favorite Zeppelin tune to play is "Good Time Bad Times."   

[majorvices]

"In the Evening" was great and " Fool in the Rain" is good. Some of Plant's better solo stuff had a similar ethereal quality.

fool in the rain is my fave zep tune, so much fun to play on the drums too

Not to me. I like their later stuff but all their best works came from Zep II to Physical Gravity.

[HoosierBrew]

I like that span of albums a lot too, but 'Dazed and Confused' is a mighty strong tune from the first. I actually like the first album a lot, but it was amazing how much they expanded from it.

[majorvices]

Oh yeah, in fact I like Zep I better than Zep III. Take Zep II out and put in Zep I and it clears everything up.

Don't get me wrong I like Zep III just they took a different direction on that one.

[S. cerevisiae]

Led Zeppelin I is my favorite Zeppelin album followed by Led Zeppelin II and Houses of the Holy.

[pete b]

Led Zeppelin I is my favorite Zeppelin album followed by Led Zeppelin II and Houses of the Holy.

Although Led Zep I isn't necessarily my favorite it might be their most impressive feat. It was made quickly with little money by 4 musicians who hardly knew each other. Fortunately Page and Jones were seasoned veterans and were able to use Plant and Bonhams huge voice and huge drums to great effect. Led Zep II was more of the same. The first 2 albums were very derivative of others music to put it kindly. They didn't hit their stride as songwriters until III. I think its fair to say that objectively Houses and Graffiti were their creative peak, even if subjectively plenty prefer the rawness of I&II.

[klickitat jim]

When you play Zep 1 next to, say the top ten albums of that year, it's obvious they were ahead of their time. While they may have drawn from a few forerunners, they were also forerunners to many many after them.

[pete b]

When you play Zep 1 next to, say the top ten albums of that year, it's obvious they were ahead of their time. While they may have drawn from a few forerunners, they were also forerunners to many many after them.

Absolutely. They were probably the first to do it that hard. Thinking back to that time (late 1968 I think) I would put what Cream and Hendrix were doing in similar groundbreaking territory. Maybe Sabbath put out their first album that year or next.

[S. cerevisiae]

Absolutely. They were probably the first to do it that hard. Thinking back to that time (late 1968 I think) I would put what Cream and Hendrix were doing in similar groundbreaking territory. Maybe Sabbath put out their first album that year or next.

Clapton broke new ground with John Mayall. He pretty much created the Les Paul coupled to a cranked non-master Marshall format that dominated rock music in the late sixties through the seventies.  However, I am fairly certain that having Hendrix rapidly eclipse his work is part of what drove him deeper into addiction.

With respect to derived works, most of the English musicians from that period were performing a British interpretation of the blues.  Just because the "Lemon Song" is derived from Howling Wolf's "The Killing Floor" (which can be heard at the end of the song) does not make it any less creative.

Howlin Wolf's original recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGIE28q3fEA

Hendrix's cover at Monterey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15wnbCjWtkg


Led Zeppelin's "Lemon Song"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyhu2ysqKGk

One of Led Zeppelin's most covered tunes, "When The Levee Breaks," was originally recorded by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929.  However, few people know that it is a cover because Led Zeppelin rearranged the tune and made it much heavier and darker.

Original Recording of "When the Levee Breaks"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVb-An-R4-Q

Led Zeppelin's version from ZoSo
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NaQZojWi6U

[pete b]

Absolutely. They were probably the first to do it that hard. Thinking back to that time (late 1968 I think) I would put what Cream and Hendrix were doing in similar groundbreaking territory. Maybe Sabbath put out their first album that year or next.

Clapton broke new ground with John Mayall. He pretty much created the Les Paul coupled to a cranked non-master Marshall format that dominated rock music in the late sixties through the seventies.  However, I am fairly certain that having Hendrix rapidly eclipse his work is part of what drove him deeper into addiction.

With respect to derived works, most of the English musicians from that period were performing a British interpretation of the blues.  Just because the "Lemon Song" is derived from Howling Wolf's "The Killing Floor" (which can be heard at the end of the song) does not make it any less creative.

Howlin Wolf's original recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGIE28q3fEA

Hendrix's cover at Monterey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15wnbCjWtkg


Led Zeppelin's "Lemon Song"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyhu2ysqKGk

One of Led Zeppelin's most covered tunes, "When The Levee Breaks," was originally recorded by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929.  However, few people know that it is a cover because Led Zeppelin rearranged the tune and made it much heavier and darker.

Original Recording of "When the Levee Breaks"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVb-An-R4-Q

Led Zeppelin's version from ZoSo
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NaQZojWi6U

I totally agree that Led Zep did creative interpretations of those blues tunes and they certainly were delivered in an original way. They don't sound much alike. I'm just saying they used these works to get two fast albums out but really blossomed when they started writing their own material.

[majorvices]

Absolutely. They were probably the first to do it that hard. Thinking back to that time (late 1968 I think) I would put what Cream and Hendrix were doing in similar groundbreaking territory. Maybe Sabbath put out their first album that year or next.

Clapton broke new ground with John Mayall. He pretty much created the Les Paul coupled to a cranked non-master Marshall format that dominated rock music in the late sixties through the seventies.  However, I am fairly certain that having Hendrix rapidly eclipse his work is part of what drove him deeper into addiction.

With respect to derived works, most of the English musicians from that period were performing a British interpretation of the blues.  Just because the "Lemon Song" is derived from Howling Wolf's "The Killing Floor" (which can be heard at the end of the song) does not make it any less creative.

Howlin Wolf's original recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGIE28q3fEA

Hendrix's cover at Monterey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15wnbCjWtkg


Led Zeppelin's "Lemon Song"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyhu2ysqKGk

One of Led Zeppelin's most covered tunes, "When The Levee Breaks," was originally recorded by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929.  However, few people know that it is a cover because Led Zeppelin rearranged the tune and made it much heavier and darker.

Original Recording of "When the Levee Breaks"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVb-An-R4-Q

Led Zeppelin's version from ZoSo
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NaQZojWi6U

Oh yeah, my music snob friend tries to insinuate Led Zeppelin are just a bunch of hacks. He made me a disk "Songs Led Zeppelin stole" as if I wasn't familiar with the old blues arrangements. But it was the sound they got out of those old blues arrangements that was phenomenal - no one sounded like that ever before. Doesn't matter for a damn that they were covers.

[HoosierBrew]

Zeppelin may as well have written "When the Levee Breaks" from scratch. That isn't a simple blues cover. It's a complete reworking, and a masterful one. It's a Zeppelin song.

[pete b]

Totally agree that what they did with those old blues songs was completely original and created a new genre. Musicians and other artists don't work in a vacuum, they are inspired and influenced by something. If you look at the history of music, art, architecture; anything creative, you see this. Zeppelin couldn't have done an original composition like "Since I've Been Loving You" without playing with and reworking the older blues standards first. Its all legit and in fact welcome AFAIC. (although I do think its good to give credit to those who influenced you. Not really their fault as that wasn't the industry practice at the time, everything was up for grabs pretty much)

[majorvices]

Totally agree that what they did with those old blues songs was completely original and created a new genre. Musicians and other artists don't work in a vacuum, they are inspired and influenced by something. If you look at the history of music, art, architecture; anything creative, you see this. Zeppelin couldn't have done an original composition like "Since I've Been Loving You" without playing with and reworking the older blues standards first. Its all legit and in fact welcome AFAIC. (although I do think its good to give credit to those who influenced you. Not really their fault as that wasn't the industry practice at the time, everything was up for grabs pretty much)

There is a saying in the graphics world " good artists innovate, great artist steal."