I'm pretty late to this party--as usual. A Chicago radio station is starry-eyed over Greta Van Fleet. I gave them a listen today. All I could think was...
Is this a Zeppelin parody band?
There are so many features to their sound, playing, and sonics that sound just like LZ--so much so that I cannot get into the music passionately. These are (IMHO): Vocals (phrasing mimics Robert Plant without stopping); Lyrics (the themes seem, based on limited listening, to track LZ); Lead Guitar (I cannot think of another guitarist who sounds like he's trying to sound like Page as much as this one).
Does Greta Van Fleet sound like a facsimile to you? I'm not hung up on punishing artists who copy, as I think it's part and parcel of the art form. But I'm having real trouble getting past the photocopy nature of this. Again, this is just one person's opinion. So curious to hear what others think and feel about this group. I'd like to give them more of a chance and maybe others can help. For now, I can't keep listening.
IMO, R&R NEEDED the 60's American/British bands to "lift" from the Blues legends.
That's how it developed. Page,Hendrix,Clapton,Beck... took the riffs and expanded them to what R&R is(was)
If that didn't happen, the amazing sound, guitar riffs,groove... wouldn't be there to shape EVERYTHING that IS R&R.
Here is what's troubling. After the 80's cheese factor of music, originality of R&R possibly has PEAKED?
GVF aren't taking Zep's vibe to a new level as the R&R founders did to the blues. I think I even heard the lead singer do some audience interplay with a goofy English accent along with the Robert stance! Fail.
I'm trying to get past the cover band vibe and trying to hear something different.
GVF is embarrassing. I'm a hack living room guitarist, the musicianship is cover band level at best. Same guitar licks,moves we have all heard/seen at the neighborhood bar.
When Zep came along they were perhaps trying to be as great as the Jeff Beck Group who had recently set the bar for live four piece Brit rock and roll bands (other than the Beatles of course), but Beck's band fell apart when they couldn't figure out how to write material (according to Beck) so Zep got that ball and ran with it. Van Fleet are very capable young dudes who somehow found an itch that needed scratching and with that singer can't help sounding Zeppy. They look great, are humble nice guys, and have been hugely successful even before their full size album was released, so hey...they're having fun. Sort of unstoppable at this point.
Deep Purple sort of borrowed many tunes from previous artists to create their famous pieces, however the members of that band admit to it, so obviously they feel safe from any looming court proceedings....
Three-easy-payments. Great point and I agree. Been a fan of LZ for many years, but I know they were heavily influenced by many blues and rock artists to the point of stealing songs, melodies, riffs. The song does remain the same, but other artists steal it!!
It is clear that Zep ripped off Willie Dixon (who also may have ripped off other writers in his stable) and others. That ripoff was direct--- in some cases word for word note for note. But I was and remain a fan. GVF is clearly copying the Zep sound in all respects including the sound of instrumentation and Plant’s vocal tone, inflections and style. That said, I don’t hate them. They clearly intend to pay tribute to Zep in their presentation. I find them to be a nice diversion, nothing more.
Copping style is one thing, plagiarizing material quite another. The title and premise of this thread are amusing in that Page & Plant were successfully sued by Willie Dixon for just that. Shameless, knowingly stealing, and then lying about it. Burn their albums.
I'm having trouble feeling sorry for Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin after listening to "Taurus" written by Randy California and Spirit. It kind of ruined me for listening to "Stairway to Heaven". I agree that many rock songs were reworked (copied) from blues songs, which served to introduce many of us to the works of earlier blues musicians, but that beginning guitar in "StH" was over the top.
This thread piqued my interest on this band Greta Van Fleet so looked them up on youtube. Wow what a lovely refreshing Rock Band from youngsters! I don't care if they sound like LZ, in a way that is the sound which helps them and the music scene is artisticly richer for their existence. They make the Foo Fighters sound like utter moronic dross drowning in some sort of lethargic quogmire.
I listened to Memphis Minnie and Bukka White on my ride home. Zeppelin did not copy anything but their lyrics and general chord progressions. The arrangements, production, vocals, and so on were theirs. That’s my problem with Greta Van—they are trying to sound just like every element of LZ. It’s sounds contrived.
I just about fell out of my chair laughing when I read this line from the Pitchfork review:
"Brothers Jake and Sam Kiszka, on guitar and bass, are both wearing
hippie costumes they 3D-printed off the internet. The singer, the
wretched and caterwauling third brother, Josh, is in dangly feather
earrings and vinyl pants, like he was dressed by a problematic Santa Fe
palm-reader with a gift certificate to Chico’s."
this gvf does have undeniable skill, but the whole exercise reminds me of the "steel dragon" tribute band from the mark wahlberg movie. zep are notoriously the biggest song thieves in the business, so they should be flattered rather than outraged. i do agree that the "stairway to heaven" lawsuit by the guy from spirit was misplaced.
I'm torn on this one. As a drummer and over the top lover of all things Zeppelin, I kinda hate that these kids are the most exposed Zep cover band on the planet. I applaud that finally, there is a group of young musicians who actually play their instruments and sing their songs. I lament that the supply of good original rock music ceased to be written somewhere in the 80's. If GVF is what it takes to keep the flames burning, then good for us. Let's hope that they find their own sound on the next record while leveraging the influences of the greatest rock band ever.
Led Zep influences are everywhere. Jack White. Wolfmother. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rush. Just to name a few others.
I think it is wonderful that a new generation of musicians pay homage to these great musicians. After all it is great blues music played with a funky style.
Anyone recognize these guys who cut their teeth playing LZ style
Read an article on Robert Plant, and he mentions GVF, as a current band he likes.
I listened, and they didn't hold my attention. Perhaps if I were 16, and never heard Zeppelin or ANY "classic" hard rock , I would have a different reaction?
Definitely for 20 somethings. Must be exciting to those who dissent listen their parents R&R. They're just doing all the R&R moves from every band from the 70's. Just don't hear any original/fresh vibe with these guys.
A different thing from the 60/70's bands interpretation of what the Blues guys did in the 50/60's. To each his own.
Imagine what new R&R will be like in another 20 years? Kinda sad.
I would agree that van fleet appear to be trying to sound more like Zep that Zep themselves did, phasing, timings, warts and all. However that does not prevent me from enjoying it. Funny I met their drummer at a drum clinic a while back, at that time I had never even heard their music though.
They come and go, remember Kingdom Come? They were accused of exact same thing at the time but they stuck it out and changed pace a little.
While Zeppelin stole and borrowed, they didn’t copy. I don’t think Plant or Page tried to sound just like Bukka White, Wllie Dixon or the countless others they stole from.
I’m making a nuanced but important point. Listen to the production. Listen to the drum fills. Do you hear the organ come in and fade out nearly exactly how LZ did it in the near exact same times of the songs? Listen to the placement of the guitar in the mix. I don’t think they are just capturing the “sound”.
Sure no no one patents this stuff. My point is it’s a near clone.
Mellencamp once said he thinks everything is there to be stolen. I firmly agree. My question when hearing this group is why do you want to clone ideas?
Many many rock songs are reworked blues classics.It's nothing new.I also common for musicians to sneak in riffs and sections from other songs to amuse themselves and other musicians.Musician geeky fun:)
Listen to Leaf Hound, Growers of Mushroom and see if that is even closer in sound as an antecedent-- there were a few bands tapping into this sound back in the day.
I grew up loving Zep myself but isn't anyone else amused at the irony of this post considering how heavily LZ "borrowed" from others, especially on their earlier albums????
They've played in clubs around here(4 or 5 yrs ) and used to do a LZ set.They were pretty upfront about being heavily influenced by them at the time.I think they're very talented but unimaginative.There's only one LZ.I think of them as a way overdramatic tribute band.
I too am a LZ fan, with that said they are guilty of stealing a few riffs themselves from, I don’t know maybe Howling Wolf, Spirit and others before them. Just sayin.
Led Zeppelin were influenced by other artists, and they influenced many other artists, some who were probably more blatant in their attempts to try to sound "Zeppelinish". Whitesnake and Kingdom Come are a couple that come to mind.
Early Heart was heavily influenced by Zeppelin and I love their music from their early albums. They covered some Zep songs in concert, worked with John Paul Jones later in their career and clearly embraced their influence.
I don't mind the similar sound that they've cultivated, and I actually like that there are younger people trying to make new music that sounds like the classic rock I grew up with. I think it's unfortunate that the band seems to have tried to distance themselves from Led Zeppelin. They would have done themselves a favor by acknowledging their influence on their music.
At the end of the day, it's whether the music grabs you or not. My girlfriend's son is really into them and gave me one of their EPs for Christmas, which I played last night. There was one song I really liked, but overall, it's not something I'll go out of my way to listen to again and again.
Agreed teo_audio! To be clear, I love Zeppelin. I respect how good of musicians these guys are, but the LZ body of work stands on its own. I don't need more bands like LZ.
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