From the guitar solo in the middle, to the drums, the build up, the song is exquisite. And I’m not even that big of a hard rock fan. But I do appreciate talent.
Any band that has the greatest drummer in the world and perhaps the greatest guitarist in the world, in the same band....yeah....destined for greatness.
Rock and Roll is still my favorite all time Led Zepp song though. Pure Rock N Roll....that song.
“Any band that has -snip-perhaps the greatest guitarist in the world, “
Hardly!
I never liked the band, but I was a Zappa fan. I hated the vocals! Like chalk screeching on a blackboard! Page wrote great hooks, in the studio, but live? Incredibly sloppy. You wanna hear a great guitarist?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPBqk-0gWfQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUpP7CnW4yA
Don't forget John Paul Jones, who was responsible for perhaps some of the most instantly recognizable bass lines in rock and roll history.
From Wikipedia: "Many music publications and magazines have ranked Jones among the best rock bassists of all time. He was named the best bassist on Creem Magazine's 1977 Reader Poll. In 2000, Guitar magazine ranked him third in the "Bassist of the Millennium" readers' poll."
I saw Zep live in concert several decades ago. We had unbelivably great seats, close to front and center. Unfortunately, I can't remember a thing about it. :-q
Same here. “Rock and Roll” is superior to “Stairway” in my mind, but they’re both great songs.
I remember hearing “When the Levee Breaks” for the first time on the radio when I was in college—it stopped me in my tracks, and I sat there listening with rapt attention until it was done. Not many songs can make me do that.