The Steel Guitar Forum

Livin' Lovin' Maid was what hooked me.
I zeroed in on the drumming.
John Bonham was quite unique.

"The Ocean"

wink, nudge, say no more...
Bonham Rules!

If Beck would have been able to put it and keep it all together he would have had the prolific career Page and Co. had, maybe more. He's a guitar god as much as Page will ever be without having put out much in decades that is worth a second listen.

As good as Zep were, they usually sucked on stage.
The Song Remains The Same was them on a good night, but far from what they could do when really on.

Having seen them over 2 dozen times in Cali and only 4 shows being truly memorable about sez it all.
But those four...

I have really enjoyed Beck's output in the last couple of decades! He's always on the cutting edge, and his sound can be extremely dangerous, or extremely beautiful. He does stuff with a guitar that noone else can approach. Saw him in concert a few years ago, and he was truely amazing!

I went to a Vanilla Fudge and Spirit concert in Denver once....opening act was....Led Zep. Yikes...I'm gettin' old.

I don't support the movement for reparations to African-Americans for slavery but I will support reparations to anyone who loved the Motown original and was subjected to Fudge's "You Keep Me Hanging On". It's only right. And Ah....Fresh Garbage from Spirit. Don't really know their body of work beond that.

Jon, ya got me laughin'! Fudge was BOMBASTIC weren't they? Spirit was good, Blue Cheer was bad, but loud! I had a friend who worked at Radio Doctor's in Milwaukee. He gave me "Are You Experienced?" way before it hit the US market. Took me two days to get to side two. I just kept puttin' the needle back to the beginning! Couldn't believe what I was hearing.

I don't know about that Ron. I'm a big Beck and Page fan. Beck is a guitar master, but I don't believe he would have ever had the success of Page, who I wouldn't consider nearly the guitar master that Beck was. Page's edge as a guitarist was that he understood songwriting and composition and the importance of band synergy. Huge and famous hit songs and albums made Page so successful. Beck's career reminds me of those of great jazz musicians. A players' player. Thru the vehicle of Zep's sound and songs, Page seems to have left a much larger mark on the world.

Speaking of Page and Beck, anyone pulled out their old Roy Buchannan records lately?

Brad

Stairway to Heaven was one of those tunes that, since Everyone inthe Neighborhod was learning it, I refused to.
That being said, I really liked the first album also, myself, I like parts of LZ4 (sandy Denny was drinking buddies with them, & I happen to dig everything she ever did)- and I like Kashmir, (a lot! funky little riff that just sticks in your head and even Plant's pseudo-orgasm vocal doesn't really hurt it).
I agree, I think Beck got there first, though. And Page inspired so many wanker-noodlers himself, it is arguable over who was more responsible for that trend.
I recently picked up a new copy of Beck-Ola, after, not hearing it for something like 30 years, and like a lot of that. Sounds like LZ ripped off "Rice Pudding" for at least one maybe two of their tunes, too. I'd have liked to hear more of Nicky Hopkins with him, too- that record is just a little tease.

I think one big difference between Beck and Page is that (incredibly) Page never saw Jimi Hendrix where as Beck witnessed way more than he really wanted to and stopped playing for a year figuring "what's the point".
He also seemed dazzled by SRV during their great tour together and usually got left in the dust by a very up Stevie during the jams.

Plus, Page was much more focused and goal oriented when it came to the guitar and rock than Beck who was just as happy bustin his knuckles on an engine to the point where he sez he has to relearn to play every time he gets the urge for a guitar project.

60/70s era Beck was serious stuff but his strat style tends to irritate me more than inspire these days, but of course he can still kill.

I liked Zep, but I think I would have liked them more if Page had gotten his first choice of singers in the band. I'm a MUCH bigger fan of Steve Marriott's singing than I'll ever be of Robert Plant. And before someone decides to jump off the deep end and bash me, that's just my own personal opinion.

Since the average age of this forum is around 50, I think Zepplin had a big influence on a great many of us here. "Houses of the Holy" is my fave album by them. I always loved Page's slide playing, electric and acoustic. Robert, you the man!

Don't miss John Paul Jones' rocking console steel instrumental version of "When The Level Breaks" here.

Steinar

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