Led Zeppelin - "Get Off My Lawn Punks"

Somewhat less polarizing now, but no band has been more loved by fans and yet hated so badly by critics more than Led Zeppelin.

Originally intended (by Page and the record company) to scrape whatever meat was left on the bones of the Yardbirds' name, they quickly figured out they had a chemistry and musical vibe that was very, very different. The magic was obvious on the first record and the rest, as they say, is history.

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But all 4 elements from bass to beat to vocal and guitar , and occasional keyboards, is magical.

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Even detractors (mostly accusations of stealing other work, accusations that are not without merit in cases I might add) cannot deny that the band was insanely talented for a rock band. They were originally supposed to be built around the talent of Page, but the legitimate virtuosos of the band were Jones and Bonham. I think Page is great, but not quite at the level of the other 2. Plant's voice is polarizing, but he was right for Zeppelin, both the lyrics and the voice.

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Kashmir is one of the best songs ever written, in any musical capacity. It was the first Zep tune that hooked me way back when. I remembered hearing that riff for the first time when I was 10 or 11 and thinking "what... the... fvck... was that?!"...

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Are you me? My exact sentiments. Just remember spinning that song over and over as a kid in the 70's, mesmerized. Zep isn't my all time favorite band, but Physical Graffiti is probably the greatest rock album ever.

I am 35, slightly younger than you. I was 10 in 92, and that's about when I started really liking and listening to good music on my own. My friend's older siblings passed down records, tapes and cds to all of us mutts. I got into Metallica and Alice in Chains type bands first, then found my way to Zeppelin. Physical Graffiti was one of the first cds I bought. What a goldmine of rock that purchase turned out to be. I remember getting home from school before my parents got there and putting it in the big arse cd player in the living room with the big arse speakers and big arse volume knob...turnin' that shite to 11 and blastin' away.

I'm living proof that rock music corrupts young ears!

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I was 10 in 92,

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I was 19. The Zepplin Boxed Set (4 disc) was standard issue for all of us. Before that all I knew was Stairway.

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HOUSES OF THE HOLY

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Got this album for my 15th birthday.

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PHYSICAL GRAFFITI

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Had the 8-track.

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PRESENCE

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I bought the cassette at Selfridges in London in 1977, and rocked St. John's Wood with my trusty Realistic AM/FM/Cassette player.

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In through the Out Door

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Went after class when I was a frosh at LSU to the Record Rink in Village Square Shopping Center to buy this album the day it was released. Not one of Zep's better efforts.

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I never forget the arena literally shaking when Bonham hit the bottom drums during Kashmir when they played in the PMAC in 77.

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I was there, too!

Huge Zep fan but I switch stations on the radio when Kashmir comes on. It's just too plodding for my tastes. I can't put it in the ssme class as their other rock classics. Am I alone here?

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the legitimate virtuosos of the band were Jones and Bonham.

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the bass licks that Jones plays are ridiculous for the era

Paige's guitar work is what made me want to play guitar. It's what made me listen to older classic rock. I remember being in like 6th grade. I was listening to all the bad pop music on the radio (Nelly, Britney Spears, Blink 182, NSYNC, etc). When the station went to commercial, my mom started scanning and landed on "Black Dog". I was hooked. The next song was by Jimmy Hendrix (I can't remember if it was "All Along the Watchtower", "Purple Haze", or "Fire"). I asked what it was, and she said "oh this is just old stuff from the 60's and 70's, what your dad used to listen to". The next time I was with my dad at a baseball game, "Iron Man" came over the speakers between innings. He was like "yeah this is Ozzy, I used to listen to this stuff way back when".

I went and looked up Zeppelin and played the first album, starting with "Communication Breakdown" from start to finish, and I was completely sold. I didn't know old people could sound like that. All I'd heard growing up was shitty 90's pop music, worse 80's pop music (my oldest brother is still obsessed with 80's music), 90's country (school bus), swamp pop (every local festival and benefit), and early Beatles and 60's-70's singer songwriters (my mom).

I couldn't believe it. I had heard from TV that Ozzy was metal and demon music, that it corrupted the young. This sh$t was awesome and was nothing like I expected. I dived into classic rock from Alice Cooper and AC/DC to ZZ Top. I immediately quit listening to crappy pop music and went full into alternative rock and classic hard rock. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Guns n Roses, Metallica, Sound Garden, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Yellowcard, Alter Bridge, Foo Fighters, etc.

Black Dog inspired me, and still does. If I could sound like any guitar player, it would be Paige. I have practiced for years to be able to mimic his sound in songs like "Ten Years Gone", "Good Times Bad Times", "When the Levee Breaks", etc. Zeppelin's catelog is just so deep and of such consistently high quality. It's why they are, and always will be, my favorite band and the biggest musical influence on my life (after them is probably, in no particular order, Yellowcard, Foo Fighters, Hendrix, Streetlight Manifesto, Wilco, Van Morrison, and Metallica).