Anybody else here feel that Led Zep are vastly overrated?

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Does anybody else here feel that Led Zeppelin are vastly overrated rock band?

I was a huge Led Zeppelin fan long before I discovered other great bands. Now that I've discovered bands that I feel are vastly superior to Led Zeppelin, they just don't seem to do anything for me (Led Zeppelin). Led Zeppelin are not a terrible band or anything, it's just that I find that they are only a GOOD band and they don't deserve all the fame or critical acclaim that they had. In my opinion bands like Joy Division, King Crimson, Yes, The Smiths, Roxy Music and the Talking Heads (Bands who only got a fraction of the spotlight that Led Zeppelin received) deserved a lot more attention.

Who else feels this way about Led Zeppelin?

I like their first album the most.

Didn't they start heavy metal?

One band I think is overated is metalica. I really some of there songs but a lot is boring.

Led Zep is basically Teenager Music. So it's no wonder, you became more interested in other music.

By the way, from the music you listed, you may like this:
The United States Of America (too bad, they made only one album)
It's A Beautiful Day
Love
Jefferson Airplane (After Bathing at Baxters; Surrealistic Pillow)

Neg.

They are the epitome of awesome. But Pink Floyd still = my fav band.

No way! Led Zeppelin are amazing

i hate the whole "they invented hard rock" thing


there are alot of bands that have ridiculously huge followings

im not saying these bands aren't good, but while more people in the west know the lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit than understand the concept of diverging opinions, i think we have some problems

I thought Black Sabbath started heavy metal.

I used to work in a sheet metal shop that sounded exactly like Led Zeppelin.

I agree with them being teenager music. You always see these 14-15 year old kids wearing their T-shirts and telling you about how they can play 'Stairway to Heaven' (AKA one of the most overrated rock songs) on guitar. It makes me cringe. Even Jimmy Page despises 'Stairway to Heaven' and wishes that he never wrote it.

Robert Plant's voice sucks, their lyrics are stupid, many of their songs are about the lord of the rings (which is cheesy and unoriginal in my opinion), they come off as being pretentious, they take themselves way too seriously... Should I go on?

I still think they are a good band. But a very flawed, overrated band.

Last edited by patrick6 on 04 Jun 2008, 9:51 am, edited 3 times in total.

Not at all, Led Zeppelin are still a great band to listen too, I grew up listening to them and Pink Floyd, Nazareth, those bands made the 70's more tolerable since I couldn't stand disco, which is funny since I have grown to like some disco now

Yes.

And I'd argue that the Beatles started Heavy Metal with 'Helter Skelter' a year before Zep released their first record.

I like his stuff but I don't know. I do in some ways think he's overrated but I do like his stuff. I've got 4 albums of his.

and don't forget Lindsey Buckingham! Check out Buckingham Nicks or Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance" for "So Afraid".

and I wasn't even a teenager when Led Zepplin started making their music, so I suppose if you grew up on Led Zep you would have to branch out. And then probably if you haven't expierienced Led Zep on a couple o' hits of Acid you might not appreciate the depths of their music, either.

Merle

The word "heavy" (meaning serious or profound) had entered beatnik/counterculture slang some time earlier, and references to "heavy music" typically slower, more amplified variations of standard pop fare were already common; indeed, Iron Butterfly first started playing Los Angeles in 1967, their name explained on an album cover, "Iron- symbolic of something heavy as in sound, Butterfly- light, appealing and versatile...an object that can be used freely in the imagination" Iron Butterfly's 1968 debut album was entitled Heavy. The fact that Led Zeppelin (whose moniker came partly in reference to Keith Moon's jest that they would "go down like a lead balloon") incorporated a heavy metal into its name may have sealed the usage of the term.

Why is it called "Heavy Metal Music?"

You have every right to your opinon, but remember, so does everyone else. And while you think led zepplin is overrated, MANY believe the bands you listed are overrated. And as for stair way to heaven, the guitar riff is a classic, the words are very metaphorical, and its just a very good piece of work altogether.

You've fallen out of your love for them, thats fine, perfectly normal. Its like being in love with a person, you just lose connection with it. Hopefully you realize Im not trying to bash you but to let you know that your opinion should stay that way. Theres no need to say a bands lyrics are stupid or this or that. Keep that to yourself because those who like the band will put you on the outside. You're mearly asking to be ostracized because you dont like a band anymore.

Its ok to not like a band anymore, its not ok to degrade them in any way tho. Obviously the song was good enough to make the record, it was good enough to be a single, and it has been ENJOYED for 3 decades now. It has to be a classic at that point because of the sheer number of listeners.

I dont have a personal affinity towards some bands myself, but I certainly wouldnt start a topic about it. If you want to debate about a bands legitamcy, then ask the question, what do you think of led zepplin. You can then in your post say honestly, I used to be a fan but they've fallen from my grace. I've moved on to other bands I feel deserve more recognition.

Overrated is a hard thing to say about anything that's popular. I think paris hiltons looks are "overrated" but at least 75% of guys would disagree with me it seems, so my opinion is nullenvoid at that point. Majority rules in this world society, not the minority.

Led Zeppelin was one of my first favorite bands, part of how I fell in love with rock and roll. When I grew up a little, I stopped telling people I liked them because I thought it was considered bad taste (and it was, among my crowd!). I quickly got over that, though. Now I'm totally honest about the music I like, no matter what anyone else has to say about it.

Led Zeppelin songs are great for improving your ability to play guitar. I've gotten much better by playing Zep songs. Recently, while learning some new Zep songs for which I had not looked at tab before, I noticed that they involved all these "weird" chords that I had come up with on my own and used in my own songs. So I had been unknowingly creatively influenced by Jimmy Page! I think that's cool, but I know lots of people would disagree.

Anyway, I do think that the most popular Led Zeppelin songs are, well, some of their worst in many cases! IMO, the only really great Led Zeppelin records are I and II. All the records after that have at least one or two bad songs. They tended to lather on the cheese pretty heavily in the mid-70's and beyond. And a lot of that stuff gets played on the radio and actually loved by many people . . . so I guess there's nothing wrong with super cheesy mid to late 1970's Zeppelin if it makes those people happy!

Answer to OP in Summary: As a band, they are probably under-rated, but their most well-known songs, collectively, are over-rated for sure.

(Sorry, it's hard for me to give a short answer to any question about music. )