Before anything I must say these guys are pretty awesome, bringing back that old 70s-classic rock feel to the mainstream. However, many people have made comparisons between Greta Van Fleet and Led Zeppelin, and from my humble opinion, I think these interpretations can be somehow dangerous.
Old School Rock Reborn
Since the mid-1980s the Good Old days of Rock n Roll were in their dawn. Mythical Rock bands were breaking up or having trouble. Of course, there were some great groups, but most of them let behind that blues-rock and hard-rock roots that made them legendary. I sincerely thought that I would never see a new Blues Rock/Hard Rock band have mainstream success. However, The Black Keys were a pleasant surprise, yet since 2014 we haven't heard much about them. So this leads us to Greta Van Fleet.
Although Greta Van Fleet was founded in 2012, their first piece of national-attention was until 2017. Since then they have made the Rock community shake. Are we looking at the new Led Zeppelin? Is the old school rock alive? Well is a little more complicated than that.
Led Zeppelin vs Greta Van Fleet
Many people argue that Greta Van Fleet is just a Led Zeppelin rip-off, while others argue that they are the New Led Zeppelin, or the Led Zeppelin of our generation. Well, I think both positions are wrong.
Let's take a look at Led Zeppelin. Since their debut album back in 1968, Jimmy Page was making crazy things with the guitar, John Paul Jones was musically mature, Robert Plant was a fresh, uncommon singer for the time, and John Bonham was already positioning himself as a one-of-a-kind drummer (people just needed to hear the first seconds of the album to know his value).
Led Zeppelin was simply too fresh and special for their time. Yes, it is true that their first album was mainly covers of famous blues songs, but besides that fact, these covers had a totally innovative approach. They sounded different and felt different.
Now let's look at Greta Van Fleet. Sure, some songs sound pretty similar to those of Led Zeppelin, and a great deal of it has to do with their Lead Singer, Josh Kiszka (his vocals screams Robert Plant everywhere). There is no doubt that these guys have talent, they DO! But they are actually not a refreshing nor innovative rock band as Led Zeppelin. They have brought us joy, by making us remember the Glory Days of Rock. But for now, Greta Van Fleet is not showing us something we haven't heard. I get it, their main influence is Led Zeppelin, and they stick to that (for now I hope), but they are not the New Led Zeppelin, or at least not an archetypal rock band as Zeppelin was for their generation.
However, they are also not a Led Zeppelin rip-off as many haters want to label them. Yes, they dress like a 70s rock band, Josh the lead singer moves like Robert Plant, and drummer Danny Wagner has a set up pretty similar to John Bonham's famous drum set. In some cases Greta Van Fleet has showed us that they can do more than just sound like Zeppelin. And this leads to my next point.
We don't need another Led Zeppelin
Why did the Old School Rock stop being the king of the music Industry? There are many reasons but the most important one is that music evolves. I was watching a video from the band, and in the comment section, someone said that they weren't the Led Zeppelin of our generation, but the Greta Van Fleet of our generation. I couldn't agree more. We don't need a New Led Zeppelin. If we want to listen to them we still have nine studio albums, a million bootlegs, three decent filmed concerts, and a bunch of cover bands. Why should we want a new Led Zeppelin? We need to accept that the Glory days of Classic Rock are behind, and we need a fresh, new, innovative Rock Band. Greta Van Fleet has talent. Why don't we encourage them to be themselves?
We want Rock music, but not something that we have heard during 50 years. We don't want them to be imprisoned by their image of the New Led Zeppelin. We need to set them loose, let them fly, so there can use their talent and their amazing musical influences, to create a new rock, where we can feel the Glory days but also a fresh beginning, with something new on the table, something we have never imagined. Greta Van Fleet can be one of the first bands of a generation that brings back the Rock spirit that we love back to the mainstream. They are already getting the industry attention, if they gain success they could open the doors for other talented and innovative rock bands to gain the recognition they deserve.
A New Hope
I have to say, there are many talented rock bands today, but just a few have the opportunity to break out from the underground scene. Greta Van Fleet seems to have the sparkle, they are not a Led Zeppelin kind of band... yet, so we need to take care of them so they can become a bright light and help fellow rockers to bring back . I really hope this young band can find themselves and exploit their talents further. Yeah is true there are just starting up, but there is no time to lose. We want them to grow so they can inspire others, and soon we could stop remembering the Glory Day of Rock n Roll, and start living a New Episode of brilliance.
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