What the hell, it’s another Zeppelin thread. With all the talk of Zep IV, I’m curious to hear what everyone’s favorite songs are and how they’d rank 'em on the album. The least favorite, too, interest me in particular. Four Sticks is the obvious one, but in the other thread, somebody mentioned “Misty Mountain Hop” being the worst track. I disagree, but I can see how someone might dislike it. I also can see “Battle of Evermore” and even (don’t strike me down) “Stairway to Heaven.” I mean, I think it’s a fine song, but I don’t understand why it’s held up to be the legend that it is.
Anyhow, my personal ranking would go (and this is tough):
Black Dog
When the Levee Breaks
Going to California
Rock and Roll
Stairway to Heaven
The Battle of Evermore
Misty Mountain Hop
Four Sticks
To be honest, “Levee” I think is my favorite, but I put “Black Dog” ahead of it for originality. 4-7 are particularly difficult for me to rank. I’m actually kind of surprised, because I didn’t expect to put Misty Mountain Hop that low in the list, but after thinking about all the great songs on this album, I found it hard to put it anywhere else.
5,6, and 7 were hard to rank, the rest were pretty easy. Stairway is a fine song whose reputation suffers due to its overblown legend. But even Four Sticks is a good song.
Is this referring to the start-stops of “Oh Well”? Because I can’t think of anything else. Of all the things Zeppelin did rip off, this doesn’t qualify at all. (ETA: I should say, it’s a stretch to treat “Black Dog” as some sort of cover of Fleetwood Mac. The songs are completely different.)
Stairway To Heaven - it became overplayed and cliche for a reason and that reason is that it is the greatest song in the history of rock and roll. Anyone who disagrees should probably just go ahead and join their friends in Al Qaeda.
Black Dog
Rock and Roll
When The Levee Breaks
Misty Mountain Hop
The Battle of Evermore
Going To California
Four Sticks
I consider this album to be one of the most nearly perfect albums in rock history, so ranking the individual songs is really tough. 2-5 on my list could shuffle back and forth on a daily basis and 7 and 8 could mix up into a higher slot on any given day as well. Interesting mind exercise, though…
I disagree; it’s a blatant copy and has been much remarked upon.
ETA: And in response to your ETA; of course it’s not exactly the same riff, but I’d venture that “Black Dog” has more in common musically with “Oh Well” than “When the Levee Breaks” has in common with Memphis Minnie’s song.
OK, I’ll just say that I strongly disagree and leave it at that.
ETA: Oh, hell no on “When the Levee Breaks.” Here’s When the Levee Breaks by Memphis Minnie. I suppose it depends on how you qualify “musically,” but the melody and lyrics are nearly identical. The average person, I would be willing to bet, would have no trouble recognizing both versions as being the same song. I honestly don’t think most people will find “Oh Well” and “Black Dog” to be the same song. Hell, I’m musically inclined and would call myself a “musician” and I don’t think they’re the same song at all.
[ol]
[li]Rock and Roll[/li][li]Stairway to Heaven[/li][li]Black Dog[/li][li]Going to California[/li][li]Misty Mountain Hop[/li][li]When the Levee Breaks[/li][li]The Battle of Evermore[/li][li]Four Sticks[/li][/ol]
But they’re really not the same melody at all. The original is made up of just three adjacent notes–the whole song is sung within the range of a minor third, from B-flat to D-flat! Zep’s tune, by contrast, is full of leaps of a fourth and covers a range of an octave plus a minor third. (Just talking about the verse, now; not even getting into the “make it someday” section.) The chords are different, too, as Minnie’s is a standard I-IV-V blues, while Zep’s hangs gloomily on one chord through the entire verse.
You’re taking my snark way too literally. I’m not really saying they’re the same song, but Zep’s was clearly a borrowing of Fleetwood Mac’s concept.
I’m not going to take the time to rank them, but I will say that it was very difficult deciding between Stairway to Heaven and The Battle of Evermore for #1. Stairway squeaked in the win, however, due to the pure, raw emotion the song makes me feel.
