Deep Purple, Mark II is WAY better than Led Zeppelin.

[Alexander]

Ritchie Blackmore isn't as sloppy as Jimmy Page. And he didn't steal half the songs he claims to have written.

Robert Plant sucks as a singer, and Ian Gillan puts even good singers to shame.

JPJ and Bonzo were really the backbone of Zep.

While JPJ plays essentially two instruments at once, Jon Lord is an incredible organist, and Roger Glover is a decent bassist.

Bonzo is better than Paicey, but Paice is still underrated.

Plus, Deep Purple never released garbage like "Presence". And they put on a much better live show.

Discuss.

[Zinfandel]

But...who can do, "I Can't Quit You Babe" better?

Deep Purple's Jon Lord's keyboards, however, a big plus....

John Paul Jones...not in the same league on keyboards.

[aquaman]

1. But the true question is.............

Does Deep Purple compare with the Bay City Rollers????

[Zinfandel]

4. Incarnation?

[MrScorpio]

2. You've got a deathwish don't you?

Oooooo boy!

[LynneSin]

12. Death wish

:grr:

I'm trying to hold back my anger. Presence was one of their best albums!!!

[Laelth]

3. Fightin' words.

;) But your assessment, in terms of the skills of the players, is spot on.

Although Presence is not garbage. And the sum of Led Zeppelin's parts was far more impressive than the individual skills of its parts alone.

Besides which, the music Page stole rocked before he stole it. No wonder that it still rocked after he stole it.

-Laelth

[Alexander]

5. I'm sorry. Presence sucks.

"Achilles' Last Stand" is incredible. I heard a story that when recording that song, Plant (who was wheelchair-bound due to a car accident) got so excited he got up out of his seat and fell right onto the floor. You can tell they are really trying on that track.

But then it's 6 more tracks of awful, awful tripe. For Zep, anyway.

No keyboards and no acoustic guitars. And the band just doesn't sound like they're giving it 100% after that.

In fact I don't think they sounded that way after about 1975 or so. Pre-75 Zep is phenomenal, whereas post-75 Zep is just a good 70s rock band. I'm guessing that's partly why Physical Graffiti was a collection of stuff they recorded earlier, and why The Song Remains The Same is taken from 1973 performances.

"Nobody's Fault But Mine" was okay, but that was stolen from John Renbourn.

And Robert Plant's voice crapped out around the time of Houses Of The Holy. Trying to hit those high notes all the time will kill a man's voice.

[specimenfred1984]

6. Plant Doesn't Suck

He's just a 60's hipster living in a castle; how would anyone sound in those circumstances?

Have you heard of Lez Zeppelin, they are apparently tearing up the NYC club circuit. Those quirky rockers won't tell anyone who's a "Lez" or not.

[RebelOne]

7. I've seen Deep Purple in concert.

They had a totally awesome light show

[RetroLounge]

8. Oooh

:popcorn:

RL

[LynneSin]

11. Might I suggest one of these smilies with even MORE popcorn?

because a post like this that tiny little box you'll run out of real quickly!!!

[Strong Atheist]

9. .

:popcorn:

[LynneSin]

10. GARBAGE LIKE PRESENCE????!!!!!

Why do you hate America

:cry:

[Alexander]

32. I have to love Led Zeppelin to say something like that.

Compared with I - IV, Houses, and Graffiti, Presence is lame.

Even compared with In Through The Out Door, TSRTS and Coda, the tracks are weaker.

When I first listened to it, I heard one GREAT song (Achilles' Last Stand), a couple of decent songs (For Your Life, and Nobody's Fault But Mine, which was stolen), and the rest was forgettable.

You can even tell it's weaker Zep by listening to their earlier concerts - Page can clearly be heard playing riffs that would later show up in "Achilles' Last Stand" and "Hots On For Nowhere", often in their medley for "Dazed And Confused".

[realisticphish]

13. you know

I like LZ, but I just can't see them as musical gods. I'm sorry, but there are bands with better guitar work, better singing, better drumming, better song writing. Not all at ONCE, mind you, LZ put it together well, but they just don't grab me as well as say, Pink Floyd, or Black Sabbath

[Squeech]

14. Wrong

Gillan is strong and has a comparable vocal range to Plant, but his over-the-top vibrato makes him a cartoon. Plant copped a lot of interesting oriental tricks from his idol, Robin Williamson (Incredible String Band), which he uses to good effect, especially on the later albums. What Lord plays is ornamentation, not substantial. Paice is not underrated, he's a blunderer. And Blackmore is practically the only guitarist in the world who makes Page look original and nuanced.

And I say this as a major Zeppelin critic. Zeppelin may have been a den of thieves concentrating on marketing strategy, but they made way better records than Deep Purple.

[LynneSin]

15. thank you sweetie

:loveya:

[Squeech]

16. Anything for you, babe

Can I buy you a drink at Rocky Sullivan's? :beer:

I really am lukewarm about LZ-- I like Houses of the Holy a lot, I and III somewhat, and random songs elsewhere (big fan of "Nobody's Fault but Mine," except I hate the solos). I get to revisit that repertoire nowadays because my 15 year old nephew wants me to teach him all their guitar parts for his little garage band. (Some interesting choices-- they do "Custard Pie"?!)

But AFAIC Deep Purple Mk II (the Gillan/Glover lineup) did one good song. Granted, it's a REALLY good song: "Highway Star." Heavy metal as we know it today would be vastly different without it (and, for lesser reasons, "Smoke on the Water"). But there's nothing else in their repertoire that speaks to me. And as a guitarist myself, I find Blackmore to be one of the most irritating soloists around.

[LynneSin]

17. You sure can buy me a beer

but only if I can buy you a shot of tequila.

Actually I do like Deep Purple but I would hardly put them in the same league as Led Zeppelin.

[Alexander]

29. Not just "Highway Star", but...

"Smoke On The Water", "Space Truckin'", and "Lazy". That's just from "Machine Head".

When you've listened to those (both studio AND live), try "Fireball", "Strange Kind Of Woman", "Child In Time", "Black Night", "Speed King", and even "Woman From Tokyo".

I could go on and on and on, but we are talking about just Mark II here...

[no name no slogan]

18. But Blackmore punched out more lighting techs than Page

Plus, he now plays in a medieval musical group and wears tights and plays at RenFests all over the world.

Score one for Blackmore.

[LynneSin]

21. Wow, I'm just speechless over that one

seriously speechless

And you know there are damn motherfucking snakes on the plane again too!!

[no name no slogan]

24. here ya go

for some reason images of Spinal Tap and "Stonehenge" come to mind...

[Alexander]

28. Your analysis of DP couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

Listen to "Child In Time". Robert Plant could NEVER hit those notes. And Gillan's voice sounds even better when performed in concert.

Plant could hit some high notes early on in his career, but compare ANY Zep song performed early on to ANY Zep song performed later - it's just not the same.

A good example - "Rock & Roll". On the album, Plant sounds great. In "The Song Remains The Same", he sounds like crap. Almost like he doesn't even try to sing.

Lord's organ solos were more amazing than most guitar solos, even to this day. Way better than Page's heroin-induced slop from later Zep years.

You trash Blackmore, yet he can keep a solo going and not mess with the feel of a song. Even in 1970 Page can be heard making obvious mistakes on stage (and I LOVE Page), and his sloppiness just got worse as he did more drugs.

If you have the Led Zeppelin DVD (I do, and I love it), watch the "Knebworth 1979" section. Page SUCKS there, you can tell he's struggling by the expressions on his face, and he looks like death itself, from all the heroin he was ingesting at the time.

Paice is no Bonham, Moon or Peart, but he can keep a beat with the best of them. In fact he's been compared to Ringo Starr as a drummer - not great, but steady and reliable. So calling him a "blunderer" is way off base, and I challenge you to provide examples.

My basis for comparison? Live albums. Get "Made In Japan". One of the best live rock albums around, and DP blows the audience away.

What does Zep have? "The Song Remains The Same". Some parts are good, but it wasn't the band's best day, by a long shot. The DVD is way better, and even that has some sloppy parts to it.

And if you think DP's albums are bad, try listening to "In Rock", "Fireball" and "Machine Head". You can even try "Burn" or "The Book Of Taliesyn" if you are interested in Mark I or Mark III. Add "Made In Japan" to the collection, and THEN get back to me.

[azmouse]

19. I don't like Led Zeppelin either.

[LynneSin]

20. YOU BETTER HIDE I'M KICKING YOUR ASS INTERNETALLY

THink about it!

[azmouse]

22. But I love ya anyway!!!

:hi:

[LynneSin]

23. You cannot say you love me and disrespect Led Zeppelin

it's not feasible in this time-space conundrum. You'll have to rethink that statement and try again

[azmouse]

25. Well, at least you're not shouting at me any more.

That's an improvement!
Ha! Still love ya! I'm series!!1!!111

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

26. Does anybody remember LAUGHTER???????

...a question Ian Gillan NEVER ASKED. Thank GOD for that.



Also, "Made In Japan" kicks "The Song Remains The Same" in the NUTS. The NUTS, I tells ya!

:evilgrin:

[Reciprocity]

31. Those pantaloons don't leave much for the imagination.

[Benfea]

27. I got sick of classic rock back in the 1980s.

Back in the 1980s, it seemed like you had exactly 4 choices for music on the radio:

1. Classic rock stations that play the same five bands over and over, hour after hour, year after year.
   
   
2. Bad teenybopper bubblegum music masquerading as hip hop (or rather its predecessor).
   
   
3. Bad elevator music masquerading as jazz.
   
   
4. Country and western.

Given that set of choices, #1 was the least annoying, but after a while I got sick and tired of hearing the same 5 or so bands all the time. Now anytime I hear classic rock it makes me want to puncture my own eardrums and smash my head into the nearest chunk of rock or concrete.

Is it any wonder I turned to underground metal during the 80s?

[Alexander]

30. Deep Purple wasn't one of those 5 bands.

On every classic rock radio station I've listened to, I've only heard "Smoke On The Water" and "Woman From Tokyo". And the latter is pretty rare. I hear Zeppelin almost constantly.

Which is part of why DP is awesome - they're easily as good, but you don't get sick of them because some money-grubbing gomer overplayed their songs (well, except "Smoke On The Water").

[maveric]

33. All of Blackmore's riffs sounded the same. Page at least incorporated..

some mean bluesy stuff into what he stole and played.
Here's my favorite Led Zep album. "Houses of the Holy.

[Alexander]

34. Compare "Since I've Been Loving You" to "Tea For One".

Page is not immune from repeating himself either.