“Heavy!”: Jerry Cantrell’s favourite Led Zeppelin song
The ripples that Led Zeppelin caused throughout the music world when they first started releasing music stretched across the world and influenced people of various genres. That being said, there is a huge difference when it comes to how people want to try to interpret that influence. Led Zeppelin had a brand new sound, and when new genres and styles are introduced in music, there are those who let the innovation inspire them, and those who try to blatantly copy.
Jerry Cantrell manages to fall into the former category of musician. When you hear the heavy, drawn-out and shredding style that he performs with Alice In Chains, there is no doubt a Led Zeppelin influence there, but they don’t sound like they’re totally ripping off Led Zeppelin.
Cantrell once spoke about a band’s desire to find their own sound and how important it is for them to do this. Alice In Chains will be well aware of this, as they rose to prominence in Seattle in the ‘90s when grunge musicwas all the rage. During this period, some bands were blatantly copying the grunge sound, while others used it to carve out their own corner in the movement.
“It’s funny, I read an interview with [Jethro Tull frontman] Ian Anderson from 1978 or 1979 and he was asked about how he came up with his own sound,” recalled Cantrell, “And his answer was something like, ‘We couldn’t do heavy rhythm and blues because Led Zeppelin were the best band in the world for that. We couldn’t do bluesy rock ’n’ roll because The Rolling Stones were the best at that. And we couldn’t do trippy space rock because Pink Floyd were the best at that… so we tried to fill the gap!’ I thought that was f*ckin’ great.”
He continued: “That’s what we are all searching for, our own gap to exist in. I wouldn’t compare Alice In Chains to Led Zeppelin but we definitely occupy our own space. That’s hopefully where you end up at the end of the search, and maybe you’ll inspire somebody else to find their own thing.”
One of his favourite things about Led Zeppelin was the musical excellence displayed throughout the band. While Jimmy Page did come up with a lot of ideas for Zeppelin, the band wouldn’t have had the success that it did were it not for each member bringing their own unique influence. Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones were all just as crucial as Page when it came to delivering the varied sound that Led Zeppelin was famous for.
“What I love about them is that they’re a real band, first and foremost. I’m not taking anything away from Jimmy Page, but it took John Bonham, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones to make it a band… just like Alice In Chains,” said Cantrell, “I’m part of a collective. I wouldn’t have gone as far as I did if I didn’t have those guys to make music with.”
These separate band members were able to achieve such a range of sound in the band, and this range meant that they had a number of styles of music on display throughout each album. Cantrell’s favourite version of Led Zeppelin is the band when they’re at their heaviest, which is what led him to his favourite track by the band. “There’s not really much they did that I don’t like,” he admitted, “But ‘Dazed and Confused’ always stands out for being heavy.”
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