The 1975 Led Zeppelin song Brian May thinks they never matched
It’s hard to tell why people like Led Zeppelin so much, given there are so many facets to their sound, but that’s kind of the point.
When Led Zeppelin first burst onto the scene, rock music was pretty much cemented as one of the biggest genres on the planet, but it was a style of music that had set boundaries. This is before psychedelic and prog rock were all the rage, and as such, those bands that started making rock that pushed the boundaries of the sound were very much genre-defining.
One of these bands was Led Zeppelin, who were able to make rock music that took inspiration from different cultures and genres. For instance, a lot of their songs were drawn out numbers which included narrative and fiction, similar to a lot of folk music. Meanwhile, they used instruments and rhythm techniques which were from all over the world.
Ian Anderson, from prog rock band Jethro Tull, has previously complimented Led Zeppelin for being prog rock before that was officially a thing, and the way that they were able to incorporate all of these different aspects was unlike anything that listeners had come across before, paving the way for other bands to do something similar.
“I think what they showed to all their peer group as musicians was that there was, first of all, a very powerful and dramatic way to perform simple, direct rock music and also to introduce elements of more eclectic music,” he said, “Because Zeppelin, near the beginning, there were a lot of elements of folk music, and Asian music, and African music that crept into their stuff.”
It makes it very difficult to pick out what the best Led Zeppelin song is because of how much they vary from one another. The era of the band that appeals the most to you will depend on what kind of style you’re into, but that said, there is one song which is absolutely stellar, instantly recognisable and pretty much the fundamental Led Zeppelin track: ‘Kashmir’.
Released in 1975, it’s Brian May’s favourite Led Zeppelin song, as when he made a playlist of his favourite songs of all time, it didn’t take him long to add this track. May has always had an affinity for emotion-packed music, and this song is a pretty perfect example of that, as every single hit of Jimmy Page’s guitar feels like it’s screaming into the abyss.
Robert Plant was always widely critical of a lot of Led Zeppelin’s music, but not this time, and he seemingly agreed with Brian May, as he said that it was one of the quintessential Led Zeppelin songs. For a lot of listeners, this is a track that the band never topped, but with so much range proudly flaunted throughout the band’s discography, how can you ever truly be sure?
“‘Kashmir’ in particular. It was so positive, lyrically. It’s the quest, the travels and explorations that Page and I went on to far climes well off the beaten track,” said Plant, “That, really, to me, is the Zeppelin feel”.
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