The band Ian Anderson called “superior” to everyone
The idea of prog-rock grandeur never really appealed that much to Ian Anderson.
As much as Jethro Tull has been celebrated as one of the ultimate precursors to prog rock, there was no reason for him to think what he was doing had anything to do with the sweeping epics that were coming out of Genesis and King Crimson at the time. Thick as a Brick may as well have been a pisstake on that kind of music, but Anderson knew that there were heights not even prog bands could touch.
Then again, the whole premise of prog was that there were never supposed to be any rules. Whereas art rock was known for taking the basics of rock and roll and transforming them into musical versions of impressionist paintings, prog was about cramming everything you could onto a record and see what happened with it. It wasn’t exactly the most commercially-friendly genre in the world, but in the age of vinyl, it was far more interesting hearing the outlandish tales in Genesis’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway than whatever poppy schlock was on the radio.
Tull already fit into that company with their outlandish approach to music, but there was always a foot that seemed to be trailing back into the blues. Anderson had a vision for them moving beyond the British blues boom that they were brought up in, but listening to Martin Barre’s solo on ‘Aqualung’, there were still faint glimpses of people like Eric Clapton still lingering around as well.
But while Anderson referred to albums by The Beatles and Pink Floyd as ground zero for prog rock, there were other bands that were turning the musical tides without having to create 17-minute songs. David Bowie was reinventing what theatricality could mean in a live setting, but if there was anyone that was carrying the torch for musical innovation, it was Led Zeppelin.
Although Jimmy Page always loved the blues, their records ever since Led Zeppelin III were all about trying new things. Page never claimed to be a prog-rock musician by any stretch, but his unique approach to songwriting on tunes like ‘The Rain Song’ or ‘Kashmir’ was about pushing the limits of rock in the same way that Robert Fripp was doing at the time. And while many prog acts took pride in changing things up, Anderson knew there was no topping what Zeppelin did.
They were a cut above the rest in every sense of the word, and no matter what Anderson did, he felt every rock and roll act was cursed to be compared to them, saying, “We all saw Led Zeppelin as the superior race in terms of musical ability and stagecraft and skills… We were, in a sense, trying to struggle along in the wake of their success and see if we could in some way emulate or get close to that kind of standard.”
And looking at the influence that they have had, Zeppelin might be the closest thing to The Beatles as any hard rock act got back in the day. They were never trying to match what Lennon and McCartney were doing, but there are equally as many people donning mystical clothing and wailing at the top of their lungs as there are people who are trying to match Abbey Road or Sgt Peppers.
While prog bands were always in their own distinct category, Zeppelin might be one of the few bands that earned a spot in both the mainstream and prog sphere. They had their accessible side, but by adopting the album as an art form and creating episodic songs like ‘Achilles Last Stand’ they are as much an honourary member of the prog rock movement as The Who is for the punk movement.
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