Why do so many musicians hate Led Zeppelin?
One of the main reasons why originality in music is so hard to find is because the word itself has become misconstrued. Most of the time, when a musician authentically tries to do anything truly original, it’s either musically impossible to do or ventures into the realm of experimental, which rarely has mainstream appeal. To be original today is to reinterpret common tropes and present them afresh. For many, this is what made Led Zeppelin so great.
Any band with as much exposure as Led Zeppelin is bound to have their share of critics. Even today, many claim The Beatles are overrated, despite all acclaim and cultural impact pointing to the opposite. However, some of Led Zeppelin’s harshest critics don’t seem even concerned with their proliferation as much as other technical aspects, which paints an even more intriguing picture of why some musicians cannot contain their disdain.
From the moment they emerged in 1969, Led Zeppelin’s success has been closely followed by a trail of controversy, starting with how they reinvented—or plagiarised, depending on who you’re asking—blues-inspired rock. Although undeniably one of the most influential acts to rise in the 20th century with a sound that redefined the parameters of explosive rock, their flavour of innovation came in the form of bridging the gap between new and old.
Music acts often master the art of originality by converging nostalgia with future-gazing, but Led Zeppelin’s roots in blues often landed them in hot water. Their stadium rock appeal also wasn’t as impressive to some of their contemporaries, who felt that all they did was blow the blues up into larger rock-fuelled pieces, taking elements of others’ artistry and presenting it as their own. At least, that’s what Pete Townshend once said when he accused Led Zeppelin of attempting to emulate The Who.
Granted, Townshend’s gripe could stem from a broader bitterness about Led Zeppelin’s global success and the restrictions within his own band, but he isn’t the first to accuse the Robert Plant-fronted group of stealing others’ work. This was also a sentiment shared by Eric Clapton, who felt Led Zeppelin stood on Cream’s toes and took their legacy in the blues before charging off in a completely different direction, one that he didn’t much care for.
Most of these musicians held a strong dislike for the overlap, including Ginger Baker, who once got so angry with comparisons to John Bonham that executed a direct hit at his drumming abilities. However, what about those in different spaces who formed an aversion to Led Zeppelin on the basis of something rooted in genuine technicality? Well, anyone who asked Kurt Cobain where his hatred came from would have likely walked away from the conversation feeling a newfound sense of respect for the singer.
Discussing the band with Rolling Stone in 1992, Cobain admitted that he found it difficult to get on board with their messages and found that a lot of what they sang about was rooted in “sexism”. In his mind, all they did was sing “about their dicks and having sex”, which was a dated trope of rock that he never really held much space for. Although it’s likely his qualm was more directed at Aerosmith, as he also mentioned their music, Led Zeppelin did put out a lot of songs about sex, even if it felt more subtle than some of Steven Tyler’s decisions.
That said, it seems like the main reason most of the band’s harshest musical critics are so intensely disinterested in their sound is their sound. For many, Led Zeppelin took traditional rock ‘n’ roll and blues and transformed it into something without energy or bite. That might seem odd, considering they made music sound big, immersive, and forceful, but many, like Keith Richards, found their take on rock to be quite stale.
“Rock ‘n’ roll I never get tired of, but ‘rock’ is a white man’s version,” he said in Under the Influence, adding, “and they turn it into a march, that’s [the modern] version of rock. Excuse me, I prefer the roll.”
Still, aside from the details of their misfortunes, there’s no denying that Led Zeppelin brought many old blues and rock sensibilities to mainstream audiences, creating gateways to the endless discovery of the many that revolutionised the space in the years before. They might have learned a trick or two from the parallels of their competitors, but no one amplified these sounds quite like they did.
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