Pretty sure Led Zep gain a lot of new fans each passing year. Iād imagine a hell of a lot more than the Rolling Stones with their continued live showings.
LZ left behind a strong discography, much like The Beatles. Imagine if the Stones called it a day in 1972, theyād probably have fared a lot better here.
I just recall when they remastered all the LZ albums in the 90s it was telling those CDs came in at the mid-price ~Ā£8 point while Beatles albums were still at the laughable ~Ā£15 level. LZ were never a band that had that sort of impact. The Stones were similar - everyone knew the big singles but no one actually bought their stuff.
Led Zeppelin have always had more of a cultural impact in America though as they were played all the time on radio there in the 70s. They didnāt get much radio play here as they didnāt release singles.
That best of with the crop circles on the cover was everywhere in the early 90s though wasnāt it - all the metal kids into Metallica, GNR etc were well into that.
The big rock bands I think have retained more credibility in mainland Europe as well where the English language element has always given them cache and a slightly left field element compared to the UK where ubiquity has maybe just dented how they are perceived.
Bit late to the party - but The Cure would be an easy 5 from me, because:
a) theyāre brilliant; and
b) personal reasons.
In 2004 I went on my first holiday with my girlfriend (now wife). We went to Rome for a long weekend. On our last night we ventured over to the Jewish Quarter, because weād heard it was great for eating/drinking. There was absolutely no-one around, so we (despondently) ventured back towards our hotel.
On crossing the river we discovered The Cure just launching into a free live set on the street outside of the Colosseum. It was absolutely magical. It was that night - joyously dancing to those songs in the street with her - that I realised that I was, you know, rather fond of my girlfriend.
That said, anyone seen Mike Leighās film Career Girls? The soundtracks features The Cure loads, plus itās set just when Wild Mood Swings has come out
That said, would you really want Mike Leigh making a film of your life
Iāve always considered they would have left a perfect development and trail of albums had they split after The Head On The Door, although I acknowledge they made some very good records after that. My reasoning being every album until THOTD changed and they developed, clearly and added something new or went in a new direction. After THOTD they re-released a bunch of early singles and honestly I feel started to rehash what they had already done. Iām glad they are still around in ways. I think they knew and to an extent acknowledge they could never top A Forest as a single and Seventeen Seconds as an album.
It just feels a bit slight in comparison to everything they released after. Thereās a few interlude-y tracks and maybe 7 tracks proper? Not that it really matters, an LP is an LP, but i just thought it sounded a bit curious that youād think it couldnāt be bettered as a long-playing experience
Well I think they did better it with Disintegration, but I also think that 17 seconds is a great example of the āalbum as a cohesive wholeā thing. One of the real strengths of 17 seconds is how well it creates a mood for the entire duration: it hangs together better than almost any LP I can think of: each track adds to and is supported by the ones around it.