The Who vs. Led Zeppelin

[Reverend Joe]

As an annendum to the Doors/ Creedence Clearwater poll, which turned into a Zeppelin/ Who debate, I will post a new poll for all the Hippies and Music enthusiasts out there. (I can't really vote on this one; I don't like Zeppelin, but I have not gottena round to listening to the Who.)

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

It would have to be Led Zeppelin. The Who were ok, did some good tunes, i like that one called "Teenage Wasteland" or i think thats what it was called

[PanzerJaeger]

The Who were a great band, but Jack Black said it best:

"Lords of rock Led Zeppelin...!!"

You just cannot beat the amazing stuff Zep did, as their transcendent popularity shows.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

It would have to be Led Zeppelin. The Who were ok, did some good tunes, i like that one called "Teenage Wasteland" or i think thats what it was called

It's Baba O'Reily.

Led Zeppelin would win, if it weren't for the fact that they 'borrowed' a lot of their best known tunes-although this has mostly been rectified now, so it's not that much of an issue

It's really too close to call for me-although if you asked me in the street, I would say Zeppelin.

[lancelot]

This one isnt even tough. The Who are great but Zep outclass them by miles!

[ShadesWolf]

Zeppelin every time
But my wife would say the Who

[Spino]

I'd have to go with Led Zeppelin as the better of the two but to the Who's credit they were able to change or alter their sound dramatically over the course of their existence and still produce outstanding music. The stylistic difference between 'My Generation', 'Tommy' and 'Who's Next' is absolutely startling. The Who managed to changed their trademark sound a number of times without alienating their fan base and the public at large which is no small feat, only a handful of successful bands (i.e. Beatles, Rolling Stones) have been able to do this without being labeled as 'sellouts', 'too experimental' (in the negative sense) or simply 'done'.

Led Zeppelin however was a rock/blues band to its core and their biggest successes came when they stuck to their roots. Zeppelin's first four albums are absolutely drenched in rock/blues and so is 'House of the Holy' for the most part. Sure albums like Physical Graffitti', 'Presence' and 'In Through the Out Door' have splashes of brilliance but when you listen to those albums (especially the last two) you can sort of feel that the band's creative juices were in decline.

One thing for sure is that Led Zeppelin peaked and burnt out much faster than the Who. It's perfectly understandable when you consider the jaw dropping content of Zeppelin's first five albums. I guess that's what happens when you burn the candle at both ends like they did. On the other hand the Who managed to churn out quality music for a much longer period of time even though they were never able to produce as many great back to back albums as Led Zeppelin did. While the Who was able to spread its successes out over time they only have one or two albums that are crammed with first rate songs. Now in this regard Led Zeppelin is virtually unmatched. I know so many people (myself included) who have said they can listen to every single track on every Led Zeppelin album up to and including Houses of the Holy and actually feel bad about skipping a song! There hasn't been a single rock band in the history of the genre that has been able put so much quality music into that many back to back albums as Led Zeppelin did, it's simply an astounding accomplishment.

[Strike For The South]

lets get the led out

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Led, but that's too old for me...

[ShadesPanther]

Led Zeppelin for sure


Anyway I heard about them appearing at Live Aid and supposedly they showed so much contempt for each other that they have banned all footage of it. So what exactkly hapened

[Muska Burnt]

kinda hard to compare those two band even though they are both rock there just complety different like do the who vs the guess who

[English assassin]

Meatwad I think you have hit your stride with this one, very tough call.

I'm going to go with the Who. Both are brilliant bands, but maybe its the Who's attitude that shades it for me.

Besides everyone else is saying Zep.

[ah_dut]

Led Zep...

[Taurus]

Gah!

[doc_bean]

zeppelin

[ichi]

I can't quit you baby, so I'm gonna have to put you down for a while

Zep, THE best

[MoROmeTe]

Both for different reasons/moments...

[Steppe Merc]

Led Zeppelin all the way. The Who were good, but Zeppelin was incredible. It's probably because Zeppelin's style is what I love, blues/rootsy rock. Incredible.

Led Zeppelin however was a rock/blues band to its core and their biggest successes came when they stuck to their roots. Zeppelin's first four albums are absolutely drenched in rock/blues and so is 'House of the Holy' for the most part. Sure albums like Physical Graffitti', 'Presence' and 'In Through the Out Door' have splashes of brilliance but when you listen to those albums (especially the last two) you can sort of feel that the band's creative juices were in decline.

No way, I love Physical Graffitti. Incredible stuff on that one. If you said they started to go down with Presence, I might agree, but Physical Graffitti is incredible. Besides, a bunch of those songs were recorded early, either in the Houses of the Holy or the Zeppelin III sessions.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Physical Graffiti is a great album, but it should have been a single album, not a double-it's the first Zeppelin album with any filler. Cutting it down to one record would have made the album overall much better

[UglyandHasty]

Led Zep by far ! In my book its a no contest.

[Reverend Joe]

Where's Gawain? He's the biggest Who fan around here.

[Moros]

The Who... 1969 back in those days when there was real music...

O tempora o moras like my latin teacher always says

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Where's Gawain? He's the biggest Who fan around here.

Right here. Listen to the lyrics in the Whos music(all of which they wrote themselves) it blows Zeps away. The Who always had a message Zep had none. Keith Moon was a better drummer, Entwistle a far better bass player and Daltry arguably had the best voice in Rock and Roll. The only place their better is on lead guitar but Towsend plays better rythm guitar and his power chords cant be beat. The Who are a far mor intellectual band than Zep with a much more variety a greater writting talent. Ill take Whos Next over any Zepplin album. Zepplin arived at the end of an era and cashed in on all that had done before them.

Led Zeppelin however was a rock/blues band to its core and their biggest successes came when they stuck to their roots

YUp. I love dazed and confused the best. However even as this type of music goes give me Cream anyday. The real rock/blues band .

[dgfred]

I love them both in different ways and for different moments as Moromete
posted earlier. , but the Who gets the edge with me.

I heard 'Boris the Spider' and 'Pinball Wizard' yesterday on the Two for Tuesday radio special. Terrific.

[PanzerJaeger]

Right here. Listen to the lyrics in the Whos music(all of which they wrote themselves) it blows Zeps away. The Who always had a message Zep had none. Keith Moon was a better drummer, Entwistle a far better bass player and Daltry arguably had the best voice in Rock and Roll. The only place their better is on lead guitar but Towsend plays better rythm guitar and his power chords cant be beat. The Who are a far mor intellectual band than Zep with a much more variety a greater writting talent. Ill take Whos Next over any Zepplin album. Zepplin arived at the end of an era and cashed in on all that had done before them.

Zep intentionally made sure their music didnt have any socio-political messages. It was meant to deal with the basic feelings and emotions in life, not be a political diatribe. If you want intellectual, read an essay. Long after people start asking "Whats that supposed to mean?" about Who songs, Zep songs will still have meaning as they are not tied to a specific political era.

Also, I would put Bonham and JPJ against their counterparts in The Who anyday. Voice is pretty subjective.

[dgfred]

Zep intentionally made sure their music didnt have any socio-political messages. It was meant to deal with the basic feelings and emotions in life, not be a political diatribe. If you want intellectual, read an essay. Long after people start asking "Whats that supposed to mean?" about Who songs, Zep songs will still have meaning as they are not tied to a specific political era.

Also, I would put Bonham and JPJ against their counterparts in The Who anyday. Voice is pretty subjective.

Although I agree with you somewhat, K.Moon was the master . I don't
care what the song 'means' anyway, the 'sound' is what I want.

[Spino]

Right here. Listen to the lyrics in the Whos music(all of which they wrote themselves) it blows Zeps away. The Who always had a message Zep had none. Keith Moon was a better drummer, Entwistle a far better bass player and Daltry arguably had the best voice in Rock and Roll. The only place their better is on lead guitar but Towsend plays better rythm guitar and his power chords cant be beat. The Who are a far mor intellectual band than Zep with a much more variety a greater writting talent. Ill take Whos Next over any Zepplin album. Zepplin arived at the end of an era and cashed in on all that had done before them.



YUp. I love dazed and confused the best. However even as this type of music goes give me Cream anyday. The real rock/blues band .

I agree that Moon and Entwistle were superior to their counterparts in Led Zeppelin and I would also put forward the statement that Townsend was a better lyricist than Plant however...

What is this bunk about which is the more intellectual band?!? We're talking about rock and roll, hardly the medium for intellectual material! And who the hell cares what a musician has to 'say'? If an incredibly profound and moving message is set to awful, eardrum piercing, mind meltingly bad music then nobody but flaky beatniks, coffee shop intellectuals and modern art flunkies will possess the tolerance, let alone the patience required to listen to such music for an extended period of time.

Music is about the music, not the message or the verse. On the other hand poetry and literature are completely about the message and the verse. Ode To Joy, the highlight of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, has some seriously cheesy lyrics about brotherhood and whatnot, most of which were literally grafted from beer hall songs of that era! Imagine if those same lyrics were matched to music composed by some gimpy halfwit who specialized in Albanian military marches instead of by a musical genius of the ages?

Message my foot, if a tune isn't catchy nobody is going to give a damn about the message.

[Steppe Merc]

Much of the music I love has great messages. Bob Dylan kicks anyone elses ass. But the Who's message, I don't like. Townsend is an ass, and I strongly disagree with him. I like his music, but I much prefer Zeppelin's lack of politics than the Who's.

Besides, Zeppelin was a blues band. Blues doesn't have a message, and it never has.

Plant kicks Daltrey's ass, Page kicks Townsend's, JPJ kicks Entwistle, and Bonham kicks Moon's. No question.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Plant kicks Daltrey's ass, Page kicks Townsend's, JPJ kicks Entwistle, and Bonham kicks Moon's. No question.

I would hardly say that there is 'no question' about it. Vocals are an entirely subjective thing, personally I feel that Geddy Lee has the best voice in rock music (I know he sounds like a girl, so sue me). Whilst Page was undeniably a superior lead guitarist, Townshend is scarily good where rhythm playing is concerned. Entwhistle was a truly remarkable bass player, and I would rate him higher than Jones, personally, whilst Bonham versus Moon is, in my opinion, too close to call, with Bonham's superior technical playing butting heads against Moon's explosive and insane fills.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

JPJ kicks Entwistle

Any credibility you had on this matter just went out the window with that statement. Also the Whos lyrics werent all or even mostly political but addressed the problems we all face as we grow up.