Greta Van Fleet

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Chasing Ponce De Leon's Phantoms
They seem to be quite controversial due to the fact they sound pretty much exactly like Led Zeppelin. In fact when I first heard ‘Safari Song’ I thought it was Zep however google proved me wrong. Their popularity is growing quite fast and it’s quite impressive due to their age.

Their debut album ‘Anthem of the Peaceful Army’ comes out October 19, 2018.


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1. Age of Man
2. The Cold Wind
3. When the Curtain Falls
4. Watching Over
5. Lover, Leaver
6. You’re the One
7. The New Day
8. Mountain of the Sun
9. Brave New World
10. Anthem
11. Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)

Discuss!!!
 
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Heard a couple of their songs, didn't do anything for me. There's nothing there that Led Zeppelin themselves can't deliver for me. Still impressive how quickly they've become successful, though.
 
I haven't actually listened to them yet, so that's definitely to do. Agree about their success too, after all the hype and news I'd heard about them I was shocked that they hadn't even released their first album yet

Update - can definitely hear all the Led Zeppelin comparisons, although Safari Song actually gave off a huge Tygers of Pan Tang vibe for me. Thought the singer sounded like a mix of Robert Plant, Jacopo Meille and Axl Rose
 
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I haven't got round to listening to them either, but I find their success curious. You always hear big music artists saying something like "Oh, it's so important for new bands to find their own sound", but then you've got a band like these who became successful despite sounding (supposedly) exactly like Led Zeppelin...

So, really it's more "Be yourself, unless you can be someone else".
 
Edington said:
I haven't got round to listening to them either, but I find their success curious. You always hear big music artists saying something like "Oh, it's so important for new bands to find their own sound", but then you've got a band like these who became successful despite sounding (supposedly) exactly like Led Zeppelin...

So, really it's more "Be yourself, unless you can be someone else".
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I think it's more than 'sounding like' Zep. The singer actually looks like he is doing a Plant impression, the way he moves etc.

Kingdom Come were great but failed due to the Zep comparisons. I think ultimately Greta will suffer after the initial exposure, unless they make their own path in future.
 
Their main influence definitely sounds like Led Zeppelin, though I think 'Black Smoke Rising' actually sounds more like Rush. I think will continue to grow more in popularity as long as they keep touring and releasing albums.
 
Robert Plant did say that he thought them terrific, but I agree with Phantom, they really need to carve out their own path in life.
 
The new album is out today and I just completed my first listen. 'Lover, Leaver' is easily the best song on the album. It's such a standout track for them, I would actually put it on the same level as 'Safari Song' and 'Black Smoke Rising'. I must admit though, I am confused why they chose to put two versions of it on the album, the closing track being twice as long featuring an extended solo section. A couple other of highlights are 'Brave New World', 'Mountain of the Sun', and 'Age of Man' though I feel the latter is out of place and should not be the opener for the album. The two songs in the middle 'You're the One' and 'The New Day' are pretty bad. 'You're the One' gave me a church vibe though it definitely not a Christian Rock song.

Overall I am impressed. Considering how young this band is, they put together quite the album! There is a considerable amount of songwriting growth from previous EP. If they continue to grow it will be amazing to see what these guys can do in a couple more years. I'll give the album an 8/10 for right now, I'm being a little generous though as a couple of the songs should really drag down the score a bit more.
 
I finally got around to listening to the album and it was... not good. The vocalist knows how to sing like Robert Plant, but lacks every bit of the charm of the Zep singer. Terrible vibratto too. He does a decent job with the high notes but as a whole ruins almost the entire thing for me. The rest of the band is better but it's still entirely too much Zeppelin-influence for my taste with none of the songwriting skills to back it up.

I genuinely love "Brave New World" though, it was fantastic and proof that they can succeed with the path they've chosen when they try. Other than that... a couple average songs in the form of "Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)" and "When The Curtain Falls". The rest ranges from boring to bullshit. I'd give it a 3/10 currently and have no plans whatsoever to come back to it, apart from "Brave New World".

Bland.
 
I heard a couple of songs from them. The fact that this band has become as big as they are is an embarrassment. They're a Led Zeppelin tribute act and nothing more. Well, not even that, actually, because tribute bands actually acknowledge what they're doing. From what I've read, these guys put up a front saying Zep isn't their primary influence. That's just sad.
 
There’s a lot of buzz and controversy around this band. IMO their success is a symptom of a larger problem within Rock music. It’s no longer mainstream and becomes increasingly less culturally relevant with time. I often see people saying Greta Van Fleet are saving rock music when really they’re doing the opposite. It’s a nostalgia trip. The sort of thing that will be a trendy flavor of the month and then fade into obscurity. When Rock music was at its peak, it was cutting edge. Artists like Led Zeppelin* were pushing sonic boundaries and were reflecting the current pop culture. Greta Van Fleet ignores all of that in favor of blandness wrapped in nostalgia. I also find it interesting that a lot of their fans hail them as an alternative to the “fake” and “cookie cutter” music on the radio when Greta Van Fleet is exactly that. Their success also Seems very industry manufactured the way a lot of pop artists are. But it’s all representative of where a lot of rock music is at right now. People only want to hear the classics and are only interested in new music when it sounds like something from the 70s.

*I am sure someone is going to come in here and remind me that Led Zeppelin also ripped off and cheated their way to the top. This is true. The difference is that they put their own spin on the old blues songs they stole. None of those musicians were playing like Jimmy Page or singing like Robert Plant. Greta Van Fleet is just trying to use the same formula without even bothering to come up with a unique sound. That’s just lazy to me. They’re good musicians and clearly a solid live band. Just devoid of any creativity.
 
Mosh said:
I often see people saying Greta Van Fleet are saving rock music when really they’re doing the opposite.
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Their fanbase probably consists of "You say Ariana Grande, I say AC/DC, you say Selena Gomez, I say Led Zeppelin, current music sucks and I was born in the wrong generation" teenagers, and "Back in my day this and that, this new stuff isn't music" oldfarts.
 
I listened to to that GVF EP a while ago, and it wasn't anything spectacular. It was ok at best, but it lacked any originality. GVF are just a LZ tribute act imo; nothing more, nothing less.
 
The Flash said:
Their fanbase probably consists of "You say Ariana Grande, I say AC/DC, you say Selena Gomez, I say Led Zeppelin, current music sucks and I was born in the wrong generation" teenagers, and "Back in my day this and that, this new stuff isn't music" oldfarts.
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Yea that’s exactly what I mean.
 
The Flash said:
Their fanbase probably consists of "You say Ariana Grande, I say AC/DC, you say Selena Gomez, I say Led Zeppelin, current music sucks and I was born in the wrong generation" teenagers, and "Back in my day this and that, this new stuff isn't music" oldfarts.
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Yeah, pretty well, eh? They're basically rock & roll hipsters.
 
Looking back at my initial review, I think I was too generous. I would maybe give the album a 7/10 now, or a low 6.5/10 at the very worst. Nothing is memorable apart from Lover, Leaver.

As for them sounding like Zep... I would rather have them trying to be Led Zeppelin than the next Ed Sheerans or whoever tf is popular today.
 
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