Greta Van Fleet
 

Just discovered them this weekend after some random guy started a conversation because of the shirt I was wearing (Tool). He started raving about this band made out of kids that aren’t even of legal drinking age that sound just like Led Zeppelin, and they’re coming to my hometown in August and I should check them out. So of course on the drive home, I checked them out and started to stream to my car stereo.

First thought was wow whoever is singing, really sounds like Plant, and then the guitar player totally nailed Page’s tone, drummer doesn’t have that Bonzo sound but he does the job well, and the bass has that Jones feel too. They’re LZ reincarnated, that’s the only way I can put it.

Buuuut, that’s part of the problem. Their latest release is a rather short album with just 8 songs at a bit over 30 minutes long. Was this album a homage to the good ol’ 8-track? Is it going to be released on 8-track? Might as well. Being so short allowed me to listen to it on rotation several times. I think I’ve listened to it about 5 times by now, and the novelty just about wore off already.

The fact that they sound so similar to LZ is their blessing and their curse. Lots of talent, don’t get me wrong, that kid has some good range, and they play with great stage energy from the videos I saw. But that same similarity that blew me away on my first listen, was just a novelty thing rooted in nostalgia, a deep wish for good rock music to make a comeback into the mainstream. After a few listens, then it set in that they’re just a LZ tribute band that decided to write their own songs in the style of LZ. GVF might, just might bring rock and roll back into the mainstream, but I think to make it last, they have to come with their own sound and style eventually. Can’t ride the LZ tailcoats forever, because as much as they sound like LZ, they will never be LZ.

I still might go see them live though, they seem to put up a really good show.

That sums up my reaction too. They are talented and certainly better than most of the stuff coming out of that generation, but we already have/had Led Zepp.
They have to work on developing their own sound if they want to be around for a while.

i've heard them and like them a lot. but, similar to led zep, i got a little tired of the tarzan yells of plant.

it is a singles world not an album world and is possibly why only 8 songs. that's why all of the "singers" on the we ain't got talent shows have to go over the top on their song. it may be the only one people ever hear.

i would like rock to make a comeback but i'm sure not holding my breath.

play music!

Led Zep Lite..

I've seen them, and I like them. Good energy, and yeah, they know how to get the Led out. There's plenty of good rock artists out there... just gotta know where to find them.

That’s a good point. The reason why it’s a singles world is because the music industry made it that way. When record labels force bands into contracts of so many full albums in a certain amount of years, you’ll end up with 12 songs with just 3 good ones. People eventually got fed up, and Steve Jobs provided a solution with iTunes.

Outside the mainstream, there’s still smaller record labels that give bands much more freedom and they can come out with 12 good songs. But those bands remain outside the mainstream.

Absolutely. I’m talking about on the mainstream, the same mainstream that thinks Maroon 5 is a rock band.

Read their Wikipedia page and they claim that the LZ sound was pretty much coincidence. I call BS on that, you don’t get that close to such iconic sound without really trying.

It's more-or-less what we've called an EP for .... decades. ;)

I've been listening to them since October, I think... definitely before their LP hit. I like them a lot. You got to remember that they're in their early 20's. I think they are barely 20.

So, yeah the sound a lot like Zep, but it's still good. I'm sure they'll develop their own more unique sound as they mature.

I've heard them and yeah they have that generic '70s blues rock thing happening. However they don't have the songwriting talent of Page and Plant.

As I said in the post above yours... they are barely 20. Give them time.

Exactly. The vast majority of artists start out imitating their influences. Let them find their way and sound over the next few years. They look promising!

Greta Rocks
 

I wanted to revive this thread because, frankly, they are leading the new wave of young rock musicians.

The comparison to Plant is universal, but Plant himself loves their music. I do not think they are copying Zep. They are bringing in all kinds of new influences, their guitar is heavier, the singing is more acrobatic than Plants, the kid has pipes to die for.

Here is Robert Plant on it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePIAaQwYMaM

The drum and bass work is influenced by both blues and contemporary pop, the guitar solo work is meandeing and not nearly up to Page, but they are still young.

The composition is tight, solid and entertaining. Fantastic riff on this song;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86_vnQc1oBE

If you don't get shivers listening to this then you might as well watch Lawrence Welk...

been there, done that. may actually be better than plant who was not one of my favorites.

where is lawrence when you need him?:D

play music!

How old do you think the guys in Led Zeppelin were when they started? All in their twenties. Robert Plant was 20.
These guys have talent for sure but unless they can get a couple of hits, it won't matter. Sorry to sound so pessimistic but I remember the band "Extreme" in the late eighties, early nineties.
I still have their CD "III Sides to Every Story", unbelievable stuff. You may know them by the single "More Than Words." These guys were an uber-talented rock band and very young as well. If you want to hear something amazing, listen to that album.Their success was probably categorized as mediocre at best and I think they were better than Greta VanFleet. Just sayin'.