Posted 31 March 2013 - 12:16 AM
For me, it's Zeppelin, though The Who have grown some in my estimation over the years as I've become familiar with more of their catalogue. Nice to see "The Rain Song" get some recognition here. When it comes to the vox populi, the prevailing view is generally that "Stairway to Heaven" is their best song; when I heard "The Rain Song," though, I thought, "This is the second coming of 'Stairway,' maybe surpasses it. Possibly the greatest song I've ever heard." It is just so far under the radar, though, even though it's a song of similar length. Just a massive, massive song.
I could go on and on with my thoughts on the Zeppelin catalogue, but I'll keep things brief. When it comes to live albums, it's hard to say what the cause is behind them not having something people immediately point to as a sort of seminal work, especially something released at the time. The Song Remains the Same in its original release was something Page, who is known for producing the hell out of everything, really didn't consider as a live album proper, rather, as a soundtrack, as it states on the front of the album. The reissue from 2007 is much more well-regarded in all quarters, essentially. How the West Was Won, released about 30 years after the fact, as a nice glimpse into things and a very good release, as is the video Led Zeppelin DVD. What I wish I had hold of were the bootlegs. There are so many out there, and many are purported to have done a decent job as far as the sound. So much of the legend goes beyond the studio catalogue, and I've heard some mp3s of stuff, but I'd really like to have those boots. So many overseas releases, especially Japan. Many of us still wonder, "What does Jimmy still have somewhere, and what is he going to do with it, if there's anything?" Things have always taken forever because he's such a perfectionist, and he's not seemed to have much of a "warts an' all" mentality. I really need to get Celebration Day (haven't had the money) and give that O2 concert a listen and watch.