The Who vs. Led Zeppelin
One of the heated debates in music history is the battle between two of the hardest rocking bands in classic rock: Led Zeppelin and the Who. While I hate to make a comparison of the two bands, for arguments sake I will try to do my best to have an Imagine Echoes style "Battle of the Bands." What I will do is compare a number of things such as who has the best album and the best members and so on and so forth. So let the battle begin!Songwriting: Winner: The Who
Best Album: The Who "Who's Next" vs. Led Zeppelin "IV": Winner: The Who
Drummer: Keith Moon vs. John Bohnam: Winner: Draw
Guitarist: Pete Townshend vs. Jimmy Page : Winner: Led Zeppelin
Vocalist: Roger Daltrey vs. Robert Plant: Winner: Led Zeppelin
Bass: John Entwistle vs. John Paul Jones: Winner: The Who
Consistency: Winner: The Who
Originality: Winner: Draw
Lyrics: Winner: The Who
__________________
Final Score:
-The Who: 5
- Led Zeppelin: 2
Winner: The Who
While there is no science to finding out who is truly the better band; in fact it is something completely objective, but I tried to give more proof to why I feel The Who is the better band. Another interesting subject to look at is which of the two has more influence on current music, that question would be opening up a whole new can of worms but could be a fantastic argument. Now is the time to hear your thoughts and arguments, comment away!
posted by Jeff at 12:34 AM
27 Comments:
What's the difference between songwriting and lyrics?
I think there should also be a category for "post-drummer death activity". LZ gracefully bowed out of the game, while The Who are still trying even though they're down to the last two original members. Who gets the point? Depends on which of those situations you like best.
I think The Who wins just because they wrote and recorded "Won't Get Fooled Again." LZ didn't. I'd rather listen to "Won't Get Fooled Again" over "Stairway To Heaven" any day.
You should do more articles like this! The next one, I think, should be Rolling Stones vs. Aerosmith.
Well now I have to change my November Battle of the bands because Zeppelin were going to be one of the contenders. That's okay, I have a back-up. I would pick Zeppelin in this match-up. I like the Who, but I listen to Zeppelin way more. I find them to be much more memorable. I think The Who vs. The Stones may be a more even match-up.
AHA! Oh, I will be back later my friend to tell you why I disagree :)
I love a great debate and we usually agree so this will be fun.
I'm gonna link here too, although I think everyone who reads me already reads you.
Songwriting: Winner: Led Zeppelin
Best Album: The Who "Who's Next" vs. Led Zeppelin "IV": Winner: Led Zeppelin
Drummer: Keith Moon vs. John Bohnam: Winner: Bonzo
Guitarist: Pete Townshend vs. Jimmy Page : Winner: Led Zeppelin
Vocalist: Roger Daltrey vs. Robert Plant: Winner: Led Zeppelin
Bass: John Entwistle vs. John Paul Jones: Winner: Draw
Consistency: Winner: The Who
Originality: Winner: Draw
Lyrics: Winner: Zeppelin
Final Score:
-The Who: 1
- Led Zeppelin: 6
I like The Who very much, as you know I saw them years ago and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. But for me personally, I spent so many years of my youth listening to Zeppelin in headphones that I think their music is forever imbedded in my brain. Luckily I never claimed to be an objective music critic because I just could not do it because a HUGE influencing factor for my favoring Zeppelin as an all around band is the respect and integrity they showed by disbanding after the death of their drummer. I remember Page and Plant making the announcement that Led Zeppelin had four members and now that one had died, the band must die with them. That has always stuck with me. Of course this could start a whole new argument – were they really honoring John or were Robert and Jimmy just sick of each other? If I ever get to meet one of them, that’s what I’ll ask
Songwriting: Winner: Led Zeppelin
Best Album: The Who "Who's Next" vs. Led Zeppelin "IV": Winner: Led Zeppelin
Drummer: Keith Moon vs. John Bohnam: Winner: Draw
Guitarist: Pete Townshend vs. Jimmy Page : Winner: Led Zeppelin
Vocalist: Roger Daltrey vs. Robert Plant: Winner: Led Zeppelin
Bass: John Entwistle vs. John Paul Jones: Winner: The Who
Consistency: Winner: Led Zeppelin
Originality: Winner: Draw
Lyrics: Winner: The Who
Led Zep 5
The Who 2
Russ - By songwriting I meant actually writing the music which I should have noted. I'm not sure which song I like more, "Won't Get Fooled Again" or "Stairway to Heaven." My favorite song by The Who is probably "Love Reign O'er Me" Maybe I'll do a few more of these.
Metal Mark - It's starting to look like I'm one of the very few who actually favors The Who over Zep but maybe some more commetns will side with The Who.
Layla - I think many of the categories can go either way. Especially with the drummers and best album.
Anonymous - I definitely think The Who was more consistent than Zeppelin. I think I-IV were solid albums but after that Zeppelin dropped off but I presume many would argue that. The Who stayed pretty solid throughout the years having some dud albums but very few.
I'd have to go with Zep on this one too. I wouildn't say that after "IV" they declined. How can you say that with albums like "Houses of the Holy" and "Physical Graffiti"?
I guess everyone has their opinions and tastes in music, so I'm not picking on you. I just feel that Led Zeppelin evolved more than The Who. Don't get me wrong, I like the who, but they are not on my list of albums that I'd take on a deserted island!
I actually think the greatest song The Who put together was Teenage Wasteland. But from a technical and creative "ahead of their time" perspective, several of Zeps tunes after IV were an amazing blend of new technology, blues guitar, and of course JB icing the cake.
I was 10 when I got my hands on Zep I. I played album 1, side 1, song 1 (good times bad times) so many times you could almost see through the record and have loved them ever since.
As a professional level musician and songwriter influenced so much by both bands, I have to say that Zep has made the impermiable mark on my soul..
Well for me The Who were kick-ass in live shows....Zep can't top that...
The Who came first & had a greater influence on rock n roll.....
Even jimmy page wanted Moon & Entwistle in his band....
there's no way Plant is a better singer than Daltrey....
all that plant sings is ooohhh baby...
daltrey's voice is magical...so aggresive...truly rock
The Who music,songwriting,lyrics is much influential than Zep...
And if i were to be on a deserted island i would take The Who records with me plus a few of Zep....
Put it this way....
Zep is like a cold drink ...sweet & u can use it when thirsty...
The Who musicis like wine....at first it tastes a bit odd but then as you get more of it you can't stop...
So its up to u if you like cold drinks or wine...
The Who is better than Zep... forever.................
b-bye
As great as the Who are, you can't put them up against a supergroup like Led Zeppelin. The Who against Queen would be more even. You are letting favoritism cloud your ratings.
The Beatles would be the only possible group that could compare to Led Zeppelin, but I personally believe that Zep were more talented musicians.
The Who were a great band. Led Zeppelin were the greatest rock band that ever stepped on a stage. I've seen virtually all the heavyweights, and Zeppelin were clearly in a class of their own. No band in the world, before or since, not even the magnificent Who at their absolute peak, could compete with a fully focused and firing on all cylinders Led Zeppelin. Nobody could. The original Who were a gifted wonderful band and I still love several Who albums. Every member of Led Zeppelin was not just extraordinarily gifted, but in fact a revolutionary innovator. The only band that should ever be compared to Led Zeppelin in terms of talent, influence, and popularity are The Beatles. No other band is even remotely in the same league, and I would still give the edge to Zep over the Beatles. Just for some perspective when comparing the influence of the Who to Zeppelin. The Who, in over 40 years of existence have sold a respectable 21 million albums in the U.S. alone. Led Zeppelin-IV alone, has sold 23 million copies in the U.S. with the total Zep U.S. albums sales now standing at a staggering 109.5 million.
Yes and McDonalds has sold over 65 billion hamburgers, but they can hardly claim they offer the very best grade of beef.
Originality a draw? Are you serious? I can point out several instances of plagiarism on just about every single recording. Show me where the Who ripped anyone off.
Vocals go to Led Zeppelin? Are you serious? Plant sounds like a pig in a slaughterhouse. His voice had no depth or color, even when not employing the aggravating falsetto. I'll give you guitar, but only if the criteria is "self-indulgent excess". There's no way his guitar could ever fill the same sonic space as Pete's. Never.
The Who are way more original and had more of a message than Led Zeppelin.
Led Zeppelin is insanely overrated imo.
All of you should give Quadrophenia an honest listen
The first "rock" band I got into (excluding some Beatles songs) was Queen, when I about 15. When I heard Led Zeppelin (all their stuff) I remember how disappointed I was. Back then I viewed them as a big 1970s rock band, unaware of any God Of Rock hype, as they're far less revered in the UK than in North America. No, I didn't think they sucked, and I didn't hate them, I just didn't see what the big deal was.
I got into The Who a bit later. They weren't a band that blew me away or any other hyperbole, but I liked them for sure.
For me The Who are more melodic songwriters, and although I'm normally indifferent to messages in music, they ventured further than Led Zeppelins women, mythology and fairy stories. Led Zeppelin often were harder edged in the studio, but overall that kind of thing doesn't age as well, on a personal level, as The Who's songwriting.
Live it's The Who all the way. When people rave about Led Zeppelins amazing live performances I wonder if this is the the same band as I've heard. I've heard many bootlegs and The Song Remains The Same is genius compared to that garbage.
Townsend and Page- well neither are great guitarists IMO. Page is undoubtedly sloppy, but Townsends few solos are no great shakes.
Daltrey is a better vocalist than Robert Plant's Janis Joplins like shrill shriek.
John Bonham. He's loud, but really that's all. Just one style. Keith Moon is fine enough. I'm not that concerned about drumming overall.
Bass players. Contrary to what fanboys believe there's no such thing as a super duper mega talented bass player. Both Jones and Entwhistle are good enough.
Overall I prefer The Who, not just because I actually prefer their music but also because I'm sick to death of the "ZOMG ZEPLIN IS GOD!!!" hype.
led zeppelin is the hardest rockin band ever. "Black Dog proves that. the were the most amazing group of musicians ever assembled. still though, the Who will always be the greatest. zeppelin rocked hard, but the who always seemed deeper and more artistic to me. LZ will never write a song like "Won't Get Fooled Again."
While both were great bands with a lasting impact, I would choose The Who. Page is by far the superior Guitarist, the drummers are too close to call.Entwistle is a better bass player, by a narrow margin.I would choose Daltrey over Plant because I find that falsetto he (Robert) sings annoying.As for original material, I say NO CONTEST, definitely The Who.
The Who was the ORIGINAL, LZ was completed of several copied pieces: vocal from early Steve Marriot, instrumental sound from Cream, acoustic sound from several hippie bands. Heavyness, the power, outlook exactly from The Who.
Sure, Page is "better" guitarist (he can play faster) than Townshend and Plant technically a bit better than Daltrey. But just technically.
For me only albums LZ I -- IV had some kind of special magic, later ones were just boring.
The main problem of The Who were too much different ideas and try to execute them all. And Townshend has never known what he wants to do really. Page had clear visions, unlike Pete. The Who has had alwayd problems with style. Always questions: to be pop or rock? To be soft or hard? So they failed to invent heavy metal, although they were really close to it 1964 -- 68. OK, Townshend has had been too good songwriter to be primal metalhead.
So they had always the problem with their albums: none ofthem satisfy me totally.
LZ`s songwriting was quite average. Actually only Plant wrote lurics and main melody, so Page could build his huge constructions around it. I know only handful good original tunes from LZ, other is quite primitive basic songs with brilliant arrangement of Page.
I think Pete is miles ahead as songwriter and lyricist from Plant/Page. The Who has much more good songs than LZ, AND they STILL do them -- "Endless Wire" had several enjoyable tunes.
The Who was band of huge projects, great ideas etc. LZ made a nice try -- "The Song Remains The Same" but that was it.
So I think, The Who was a way better as band but The Who doesn`t have perfect albums with special magic. LZ does.
There is no contest here people. Who's Next is the best album of all time. Keith Moon was the greatest drummer ever. Robert Plant sings like an annoying little girl. Zeppelin is way over played, especially Stairway to Heaven.
Long Live Rock
First of all I have to say I like very much The Who. But i think they were to much bold to Townshend's leadership - he's a genius, of course -, so the other members were less free than Zeps and had to move in a little space to show their own talent. For example, I like Daltrey but Plant is truly better, also because he can do what he wants when he's singing, he c r e a t e s music during the performance. Plant is pure creativity, each time he sings - and every Zeppelin member plays this way. Who's songs are very well organized, but this is their limit too, i think.
Ah! The Who is so much better. I mainly agree with what you said. But... I think Roger Daltrey is infinitesimally better than Robert Plant. I really like both bands. But listening to songs like Love Reign O'er Me and then comparing it to a song like... Going to California... Its no contest. Roger's voice is far supreme.
I can see merits in all of these points. I've asked this question to many people, before I even knew about the rivalry, and consistently came up with the answer "The Who". Actually, my question was "who was the more influential band" but most took it as "which was better".
The funny thing is, that even though these people said this, in many cases, if you asked them who they listened to more often or who they owned more records of, they'd say Zep.
Now, everyone is entitled to their opinion (that's one of the great things about music!), but may favorite is Led Zeppelin:
1. Subjectively, though I do love the who, I enjoy Led Zep a little more.
2. Objectively, if I considered the two bands to be completely equal, I would consider Led Zeppelin to have equal success with a greater diversity of sounds, showing a greater growth as a band over their careers.
I love both bands and consider them almost exactly equal.
Drummer: Keith - John ----- draw, both amazing drummers
Guitarist: Jimmy - Pete ----- Pete is an ok player even though he fits the who more than jimmy wouldve. i preffer jimmy as a guitarist
Singer: Roger - Robert -- very close call but if i had to chose it would be robert.
Bassist: Entwistle - paul jones - No contest AT ALL, John Entwistle. Best bass player ever.
i would say a draw for a quick answer because they are both very amazing and original bands. but if i had to pick after much thought, it would be The Who
I pretty much agree with everything here except vocals. daltrey is much better than plant in my opinion. plant's screechy-type english voice doesn't compare to daltreys strong sound.
so in the end:
The Who-6
led Zeppelin-1
This is perhaps the greatest entry into any battle of the bands.
To approach this debate, we'll have to compare individual members and then the two super groups as a whole:
Bassists: No question Jonesy is great but he still can't touch Thunderfingers, who was the greatest of all time.
Vocalists: Daltrey was the singer with balls. Rober could belt out in the mid and low registers with more sonic growl in contrast to Robert's upper register bluesy wail, as great as it was.
Drummers: Tie: Although Mooney had a slight edge in contrast to Bonzo in that he presented an unorthodox technical juggernaut in his drumming whereas Bonham's explosive drumming was more orthodox. Thus, Moon was and still is the most unique drummer in rock history. We'll still call it a draw since both were percussive titans.
Guitarists: When it comes to rhythm: Pete and Jimmy are at a tie; in the area of sheer tone Townshend takes it whereas soloing has to go to Pagey.
Songwriting: It singlehandedly in favor of The Who since a bulk of Zeppeil's songs were actually reworkings of older blues and folk numbers particularily on the first four albums.
Live bands: Its close but it still goes to The Who. Between 69' through 75' they were simply untouchable live.
Lasting contribution to music: In this area it is a tie.
Winner: The Who by a hair. (Both bands along with The Stones and Sabbath right behnd them are the greatest no question)
Led Zeppelin....I find it odd that their worst half is worshipped (Page/Plant) while the other half is far better (Bonham/Jones).
Jimmy Page knows how to conceive a good guitar melody. BUT LEARN TO FUCKING PLAY IT MAN!! Listen to the intro of Hotdog. OMG fail....
Pete may not have the "chops" Page has, but he is clean.
Bassist: omg Entwistle wins. Jones is awesome though, he was the man that made me want to play bass.
Drummer: I can't see why people say "close call" and I wanna kill myself when they think Bonham is better. Keith sounds amazing and he doesn't know what he's gonna do next!
Vocals: omg Plant is sooo annoying. Roger doesn't sound like a teenage girl screaming with Bieber fever! Roger wins.
Lyrics: well hmmm....I'm gonna have to go with the band with lyrics that MEAN SOMETHING. The Who wins.
I went through my little Led Zep phase....and I'm much more mature now...and I can clearly see The Who destroys LZ in more ways than one.
sorry... i know i'm biased but fuck it :)
I find this interesting. I love both, but they're very different and it's always been odd to me that they get compared as often as they do. I'm a dedicated Who fan, but it always seemed to me sort of a personal preference thing. The vocals are barely comparable and both have madmen at the drums. Zep has a slicker lead guitarist, the Who a slicker bass guitarist. And I think Quadrophenia is a better album than Who's Next, but I'm probably in the minority on that one.
Let's examine this, shall we? I love both Led Zeppelin and the Who. Both bands were incredibly talented in their own ways and both would feature on my list of top ten greatest classic rock bands. But, for the sake of discussion I have decided to examine your criteria.
Songwriting: For me the winner is the Who. Simply because they wrote Rock Operas that were intelligent, captivating and made sense. That said Zeppelin were also amazing songwriters; just listen to Kashmir or Achilles Last Stand. But the clear winner in this category is the Who.
Best Album: The winner of this category is Led Zeppelin. In particular Physical Graffiti. That album has everything on it from hard rock, '50s rock music, pop, eastern music, the blues, blues rock, funk, and heavy metal. It's also the song with Kashmir on it. That said, the Who's best albums are: Tommy, Who's Next, and Quadrophenia. That said, they are not as diverse or built with the same amount of craft as Zeppelin albums. Led Zeppelin is the clear winner.
Drummer: I find this tricky. Both were amazingly skilled. However, I would have to go with John Bonham. Purely for the reason that Bonham had more self discipline when he played. Listen to Stairway to Heaven and you'll hear that he doesn't come in until well after the half way point. Moon does gain points, however, for being a true character of rock. But for musicianship it's John Henry Bonham.
Guitarist: This goes without saying. It's Jimmy Page, all the way. Pete Townshend was a good guitar player but I personally find his playing to be somewhat limited. He either plays Rock like Won't Get Fooled Again, Pop like I Can't Explain, or uses a synthesiser like on Baba O' Riley. Jimmy Page embraced blues, folk, country and western, rock, rockabilly, hard rock, heavy metal. The list is endless. Also, Page was one of the most renowned session musician players of the 1960s. Look up the songs he played on, it's incredible. You don't become a session musician of that sort of calibre without being very, very, very good. Townshend sounds like a bloke who picked up a guitar at seventeen and started a rock band at eighteen and was lucky enough to make it big.
Vocalist: I find this difficult. In terms of front men and showmanship I'd award it to Robert Plant. Plant had self confidence whereas Daltrey let Townshend do the talking for him and his entire act was based around swinging his microphone around all place like a lasso and trying to take out key member of British Royalty. In terms of looks it's Roger Daltrey. The flat stomach, the curly hair, the bloke looked like a Greek Adonis. However, in terms of singing ability it's Robert Plant. Plant had a large vocal range, more power and was much more intense. Listen to BBC Sessions, it's amazing. However, it must be noted how skilful Daltrey was at injecting emotion and bringing character to his vocals. The winner of this category is Plant, but only just.
Bass: John Entwistle, simply John Entwistle. The Who's bassist was much flashier and much more skilled at playing bass than John Paul Jones. That said, Jones is a much more skilled all 'round musician. Look at the list of instruments he can play. Take that into account along with the fact that he is an arranger, has composed music, and was a very in demand session musician in his day. But for Bass alone, it's John Entwistle.
Consistency: It's the Who to me. Which is a bad thing. Bands ought to have diversity. Led Zeppelin played a variety of different genres. And, unlike the Who, they never had an album which wasn't in the Top 10. So the winner is Led Zeppelin.
Originality: The Who. Because of their rock operas. It is true that Led Zeppelin did lean on the old blues music without giving credit on various occasions.
Lyrics: It's a draw. The Who wrote entire rock operas but I do find the lyrics of Stairway to Heaven, Kashmir and Ten Years Gone to be very meaningful to.
THE WINNER: LED ZEPPELIN.
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