Classic Album War: Black Sabbath 'Past Lives' vs Led Zeppelin 'How the West Was Won'

[@kenm.3512]

I prefer the Led Zeppelin set. Excellent job gentlemen.

[@mmk7340]

I love Sabbath, but HTWW is the landslide winner IMO.

[@benedictdonald4338]

“Past Lives” was a revelation- although I’d owned “live at last”, this complete full set just kicked it out of the park. But then Zep released “West” and every live album ever released before it was rendered irrelevant. That zep release literally destroys everything else and proves why they were indeed the greatest band ever. Hammer of the gods, indeed.

[@johnfoster2447]

This is the toughest one for me yet. My two favorite bands. I got all their albums as they came out. Tomorrow might be different. But for today it's Zeppelin!

[@patriotpizzaman]

Led Zeppelin How the West Was Won is about as good as it gets from Zep live. I have seen Ozzy many times and I know how he sounds live. This Past Lives disc is very good for Ozzy live. Zeppelin for the win!

[@millfred123]

Your Chris Alo episodes deserve their own playlist.

[@sherryraisbeck9547]

I'm probably that one person who never tires of stairway...first heard that solo as a preteen, and it still hits me like an electrical current, in a good way of course.....Zep all the way for me. I go by the skip factor too, Chris!

[@johnfoster2447]

I never get tired of Stairway either. It's a masterpiece and every time I listen to it I hear something I never heard before. Like a backing guitar or a ghost note on the snare. I bought Zep Four when it came out and have heard it 6000 times! But it never gets old to me.

[@sherryraisbeck9547]

@@johnfoster2447 never gets old for me either, John!

[@raymondkizer1216]

I agree as well. Love Stairway to Heaven!

[@millfred123]

I learned it on guitar, a fairly simple arpeggio, and that's what kept me from getting sick of it

[@mikeprofo2328]

I learnt most of Stairway on guitar many years ago but only made half -hearted attempts to learn the solo. I was like Pete, it got to a point where I didn't need to hear it anymore. Now years later I'm revisiting it and am determined to learn the solo properly. Wish me luck! I'm more of a Zep than Sabbath fan, so How the West was Won gets my vote. I don't mind long jams, some can be good, some not so good. I draw the line at long drum solos, Moby Dick is my skip track.

[@timmarciniak4388]

Great job guys as usual! I’m going to have to go with ZEP in a very close battle! Great job Chris!

[@paulsimister944]

I saw Sabbath in the mid 70s with Ozzy and I've always regretted not joining up with a couple of friends to see Zeppelin at a big open air concert. There's only one winner here for me and that's Led Zep.

[@paulsimister944]

Zeppelin are lucky to have two albums from the Houses of the Holy era in the live albums wars. The Song Remains The Same is better in its extended and remastered form but I think it's generally seen as bettered by How The West Was Won. Don't get me started on how Sabbath don't deserve four entries although I can understand an Ozzy versus Dio shootout.

[@mikeprofo2328]

@Paul Simister. Do you mean the Knebworth concert(s)? I went with 2 friends, we just said let's go, didn't have to think about it. Some of the concert is on the Led Zep "DVD" and reminds me of how good it really was,sometimes memories can play tricks, but not in this case. Sorry you didn't make it, you missed a treat.

[@paulsimister944]

@@mikeprofo2328 if that was the 1978 concert then yes. I wasn't as big a Zeppelin fan as they were and I thought I'd have other opportunities to see them. I got that wrong so the morale of the story is to seize your chances.

[@mikeprofo2328]

@ Paul Simister. The Zep Knebworth concerts were '79. I went to the 4thAugust one, There was a second one on 11thAugust. The second one is on You Tube, all 2hrs 40mins.

[@paulsimister944]

@@mikeprofo2328 it must have been 79. I've just checked setlist.fm and there weren't any concerts in 1978.

[@markking6327]

What you have to apprieiate is that Zeppelin were are and always will be the greatest band to have ever graced the planet ..........so they get my vote .

[@russdavies9686]

This is one of the toughest so far. Love both of these groups and both of these albums are what I consider the respective bands pinnacle when it comes to live albums. As much as I love Sabbath How The West Was Won is arguable my favorite live album from anyone ever. Its Zep for me all the way.

[@benedictdonald4338]

As for the live extended “70s jamming”, it depends on who’s doing the jamming. If it’s zeppelin or deep purple, Dio-era Rainbow, or the allmans, etc., sign me up!

[@MrDevtun]

Zep's long medley jams such as Dazed & Confused, Whole Lotta Love, and No Quarter are so trippy. Never played the same way twice, it's just awesome how they would throw in stuff from Elvis, Joni Mitchell, Scott McKenzie, etc into the blender. Yeah, I get how w/o the visuals it loses some impact - still pretty damn amazing stuff.

[@jennystryker2967]

Love both. The Sabbath album is just alright. How the west was won is Outstanding. Never the less the two are among the greatest.

[@drummusicinc4027]

Chris is back!!!👍🤘🎶 Gotta go with Zeppelin here. I love the Sabbath record too, but the production, sound and thunder of How the west was won will win the day, for me.

[@Gilmourfan11]

Two great albums so, for me, it comes down to Zep vs. Sab and again, for me, Zep's always going to win that battle. As you say, this is for fun snd, bottom line, 2 great albums by 2 great bands - win - win!!!

[@rocky-o]

love when chris joins you...you guys are so good together...my vote for this round...the mighty zep....peace....

[@Leeming1989]

Hope Sabbath will release the entire Asbury Park show from 75.

[@aceman3577]

TWO EXCELLENT ALBUMS BUT I'M GOING FOR BLACK SABBATH FOR ME

[@youtoo2233]

Love Black Sabbath but Led has always been my favorite rock band so they get the edge here! And yes a few of the songs are extremely long but there's tons of things going on in all of it including bits and pieces of different songs, example in Dazed and Confused they play Walter's walk and the crunge also so you're getting a lot of hidden gems in there. And this is Jimmy Page in his prime and believe me the guy is on fire as is the rest of the band

[@youtoo2233]

@Perfect Stranger yep, back in the day bands used to jam out. If you wanted a band to play a song exactly like the studio version Zeppelin was not the band for you, their concerts would take you on a journey.

[@youtoo2233]

@Perfect Stranger 42 minutes man thats really pushing it lol

[@georgegsroomofrock9868]

Both are great but Zeppelin wins this it is definitely in my top 5 live albums.of all time!

[@Nick-qf7vt]

Oh boy... this is tough. For me, this and the AC/DC vs Rolling Stones are the toughest.

[@antimurphy8212]

Which era of AC/DC though?

[@Nick-qf7vt]

@@antimurphy8212 The album Pete put up against the Stones one was If You Want Blood, late Bon Scott era. After Powerage, before Highway.

[@jimhutchins2893]

Led Zeppelin takes the songs to another level, expands, jams, left turns sometimes as opposed to Sabbath, which is always good, but simply live renditions of the tunes, same arrangements, pretty close to studio. 2 of my favorite bands, but I go with LZ for the live stuff.

[@antimurphy8212]

There are some.live jams from Sabbath. Where have you been?

[@alanthorne3921]

At least they tied up the sound on the original Live at Last (not to mention the dreadful lunar cover).The second disc is great.But as much as I love Sabbath Zep wins for me.I agree that too much jamming can get tedious but hey this was the 70s .

[@leonardosmaniotto]

I absolutely love Sabbath, but against Zeppelin I take Zeppelin, this is a prime of the greatest band of all times. Awesome video!

[@michaelfishman5768]

Definitely Led Zeppelin for me. Love Robert Plants voice in his hay day.

[@scottrobinson9752]

Zeppelin and Sabbath are my two favorites.... this was a fun one, and a hard choice. I had to go with Zeppelin.... the sound/mix quality is what sets it apart. But performance wise...both albums are amazing. The Zeppeling stuff was properly multi-tracked by Eddie Kramer... and who knows what the source is for the Sabbath stuff.

[@clintbronson5]

New subscriber! Love your passion and it’s great to have the same taste in music ;)

[@markrushton1516]

Always Zep. They were the masters of that genre in the way that AC/DC are the masters of theirs. They set the bar and kept it consistently high.

[@tatedavis2016]

My two beloved bands. Well done guys!! I can't pick.

[@jerryattwooll4864]

Both absolutely seminal bands, but Led Zeppelin are my favourite band. Much as I love Sabbath too, That's How The West Was Won is in my opinion a much better live album than Song Remains The Same and is Zep at the peak of their powers. Its Zeppelin all the way here for me.

[@vladdrakul7851]

Agreed except i prefer the tighter TSRTS songs on that LP over HTWWW but both have versions of songs better than the other.The versions of 'Since I've been loving you', 'No Quarter' and especially that 'Dazed and Confused' from the film are the greatest LZ stuff ever. On the other hand the other LP has the best 'Immigrant Song', 'Bring it on Home' etc. Any way they are both utterly awesome, I just feel there is more filler in the earlier concert IMHO.

[@Geerladenlad]

Both of these are very awesome live albums!!! But the win has to go to Zeppelin because their training was Superior and they were more prepared for the bout than Black Sabbath was. It was a tenth round unanimous decision for Led Zeppelin.

[@jimgroff6880]

Pete, it would be nice to see a "best of Chris A" episode. He is my favorite. Martin too. Keep up the good work ✔️

[@micolsen8895]

I'm keeping both.

[@ffsf739]

I'm with you, Pete. Zeppelin FTW.

[@stevekosak8624]

Sabbath is my fav. band but as far as these 2 ill go with zep because 1st just a smokin ass live set or sets ,!. The thing that bugs me about the Sabbath is the added crowd noise to the 1970 Paris, France show ??? Why do that but other than that any Ozzy era Sabbath live is ok with me! Another great video 😈

[@obbor4]

One of the top three bands of all time, with an incredibly diverse career including some of the most influential and best music of all times, versus a one trick pony more popular than actually great. An early knockout for Led Zeppelin. There is not a single member of Black Sabbath who could possibly replace a single member of Zeppelin. Sabbath has their place. If they toured with Zeppelin, that place would be as an opening act.

[@vladdrakul7851]

I agree but Sabbath like the Beatles were greater than the sum of their parts. Sabbath were great at what they did. They were a punky Zep without the super technique (no other band had so much talent in all its members except maybe Parliament Funkadelic; the ex James Brown band plus George Clinton, funk genius) but with great skills anyway along with some great songs and a presence all of their own. They were the first purely Metal band and deserve to be placed right behind Led Zep (the greatest hard Rock band) just as Zep come right behind the Beatles (IMHO the greatest band in history)! ALL great music!

[@ModernDayWarrior2112]

You guys need to seek out the Sabbath bootleg of Asbury Park from 1975 in which some of the material on disc 2 is pulled from. It was originally a King Biscuit Flower Hour broadcast. Sounds amazing and it’s the complete show from Convention Hall in Asbury Park NJ.

[@mahogany174]

With Chris all the way with the 20+ minute songs. I never got this and still skip them to this day!

[@vladdrakul7851]

Smoke weed and you will understand what is missing from metal these days. To much booze. Still, even stoned a long jam needs to be actually very good to not bore you but sometimes those long jams are the best thing ever but very few can do that well. Very few!!!

[@spaghetti.lee-69]

Chris did you go the Amorphis / Dellain show in NYC?? I think I met you there...Zep for the WIN!!

[@williamgainford9332]

Past lives all the way - picked up a copy on vinyl in amoeba records in hollywood in 2017 on holiday - 23 bucks - normally way dearer online + shipping - the icing on the cake of a gr8 holiday - the zep record is gr8 - but past lives is brilliant

[@DBTdad]

Sabbath gets my vote despite the terrible sound quality. Always an underdog band. I'm a child of the 70s but I agree with the guest on the extended so called jam thing. Who truly enjoys a drum solo except other drummers? A little improvisation to song is fine but for me, keep it simple.

[@patrickcrowther9195]

‘HTWWW’ is one of the best-sounding live albums I’ve ever heard. I think it knocks spots off the film soundtrack. What I’ve never understood is why they gave it that dreadful, dreadful cover.

[@dancalmpeaceful3903]

I know the band hated "Live at Last"..but as a fan at the time of it's release, I welcomed it as overpaid for it at "Camelot Records" (Yeah...remember that place in malls?) . I still listen to it often and I thoroughly enjoy "Past Lives" quite a bit. Zep takes this battle hands-down no questions asked.

[@yianniszcovers]

I bought the Past Lives cd when it came out, because of the guitar pick! But man it sounds raw and 100% live. Listened to it couple of weeks ago. Amazing package and music quality!

[@mthomas1973]

Led Zeppelin. This album is pulverizing with performance and energy. The sound is truly incredible

[@GreenerHill]

Zeppelin just LOVE being likened to The Sabs! :) Plant can sing, so HtWwW automatically gets my vote. I marginally prefer Song Remains the Same, but that's a minor quibble. The Sabs couldn't even produce a good live album with Dio, so how they were hoping to do the task with the hopeless (and boring) Osbourne, who knows?

[@theclassicrockjunkie7353]

I would pick Led Zeppelin like you guys said Zep in their prime, just wanted to mention that I like when a band does jams, the artist is able to play freely and get their groove on so to speak and stretch the songs out.

[@rickleblanc8900]

Yes, two awesome live albums for sure. I might lean towards Sabbath here but still a huge Zep fan too. However, Deep Purple Made In Japan is up there as well imo. Fact

[@gcash2074]

LED ZEPPELIN FOR THE WIN!

[@oliverl.5834]

The stuff from "Past Lives" is also in some of those Box Sets from the last couple of years, right?

[@MattSmith-iq1ld]

I love How The West Was Won, but as we all know, it's not a true live album. It's one of the most doctored live albums ever made. Check out the Garden Tapes website. "Stairway" has music on it that was lifted from a concert in Southampton University on 22nd January, 1973. I prefer "West" because I prefer Zeppelin over Sabbath, but "Past Lives" is a true live record. Ozzy's voice goes out of tune several times during "Megalomania," which I feel is the most underrated Sabbath tune ever. This website shows all of the edits and overdubs that were done to How The West Was One. As I said, perhaps the most doctored live record ever besides Kiss Alive and some of the Deep Purple live albums: www.thegardentapes.co.uk/htwww.html

[@pinkyfloydyfan1]

Extra long songs takes me in another world!!! Go for the jam!!! Led Zep is THE best!!!

[@LuisCastro-nh3iy]

How The West Was Won changed my life.

[@MetalJesus157]

There are 3 reasons that The Song Remains the Same is better than How the West was Won: 1) No Quarter 2) The Song Remains the Same 3) The Rain Song

[@davidryan6441]

Few Survived The Rainbow Concert without perforated ear drums...They were LOUD...Although Past Lives is good, its almost too little to late....Zeppelin's How The West Was Won captures The band in full flight in a way The Song remains the same never did....Zep Wins...but do go out and buy Past Lives it is worth having .

[@TheOneAboveAll]

Led Zeppelin

[@keithoday9896]

Pete imo you have done a fantastic job on these matchups ; in hindsight though im wondering if maybe doing a rating system for pairing these matchups before would have been the thing to do. I know that is difficult because of all the great material that there is but were seeing matchups like this one ( Sabbath Past lives vs. How the west) which probably should have been a third or fourth round matchup? But once again difficult with all the great material it would be hard to do. Thanks for your great show!!

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

Rating system created by who? Again, this is all subjective stuff here so kinda hard to do that.

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

Plus, it's quite possible both bands could meet later on down the road anyway, seeing as both have multiple live albums that have been entered.

[@keithoday9896]

Your right Pete it would be hard since its subjective, my bad!

[@vladdrakul7851]

*There is and has been ever since 1969 been an argument over who the first Metal band is.* Both sides have a point. So let me clarify the truth as I see it. *Clearly Led Zeppelin were the first band to play Heavy Metal Songs* ('Dazed and Confused' hugely influenced Geezer, Ozzy and Tony who admit they listened to LZ I on rotation while stoned) L.Z. added what heavy Blues lacked with Bonham's slamming drums, Jimmy's killer riffs and Roberts preening screams but essentially they were a Hard Rock band who invented Metal. *Sabbath were Metal's first band because they stuck to Metal while LZ could also be Blues, prog, folk.* Sabbath stuck to the heavy (mostly)!

[@ΝικοςΡαπτης-ξ2ψ]

I saw Black Sabbath live in Athens in 2005 so i must say i saw live the greatest rock band ever walked on earth.To compare two LPs they must have same production same sound same quality e.t.c.BS had not the money the others had back then so i doubt they could produce same quality live sound.Still live at Paris 1970 is the more raw powerfull live i have seen on yt.Legends

[@treffbennett6534]

There is only one band that could title an album 'How The West Was Won", without it sounding like grandiose, excessive arrogance.

[@troy78]

Sabbath takes this “Versus”! “Past Lives”is a monster of a an album. I grew up on “Live at Last” and “Live Evil” so I am definitely biased. The bonus material on “Live at Last” pushes the album to classic status. To this day there are only a handful of LedZeppelin songs I truly dig.

[@findmusic8797]

The Mighty ZEP!

[@jamesw4895]

Sometimes the jamming becomes and absolute must as mij deep purples versions of the songs contain unforgettable versions of the machine head numbers.

[@brucefranklin6295]

I always felt like Live at Last was a pretty poor representation of Sabbath Live.You want really good live Sabbath? Watch live in Paris 1970 and Don Kirschner's Rock Concert Live 1975,and/or California Jam 1974.Those will give you the early and later 70's Sabbath in great form.Zeppelin's How the west Was Won is probably about the best live representation for them.Sabbath is my second favorite band after Deep Purple, but I have to give this war to Zeppelin.

[@DowneckNewark]

Got ‘em all. Sabbath!!!!!

[@brucefranklin6295]

@@DowneckNewark Tony's guitar sound on DKRC and California Jam is the fattest,heaviest sound and Bill Ward is a monster on both also.That's the stuff!

[@jeffaudrain5117]

@@brucefranklin6295 Psalm 9

[@mattyboywalker9094]

Zep win this for me but I adore past lives also

[@neilpye6089]

How the west was won for me

[@Danimal77]

You guys never did get around to doing the History of Iron Maiden!

[@arunb3713]

I used to own Live at Last on cassette!

[@Lepotadneva]

Sabbath for me, Megalomania song is better here as it is on Sabotage this live version is a killer one the whole album is superb but Megalomania for my opinion stands out, very very good live version.

[@tbls04]

Tight but Loose should have been the magazine for James Brown and the JBs

[@vladdrakul7851]

Perfect. I love all of them and Funkadelic is awesome being that band minus JB but plus George Clinton, Bernie Worrell and Bootsie, and Eddie Hazel Cosmic Slop!! It's James Brown meets Jimi Hendrix on the dance floor!! Fucking LZ : best gig ever. Knebwroth 2nd night stage front and 200,000 others for 3 1/2 hours of genius intensity and fire. Sabbath are pretty damn good too!

[@donnybrookdetritus]

Classic episode

[@genephillips856]

Gotta go with the mighty zep

[@217789jimbo]

Me too

[@markc5771]

My heart is always with Sabbath but my integrity says How The West Was Won.

[@antimurphy8212]

I love both bands, but I prefer Past Lives...amazing stuff. Sabbath is heavier than Zep. No need to debate that. Obviously Zeppelin is more commercially successful. Could care less...it's all about the riffs and Tony Iommi basically invented the metal riff.

[@vladdrakul7851]

Good, you like what you do. But come on, Riffs? Sure both are masters at it but Jimmy was doing it first. 'Dazed and Confused' (that Tony, Bill, Ozzy and Geezer all say they listened to over and over while stoned. Its an obvious influence on their first LP too). Sabbath WERE the first 'Metal band' because they stuck to that and honed it down but Zeppelin were the first band to play metal songs. I was there at the time. 'Immigrant Song' is METAL head banging stuff. Check out the live version on U tube. Zeppelin were too varied to be metal but songs like 'Achilles Last Stand' influenced Iron Maiden and 'Whole Lotta Love' AC/DC-

[@mikewhiteley641]

The Mighty Sabbath. Today....Tomorrow.....A week from now,,,,,,,,

[@sabbster1157]

Black Sabbath SET all the way.

[@vernetexon4914]

I miss the jam thing within the construct of a song. I will always choose Sabbath over Zep, even though Zep was huge influence on Sabbath and Queen and most bands from those days.

[@dancalmpeaceful3903]

Chris Alo in hell: Being forced to listen to the live version of "Dazed and Confused" on "Song Remains The Same". (I believe this version is longer...however, the version they play at Earl's Court (on bootleg) is EVEN a bit LONGER. To some extent I agree with Chris. When I have a lot of menial labor to do, I gather up several "long jam" live albums and play them all...and the longer the better... For some reason long jams seem to make menial labor that much EASIER to do.....probably just me.

[@williamgainford9332]

Even ozzy made a joke years ago about tonys overimprovising - he said he used to go out for a smoke in the carpark - eventually tonys solos where so long hed go out for a 3 course meal ! - hed come back - and he was still playing - lol .

[@jamesw4895]

Love both bands. But the closing tracks on the sabbath cd are bootleg quality. But its still great.

[@clintbronson5]

JUDAS PRIEST Stained Class VS IRON MAIDEN Killers.....let the battle begin 🤜🤔🤛✌️🤦‍♂️👍

[@rickleblanc8900]

Killers by a landslide !

[@timothywills7709]

Sabbath because of the Sabotage songs!

[@mahogany174]

Sabotage is their best album for me.

[@brubeck1]

the tee shirt makes me think he'll pick sabbath , oh i was right lol.

[@jeffswanson3740]

Not tough at all. Huge Sab fan but it’s Zep all the way. Not even close. Looove the extended jamming.

[@colinrgage]

Zep all day long

[@Mang213]

The Undisputed Heavyweight Champions of heavy rock. That is Black Sabbath. But Led Zeppelin were the Undisputed Heavyweight Gods of heavy rock. Zep #1, Sab #2. Deep Purple #3. Everyone else doesn't really matter

[@chadbarker4023]

Chris for Prez! Hahahaha

[@MATTLUCAS-zz6we]

Led Zeppelin 1974 Nassau Collasium Long island New y York 4hr Show Im 14 My First Concert. Plant Introduces a new song off our up coming album.KASHMIR 20 minute drum solo Moby Dick. Chris 😂

[@larrynolletti4594]

The Wicked World is fuckin' phenomenal....killer jazz blues from Iommi....with unadulterated wailing....Butler and Ward are great on it...best part of that album....the rest of the album doesn't even compare with Live Evil.....let alone that killer Zeppelin set....can't believe all of the Zeppelin they sat on..imagine the stampede they would have incited had it been released in the 80's....instead of horrible solo Plant....the super lame Firm....Jones's Casio album....falling all over each other for the Death Wish 2 soundtrack....puking at Live Aid.....what a joke.... .

[@vladdrakul7851]

Funnily enough the last ten years Robert actually did some damn good music BECAUSE he stopped playing on nostalgia. Note how sadly and desperately Page wanted to be with him. I saw Robert in Stockholm this June 8 (see U tube; Very very good.The best Concert I have seen in many years inc a sad Motörhead with a sick Lemmy; I just thought it was a bad night!). Robert's concert was really unexpectedly great. The best since 1975 for him. 'Carry Fire', 'Ramble On',' Babe, I'm gonna leave you' and many others all done with conviction. Knebworth 1979 was a post '75 exception, they practiced for 3 months, I had expected a catastrophe!

[@larrynolletti4594]

@@vladdrakul7851 I'll always remember Plant when he first went solo after Bonham died claiming that he would never do Zeppelin songs.....that he might as well be a Vegas act cashing in....in no time he was routinely doing lame versions of Zeppelin tunes with his solo band....hideous....the ultimate farce was the absolutely revolting No Quarter....Page...Plant and some sort of eastern Indian orchestra.....quite frankly I could not believe it....it was so bad....and so obvious why Zeppelin didn't continue....they blew off Jones....not allowing him to "cash in".....when asked what he thought about it Jones said in an interview..."....it's Page.....Plant......and all these other guys doing my parts..."....haha..later.....when the three of them were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame and it was his turn to say something at the podium Jones looked squarely at Page and Plant and said..."....hey guys......how 'bout a phone call..."......classic....

[@vladdrakul7851]

​@@larrynolletti4594 I mostly and basically agree with you in terms of what was produced since then but I am far less bothered by the Indian Orchestra thing which was at least interesting and not just regurgitation. Indeed the original was inspired by just that music so I am not in agreement on just that particular song. It is at least played with feeling, whereas most of what they did post Zeppelin was simply BORING and LAME which too me is worse!! Indeed the same was true of the Beatles with only John making any good music for about two years before he just basically quit on focusing on music and Paul mostly made silly love songs and the others two nothing at all. Fucking Hare Krishna and the travelling Wilburries Yuck! But decline is inevitable like death is and takes nothing away from what was great before because any good band is greater than the sum of its parts by nature. 4 minds become one and suddenly (4 plus times RAM space in computer terms) genius is pouring out. Even the very, very best don't stay that way, though some few do improve throughout their lives via discipline and love, far more don't; Success itself demotivates. Once great actors now make shit films (De Niro,) You are right about JPJ being the one to keep up the quality but in the last few years, since he worked with the counry singer Alison Krause he was able to just stop reacting and just do the music as he himself says and it shows as Robert has finally found his niche and a great group to play with him. While JPJ seems to have taken a break. I like his work with David Grohl on drums (NOT singing or playing guitar like the horrible Poo Fighters) and Joshe Homme. This June Plant was unexpectedly strong in voice and attitude, Ramble On was great and so was his newer songs and there was no weak moments. By far his best band too. He was always the hippie in the band and he and Pages blues combined to make Zeppelin. Page the producer, arranger and Plant the song writer. (which explains Pages need for Plant). Zep I was Page's LP and is basically a New Yardbirds covers LP. Plant made Zeppelin Zeppelin as Bonham created the power, Page the riffs and JPJ the glue!

[@michaelfishman5768]

For me How The West Was Won is a Better Album.

[@daleburton92]

Jimmy Page is no Tony Iommi. The Riffmaster. Black Sabbath wins!

[@kevinmcc3147]

For me ? Black sabbath

[@MrFrostien]

I go with Sabbath all the way

[@sabinoabdala5685]

Led Zepp Rules

[@magnuswettermark8293]

Sabbath..every day of the week. Led zep is not even heavy/hardrock in my opinion. They are a rock/blues with a little prog/folk music influence band

[@Elsior]

Very easy decision for me: Sabbath.

[@ammoxy1]

Zeppelin

[@jeffaudrain5117]

Zep

[@independenceltd.]

LZ...EZ