Blog Alert!- Greta Van Fleet- At least they play great!

I’ve always been a believer in to each his own and go with your personal preference, especially when it comes to guitar gear and equipment. But sometimes when it comes to music, bands and especially songs both old and new, there are some things that are hard to swallow.

First I see some of my early heroes stay at the party too long, with some of them coming off as more of a cover band than the stars they once were. Please stop. It’s sad, embarrassing and greedy. Get a good investor and make money with the money we’ve given you over the last forty years. Please stop.

Then there’s the other end of this sad spectrum. Young talented musicians (who probably are suffering from a gross case of hero worship) mimicking classic musicians right down to song structure and their guise.

Such is the case with Greta Van Fleet. These guys can play! But when you hear “You’re the One” from GVF’s latest release- Anthem of a Peaceful Army (An ode to Led Zeppelin’s “Hey, hey what can I do”) it shows the limitations these really good musicians have imposed on themselves. Or “New Day” which steers us down the “Ramble On” mashed up with Zeppelin III path in the best tribute band intention. On and on through this record and their debut record it’s hard to find an original musical idea, but they can play. This saddens me.

Now, I wouldn’t goes as far as to use the David Lee Roth analogy about bands being incestuous, but… we’re not far off.

Look, there are 12 notes in the musical vocabulary. That’s all. Almost every musician struggles to find her/his own voice, sound, vibe. Some do, others borrow exceedingly. Then there are fans of bands come and gone, desperately seeking a way to fill the void of their now defunct heroes. I miss those bands too, but that was then, this is now. I personally seek out musicians who are breaking new ground while paying respect to those who came before. GVF are not that band.

I know Stravinsky said “good composers don’t borrow, they steal” but this is blatant and derivative at best.

If you dig it, more power to you and hope it brings you closer to filling that void, I just wish these fine musicians would find their own voice.

But… They can play.