Until a few days ago, I had actually never heard of the name Greta Van Fleet. I don’t listen to the radio much and when I do, it’s usually classic rock stations where I generally already know all the bands and if I don’t know a band, I don’t have 10 minutes to waste waiting for the radio DJ to tell me who they are. What caught my attention was an article I saw a few days ago about the influence Led Zeppelin had on the band. I LOVE Led Zeppelin, they are one of the greatest bands of all time, so I was immediately intrigued.
I didn’t really know what to expect from the band, made up of four members (just like Led Zeppelin). And then I heard Jake Kiszka’s guitar and Sam Kiszka on bass and Danny Wagner on drums. And finally, I heard Josh Kiszka’s voice and I literally restarted “The Edge of Darkness” (which is actually the second song on the album, but on YouTube Music it started with that one for some reason) at least three times because I couldn’t believe how familiar yet completely different those instruments and that voice sounded.
Anyone who has listened to Led Zeppelin knows how unique Robert Plant’s voice is. And maybe someone else out there has heard someone who can match his note only unique style, but amazing vocal range (with the voice drops and the screaming) but until this album, I cannot say that I have. To hear an album like this from 2017 that isn’t made by a band that has been around since the ’60s, ’70s, and/or ’80s, was completely unexpected. For a band formed in 2012, they captured a sound that I didn’t think a modern rock band was capable of.
It’s not just the nostalgia this band brings out that makes the album good. The song transitions are smooth and honestly, I found the album had ended before I even realized it. There were a few times where I didn’t even realize the song had changed. And no, I don’t mean that I just tuned it out and it didn’t stand out against the regular noise of the outside world. I mean I was swept away in it.
Oh, and I definitely want to highlight their cover of “A Change Is Gonna Come” originally an R&B song by Sam Cooke. Incredibly relevant to our current times, a beautiful tribute to an incredible and talented man, and done in their own style.
The only downside of this album was that the slower songs were a bit jarring and felt out of place to me. I mean, I’m not really a huge fan of the slower music anyway. But going to jamming to “Highway Tune” to “Meet on the Ledge,” which while a good song, at around 12 seconds in abruptly drops the tempo that the previous song had built up – those were the times I distinctly noticed there was a new song playing.
OVERALL SCORE 9.5 / 10
It’s been a long time since I listened to a new album on repeat.
THe change in tempo between songs is called ‘variety’. Spin any Led Zeppelin album and you might notice it.. otherwise–nice review. TK