![\"Led](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Led-Zeppelin-Fleetwood-Mac-Split-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Credit: Far Out \/ Alamy \/ Sony BMG<\/p>\n
Wed 10 June 2026 18:49, UK <\/p>\n
Towards the end of the 1960s, no one had heard anything like Led Zeppelin<\/a> before. <\/p>\n Even though the band may have been rooted in the same blues-infused foundations that birthed bands like The Yardbirds, the way that each of them interacted onstage made for a sonic force whenever they performed together, bridging the gap between hard rock and heavy metal without even knowing it. Although the band\u2019s magic may have been hard to come by at the time, they never claimed to be the most original band in the world.<\/p>\n Part of Led Zeppelin\u2019s genius lay in their ability to absorb influences and transform them into something entirely their own. While critics would later accuse the band of borrowing too heavily from blues and folk traditions, Zeppelin\u2019s greatest achievement was often the way they reshaped familiar ideas into music that felt revolutionary.<\/p>\n From day one, the band\u2019s penchant for penning great riffs was only matched by the amount of riffs that they stole from other people. Throughout their time together, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were known for trying their hand at old blues standards or reworking those older songs into their demented riffs, like co-opting the standard \u2018Killing Floor\u2019 for \u2018The Lemon Song\u2019 on their second outing.<\/p>\n By the time the band had reached their fourth album, though, they had turned into a rock and roll tour de force. With little to no promotion to sell the record, Zeppelin\u2019s untitled album would become their defining masterpiece, containing one classic after another on tracks like \u2018Rock and Roll\u2019 and their magnum opus \u2018Stairway to Heaven\u2019.<\/p>\n While the band did have one foot trailing back into the blues on the album closer \u2018When the Levee Breaks\u2019<\/a>, John Paul Jones had one of the band\u2019s most complex riffs up his sleeve for the song \u2018Black Dog\u2019. Featuring a cascading time signature throughout the verses, the tune\u2019s structure is unusual for any standard rock and roll song, featuring the riff taking centre stage for most of the track with the vocals filling in the gaps between the track.<\/p>\n Although Page is happy to give Jones credit for coming up with the riff, he admitted there may have been some overlapping influence. Around the same time that Zeppelin was mining their typical hard rock songs, Page thought that \u2018Black Dog\u2019 bore a passing resemblance to what Peter Green was doing in Fleetwood Mac.<\/p>\n Having come on the scene concurrently with Zeppelin, Green\u2019s unorthodox approach to typical blues made Fleetwood Mac a rock institution years before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were brought in. When listening to his contemporaries, Page thought the song \u2018Oh Well\u2019 may have subconsciously inspired them to construct their signature tune.<\/p>\n![\"Jimmy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Jimmy-Page-Guitarist-Led-Zeppelin-1970s-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>Credit: Far Out \/ 2025 Paradise Pictures Ltd<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/faroutmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/themes\/far-out-magazine\/img\/google-discover.svg\")
<\/a> The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter<\/p>\n