Behind Blue Eyes vs. Stairway to Heaven

[Brad Goldman <brad@jimmy.harvard.edu>]

B. Gramlich wrote

> Maybe one can see the difference to other bands with respect to this
> more clearly if one attempts to compare `Behind Blue Eyes' with
> Zep's `Stairway To Heaven': Both songs try to melt melodic parts
> with blood and thunder.  BBE succeeds whereas STH fails.  Why?
> Because BBE features a sweet tune powerfully performed by a honest
> band whereas STH is just a masquerade: a rock & blues band hiding
> behind a slushy melody.  Ok, RP's vocals might still be a little
> convincing, but JP playing slooow acoustic and JPJ & JB lurking till
> nearly the end of the song is just ridiculous.  Zep should not have
> tried to get any softer than `Tangerine'... (though I must admit
> that STH was probably one of the commercially most successful
> masquerades in rock history).

> list...).  But it's fascinating to start as a Who fan from the hard
> rock point of view only to detect how far they can reach into the
> melodic range without making fools of themselves (like Zep did).

I find this a little silly.  My own personal opinion is that they're
both great songs, they're both pretty perfect at what they try to do,
vit's kind of stupid to compare them.  But if you have to, I'd have to
give the nod to Stairway to Heaven.  To me, the "hard" section of BBE
just ain't so hot.

But my personal opinions aside, Stairway to Heaven is generally
regarded as one of, if not the, best rock song ever written.  It
continually wins every poll ever given by every radio station.  (Here
in Boston, they're doing the top 500 of all time, I am fervently
hoping that this will be the year something else will win.  BTW, Won't
Get Fooled Again regularly makes the top ten.)  The solo is always in
the top ten solos in the guitar mags.  Etc, etc...

About the only area that you could really defend BBE being
significantly better is lyrically.  STH still makes no sense.

But if you really want to stake the difference between the two bands
on these two songs, all you do is show why the Who plays 2nd fiddle to
Led Zep these days.  Zep didn't make fools of themselves with this
song, they made gods of themselves.

-- 
- Brad Goldman
 (Brad@jimmy.harvard.edu)