I am right now listening to Long Cool Woman by The Hollies. Um, anyone else out there hear the similarity to Creedence Clearwater Revival? The song was released in 1971, right near the end of CCR's career. I'm not all that familiar with The Hollies' recorded catalogue, so I can't say if they did this CCR thing very much, but I think it's undeniable that Long Cool Woman has a distinctly Creedence sound, from vocals to the sound of the instruments.
I was led to this song (which I'd heard before, but never made that connection) by a bit of online discussion about "copycat" bands. And what brought me to even look that up was something that happened recently. I suggested to a co-worker that he try out the modern band Cats in Space, who successfully wrap together a variety of classic rock band sounds (Styx, Journey, Boston, etc). While he appreciated the musicianship, he used a car analogy to describe his feelings about Cats: "why drive a Civic when you can drive a Rolls Royce?" While not an entirely effective analogy, I got what he was talking about. I do like Cats, mainly because they have a familiar sound that makes me feel warm and fuzzy, a nostalgic nod to those that did it best. And they do it well. There are hints of other artists in there, too, though less obviously... a little bit of Beatles, maybe a touch of Rush here and there, among others.
Then later on, I thought about bands that have done this before, either directly mimicking someone else or perhaps less aggressively allowing their influences to show in their music. I think way back to the 60's, when the British Invasion took place. The Beatles made their big splash, then along came The Yardbirds, Stones, Zombies, Kinks, Animals, Herman's Hermits, The Troggs, Manfred Mann, Small Faces, and so on. You can see how so many of those artists tried to capitalize on what The Beatles did, even if only a little bit and briefly to get their careers going.
But then jump into the 80's, when the hard rock-glam rock/hair metal thing hit hard... all thanks to those party animals Van Halen. Between the insane (and rarely as listenable) guitar shredding, vocal howling, and onstage clothing and antics, those (mostly) Sunset Strip bands were taking a page directly from the Van Halen handbook. Consider Ratt, Motley Crue, Poison, and others of that ilk. I guess we could also blame the style sense of Steve Tyler of Aerosmith.
Going back a bit further for influences, look at Whitesnake and their blatant Led Zeppelin song and stage performance. David Coverdale wouldn't have adopted that schtick if Robert Plant hadn't already established that look and vocal style. And look at Kingdom Come, an 80's band who made a minor splash in the hard rock world with their Zeppelin angle. These groups made it work, even if they were criticized by some listeners.
Still in the 80's, how about Krokus, the Swiss band who made a business of sounding just like AC/DC (original lineup with vocalist Bon Scott)? They weren't big stars, but I recall hearing some of their songs on the radio. So big enough. Oh, and I can't neglect to mention modern day hard rockers Airbourne, who actually do AC/DC better than AC/DC themselves. Better guitarists, maybe better singer, less clunky original songs. All with that famous Aussie spirit and sound. Fun stuff. And their videos are so 80's... kinda daring in our current hashtag world.
The Tea Party, a 90's group, harnessed the best of Zeppelin and The Doors for something rather unique, with those influences adding nice textures within highly original tunes. Their blend of bluesy rock and progressive rock tinged with Middle Eastern styles was actually refreshing, if a bit derivative.
Can't forget ol' Lenny Kravitz, either. He sort of embodies late 60's, early 70's rock with his blend of Zep, Hendrix, Beatles, and Stevie Wonder influences, among others.
Not that many years ago, I discovered Wolfmother, whose music bore an unmistakable 70's rock vibe, not far off AC/DC, Zeppelin, and maybe Aerosmith. Cool and enjoyable, it's easy to forget these guys lifted elements from the oldies to fuel their songs.
Which brings me to the more current band, Greta Van Fleet. I have zero interest in their music (Civic vs Rolls), but I have listened to enough of it to hear the huge resemblance to Zeppelin. Yes, they, too, face condemnation for their mimicry, yet they are hugely successful. Go figure. They are Zeppelin for generation Z, as I've heard said in many sources. Just not a fan. Too on the nose.
Of course, I'm only scratching the surface here. I know there are countless other copycats out there, but how deep do I really want to dig here? Just enough for today's post. Cheers!
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