Joe Perry is a revolutionary in his own right. When Aerosmith initially formed, they were frequently criticized because of their similarities to the Rolling Stones, but these comparisons are pretty unfair. Granted, Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger are relatively similar in how they look, sound, and perform. But Aerosmith was responsible for some unique-sounding music that both leans into hard rock. But he plays with the idea of ballads and slow jams, too.
Music these days isn’t confined to strict genres, which is widely accepted; however, bending genre and being open to various styles in your music isn’t strictly a new thing. As early as the ‘60s, bands were willing to play around with the status quo of what they were making. And as a result, some truly unique music was born. Artists not having a specific genre are much more accepted today. but it applied just as much to artists six decades ago.
Many consider The Beatles to be such an influential band. It is because they altered their style and played creatively with a plethora of ideas. When you compare Rubber Soul to Sgt Pepper to Abbey Road, there are clear differences at play in each one, and the fact the band continued to do numbers as the world’s biggest musical outfit throughout that period gave other musicians inspiration to play around with their style as well.
This is because The Beatles are widely considered the most influential band of all time. And that’s a pretty fair statement to make. In a recent speech, Joe Perry also compared The Beatles to the only band in terms of relevance. Inducting this band into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and talking about who inspires him. It didn’t take long for the Fab Four to come up. But shortly behind them was Led Zeppelin.
“Perry said they were as important as The Beatles in breaking down barriers.” “I love this band because they had no limits. They weren’t musical snobs, they never held on to anyone’s style. Zeppelin could change gear six times on one album.”
Joe Perry talked about the different styles that Zeppelin became famous for frequenting. “They played blues, funk, rock, reggae and ballads. I think it’s laughable that some people still consider them just a heavy metal band. At least half of their best songs are acoustic. They were doing unplugged long before it was a hip thing to do.”
Perry’s right. When Jimmy Page started working as a session guitarist, he exposed himself to a massive range of playing styles, constantly dabbling in different genres and working with various artists. This meant that when Zeppelin eventually started making music together, they could take advantage of multiple styles and merge them excitingly and cohesively.
This style of playing undoubtedly influenced bands like Aerosmith. He also took advantage of acoustic music, ballads, and hard rock throughout their career. Subsequently, it is hardly a surprise that Perry has named Led Zeppelin as such an influential musical outfit.
