Any player will show their influences in the music they create. That is the way of things. Even if those influences are not openly acknowledged, they will still be apparent to those who listen closely, and have also heard the music of those influences.

But that is not the situation revealed by a close examination of Led Zeppelin. We don't see the common result of influence and inspiration, but of bald-faced plagiarism and outright theft. Yes, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were very good at what they did, often better at it than the people they stole from. But while we may be able to understand why they felt justified in what they did, we can not condone their actions.

I do not believe that giving credit where it was due would have made LZ less successful. If anything, I think such acknowledgement might have enhanced listener's appreciation of their talents for improving the originals, much like Jimi Hendrix's "All Along The Watchtower" is recognized as the definitive version, even though Bob Dylan is simultaneously recognized as the writer of that song.



And if people who have only heard the LZ version of a song wish to delude themselves with the circular logic of "I haven't heard of them, therefore they aren't important, therefore I don't expect to hear about them" as an excuse for dissing the original artists......

May Fred Durst cop your best chops while you languish in obscurity! :mad: