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PlayWithMorFeel
While they share the chromatic progression at the opening of both motives, there are so many songs that do this. "Ballad of a thin man", "glory box", "feeling food", "just" - to name a few popular examples.
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MyMediaMusic
Yeah, there's similarities, but nothing to get huffy about. Musicians borrow from each other all the time. Blues and folk musicians did it habitually.
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corneld
huh ?!?!? Do you, people, really find a sound (as in solid) similarity between this song and Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" ?!?!? I just can't believe you lack so much of musical inclination. Or you don't really listen to these 2 songs side-by-side. Btw ... the late mr. Wolfe from Spirit needed 30 years to actually make such a claim ??? Really ?!? If it wasn't for the real law suit on going now, I'd be inclined to consider this one a funny joke...
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Malkamillian
Led Zepp may have "nicked" the first lines of the guitar intro, but apart from that you can't say Stairway is a rip-off of this song.
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kmanthie45
SPIRIT was a GREAT band - Randy California (what a COOL name! sorry he left us so soon -1989, RIP, great man), his stepfather, Ed Cassidy on drums & Jay Ferguson for a spell (plus one other dude, whose name I forget-sorry) - Their 1st 3 LPs are golden - THE FAMILY WHO PLAYS TOGETHER..., SPIRIT and, of course, TWELVE DREAMS OF DR. SARDONICUS. A Trifecta of gems.
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robertwneal
It is in a way a paraphrase to Stairway. And in another way it is flattery to Zep. BTW, does anyone remember George Harrison's ordeal over 'My Sweet Lord'? He was sued by the Chiffons (If I recall correctly) for plagiarism for hacking their song 'He's So Fine'? George then responded with 'My Song'. And in the lyrics he sings; "there is nothing Bright (Brite) about it", referring to the company that sued him.
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oldiesfanjohn
Led Zep had to pay many of the old Blues Artists/Estates for plagiarism back in the 1990's. So suck it,Wolfgang Puck!
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oldiesfanjohn
Big whoop..Jimmy Page learned how to use a theremin from Randy California on that '68 tour...Maybe a few other secrets,etc "borrowed'' by both bands...In the music world,too--Imitation is a sincere form of flattery!!!
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oldiesfanjohn
agreed lottadogs..can we get some peace and love down below,this isn`t youtube!
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Angelina56
Reminds me of " Stairway To Heaven" By Led Zeppelin. UNusual version. Like it very much ....indeed. Love you... Justin....
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PartySanCTG
... yeah, I don't give a fuck about Led Zeppelin stealing. They at least made their stuff way better.
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thegreatnando
Taurus - Am A/G# A/G D/F# F Dm Stairway - Am A/G# A/G D/F# Fmaj7 G Am So, Stairway has 4 notes from another song played in a kind of similar manner. What about the rest of the song? The lyrics, flutes, impeccable drumming, the greatest build up and then guitar solo in history, the heavy part, etc. It's the greatest song in history. Those same four descending notes are played in countless other songs and pieces. It's a rip-off of While My Guitar Gently Weeps if it's a rip-off of Taurus.
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bobgreen623
Well at least Zep had the good grace to credit Willie Dixon as a co-writer on Whole Lotta Love. There's influence, there's stealing, and there's plagiarism. The trick is to disguise it enough so's it's not too obvious. This piece by Spirit is quite lovely
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Dookiac
the people that try to defend Led from plagiarism accusations are blinded by their loyalty to their beloved band. It's so bleedingly obvious that Page consciously stole the music of others and if you can't hear it you're either choosing not to or are tone deaf. Whether it's a chord progression, a riff, lyrics, or a beat, and it's without dedication, reference, or credit, you're stealing.
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hinehead
Lovely song. On the subject of the "Stairway..." alleged rip-off, Randy California said that Led Zep went to one of Spirit's shows where they played this song so I guess Jimmy Page thought it was a good chord sequence to base something on. Doesn't mean he stole it as musicians are always open to using something they've heard and were probably more open and accepting of it at some point in the past. However, I guess some acknowledgment might have been in order which seems to be what gripes some folk about Jimmy Page. Then again that's a bit difficult when you don't give that many interviews :)
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whiteboy32386
this song sucks, i dont care if the riff is ripped off, stairway is a work of godliness
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Tredmond656
[note: for the musos] The chord sequence in the first bar of the song is very similar. The first chord is the same (A minor). On the second Zep added an extra note (B) to the augmented C chord. The third is different - Zep plays the major D chord while Spirit plays D7. The next chord is the same, Fmaj7. After that it is different with Spirit ending on a D then an A chord whereas Zep ends on an E minor then an A minor. The picking of the chords is definitely different with Page picking an extra string. [end muso stuff] So the similarities aren't as great to make it a note for note rip off. This doesn't mean, however, that they didn't rip it off. It strikes me as a question of intention. Since this isn't a common sequence in popular music it's likely they did, but made a couple of changes along the way. For the record I'm glad that they did this otherwise I would have never found this fantastic band. And I've actually come to like Spirit better than Led Zeppelin, too. Peace.
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balzadelia
ok well every other artist stole them from other artists and so on right back to the 1st caveman to play his banjo string
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JaggedJimmyJay
Dimly similar to a tiny portion of Stairway to Heaven. It's a damned shame that such a legendary band as Led Zeppelin must always have idiotic detractors whining about everything they ever produced. It's even more shameful that a very cool band in Spirit never gets noticed outside this stupid controversy.
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