Keith Richards on Led Zeppelin: Why the Magic Never Fully Took Flight
So here's something that’s been making waves again—Keith Richards, the ever-blunt legend from The Rolling Stones, sharing his unfiltered take on Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page. Now, don’t get it twisted—Richards has a deep respect for Page. He’s gone on record multiple times calling Jimmy “one of the best guitar players ever known.” That’s a huge compliment coming from someone who helped shape the DNA of modern rock. But here's the catch: Keith never really felt Led Zeppelin as a band .
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Richards’ criticism isn’t about Page's skills—he actually praised those. What he took issue with was the overall feel of Led Zeppelin’s music. To him, the band sounded hollow . And a big part of that, according to Keith, was the way John Bonham played drums. While Bonham is celebrated as one of rock’s greatest drummers, Richards felt his thunderous, almost wild style threw off the groove. He once described Bonham’s playing as being like an “uncontrolled 18-wheeler thundering down the highway.” In other words, too much power and not enough space.
Keith’s view of music, especially rhythm, is more nuanced. He always admired his own bandmate Charlie Watts for knowing exactly when not to hit . Silence, he says, is part of the canvas. To Richards, great drumming isn’t about volume or power—it’s about feel and timing. That’s where he saw the difference between the Stones and Zeppelin. While Zeppelin brought that aggressive, animalistic energy to blues rock, the Stones kept things slinky and controlled. That contrast in rhythm sections defined the soul of both bands.
It’s not just about Bonham either. Richards also once said, “Led Zeppelin was Jimmy Page.” He didn’t hear the same collective band identity that he felt in the Stones. Even though Page had worked his way up just like Richards, starting as a session guitarist and later forming the Yardbirds duo with Jeff Beck, Keith felt that Zeppelin didn’t lift off the way they could’ve. And he even added that the band name was fitting—“They never took off for me, musically.”
Now, Page, for his part, took it all pretty calmly. When asked about Keith’s comments, he replied, “Keith can say what he wants. He’s Keith Richards.” It was a classy, diplomatic response. He said he respected Richards’ work, but wasn’t sure what he meant by “hollow.” Fair point. After all, Zeppelin created some of the most iconic sounds in rock history. But it just goes to show—even among the legends, there are different philosophies about what makes music breathe .
At the end of the day, it’s not about who was right. It's about how different artists interpret rhythm, space, and energy. For Keith Richards, it’s all about the feel—the quiet as much as the loud. For Zeppelin, it was more about unleashing raw power. And maybe, that’s why both bands became legendary in their own very different ways.
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