Music Review: From The Fires EP (2017)

It’s been a while since I wrote an album review. Perhaps that’s a commentary on how dull and unimaginative I’ve found most music of late. Have you ever noticed that mainstream pop music is such cookie-cutter, formula-driven drivel that anything new stands out from the crowd? Of course, there are exceptions. And sure, I’m an old fart and we always say stuff like that. The old farts when I was young poo-pooed the music I grew up with. That’s natural, I guess.

A few months ago, I happened upon something kind of exciting and exceptional, in a throwback sort of way. It’s bluesy, hard-driving, and what the heck, Josh, the lead singer, sounds more like Robert Plant than the Led Zeppelin front man has for decades.

The band is Greta Van Fleet. They’re out of a little town in Michigan called Frankenmuth. The name is borrowed from a town matriarch whose real name is Gretna. The band dropped the ‘N’ from her name because it’s easier to say. The octogenarian namesake, a musician herself, attended one of group’s concerts and gave the band her blessing on using her modified name. As that may indicate, the band’s sound and energy attract fans across generations. Why? Because it's Rock ’n’ Roll sourced from the roots of the genre: blues, jazz, country and folk. It’s a renaissance to the 60’s and 70’s roots of everything that follow after and somewhere went off in an unexpected direction that led to the dead end that most 'experts' inthe music industry claim Rock music has hit. I'm here to tell you Rock is alive and bands like Greta Van Fleet are proving there is still a fan base. Their music is kind of like going back to the formative years of Led Zeppelin and picking up right there while exploring all the possibilities anew.

Three members of the band are brothers: Joshua Kiszka, Jacob Kiszka, and Samuel Kiszka. Their best bud, Daniel Wagner, is on drums. It’s little surprise that the brothers grew up listening to the blues. Their father plays a mean harmonica, from what they say, and has an extensive vinyl collection that the boys all but wore out as they were growing up, learning the riffs and the rhythms that are the foundation of their original tracks.

The band has two current recordings available, the first is a four track EP titled Black Smoke Rising (4/2017) and the second an 8 track EP that combines the previous work with 4 additional tunes, titled From the Fires (11/2017). Note, original drummer Kyle Hauck appears on some of the band’s earliest live recordings that you may find online. The present drummer, Wagner, appears on the studio work. Most of the songs on the EP are original material, which is exciting, since the band could have easily been a successful tribute band covering classics. But the fact they are going in their own direction portends exciting things to come.

As a Led Zep fan I was taken back when I first heard a live version of ‘Highway Tune’. The studio version is a hit that has received lots of airplay and rose to #1 on some charts. I’m still not sure whether the studio version or the live version is the best, but that probably doesn’t matter. Have your pick, they’re both solid. The live track demonstrates the musicianship of the band members, which the studio version only modestly enhances. They kick ass live. I get the feeling the band skimps on the in-studio over-dubs. Having watched full concerts available on YouTube, the integrity of the group’s sound doesn’t suffer in live performances.

Honestly, I was never a huge fan of Led Zep’s live stuff, especially The Song Remains the Same (10/1976), which was the soundtrack of a movie by the same name. It includes tracks recorded during the band’s heyday, mid-seventies tours. Led Zep’s studio recordings, especially the later albums, relied heavily on effects and overdubs to achieve a sound and that makes it difficult to replicate in concert. A more recent reworking of TSRTS’s soundtrack with different concert recordings patched in here and there makes the album more listenable, though I question whether the trickery is a fair and honest representation of what the band really sounded like when performing live. Don’t get me wrong, Led Zep were innovators, especially their early work. They paved the way for a lot of blues-influenced, hard-hitting rock bands that followed. Most fans who attended their concerts would quickly argue that they were memorable events driven by excitement bordering of mass hysteria. Concerts can be like that. Recordings of concerts often miss the mark of capturing the atmosphere. And TSRTS suffers from that as well.

What I like best about Greta Van Fleet is the faithful homage to the band's blues roots. The 8 tracks of the EP include covers of Sam Cooke's, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ and Fairport Convention’s gospel-esque ‘Meet on The Ledge’. There isn’t a throwaway song in the mix, though the favorites will likely be the aforementioned ‘Highway Tune’, ‘Flower Power’, an homage to the late sixties Haight-Ashbury. The song has that feel about it.

Why no Led Zep covers? Maybe the band will do one or two in the future, but it's not necessary. It would only confuse the band’s brand that is still forming and gaining a following. Certainly, they could do a set with covers of Rock and Roll, Black Dog and D’yer Mak’er- to name a few. The band’s musicianship is definitely up-to-the-task.

One question I have is how Danny Wagner’s percussion work would match up with John Bonham’s original, avant-garde style that often employed different beat signatures to the rest of the band (as in Black Dog). I believe Wagner is more traditional in his approach to percussion, which isn’t a bad thing. The back beat throughout the EP is perfect. Another question is whether Jake could cover Jimmy Page’s guitar work. That would come at the risk of offending Led Zep purists who might take exception whenever he deviates or modifies the original licks to incorporate his own flare and interpretation. So, staying away from what is already a natural comparison of sound and styles and sticking to original work, for the most part, is a much better tact.

The band has received high praise over the past few months. They were introduced by Sir Elton John at his After Oscar Party and the music legend performed a couple of songs with the band (one his and one theirs). Even Robert Plant has given the band a thumbs-up!

From the Fires EP Tracks:

Safari Song

Edge of Darkness

Flower Power

A Change Is Gonna Come

Highway Tune

Meet On The Ledge

Talk On The Street

Black Smoke Rising

Band Members:

Joshua Kiszka - Vocals

Jacob Kiszka - Guitar