Greta Van Fleet from Frankenmuth, Michigan aren’t just living in the Rock and Roll world.. they are currently conquering it.  The first time I went to listen to these guys I was “warned” by several people that they were nothing more than a Led Zeppelin rip off.  That the singer sounded like a young Robert Plant.  That you could feel Jimmy Page’s swagger with every strum of the guitar.  A rhythm section that made you want to groove your butt off like it was 1975.  “THEY SOUND JUST LIKE THEM.”

So that was my introduction to this band.  The first time through I thought about the warning I received and thought.. it’s not an incorrect assessment.  Singer Joshua Kiszka does have Plant-esque vocals.  Jacob Kiszka does have that Jimmy Page vibe.  Bassist Samuel Kiszka brings some bass lines that would make John Paul Jones smile.  Drummer Daniel Wagner sits so comfortable behind the kit making every snare hit (that amazing sounding snare) invoke the ghost of John Bonham.  And then I thought.. “who cares?”  I mean if you’re going to do something, it’s best to do the damn thing right.  Right?

Exactly.

But something else happened on the way to listening and re-listening to the album, ‘From The Fires’.  When I dug in I found that there is a lot more depth than these guys were initially given credit for.  I hear Sabbath, Aerosmith and Mott The Hopple among others, in here.  Now let’s get to the tracks on the album.

‘Safari Song’ is the perfect opener for Greta Van Fleet’s album. It gives you the climb aboard and enjoy the ride vibes.  The track moves you right along.  The second song, ‘Edge Of Darkness’, is my personal favorite.  This is the one I feel that Joshua should be most proud of.  There’s so much range and emotion on this one.  The pre-chorus gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.  Maybe it’s because I know what’s coming in the chorus.  The scream that gives you the “feels”, as many would say in our current slang environment.

‘Flower Power’ – Come on and flow with me.  Its hard to not want to put on a headband over your long hair and pick a flower or two when listening to this song.  The outro organ is something I look forward to when listening to this song.  It made me think of John Mayer recording ‘In Repair’.

‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ is the first song I didn’t love.  But I certainly like it.  It’s sort of like, if I’m pressed for time I will skip this to get to ‘Highway Tune’

‘Highway Tune’ – F*ckin’ A.  That is all.

“Meet On The Ledge” highlights that sweet snare sound.  As the music breathes in and out, you get to really enjoy Daniel’s subtle playing on the drum kit.  The album closes with ‘Talk On The Street’ and ‘Black Smoke Rising’.  “Talk” has a nice quick beat as the 70’s influences definitely continue on this one.  ‘Black Smoke Rising’, the eighth and final track gives us the lyric that became the album title, ‘From The Fires’.  This is an extremely strong album closer.  It gives us a nice Page guitar pre chorus treat.

I am already excited to see what these guys do next, recording-wise.

The good:  Strong performances from everyone in the band.  Production on this is top-notch.  This is that way I like albums to be mixed.  Every piece of audible has it’s own space without being cut on the top and bottom end for the sake of making it “louder”. Catchy hooks make you want to groove along with the Great Van Fleet.

The not so good: Honestly, I wish it was longer.  I’m anxious to see where they go lyrically in the future.

For this new album review? I give it 8 out of 10.

-TM