Illinois Entertainer October 2018 | Page 22

By Penelope Biver I ’m sure I’m not alone in my lament that rock & and roll is on life support, and rock stars are fewer and farther between than in the past. I’m going to bet, though, that you’ll feel like you’ve sucked a deep hit off an oxygen tank the moment you hear Greta Van Fleet. A few cynics have dismissed them as mere imitation. But a sincere listen to their debut LP Anthem Of The Peaceful Army, hearing the foursome talk about their love of what they do and their deep dive into blues, folk and rock influences, and one can’t help but see them as anyone other than who they are. With the amount of homogenization in music today, it’s not unthinkable but inevitable that incarnations would come full circle. Imitation? Or reincarnation (before the prior musical souls have passed)? That, philosophically, is where you find Greta Van Fleet. Robert Plant was asked earlier this year if he was into any new bands, and he m