The song remains the same

We all think the music we listened to when we were young was the best music ever. We remember fondly music that probably wasn't really all that good, but has such emotional ties that we still appreciate it years later. I have purchased CDs of rock bands that I loved as a teenager, only to find out that the additional years and a greater understanding of quality music has removed the enjoyment from some of these less-than-stellar bands of my childhood.

There are a few bands whose musicianship stands up to the test of time. I have collected a few CDs and DVDs of some of my childhood favorites who are still sounding good many years later. I have DVDs of Kenny Loggins, James Taylor, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Earth Wind & Fire, Yes, Peter Frampton, and the Doobie Bros. that I watch regularly. All of these musicians seem to have gotten better with time and put on quite a show in their later middle-age years. I even have a DVD of a good concert by Barry Manilow (who I couldn't stand when I was young) that is actually quite good.

But the band that I always thought was the best band in history recently reformed to do a charity fund-raising concert. As a teenager I thought there would never be a band that would be better than this band. I now have another 30 years behind me and a college education in musical performance to help me judge musical quality. This video shows the best band ever (and I still think that today) playing as 60-year-old men. They still rock. They're still awesome. They're still the best. Today's young musicians should be inspired (or embarrased).

As Led Zeppelin said, The Song Remains the Same: