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Rating: After Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin seemed to have lost something in their sound, and indeed they had. The first four albums seemed now unreachable, and in part, they were. During the Physical Graffiti tour, in August 1975, Plant had a terrible car accident with his wife and children: Plant was confined to a wheelchair, and the Physical Graffiti tour was promptly interrupted. Unable to perform publicly for the time being, they decided to release a new endeavor, Presence.
Presence, compared to the previous albums, is less interesting, but the repertoire is not entirely negligible. Let's take the example of the long opening track: "Achilles Last Stand." The track is not bad at all; in fact, I consider it a masterpiece and frankly, it is. The instruments are perfectly balanced and Plant gives his all to keep up with the others, Page overdubs a line of guitars and launches into a splendid solo, one of the most memorable of his career and it is he who enlivens the track right from the initial guitar riff to the closing riff, Jones displays an unparalleled technique, giving the song more epicness, but in my opinion, the best technique is shown by Bonham. His drumming performance is unrivaled and his rolls are breathtaking. The track is decidedly one of the hardest and most beautiful in their repertoire. After "Achilles Last Stand" comes "For Your Life," another song that demonstrates the hardness of the Zeppelin sound, offering good things from the four. "Royal Orleans" is an irritating funky track with a compelling but somewhat repetitive rhythm and is one of the missed opportunities of this album. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" is instead an excellent track played on a hypnotic phrase: "nobody's fault but mine." This track is a cover of a blues called "It's Nobody's Fault But Mine," and it is undoubtedly one of the most successful episodes of the album. Now let's move on to the most negligible episode of the album: "Candy Store Rock." I hate to admit it, but this song would make anyone who listens to it nauseous, and in the end, one realizes that the best ideas from Led are now water under the bridge. But "Hots On For Nowhere" is none of this: it is a pleasant, fun track, played on Plant's amusing voice and Page's delightful guitar riffs. To close the album, Led showcases one of their most dramatic and painful examples: "Tea For One" is a long minor blues, which perhaps recalls a bit too much "Since I've Been Loving You" (from Led Zeppelin III) but which does not lack passion and drama, so it is not to be discarded.
Apologies if I may do so, but I also comment on the cover: it is certainly one of the best things about the album, with that obelisk appearing here and there, giving a sense of anger and strength. Presence can be defined as the famous half-full/half-empty glass: on one side you can realize that Led is still able to amaze and deliver authentic songs, but on the other side, we understand that the times of Stairway To Heaven are definitively gone, as the next album In Through The Out Door (1979) will show, the most negligible album of the Zeppelin.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Achilles Last Stand (10:28)
It was an April morning when they told us we should go.
As I turned to you, you smiled at me; how could we say no?
Whoa, the fun to have! To live the dreams we always had.
Whoa, the songs to sing! When we at last return again.
Sending off a glancing kiss to those who claim they know
Below the streets that steam and hiss, the devil's in his home.
Whoa, to sail away! Sandy lands and other days.
Whoa, to touch the dream! That hides inside and is never seen, yeah.
Into the sun of south and north at last the birds have flown.
The shackles of commitment fell in pieces on the ground.
Whoa, to ride the wind! To tread the air above the din.
Whoa, to laugh aloud! Dancing high above the crowd.
Seek the man whose pointing hand the giant step unfolds.
With guidance from the curving path that churns up into stone!
If one bell should ring, celebration for a king.
So fast the heart should beat, as proud the head with heavy feet, yeah.
[Solo]
Days went by when you and I made an eternal summer's glow
As far away and distant, our mutual time to grow.
Whoa, the sweet refrain! It soothes the soul and calms the pain.
Oh, Albion remains! Sleeping now to rise again.
Wandering the wanderings. What place to rest the search?
Where the mighty arms of Atlas hold the heavens from the earth!
Where the mighty arms of Atlas hold the heavens from the earth!
From the earth!
I know the way, know the way, know the way, know the way.
I know the way, know the way, know the way, know the way.
Where the mighty arms of Atlas hold the heavens from the earth!
02 For Your Life (06:24)
Well, well, oh, hoh, hoh
You said I was the only, with my lemon in your hand
Uh-oh, uh-oh-hoh
Exhibition is your habit, emotion second-hand
Uh-oh, uh-oh
Had to pull away to save me
Well, maybe next time around-a, oh
And she said
"Don'tcha want, a-don'tcha want cocaine, cocaine, cocaine"
Hadn't planned to, could not stand'a try it, fry it, ow
Now, now, now, now, yeah
Wooo-oooh-oooh-oooh-ooh-ooh
Heard a cry for mercy, uh, in the city of the damned-a
Uh-oh, baby, damn...
In the pits you go no lower, the next stop's underground
A-ho, how low underground
You wanna know, is it quite over
To fame it deals a losin' hand
And I said, "Didn't mean to, did not a-mean to fluff it
You didn't plan it, you overran it, aah-ha-ha-how, yeah"
Do you wanna, do you want, do ya, d-do
Do you, would you wanna
Do you wanna, do you wanna, do you, d-do
Do you, would you wanna
When you blow it, babe, you got to blow it right
Baby, if you fake it, mama, baby, fake with all your might
When you fake it, mama
please-a, a-fake it right for yourself, babe
When ya fa-fa-fa-fake it, baby
You're fakin' it for your life, for your life
for your life, for your life
Do you, do you, do you, do you, do you
Do you, would you wanna
Do you, do you, do you, do you, do you
Do you, would you wanna
Oh, like to help ya, baby
but I don't know what to do-ooh-ooh, yeah
Sometime, baby
Nothin' I can do-ooh-ooh, yeah
With the fine lines of the crystal payin' through your nose
And when they couldn't resist ya
I said, "Just go with the flow"
And now your stage is empty
Pull down the curtain, baby, please
Fold up your show
Hadn't planned to, could not stand to fry in it
I hadn't planned it, I overran it
Fry it for your life, for your life
03 Royal Orleans (02:59)
One time love, take care how you use it
Try to make it last all night, And if you take your pick
Be careful how you choose it, Sometimes its hard to feel it bite
Feel it bite.
A man I know, went down to Louisiana,
had himself a bad, bad fight
And when the sun peeked through
John Cameron with Suzanna,
He kissed the whiskers, left & right
Whiskers!
Now, now, now, fright subsides
Out at a hotel in the quarter, our friends check in to pass the night
Now love gets hot, but fire preceded water
Poor whiskers set the room alight.
Whiskers!
Down on Bourbon street, You know it's right
You can see my friend, they run around all through the night
Most everywhere, Until the closet's bare
Run for the razor, Doin' up my hair
New Orleans queens, Sure know how to schmooze it
Maybe for some that seems alright
When I step out, strut down with my sugar
She'd best not talk like Barry White!
One time love, take care how you use it
Try to make it last all night, And if you take your pick
Be careful how you choose it, Sometimes its hard to feel it bite
Feel it bite.
07 Tea for One (09:23)
How come twenty four hours, Baby sometimes seem to slip into days?
Oh twenty-four hours, Baby sometimes seem to slip into days
A minute seems like a lifetime, baby when I feel this way
Sittin, lookin at the clock, time moves so slow
I've been watchin for the hands to move
Until I just can't look no more
How come twenty four hours, Baby sometimes seems to slip into days?
A minute seems like a lifetime, Baby when I feel this way.
To sing a song for you, I recall you used to say
"Oh baby this one's for we two", Which in the end is you anyway
How come twenty four hours, Baby sometimes slip into days?
A minute seems like a lifetime, baby when I feel this way.
There was a time that I stood tall, In the eyes of other men
But by my own choice I left you woman, And now I can't get back again
How come twenty-four hours, sometimes slip into days?
A minute seems like a lifetime, Baby when I feel this way
A minute seems like a lifetime
When I feel this way...I feel this way
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Other reviews
By Miki Page
'Achilles Last Stand' is a phenomenal hard-rock track that hits with intensity and power.
'Presence' is a good album, but not a masterpiece like the group’s previous 6 works.
By Cimbarello132
'Achilles Last Stand' surpasses 'Stairway to Heaven' but remains hidden in its shadow.
One of the many reasons why Led are my absolute favorite band.
By vellutogrigio
"Achilles Last Stand is one of the best tracks in the career of the four, with Page's guitar architecture supporting Plant's declamatory singing."
"Never had a Zeppelin track in the '70s been so straightforward, almost like an attack on the listener’s hearing, until it seemed the work of a debut group, well masked by veteran competence and craft."
By claudio carpentieri
"Achilles Last Stand throws us with the power of a tornado into this sonic monument where Page's heroic guitar leads the rest."
"Presence reflects a period far from happy for the band, with Plant’s presence in the studio in a wheelchair confirming its difficult gestation."
By Rax
"There will never be another album like this. Here it’s me facing despair and telling it: I am stronger than you."
If 'Presence' is the funeral of the Zeppelin, the terrible next album will be its tomb.
