Led Zeppelin
Presence

THE REVIEW

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.