The Cavern
Rock & Words
PRESENCE (Led Zeppelin, 1976)
Artist: Led Zeppelin (B)
Recording Dates: Nov ‘75
Release Date: March 31st, 1976. UK
Recording Label: Swan Song
Producer: Jimmy Page
Rating: 5
Era: Hard Rock (1968-1975)
Subgenre: Hard Rock
Best Song: Achilles Last Stand
Tracklist: 1) Achilles' Last Stand; 2) For Your Life; 3) Royal Orleans; 4) Nobody's Fault But Mine; 5) Candy Store Rock; 6) Hots On For Nowhere; 7) Tea For One
This has to be Zeppelin's worst studio album. Okay, there's Coda, but I don't think anyone in the world, not even Zeppelin themselves , considers Coda anything more than outtakes in memory of Bonzo. Even so, some people tear Presence apart and consider it an atrocious album, when out of seven songs, at least three are very good. It has to be acknowledged that even at their worst, Led Zeppelin was capable of putting out one or two killer tracks that could knock you off your feet. Many bands at their peak would kill to have a song like that on their album.
Presence is a very strange album. On one hand, it follows some of the style of Physical. Graffiti . The basic structure of the songs could easily have been used for the double album. But there's a slight change in the final sound. Presence is the first Led Zeppelin album without keyboards at all, and with virtually no acoustic guitars, and therefore no folk ballads of the kind they loved to include on previous albums. There's only one acoustic guitar track in "Royal Orleans," but it gets lost in the mix. The arrangements are minimal; there are no orchestrations or exotic instruments. There's no experimentation with genres. It sounds like they recorded it in a fit of anger and in just 17 days!
Hey!!! Actually, they recorded it pretty lazily and in 17 days!! Yes, including the mixing and post-production! I think it's noticeable from the first listen . It's Zeppelin's least attitude-driven album. All the others convey emotion, have attitude, and say something as a whole. Here, they simply make an album trying to return to basic rock, with Jimmy Page completely dominating the creative aspect and standing out with his powerful guitars.
To understand why this album is so weak, so to speak, we have to look at the background of what was happening with the band. After the exhaustive Physical Graffiti tour, Led Zeppelin had established themselves as the biggest rock act on the face of the earth, surpassing even the Rolling Stones and The Who, who were beginning their decline. The double album had garnered praise from both critics and fans, and Zeppelin was undoubtedly the biggest force in the mid-1980s. However, the tour left them exhausted and with lasting consequences. They hadn't even finished the tour, with some dates still to be played in the USA, when in August , Robert Plant and his wife Maureen were involved in a serious car accident during a quick vacation in Rhodes, Greece. Both suffered serious injuries, and Plant sustained several fractures. As an anecdote, Rob says that while in the modest hospital where he was initially taken (he had to get the cockroaches off his bed, according to him), he was separated from the other beds by a curtain, so he couldn't see his roommates, nor could they see him. One afternoon, he heard the man in the next bed humming "The Ocean," unaware that Plant was right beside him. Rob shed a tear of happiness, one of the few bright moments in those difficult circumstances. Plant left in a wheelchair and began his convalescence. A blood transfusion saved Maureen's life; she had suffered the worst of it. The rest of the tour had to be canceled, and Plant went to Malibu, Jersey Island, to recuperate. There, he began writing some new lyrics.
However, in November , Page insisted they get together to record the next album and traveled to California to meet with Robert, who was still recovering and confined to a wheelchair. Jimmy found an available studio, the Hollywood SIR Studio, where Bonham and Jonesy joined them to begin rehearsals. By this time, Bonham was already struggling with serious alcoholism. Since they didn't feel comfortable at the Hollywood studios, Page found that Musical Studios in Munich was available for a couple of weeks before the Rolling Stones began recording their infamous Black & Blue. As a side note, both bands were in exile from Britain due to tax issues, making it impossible for them to record in London at the time. So they crossed the Atlantic to Germany, with Robert having to leave his wife. In reality, the only one who wanted to record an album was Page, and I think it shows. Plant wasn't in shape; he had to record in a wheelchair, which limited his vocals. It's not an apology, but his voice is barely audible throughout the entire album, something he himself acknowledged, even questioning whether rock was worth the sacrifice. Besides missing his family, he said he felt claustrophobic in the recording studio, which was in a basement and difficult to navigate in a wheelchair. Furthermore , at that point, he wasn't sure he'd ever walk again. Considering this, it's remarkable that he was even able to sing! Bonzo wasn't at his best either; under the constant influence of alcohol, he sounded a bit slower and less imaginative. John Paul Jones plays a prominent role on bass. He's no Led Zeppelin II, but he meshed very well with Page in creating riffs and structuring the songs. Jimmy, meanwhile, started partying with Keith Richards, who was already scouting and auditioning potential replacements for Mick Taylor, who had just left the Stones. During these outings, Page became addicted to heroin. Presence has absolute mastery of the guitars; it sounds powerful and raw, but also less imaginative. The riffs are simpler, sometimes even repetitive, and there's less experimentation from Jimmy.
The entire recording, including mixing, took them 18 days. The Rolling Stones were amazed by the record time and didn't think they'd be able to do it. Page would later say they were doing marathon sessions. Once they had the mix, Jimmy did all the guitar overdubs for all the tracks in about 24 hours, when he had estimated it would take three days just for "Achilles." For the mixing, he had to slap the sound engineer, Keith Harwood, to keep him awake, working on it for about three days straight. Since they finished it the day before Thanksgiving, it was originally going to be called " Thanksgiving ," but they discarded that name because it didn't fit the power of the sound.
The cover is very strange. A family sits at a table around a black figure, presumably a "Presence," or something that is supposed to be perceived on the album. Something similar to the monoliths in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The cover and the album artwork were not well received . How many awards considering I think it's one of Zeppelin's most boring albums, hehe.
The album opens with “Achilles' Last Stand”, a powerful guitar symphony. It sounds like something out of “Custard Pie” from Physical . Graffiti , they should have returned to that healthy habit of opening the album with an epic track to knock our jaws off. The song begins with off-beat arpeggios laden with echoes and fuzz . After a few twists, at :18 a snare drum blasts and this frenetic work of art kicks off with a powerful, acidic riff. Bonzo is unstoppable, delivering his best performance on the album, hitting the drums relentlessly, and it's said they had to change the heads two or three times. He throws in some incredibly fast fills, a truly masterful and mammoth drum performance. Jones plays an impressive solo, and I still don't know how he manages to maintain that speed for over 10 minutes. It sounds like a horse galloping at full speed. And the guitars are a true symphony. I suppose THIS is what Page was trying to do with "The Song Remains The Same ," only here it actually works. There are at least a dozen layered guitars creating a veritable sonic army, achieving diverse arrangements and textures, and crafting a truly impressive work that never lets up for a single moment. Its creative catalog explains why other songs on the album sound repetitive. He used every possible resource here! From the opening arpeggio to the breathtaking bursts of the main riff, to the underlying power. Chords in lower tones… At 1:50 we have a bridge with aggressive and rapid changes, immediately launching into a scale with 4 or 5 guitars in different keys until it explodes back into the main riff. Check out Bonham on this return. We continue with the verses. At 2:50 we have the first guitar solo with 2 guitars, just a couple of turns and very basic. Another verse and at 3:30 we return to that killer bridge while Plant howls like a ghost, and then we go into a stratospheric solo, with Page at his best, making his guitar cry while Jones hammers away on the bass in a stunning combination. At 4:10 the rhythm dies down and only Page remains, conversing with Bonzo's machine-gun-like guitar work, until they return to the rhythm and repeat the trick for the end of the guitar solo in its first part. Then I don't know how many guitars replay the ascending scales, and the solo ends to return to the verses. Page continues to surprise us with arrangements, circular figures, and a 10-minute guitar masterclass. At 7:30, the coda begins with that section where Plant sings “ AhhAAAahh - AAAahhh, ” and the closing section begins with “I know the way , know the way, know the way , know the way … ” amidst what sounds like a dozen angels playing guitar solos simultaneously. Finally, we close at 9:45 with the same circular arpeggios with which we began, so that if you put the song on repeat , the ending won't be noticeable. Plant, for his part, works wonders, with a very strong, solid vocal performance, reaching very high notes and using all his resources so that the 10 minutes don't become tiresome. In other words, he paces himself very well, and the moans and howls that I usually find so annoying are, this time, dosed in a way that keeps you hooked throughout the entire song. Singing in a wheelchair with four broken ribs is impressive. Lyrically, it's also great. It was one of the songs Rob started writing on the island of Jersey, and it was going to be called " Wheelchair ," but then it took a more mythological turn and was going to be titled "Atlantes Last Stand," and finally they wanted to lean more towards Greek literature, so it became "Achilles." Despite the fantastic lyrics, this time they're handled much better, and it reminds me somewhat of the excellent lyrical work on " Immigrant Song." In short, everything came together for one of Zeppelin's most majestic and powerful songs, and perhaps Page's definitive guitar song. He himself has said it's his best creation. The album is well worth it for this track alone. Seriously.
Next up is “For Your Life”, a powerful blues-rock track with a riff that starts with a sustained tone and then picks up speed. Nothing complex, but it works. Page and Jones mirror each other to give depth and texture to the riff, which sounds as raw as it should. At the two-minute mark, there's a short bridge with a key change. Plant seems to be barely reaching the scream he does, and this is when you start to suspect something's wrong with him. Then there's another change, where bass and guitar combine for a descending scale at 2:30. Overall, it's remarkable how well they match up in the same tones. Bonzo sounds sleepy, and then Plant continues screaming and doing his vocal excesses, but I insist that he's clearly pushing himself to the limit. The lyrics are about a friend addicted to cocaine, a reference to how this drug was ruining the entire LA art scene, although internal band references can't be ruled out ( cough-cough , Page, cough-cough ). At 2:50 there's a solo, but it sounds more like another riff, and it ends with a sound reminiscent of Woody Woodpecker's laugh. In short, it's a decent blues rock song. It's not particularly impressive, but it has some good combinations and sounds powerful.
“Royal Orleans” is a very generic funk- rocker , with a powerful but bland riff. The band tries again to play with funk, but it's clear they're not good at it. The song has a certain playful feel, and that's actually its intention: a mockery of John Paul Jones. Perhaps the best part is the story behind it. It turns out they were on tour in '70 and had a concert scheduled in New Orleans, staying at the hotel that gives the song its title. Well, it turns out that John Paul Jones, the serious and mature Led Zeppelin, picked up a girl at the hotel bar and took her back to his room. The catch is that she was a transvestite. Fortunately, he didn't find out at the time because they fell asleep smoking marijuana and accidentally set the room on fire. From then on, they never stopped making fun of the incident. The thing is, when they were jamming this funk in the studio, even without lyrics, John Paul said to put anything in it, because the lyrics were the least important thing about Zeppelin songs ( See? It's not just me saying it!! ). Page and Plant exchanged a knowing glance and within an hour had shoved the lyrics down Jonesy's throat, who couldn't help but smile. Oh God! When we talk more about Zeppelin's lyrics than their music, it's because it's truly awful. Well, it is. If there was already "The Crunge ," this was completely unnecessary. But yes, at least the lyrics are funny!
Then there's "Nobody's Fault But Mine". This is another of Zeppelin's "borrowings," as it's an old blues song, whose first recordings date back to 1924, and which several musicians covered in the late 60s. Well, they didn't hesitate to register it as their own composition because of the arrangements they made. They supposedly changed the lyrics a bit to reference Page's heroin use, and the triple guitar intro tries to emulate the bittersweet feeling of a heroin addict. Anyway, it has good combinations, with some good riffs. Bonham is back in top form and plays the drums like his life depends on it. Jones also sounds spectacular, filling any possible gaps left by the guitars. Stops and starts, tempo changes, and a good solo at 4:40. Plant again sounds over the top, and those " Ahahahaaaa "s can get annoying, but he does a good harmonica solo, and that moment when he sings “nnnnnnn- nobody's fault I love " But Mine." All things considered, I think it's a good song, but somewhat repetitive and predictable, and six minutes seems too long. It's usually included on compilations and given classic status , but I wouldn't put it in my top 20 of the band's songs.
Next up is "Candy Rock Store". Really? Led Zeppelin trying to do Elvis-style rockabilly in the 50s? Really ? The result is as horrifying as you could imagine. A dreadful riff, Plant singing in a dreadful, almost awful tone, and perhaps the worst misogynistic lyrics in Zeppelin 's entire catalog . Horrid, repetitive, and they even dare to stretch it out for more than four minutes. These studio jams should never be released as serious material. Never!
“Hots On For Nowhere” continues in the same vein. A generic, uninspired riff that repeats ad infinitum. Plant even sings “ Laralalalás .” Bonzo seems to be the only one concerned with making something decent, but apparently he was too drunk to salvage the song on his own. The lyrics speak of the anger and frustration he felt towards Jimmy Page and Peter Grant at that time, as he would have preferred to be with his family than recording a damn rock album. And well, another 4:40 minutes wasted.
The album closes with “Tea For One”. I have mixed feelings about this one. It's common knowledge that Led Zeppelin shamelessly stole songs, adding a phrase or two to some old blues tune and claiming they'd changed them enough instrumentally to credit Plant/Page. They rarely had legal problems. The thing is, with this song they've gone too far. It's a blatant, inconsiderate, shameless, and premeditated rip-off, of none other than… Plant/Page!!!!! Anyone who doesn't recognize “Tea For One” as a remake of “Since I've Been Living You" is because he's deaf. Listen to minute 7, when Robert sings " It's been " Like a lifetime ..." Sound familiar? It's just missing the colossal riff. But anyway, apart from that detail, the song is beautiful. A slow, atmospheric blues, and this time with much better lyrics. "Tea For One " is about how damnably lonely Plant felt, sitting in his hotel drinking "Tea for One" and wishing with all his heart to be home. At least it's sincere. But vocally it doesn't even come close to " Since ." Nor does the guitar. Although there are good moments, Page gives off a sense of déjà vu the whole time, and musically there's nothing that surpasses the "original." Don't get me wrong. I like the song immensely. The first time I heard it was with my wife, and we thought it was some kind of live version of " Since. " I've Been Living You.” I didn't know Presence yet , or I hadn't paid much attention to it. I remember it moved us deeply. But then I realized it was a different song. I mean, if “ Since ” didn't exist, it wouldn't have been the same song. “I’ve Been Loving You,” which I’ve already said and I reiterate is my favorite Led Zeppelin song, would be one of the great gems of their discography. But it exists, and that makes “Tea For One ,” despite its beauty and delicacy, and evidently greater sincerity, seem, errr , unnecessary.
Anyway. It's not as terrible an album as many claim. It has at least three good songs, and one of them is one of the most glorious moments in the history of electric guitar. Unfortunately, the others leave much to be desired, being repetitive and lacking in resources at best. It's a reflection of the band's tired attitude and internal problems. But that's no excuse; by '79 things would take a more tragic turn, and they managed to reflect that better on * Through the Out Door*. Furthermore, it was recorded with unusual haste, and the weaker tracks sound like poorly executed studio jams . All things considered, those who say this album should never have been made need to put on their headphones, close their eyes, and listen to "Achilles' Last Stand" and "Tea for One " at full volume. These two gems make the album worthwhile. Led Zeppelin, even at their worst, were capable of this.
By Corvan
Jan/20/2012
