Album Review by Nostalev

Presence

Led Zeppelin

1976

Swan Song Records

Personnel

Jimmy Page: Guitars, Production, songwriting

Robert Plant: Vocals, Harmonica, lyrics

John Paul Jones: Bass

John Bonham: Drums, Percussion

History

1976 was a pivotal year for Led Zeppelin. Riding the successes of their previous 6 releases from 1969 to 1975, the band apparently seemed unable to do wrong. Evolving from the hardest and most distorted blues rock of the time with Led Zeppelin I and  II,  to embracing a softer acoustic side with Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin had proved itself to be one of the most popular and diverse rock groups of the early 1970’s. Their popularity entered the stratosphere when they released their untitled album in 1971, formally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, Runes and Zoso which in all but 8 tracks managed to capture the band’s rock and roll sensibilities, acoustic skill and mysticism in one package. These four albums released within a 3 year period would lay down the hard rock/ metal template for the next 20 years helping to forge the future of rock. Having their legacy already set in stone at this point, the band began to experiment with 1973’s Houses of the Holy, an album which saw the band try their hand at gentle ballads, funk, Reggae and even some of their “proggiest” material to date. The experimentation continued on Physical Graffiti, a sprawling double album half composed of new material and half outtakes from previous albums.  The record flew off the shelves and the band continued to play to the largest crowds around the globe.  With another world tour planned for 1976, the musical behemoth that was Led Zeppelin seemed impossible to stop.

That is until tragedy struck in the summer of 1975. While on vacation on the Greek island of Rhodes, Robert Plant, his wife Maureen, their 2 children (Karac and Carmen) and guitarist Jimmy Page’s daughter, Scarlett were on a day trip in a rental car. As Maureen was driving, the brakes jammed and the car went over a short ravine and crashed into a tree. While the children were simply in hysterics during the accident, Maureen needed hospitalization and Robert Plant had broken his leg in 2 places and injured his arm. This incident would greatly shape the bands creative output regarding their next album. Plant was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of the year causing the band to cancel the rest of their tour dates, creating a feel of uneasiness for the band who were now more or less grounded. While Robert Plant was hospitalized for his broken bones, he and Jimmy Page worked on the music for what would be their next album, Presence. The bands problems became increased when they became victims of tax exile as did so many other rock stars of the day. Unable to stay in England, recording took place in Malibu California at the SIR recording studio which was located in the basement of an old hotel.  Plant was said to have experienced claustrophobia during the recording in the tight studio environment combined with his physical handicap of the wheelchair. On top of this he missed his wife and family greatly , causing him to wonder if all of the fame associated with rock and roll was worth anything in the long run. This wouldn’t be the first time Robert Plant would have this sentiment.

With limited recording time, the album was recorded in just 18 days after a month of rehearsals. Jimmy Page would work 20 hour days with the sound engineer, both of them working long after the other band members and staff left, mixing the album until they’d fall asleep. The first one to wake up would continue where they had left off and so on. Due to this, Presence was the fastest the band had finished any project since led zeppelin I 7 years earlier.   It is worth noting that although the album was mixed in such tiring and tedious conditions, Jimmy Page later said it was the only album by the group where he left the studio feeling entirely satisfied with the results. Finished a day before the American Thanksgiving, Jimmy Page had the idea of calling the album just that. Thanksgiving. The idea was wisely dropped in favour of the title Presence, to describe the aura or presence felt between the band in the studio. As Jimmy page left the studio, he ran into the rolling Stones as they were booked to record there next. When asked about the state of the record, page said he was finished. Mick Jagger assumed Page meant recording and was shocked when he was told that no, the entire record was completed, overdubs, mixing and all. Keep in mind that this was a time when The Rolling Stones could take months working on just one song.

The album achieved platinum status from preorders and day one sales alone making it their fastest album to be awarded that honor at that time. Fan reactions however, were likely to be varied.

With Jimmy Page writing almost every song solely by himself as his other band mates were elsewhere, the album was dominated by guitar (likely another reason Page was so satisfied with it). Resulting from the deadline he was working under and the conditions the band faced, the record was unique from a musical standpoint. Containing no acoustic guitars or acoustic segments, as well as not one note of keyboards, the album was the most raw and furious recording the band had ever put out. This was a deviation from past records which even from their album had contained acoustic ballads, and graceful keyboard sections by rock virtuoso John Paul Jones.

This fact caused critical reviews to come out, complaining about the generic and unmemorable nature of the songs.  The vocals suffered also as Robert Plants seated state prevented him from singing to his fullest. The result was a pinched and very dry sounding vocal for the entirety of the record. While this suits the furious nature of much of the music, Plant was irritated by the fact he couldn’t sing to his fullest. When recording Achilles Last Stand, the Albums opening epic, Plant apparently got so caught up in the passion of the moment that he tried to stand up to project more. This caused his leg to re-fracture and he nearly fell over. Page rushed out from the recording booth and managed to catch him, much to Plant’s gratitude.

Despite these shortcomings, the band was still on top of their game in terms of playing, with John Bonham arguably at his best, Jimmy Pages idea of a guitar army coming to fruition and John Paul Jones’ bass excellent playing was brought forward in the mix to be heard more clearly than on their previous outing.

The Music

As for the music, Page described it as having a “sense of urgency”. This description would be apt as for most of the record; the music is unrelenting and as intense as the band would ever get in the studio. Despite being intense, the back to basics approach of the sound allowed the band to Jam in ways that hadn’t been heard in years on a Led Zeppelin album and despite a few songs overstaying their welcome, the jam-like nature of the album makes it one of the most satisfying listens in the Bands catalogue. This is in a sense the definitive hard rock record; it contains blues, metal, songs infused with rockabilly and funk as well as killer riffs and many of the jaw dropping solos Page is so well known for. While being very well produced, Presence also possesses a raw quality, perhaps due to the down and out feeling in the band at the time or the speed with which it was created.

Containing two “epics” and two strong songs, the album has more good material than bad. Some folks think of the other three songs as happy throwaway filler tracks, however these songs are good in their own right and add a distinct flavor to the album. If they had been as funny or off the wall as the filler tracks on Physical Graffiti, the band would have had another household name classic on their hands.  Unfortunately, the bands delayed tour prevented most of the songs from getting proper live exposure.  Only Achilles Last Stand and Nobody’s Fault but Mine getting the live treatment in the late 70’s with Tea for one dropping into parts of solos Page would play in other extended songs. For Your Life would see the light of day in 2007 at the O2 arena in London, with Jason Bonham taking his fathers place.

Presence is an oddball in Zep’s catalogue. With such an intense and back to basics approach, it was an album so un-experimental that it almost came full circle and became their most experimental record to date. Due to all of Led Zeppelin’s previous records containing mellow or acoustic songs, the onslaught of straight ahead rock of Presence will be a surprise to a first time listener. Presence is like a fine wine as it gets better with time and with repeated listens. In fact, this is probably the Led Zeppelin record that takes the most listens to fully appreciate, as despite its simple sound upon the first listen, each track hides a kind of depth that can only be appreciated through numerous spins. The nuances of the solos, the quality of the playing from all involved, understanding the songs in the context of their recording and the atmosphere each song brings to the table, are all elements needed to fully appreciate this record. While perhaps not the bands strongest effort, it is my personal favourite and will always hold a special place in the bands catalogue.