Led Zeppelin - Presence

Only one option

I dunno, I may go with "Hots On" for Page's least-Pagey solo, or "Nobody's Fault" for the harmonica + Bonham exploding bit.

I know the way, know the way, know the way, know the way

If I had to pick one besides Achilles though, it'd be For Your Life, I love that groove in the middle ("Do you really really wanna?")

Hots on for Nowhere because of the amazing drumming, the false ending, and the "la-la-la"s.

I could go with any one of these but Play Count says "For Your Life."

I have hard time thinking anything could top Achilles Last Stand although Nobody's Fault But Mine is a nasty riffer and played much, much more often on FM radio over the years.

Achilles Last Stand to me is their wildest epic tune. It wasn't a radio hit at all and it's kinda gnarly and speeded up. It's about as manic as Led Zep got. Wheels of Confusion is a similar epic tune for Sabbath.

Tea for One is one I dig quite a bit now that never really caught with me as a teenager. It is Zep getting back into the slow and intense blues burners like "I Can't Quit You Baby" or "Since I Have Been Loving You". I think this particular type of Led Zep song could have been the style an older Zep could have embraced and perhaps even extended. Plant surely from "The Big Log" on has done plays off that style quite a bit in his solo career. That recent version of "Morning Dew" he did a few years ago gets that vibe. (I'd figure it possible that the original Zep might have done "Morning Dew" as it was such a popular song in various singers and bands repertoire.)

man 'achilles' is a godhead and i almost feel like i'm homer saying barney's movie had heart but football in the groin had a football in the groin but 'hots on for nowhere' is maybe the zenith (ok maybe 'the ocean' is the zenith) of that loose tossed off mode that is zep at their most charming to me

yeah I voted for "Hots" with "Tea" second

Voted for the one that's over 10 minutes long, begins with the letter 'A', is the opening track on the album and is the best thing on this record by miles.

i also voted for "tea for one"

N-N-N-N-N-N-N-O-O-O-O-BODY'S FAULT

'nother vote for Adrian Chiles Last Stand

"Achilles" by miles and miles. Towers over the rest of the album in my opinion.

http://hedvigmollestadtrio.bandcamp.com/track/achilles

Here's where I show my age: Wanted to vote for "In the Evening" here.

That four-CD set they put out in the early 90s, where the sequencing wasn't in chronological order, did a number on my memory.

Here's where I also throw down the dare to combine Presence and In Through the Out Door into one single LP.

interesting idea but they are probably the two zep albums that sound the most differernt from each other production wise, presence is so dry and stripped down, out door is synthy and proto 80s

I could probably get it down to an EP for you.

presence is so dry and stripped down, out door is synthy and proto 80s

I agree with those descriptions, but they're closer together in my mind than any of the others.

the historical consensus, that Achilles Last Stand is greater than anything else on this album by a good distance, is correct.

presence is so dry and stripped down, out door is synthy and proto 80s

I agree with those descriptions, but they're closer together in my mind than any of the others.

― pplains, Tuesday, September 1, 2015 8:54 AM (23 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i agree with the concept just saying, unfortunately unlike trying to do a mix of, like, i don't know Houses of the Holy and Physical Grafitti into one album or I and II into one album or something like that it'd be hard to make it sound like one album because the production differences are so stark but yeah Zep breaks down pretty nicely into 2 album "eras" for me:

I & II
III & IV
Houses of the Holy/Physical Grafitti
Presence/ITTOD

works pretty neatly

They really dropped the ball on not having a song called "Physical Graffiti" appear on The Song Remains the Same soundtrack.

I always found the cover art on this one to be out of character -- it looks like a post punk record.

Here's where I also throw down the dare to combine Presence and In Through the Out Door into one single LP.

― pplains, Tuesday, September 1, 2015 8:39 AM (1 hour ago)

I'll go you one better and add their best outtake.

Side A, 23.58
In the Evening — 6.53
For Your Life — 6.25
Achilles Last Stand — 10.30

Side B, 23.11
Royal Orleans — 2.59
Carouselambra — 10.34
Candy Store Rock — 4.11
Wearing and Tearing — 5.27

Total time about 47 minutes, tight but doable.

JPJ's 8-string bass playing should have taken over the world but didn't.

"Hots on for Nowhere" for its general funkyness and that really weird hanging-on-a-note guitar solo

That would work for me, WmC. Might try that out in a bit.

Presence/ITTOD combined: Achilles, Royal Orleans, Hots On, Carouselambra, Southbound, Fool, Hot Dog

iiin the eeeeeeevvvennniiiiiiiiing

is boring

My combination of Presence/ITTOD as one LP:

A1 Achilles Last Stand
A2 For Your Life
A3 Royal Orleans

B1 Nobody's Fault But Mine
B2 Candy Store Rock
B3 Hots On For Nowhere
B4 Tea For One

lol

otm

I would at least throw 'South Bound Suarez' a bone.

Holy shit, I just noticed for the first time ever that it's 'Saurez', not 'Suarez'. As in 'dino-saurez'?

My combination of Presence/In Through The Out Door as one LP:

A1 Achilles Last Stand

Followed by turning it off and putting Physical Graffiti on.

aw

I like the way you think, Turrican.

stop with the paring down. theyre both great all the way through

Page on "For Your Life" is a nice mix of precision and absent-minded whammy bar-testing.

I always found the cover art on this one to be out of character -- it looks like a post punk record.

man I was nine years old on the floor of my babysitter's teenage son's bedroom going through his LPs to try and understand the music these grown-up boys listened to and just TRIPPING on the Presence sleeve. It would have been new or nearly brand new and it felt like it was something so weird and deep and impenetrable, I would look and look and look. At that one, and at Wish You Were Here. It is a weird fit for the sounds, but since IV they'd been going for a pretty mysterious vibe with Hipgnosis.

I like WmC's reduction, makes for a muscular listen, especially with Wearing and Tearing. Seems like mixing the best of Presence (achilles) with ITTOD (carouselambra) yields... Trans Am.

For all the chops and power of Achilles tho I'm going with Tea For One, cos of the aura.

For Your Life needs to be half as long and twice as fast.

^ i did this in audacity last night and it was fucking awesome

Haha, me too.

Canyuknowwhoaowitrollsanyureallyfeeelit? UH - OH OHH.....

You'll all be slowing down Achilles to half-speed to make it last the length of a 20 minute side next!

I think part of what makes Achilles so masterful is that it'd just be a boring, gradually deflating jam in the hands of almost any other band, but they're able to both sustain and control such a high level of intensity throughout the track, kicking it up just a little bit more and then bringing it back down when needed.

never feels like ten minutes either, more like five

'Achilles' is already a masterpiece, but imagine what it would have been if Plant had been at full fitness in the studio... fuck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scz-omSoQb0

lol sounds like a shreds video

Nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh

'Achilles' is already a masterpiece, but imagine what it would have been if Plant had been at full fitness in the studio... fuck!

― Turrican, Wednesday, September 2, 2015 2:24 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I dunno, his performances on Presence are easily my favorite in their oeuvre. The wandering whining and aimless pseudo-scatting are largely dispensed with, and his voice has a breadth in the upper register it didn't really have before.

Couldn't make it through that Tempe performance. Do they ever agree on where they are in the song? They should've stopped to ask directions.

yeah does plant have to stand up to sing well

Page on "For Your Life" is a nice mix of precision and absent-minded whammy bar-testing.

ITTOD and things like Knebworth give a glimpse of LZ had the band lasted longer and Page gone full '80s Strat.

i actually just bought a powered subwoofer for my stereo system recently, last night picked up the new Presence vinyl

man....today before work i just kept cranking the volume higher and higher on Achilles, just in awe of its power

page really knocked these remasters out of the park, just excellent

also just listened to 10 Ribs/Carrot Pod Pod, one of the few genuine "rarities" in this whole series but kinda neat I guess, funny for Zeppelin...almost feel like I'm listening to the basic track of a pretty good Wings song

So far very little from the outtakes/rarities on the new remasters has really grabbed me.

the one on LZ I that sounded like The Who was kinda good

I don't even know why they bothered really, I guess to make extra dough but I guess everyone who said there was really nothing there to bootleg was right, I mean "Travelling Riverside Blues" off the old box set is the only thing that felt like a proper new Zep song.

but as far as the vinyl quality and remaster etc, these are great

the one on LZ I that sounded like The Who was kinda good

Yeah, "La La" is probably my favorite of all the outtakes, but it's seriously slim pickings. Most of the rough mixes are barely discernible from the masters, and on ITTOD, the "alternate mixes" just sound like a 3rd-generation cassette dub of the LP.

Everything on the Coda set could've easily fit on two discs; nice of them to pointlessly spread it out to 3, and price it accordingly.

In a weird way I wasn't that upset about it because it made it easy to not even consider the deluxe editions and just get the regular reissues

You'll love the next wave of reissues, when they tag that Puff Daddy song at the end of Physical Graffiti.

Crap this is fun, here's my Presence/Out Door/Coda:

Fool In The Rain
Nobody's Fault But Mine
For Your Life
In The Evening
All My Love
South Bound Saurez
Achilles Last Stand
Wearing and Tearing

i couldn't tell any difference between "Two Ones are Won" and "Achilles," what's going on there?

Voted for Tea for One with Nobody's Fault a close close 2nd.

The vocal performance on Achilles always bothered me. I know Plant was recovering from injury at the time, but it's unfortunate that carried over into his takes.

never notice how crazily loud the bass guitar is mixed on "For Your Life", it's awesome

wtf is 'Saurez' anyway

a typo

Why on earth do I keep singing sections of Level 42's "Something About You" over "10 Ribs & All"?

...and "Carrot Pod" sounds like the jam of an early 80s SNL credits roll

...which is not to say I don't like this obsurity!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

do you do you wannaaaaa

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Yup, could totally predict that top 2.

I was going to make a playlist of the winners for each album but it looks like we haven't done polls for I, II and IV. Or I just can't find them.

(kinda surprised Carouselambra didn't win for ITTOD)

If I had to pick one besides Achilles though, it'd be For Your Life, I love that groove in the middle ("Do you really really wanna?")

Why wasn't this well received when it came out? It's one of the most well produced rock records I've ever heard, and it's the most muscular thing they ever did. Over saturation after conquering the world in the first half of the '70s? I don't find Plant's vocals strained at all, despite his condition.

ccording to Dave Lewis, "The direct, hard-hitting nature of the seven recordings failed to connect with a fan base more accustomed to the diversity and experimental edge of their previous work.[ 21 ] Page later acknowledged that, because the album conveys a sense of urgency resulting from the troubled circumstances in which it was recorded, "it's not an easy album for a lot of people to access ... [ I ]t's not an easy album for a lot of people to listen to."[ 22 ]

However, despite its initially subdued reception, Lewis considers that Presence

has become a much underrated element of their catalogue. The basic drums-bass-guitars formula may lack the diversity of previous Zeppelin sets, but in terms of sheer energy, 'Presence' packs a considerable punch, and has emerged as one of their most potent performances... This album is also a triumph for Jimmy Page. His production and dominant guitar style has an urgency and passion that reflects the troubled period that the group were going through at the time. 'Presence' is Led Zeppelin with their backs against the wall.[ 3 ]

The way I see it, Plant and Bonham were the core of LZ, with Page and Jones adding color

I dont think this band works if you remove any of the four, they're all crucial

Why wasn't this well received when it came out? It's one of the most well produced rock records I've ever heard, and it's the most muscular thing they ever did. Over saturation after conquering the world in the first half of the '70s? I don't find Plant's vocals strained at all, despite his condition.

(everyone immediately disagrees on said third track)

Plant was always the weakest link in this band.

Οὖτις OTM, these are both insane positions imo:

The way I see it, Plant and Bonham were the core of LZ, with Page and Jones adding color

Plant was always the weakest link in this band.

Well, let's think about this...

Remove Bonham and you remove the excellent, hard-hitting rhythms.

Remove JPJ and you remove the excellent, often intricate bass work and superb keyboard and/or string arrangements.

Remove Page and you remove the riffs.

Remove Plant and you remove the guy that goes "oOoOoOoOoOo" and shrieks half-inched blues lyrics and stuff about Lord of the Rings over a superbly played backing track.

I mean, I wouldn't want to remove any one element from Zeppelin's music, but if I had to...

Remove Plant and you remove the guy that goes "oOoOoOoOoOo" and shrieks half-inched blues lyrics and stuff about Lord of the Rings over a superbly played backing track.

― Working night & day, I tried to stay awake... (Turrican), M

so replace him with Bryan Ferry then

Ian Gillan.

Shakey OTM. The focus shifts continually, but they all have to be in the frame.

Plant's the guy writing the melodies over the tunes. I don't think any other vocalist of his generation would have made the same melodic choices; put any other hard rock vocalist of the era in Plant's position and the lyrics would remain baby-baby British blues stuff anchored to the tonic. Plant's solo work, whose peaks are lofty indeed, bears this out: he's a great musician with real vision.

Put any other hard rock vocalist in Plant's position and the singing on 'The Song Remains The Same' may have been far more tolerable.

#hotsonfornowhere

The assessment of this album being 'Achilles Last Stand' and 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' plus a lot of sub-par Zeppelin is still OTM.

you're so wrong I don't even know where to start

otm

#hotsonfornowhere

― calstars, Wednesday, November 22, 2017 7:43 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm. the rhythm section is so weird on this song. the way the drums switch to doubletime but the rest of the band keeps the same tempo so funky and disorienting

Very difficult song to play drums on, for sure. Even air drumming the fills on the “oh oh” part is hard as fuck

my favorite Zeppelin album

Yeah, I'll never understand that - not when this band released six stone cold classics in a row prior to this, which was their weakest record up to that point until they followed it up with one worse.

It's another one of those records that suffers from "Gaucho syndrome" - where people actually got it right first time around.

It's easy to understand if you consider every Zep LP (exceot ITTOD) the best one.

And yeah, HOFN is a jam

Presence isn't as good as most of the other Zeppelin albums, no. It's more fragmented. It suffers by comparison. It's still considerably better than "two good songs and nothing" -- that's, like, weirdly "is it a banger or not???" thinking. Zep are considerably more interesting than that imo

my favorite Zeppelin album

― flappy bird, Thursday, November 23, 2017 4:28 PM (two hours ago)

same, by a mile

and this isn't the fault of any of the records, but Presence is also the least culturally saturated Zep LP. I didn't listen to Led Zeppelin until about 2 years ago (right around when I made this poll). but songs like "Heartbreaker," "Kashmir," "Immigrant Song," "Dazed & Confused," "No Quarter," "When the Levee Breaks," "All My Love," "Whole Lotta Love," "Black Dog"... they're inescapable. And I love all their records. But the combination of Presence being completely fresh to me, along with its very straightforward no-frills meat&potatoes rock sound, appeal to me much more than all of their other records, which have much more dramatic narrative and sonic arcs. The epics, the acoustic songs, the drum solos, the riff-dozers. Presence is also one of the greatest examples of a band that's just really fucking tight and together with each other and well oiled and powerful, the kind of power and chemistry that can only come from years of playing & touring, and obviously the talent of the individuals.

thank you Greta Van Fleet for bringing me back to this record

https://i.imgur.com/jaVmPCm.jpg

precience

oh hell yeah

"alexa, what is the strange plastic alien object in the center of the room that this entire family seems creepily infatuated with ?"

yikes i made a typo i meant prescience **

if you're not taking advantage of quarantine to carve/whittle your own Object it's probably never going to happen

fortunately i have insurance that will cover that and don't need to DIY

Want to hear a mashup of Royal Orleans and steely’s Green Earrings

I've often thought that The Object anticipated the mobile phone by several decades.

wow do i not miss turrican

This is an amazing record where every song (except "Royal Orleans") has flashes of tedium about 80% of the way through - not because the band's energy is flagging, but because they're trying to goose the songs past their natural lengths.

Presence is also the least culturally saturated Zep LP.

I was visiting a woman who had all of the Zeppelin CDs except for this. "Oh, you don't have Presence!" "What's that?"

wow do i not miss turrican

I think “Achilles’…” is perfect. No flashes of tedium there.

"Tea For One" is my favorite Zep closer.

I think this album has perhaps the weakest *songs* of any Zeppelin album (not that there aren't also flashes of genius, ie Achilles), but even when the songs aren't thrilling, the machine powering through it all, the band, is still a remarkable thing.

Did Turrican leave ILM? Also, I like Robert Plant a bunch, but I think his is at least a reasonable perspective.

"Nobody's Fault But Mine".

I'd never heard this album until a couple of days ago. I can't say I like it very much - despite the best efforts of JPJ and Bonham. "Achilles Last Stand" is good but it's really a bit too prog metal for my tastes - I find some of it really clunky. The rest of the album just isn't very memorable.

u mad bro
Achilles is like their best song

I'm mad? One person thinks "Royal Orleans" is better!

“tea for one” is dreamy and incredible

"Tea For One" and "Hots on For Nowhere" on two ends of their spectrum are marvelous; the latter is top ten Zep imo.

my favorite Zeppelin album

― flappy bird, Thursday, November 23, 2017 4:28 PM (two hours ago)

same, by a mile

― WilliamC, Thursday, November 23, 2017 7:18 PM (six years ago)

a hundred miles by now

My fave Zep album in 2025. Bonham was never better, Plant’s voice working as just another texture in Page’s cokey, icy production. Not really about songs here, is it? More like workouts but damn what workouts.