Presence is rarely mentioned as more than one of their lesser albums, and perhaps it is, but Achilles Last Stand is one of their best songs – THE DRUMMING! All the guitars! The sheer gallop! Sometimes, for my money, it´s even better than Kash-feckin´-mir.
For Your Love and Nobody´s Fault But Mine are heavy, forceful rock, the playful strut of Hots On For Nowhere has lots of charm (not a word usually associated with Led Zeppelin) and Tea For One is a beautiful late night ballad, on par with, dare I say it, Since I´ve Been Loving You.
Due to being wheelchair bound following a car accident, Plant´s voice is more relaxed than usual. This is where he found his mature approach to singing.
The whole thing has a nice live in the studio feel, except perhaps all the guitars on Achilles. The Rolling Stones had booked the studio, and thus made sure Zeppelin had a deadline to meet – probably a good thing at that stage. It kept the sessions fresh.
Anyone else with a soft spot for Presence?
It’s a very underrated album – Tea For One is the best song for me, although Achilles is the one that usually gets all the attention.
It’s outstanding and probably their best in my eyes. Nobody’s Fault But Mine and For Your Life AND Achilles….
As you’ve said it all feels looser than PG and is much better for it.
Yup, love it.
In my ears a case of “best of the rest” after the first four
(4 1 3 2 if you’re interested)
There are many moments where I would place it above 2, and at least on par with 3
I’m a 2413 guy. Interestingly the order in which I originally heard them.
PG and 2 are my favourites.
II PG III IV I for me, with a bit of a gap before Presence, then ITTOD.
III before IV? Crazy talk. PG a goodie though. There’s a thread there – double albums that are all good, no filler.
Oh, but yes, Mr Twang…. III before IV for me, too…..
My preference would run PG Presence III II HotH IV I …..big gap…….ITTOD…….
PG and Presence interchangeable as favourites, dependant on mood on the day…..
Great songs in IV but I don’t like the production and guitar sound on things like RnR and never liked much of Side 2. GtC much better stripped down on the BBC Sessions album imho. As such, as an album, I prefer III.
Since first hearing it on OGWT I definitely prefer Achilles Last Stand to Kashmir.
Even more than that I preferred the Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias satirical campaign around “The Object” – The Albertos give It To You Straight
Probably my favourite Zep album – I can remember when that seemed a minority opinion around this parish…
Tea for One surely contains Pagey’s best slow blues solo…and the remainder is just immense…
It’s definitely an underrated album. I think my favourite song on it is Candy Store Rock. Really groovy, stripped back song with tremendous drumming.
Listening to it as we speak. Nothing wrong with it.
A superb album created and recorded in the face of adversity and personal frustration following Robert Plant’s car crash. Amazing to get such quality given the circumstances. The tight recording deadline certainly seems to have helped, although Jimmy Page was sleeping in the studio to get it all finished in time. I love ‘Tea For One’, one of Zep’s best blues tracks.
Gave it a listen on the strength of this post. I rather liked it, but Tea For One, good though it is, is surely just a retread of Since I’ve Been Loving You?
4,3,1,2.
Why would I listen to someone who can’t count to four? With all due respect.
I really like Achille’s Last Stand but I think overall that this record is all rather samey pulsating riffage with little variation. It lacks the light and shade dynamics of II, as do all their albums from IV onwards to be fair but then at least the albums hitherto have a good variety of styles, which Presence lacks. There seems little love for Houses of the Holy on this thread but that has two of their finest works for my money – No Quarter and The Rain Song. I get a bit bored with Presence if I’m honest.
I say: II, PG, I, III, HOTH, IV
I see your point, but I don´t agree with you. I think the deadline also brought along a lack of more subtle arrangement, the acoustic side, that I´m fond of.
John Paul Jones´ arranging skills were cut short and it very much became a Page album, with him pretty much staying in the studio non stop for three Days during the mixing.
JPJ had a much greater influence on Physical Graffiti, on which he played numerous instruments. He of course also played a major part on In Through The Outdoor, for other reasons.
So John Paul Jones was bored during Presence because he contributed only bass, and Robert Plant felt let down by Page and Peter Grant, feeling they cared more about the band than him needing to rest.
Impressive Presence exists at all.
III first. It’s their “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones.”
Listen to HP
At least on this unusual occasion.
Fuck me it took a long time to get to the point where III was placed in its rightful spot.
To my mind they haven’t done anything that eclipses Gallows Pole and Tangerine although my preference is the acoustic side of their canon which I guess misses the real point of Zeppelin.
I think their acoustic, gentle side is just as important as their electric, heavy side. Battle of Evermore was always my favourite song on IV.
I think the acoustic side is v important as a balance to the rifferama. “Ramble on” being a perfect example, from their best album. 😉