Led Zeppelin - Presence (1976)

I'm not afraid to say that I think this LP stinks!

Ok, well I don't think it stinks, but I do think it is the weakest Zeppelin album. Funnily enough, it is Jimmy Page's favorite Zeppelin album. But whose word are you going to take? That of some flakey old has-been who hasn't done anything productive for the past 30 years and lives on past glories or that of Jimmy Page?

Opener Achilles' Last Stand is much lauded by rock afficionados, but let's just admit that it is long, drawn out and frankly, dull. It features lots of strident, prog-like flourishes later appropriated by Iron Maiden, so it is interesting in that respect. But the song exudes what has been lost. From the first self-titled LP through to Physical Graffiti, the band had a mystique which was intrinsically felt within the music itself. There was something magical there; indeed, a "presence", the very self-same notion after which this 1976 album was named. Only the presence is lacking here. The songs feel more clinical, cold, precise. Executed rather than a release. Put simply, they were coked out and it can be heard in the music. But them being Zeppelin and all, it's still a good album and injected full of your usual juicy Zeppelinisms. And to be fair, its harsh, repetitive rhythms do work on a certain hypnotic level if you let them, as best exemplified on the justly classic Nobody's Fault But Mine.

And basically, if you don't own it then you aren't really considered a true Led Zeppelin fan, and that's just how it is. Thank you and good day!