Led Zeppelin

Presence

Very Little Of It

Review Score:

(6/10)
...Before Presence, Zeppelin had been successful by keeping things new and always progressing in both talent and style, but it seems that they settle in with this album, and it's just going through the motions.

It is still a good album that's worth a listen. The guitarwork from Jimmy Page is always phenomenal. The rest of the group also plays well, whether it be John Bonham pounding on the drums, John Paul Jones playing bass, or Robert Plant wailing along with the songs. No, the problems on this album can't be found in the talent of Led Zeppelin. The problems are in the song writing and Page's production, which allowed poor material to make up for most of the songs on this album. The album sounds redundant at times, and is flavorless compared to Zeppelin albums before this. All the individual musicianship cannot save the weaker tracks, which are simply uninteresting and too much like what we're used to hearing from Zeppelin. There is nothing new to be experienced here that can't be felt or heard on Physical Graffiti or Houses Of The Holy, in which there it is fresh, interesting, and inspiring.

The album's strong points are very strong though. "Achilles Last Stand" is a ten minute tune that is never boring or uninteresting. It is a very well written song, with many different sections that all encompass great guitar. It is the best song on the album, and opens it up in a strong manner. Another highlight is "Tea For One", the closer of the album which is also ten minutes long but instead is a minor key blues jam, similar to the likes of "Since I've Been Loving You" from Zeppelin III. This is the kind of song that Zeppelin can pull off doing ten times over, and people will still love it (self included). "Nobody's Fault But Mine" isn't bad either, but it's quality is easily swallowed up because of the fact that it is surrounded by songs that sound exactly the same.

Weaker tracks include "For Your Life", which is a song that doesn't quite feel right for Zeppelin because of it's slower tempo and the fact that it switches from a minor key feel to a major key feel many times throughout the song. It's also too long for itï¿½s quality, at seven minutes. "Royal Orleans" is a short guitar track that is more mainstream Zeppelin, but still sounds bland amongst the rest of the album. "Candy Store Rock" was the one single from the album, which is ironic because it's probably the worst song of the collection. It's more heavy guitar rock that is trying to sound bluesy at the same time (this can be seen by Plant's overuse of "Baby baby" and "Ooh yeah"). "Hots On For Nowhere" is once again more of the same, heavy guitar mixed with Plant's carefree vocals singing blues lyrics.

I might be judging this album harshly because I personally expect more from Zeppelin, but this album really doesnï¿½t work at the same level as any of the six that were released before this. The band got complacent with this one, and it shows in the lack of colour and experimentation. Led Zeppelin was always a band that brought something special and new to the table with every album, but there is nothing special about this. It has some good tracks, but the bottom line is that it's just a weak album from a band who we all know are capable of much more. It's a Zeppelin who are just making music for it's own sake, and are actually missing the presence that they had before this album (no pun intended). It's an album only for diehard Zeppelin fans, because it just doesn't offer anything to anyone else.

Pros: Great guitar and vocals, "Achilles Last Stand"

Cons: Weak material for the most part, seems like Zeppelin were going through the motions

Recommended: Yes

Bottom Line: It's Led Zeppelin at their worst, but that's better than most bands....

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