This all went on hold in August 1975, when Robert Plant and his wife Maureen were involved in a serious car crash on holiday in Greece, where he suffered a broken ankle and his wife required a blood transfusion. With all touring put on hold to enable his recuperation, they went to the Channel Islands for eight weeks before relocating to Malibu in California. During his time in the Channel Islands Plant composed lyrics that pondered his own current position and thinking about the future. In Malibu he was joined initially by Jimmy Page, and the two decided that to fill in time when they were unable to tour that they should put together a new album. Between the two of them they put together enough material to put to John Paul Jones and John Bonham, who then joined them in the studio to rehearse that material into songs.
From here, the band relocated to Munich which the band felt had the best facilities to record in. Plant was still recovering from his injuries and so had to sing during these sessions from a wheelchair. It also meant that Page was left to take care of most of the responsibility of the production at the sessions. The entire recording was completed in just 18 days, mainly due to the fact that the Rolling Stones had the facility booked to begin their new album. The album release itself was delayed by problems with the album sleeve, and there was eventually thoughts from band and critics that the album felt rushed. Despite these thoughts, it didn’t stop the public’s anticipation for the band’s seventh studio album, titled “Presence”.
Coming from the diverse style of song on the band’s previous album, crashing straight into the 10.5 minute epic of “Achilles Last Stand” from the outset here is a strong motive. The almost immediate entry of the rollicking drum beat and Jones’s machine gunning bass guitar sets the tempo from the beginning. Plant’s vocals come out strong, and Page’s guitar is forthright without getting over complicated. His solo pieces, backed by the wonderful rhythm here is magical to the ear. The rolling tempo of the track is where it is at its best. The song features some of John Bonham’s finest drum work, he is perpetually busy in the background of the track, a leading light that continues to barrel onwards even when Page’s guitar strums and is allowed to ring out to its natural next phase. The driving nature of Bonham’s drumming is generally when Led Zeppelin is at its best, and you cannot argue that he is at the top of his form on this song.
“For Your Life” drags back to the basic blues that the band’s roots originate from, with a stop/start bass guitar riff accentuating the slower tempo of the song, and Plant’s vocals doing the same with his very best bluesy croon throughout. Page mentioned in interviews that this song was created very spontaneously in the studio, and perhaps the foundation of the track being what it is does showcase that. This is followed by “Royal Orleans”, the only song here credited to all four members. It is a short sharp burst; under three minutes' worth compared to the 17 minutes that came from the first two tracks on the album. It has a jivy attitude about, almost ‘N’Orleans’ in character, and closes out the first side of the album in an upbeat way.
The opening track of Side 2 is another of these Led Zeppelin re-arranged songs from other artists that they don’t necessarily give proper credit to. Music is full of them of course, but Plant and Page were perhaps somewhat negligent on occasions as to what credit was given in regard to writing and composing on some tracks. “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” is adapted from Blind Willie Johnson’s original from 1927. Heavily adapted mind you. This is a power based electric guitar slinging version of that standard blues slide guitar song. Page had wanted to do his own version of this song and in the process composed a new musical arrangement, while Plant then retained some of the original lyrics while also composing more of his own to suit the modern day and the rearrangement of the music by Page. In essence, it is a different song based on the original, and if you weren’t aware of the history of the track you would never imagine it was an old blues standard from back in the day. Like Led Zeppelin were able to do because of their wonderful musicianship, they manage to make a song that they spent a great deal of time managing its precision to sound as though it is an off the cuff jam session. Brilliantly, one might add. This is followed by “Candy Store Rock”, a song that was not only released as a single in the US (which failed to chart), but also one that Robert Plant in retrospect some time later would say was the ‘saving grave of Presence’. It is an interesting track that mixes vocals and guitar and rhythm, none of which truly seem to match the other. It’s tempo and rhythm seem to be trying to draw from the band’s earliest singles, the ones that drew the fans to the band, but the guitar and vocals are on a different plane entirely. “Hots on for Nowhere” actually feels as though it carries on in the same tempo and rhythm from the previous song, a guitar line that sways dangerously close to that line as well, but Plant’s vocals have been brought back into line singing in a style much more reminiscent of what we are used to. And the closing number, “Tea for One”, reverts back to the slow blues standard style that offers the band its lifeblood, here at its base level. In the same style as “Since I’ve Been Loving You” from “Led Zeppelin III”, the music very much depicts the lyrics of the song, with Plant reminiscing and brooding over his feelings about being separated from his family due to writing and recording. As with the opening track, this is almost ten minutes in length, as it slowly moves along like thick molasses down the inside of a tall glass, in no rush to reach its destination. Lovers of the blues will love this song, with Page’s interspersion on his lead guitar being a highlight.
Despite their tremendous history in the pantheon of rock music, the influence that they have had and, like The Beatles before them, the reasonably short career space with the defining number of albums released, Led Zeppelin has never been one of my favourite artists. I knew who they were, I knew those same half a dozen songs that everyone gets introduced to in their teenage years, but I was never what I would call a fan. None of my friend group really had a crush on them, and neither my parents nor their friend group listened to Zeppelin. So there was no urge or need for me to really jump into their music. It wasn’t until the release of their wonderful greatest hits package in 1990 titled “Remasters” that I really discovered their music, and though that perhaps I should look into their albums more seriously. That became a project that took many years, slowly collecting each album on the basis of where I might see it in a record store at a price that I was willing to pay to indulge in it. With “Presence”, that was some time ago, but I couldn’t tell you where or when. My Led Zeppelin collection is one that I have slowly come by, but not one that commits itself to my memory. And it can be said as a result that a lot of Led Zeppelin all seems to merge into one big melting pot when it comes to listening to their music.
Still, there was always something that stood out for me about this album, certainly compared to those that were released around this. Because those all tended to have some amount of experimentation about them, a varied variety of styles of tracks that incorporated different and exotic musical instruments that created different styled tracks as a result. But what has always struck me about “Presence” is that this is pretty much just the four boys, playing their instrument, and that’s it. Just Bonham on drums, Jones on bass, Page on guitar and Plant on vocals. And the songs are carbon copies of each other, the moods and swings and deep blues pieces all come into it. It is really just the four piece rock band, coming at you. And I really like that.
Listening to the album again this week, this has struck me most all over again. There are no keys, or the very barest amount. Plant plays harmonica where needed (something that does sound great in “Nobody’s Fault but Mine”, where Page then mimics it on his guitar). I really enjoy how the band is back to just the four and their instruments. I love Bonham’s drumming on this album, and while John Paul Jones might be a little minimised on this album I still think he combines beautifully with what is written. And Page and Plant are at their best, offering the best moments that they usually combine to do.
For me it is interesting that this is apparently the band’s lowest selling album. Does that relate to the time that it was recorded and released? Were the fans, or the casual fans, LOOKING for that diversification of the music that the band had begun to drive toward? Did they WANT the acoustic rock or the differing instrumentation that had come before this album and would again after it? Listening to this album in isolation once again this week, I find all of the strengths that this foursome possessed, and for me in their best environment. Sure it isn’t as groundbreaking as earlier albums had offered, but for me it is a refreshing return to the band they once were. As I’ve admitted Led Zeppelin isn’t one of the bands I follow with fervour. But this was and still is a terrific album.
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