Yes, that's right; I think Presence is Amazing.

[andrewds]

You heard me.

I am not at all assuming I am the ONLY one who has deep respect for Presence (I KNOW that I am not), but over the years I have been astounded by the wide-spread hate for this record.

Yes, the album was recorded during a tense time in the band's history.

Yes, there was a complete lack of keyboards and acoustic guitar (aside from the fabled 'lost' acoustic dub)

And yes, it had less 'variety' than their previous albums.

(I may have missed a few points, but forgive me)

BUT SERIOUSLY? They intentionally wrote the album in a particular style (harder-hitting - aiming back towards their I / II days).

I seriously do not find the songs to be that unusual for Zeppelin. Tea for One (one of my favorite Zep tracks) for instance, is essentially the spiritual successor to SIBLY.

I think that the whole band is in amazing form (Page goes without saying, Bozo's power is unbridled, and we get to hear some of JPJ's most impressive bass playing.)

Some people say that Plant's vocals sound strained (he was in a wheel-chair, after all), but I think he sounds amazing - tinted with a new emotional power.

Anyways, I could go on, but I wanted to open this topic up so that ANYONE could share their opinions of the album (both positive & negative).

Despite the undeniably one-sided tone of my opinion, don't be afraid to voice your own.

Start Ramblin!

Presence was the first album I got into. The guitar intros to Achilles, Nobody's, Candy and Tea were what reeled me in. I actually agree with Barney Hoskyns in his new book when he describes Presence as "strangely cold", but I love it. I think it holds a very particular place in their catalogue, and is indispensible. By the way, I can hear an acoustic in Candy Store Rock. It's mixed back, but it's there. Maybe that's why Page and Plant did it unplugged in Montreax in the 90s.

[Amstel]

Presence IS amazing! Any album with a song like Achilles Last Stand on it is bound for greatness. I don't get all of the negativity it receives, I'm constantly playing it.

Indeed it is Ed!

The press is the only reason why this album isn't held in high regard like the rest of their catalog. An album that contains Achilles Last Stand, For Your Life, Hot's On For Nowhere, Royal Orleans, Nobody's Fault But Mine, Candy Store Rock, & Tea For One should be held in the same regard as the rest.

The media thrashed this album because they became use to the diversity of a Led Zeppelin album - Presence, to the critics, didn't have that. Presence, however, was diverse. It may not have had any accoustic stuff, but it did have "Achilles" which was different from anything they did prior - it did have 50's sounding stuff in "Candy Store Rock" - and it had blues in "Nobody's Fault But Mine" & "Tea For One"

[truth and beauty]

Indeed it is Ed!

The media thrashed this album because they became use to the diversity of a Led Zeppelin album - Presence, to the critics, didn't have that.

Yes, of course you can differentiate between tracks if you try. But if you're defending Presence, I don't think it's about forcing that particular argument.

It simply didn't have the light and shade of previous albums. What we were given instead was incredible intensity : that's what's overpowering about it, it's unrelenting .. pretty much until the wonderful and absolutely underrated ( as with so much of Presence) Tea For One .

Presence is a wonderful experience but it doesn't take you to so many places as other Zep albums. Just happens to dose you up with even more intensity : who could have imagined that ?

Also - the downside of all that intensity is that the tracks are in a crowded setting : alongside each other it's hard to appreciate them. I have always so loved For Your Life : but despite its brilliance it is dwarfed by Achilles and Nobody's Fault ... that whole section is so densely packed..

I was delighted at the time that the band included For Your Life in the O2 set .. and having spent a lot of time recently with Celebration Day , I'm happier still : in isolation it stands out so well ..

I thnk the other really important thing is that the band's catalogue is not evenly spaced over the years they were together... it's a long gap between Physical Graffiti and Presence ( especially given the age of some of the PG tracks) . A change of mood and era for the band and the wider world.

If you want to judge Presence , judge it as a record of their later years: Presence is SO much better as a testament than In Through the Out Door..

[Amstel]

Yes, of course you can differentiate between tracks if you try. But if you're defending Presence, I don't think it's about forcing that particular argument.

It simply didn't have the light and shade of previous albums. What we were given instead was incredible intensity : that's what's overpowering about it, it's unrelenting .. pretty much until the wonderful and absolutely underrated ( as with so much of Presence) Tea For One .

Presence is a wonderful experience but it doesn't take you to so many places as other Zep albums. Just happens to dose you up with even more intensity : who could have imagined that ?

Also - the downside of all that intensity is that the tracks are in a crowded setting : alongside each other it's hard to appreciate them. I have always so loved For Your Life : but despite its brilliance it is dwarfed by Achilles and Nobody's Fault ... that whole section is so densely packed..

I was delighted at the time that the band included For Your Life in the O2 set .. and having spent a lot of time recently with Celebration Day , I'm happier still : in isolation it stands out so well ..

I thnk the other really important thing is that the band's catalogue is not evenly spaced over the years they were together... it's a long gap between Physical Graffiti and Presence ( especially given the age of some of the PG tracks) . A change of mood and era for the band and the wider world.

If you want to judge Presence , judge it as a record of their later years: Presence is SO much better as a testament than In Through the Out Door..

Your wrong throughout this whole post of yours! Even though Presence contains 7 songs, it takes the listener to many spaces, shades, and colors. Achilles Last Stand is totally different than For Your Life, which is different from Tea For One, & Tea For One doesn't ressemble Candy Store Rock, or Nobody's Fault But Mine.

The second highlghted is the most assinine comment I've read in a long time "alongside each other it's hard to appreciate them?" What kind of nonsense are you talking here?

"It's a long gap between Physsical Graffiti & Presence?" HUH??? Let me educate you on a band I know like the back of my hand - Physical Graffiti was released on February 24, 1975 - Presence was released on March 21, 1976 - That's slightly over one damn year.

Led Zeppelin's fourth album was released on November 8, 1971 - Houses Of The Holy on March 28, 1973 - so you have more time between the fourth and Houses, and Houses to Graffiti - your point makes no sense at all! What difference does it make when how close or far Led Zeppelin released an album from the last piece of work?

BTW, I wasn't judging Presence. It happens to be one of my favorite Led zeppelin albums!

[Strider]

Critics hated the LP however the album sold over a million copies and appeared with all the other studio records on the billboard charts in 1979 when zeppelin came out with In Through the Out Door first band to have all their records on the billboard at one time. So Presence stands on its own and is different like all their previous records at the time

Not only was Led Zeppelin the first, they were the only band to do it twice: First in 1975, when "Physical Graffiti" was released and soon every prrevious LZ album was on the Billboard 200 album chart at the same time, from LZ I to PG! Never had happened before.

Then they did it again in 1979 with ITTOD's sales power drawing all of Zeppelin's catalogue into its slipstream and back on the Billboard charts...all 9 of their albums.

Springsteen has done it once, U2...and maybe Michael Jackson. But only Led Zeppelin had the fan power and sales muscle to do it twice.

Just another reason JJ Jackson and the other rock radio dj's in L.A. used to call them "The Mighty Led Zeppelin".

Indeed it is Ed!

The press is the only reason why this album isn't held in high regard like the rest of their catalog. An album that contains Achilles Last Stand, For Your Life, Hot's On For Nowhere, Royal Orleans, Nobody's Fault But Mine, Candy Store Rock, & Tea For One should be held in the same regard as the rest.

The media thrashed this album because they became use to the diversity of a Led Zeppelin album - Presence, to the critics, didn't have that. Presence, however, was diverse. It may not have had any accoustic stuff, but it did have "Achilles" which was different from anything they did prior - it did have 50's sounding stuff in "Candy Store Rock" - and it had blues in "Nobody's Fault But Mine" & "Tea For One"

Since Led Zeppelin was a people's band that didn't rely on critics' reviews for their popularity, this argument makes no sense. Led Zeppelin fans didn't care if their records were reviewed favourably before buying it.

Hell, Led Zeppelin I, II, and III all had terrible reviews and that didn't stop them from becoming beloved albums by the fans.

So, whatever it was that kept "Presence" from selling as well as previous albums, it wasn't the media's reaction. Led Zep fans couldn't care less what Joe Blow record reviewer thought.

I happen to think that there's been a steady surge over the years in fan's estimation of "Presence" and that its reputation has improved and grown over time. It's not as overplayed and overexposed like Led Zeppelin II and IV.

[Old Shep]

I dont understand what the great debate is, in 1976 this was the definitive statement of Hard Rock Guitar up to that point, end of, and anyone who thinks this is a cold album or lacks diversity is obviously not a connossuer of hard rock guitar or layered song construction, the people who think this can probably only discern diversity in terms of Heavy song/Quiet song/heavy song/quiet song etc.

Also look at the 8 songs originally planned for Physical Graffiti, the only quiet song there was Ten Years Gone, not an acoustic guitar in sight on any of the 8 songs. so if they had released PG as a single album, all those same pussies would have been pissing on about 'oh, this album is rubbish, its too heavy and what the fuck is all that funky stuff about?'. Face the facts, LZ was primarily a hard rock band, and if Jimmy wanted to do an album without any lightweight girly stuff on it thats up to him, after all it was his band. If you can't handle it, stick to ITTOD or Raisin Sand, WTF

[Amstel]

Not only was Led Zeppelin the first, they were the only band to do it twice: First in 1975, when "Physical Graffiti" was released and soon every prrevious LZ album was on the Billboard 200 album chart at the same time, from LZ I to PG! Never had happened before.

Then they did it again in 1979 with ITTOD's sales power drawing all of Zeppelin's catalogue into its slipstream and back on the Billboard charts...all 9 of their albums.

Springsteen has done it once, U2...and maybe Michael Jackson. But only Led Zeppelin had the fan power and sales muscle to do it twice.

Just another reason JJ Jackson and the other rock radio dj's in L.A. used to call them "The Mighty Led Zeppelin".

Since Led Zeppelin was a people's band that didn't rely on critics' reviews for their popularity, this argument makes no sense. Led Zeppelin fans didn't care if their records were reviewed favourably before buying it.

.

It does make sense - hear me out Strider.

How many fans of Led Zeppelin are "posers"? A ton. They are the same people who believe Stairway To Heaven is their best song, the same people who don't know a song on Coda, and the same people who only know Led Zeppelin's fourth album. The media has much influence on these types, Strider!

[ZEPFAN17]

Presence is right up there with the rest of Led Zeppelins great albums. Don't know how anyone could hate it. Its a brilliant album. Tea for One,Achilles Last Stand,for Your Life,Nobody's Fault But Mine make the album and the rest of the songs are great too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtsEjConcgM

[Mithrandir]

It does make sense - hear me out Strider.

How many fans of Led Zeppelin are "posers"? A ton. They are the same people who believe Stairway To Heaven is their best song, the same people who don't know a song on Coda, and the same people who only know Led Zeppelin's fourth album. The media has much influence on these types, Strider!

Stairway IS their best song. It is the best song in the rock and roll era.

[Led Dirigible]

It does make sense - hear me out Strider.

How many fans of Led Zeppelin are "posers"? A ton. They are the same people who believe Stairway To Heaven is their best song, the same people who don't know a song on Coda, and the same people who only know Led Zeppelin's fourth album. The media has much influence on these types, Strider!

Is there a problem with fans who think Stairway to Heaven is Zep's best song? Just because Stairway has been over played, it doesn't make the song any less amazing.

[Dallas Knebs]

Is there a problem with fans who think Stairway to Heaven is Zep's best song? Just because Stairway has been over played, it doesn't make the song any less amazing.

speaking for myself- no. Not one problem with STH being a favorite song. I am not sure it has been over played except in Guitar shops around the world.

[Led Dirigible]

speaking for myself- no. Not one problem with STH being a favorite song. I am not sure it has been over played except in Guitar shops around the world.

I haven't experienced the overplaying, I've just always read that Stairway has been overplayed and that's why some people supposedly hate it.

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

IMHO, "Presence" is nothing short of a masterpiece! After "Physical Graffiti" (which is my most favourite album in the Led Zeppelin catalog), "Presence" is my second favourite album!

[Gandolf]

I'd love to know how much Fender Stratocaster was used on this album, I can hear it for sure but would like to know how much strat was used exactly......

Me too. Let me make a list of the songs I mainly hear a Stratocaster on.

1. For Your Life

2. Royal Orleans

3. Candy Store Rock

4. Hots on Nowhere.

I think he used the Startocaster in particular sections of the other songs on Presence too, but these are the songs which he used the Strat as a whole.

[NealR2000]

No complaints about Presence from me. I recall many an entire-album listen to it, invariably using headphones. It was real close-your-eyes stuff. If you lean towards the electric guitar a little as your preferred instrument, then this is your album.

[The Dark Lord]

Presence is a bit of a hidden gem in the Zeppelin catalogue. It was a distinct change in overall album approach for Zeppelin, and it swapped some of its diversity for an edgy intensity. I think that threw a lot of people off, as they had become used to albums with a wider range of musical styles and approaches. Although Presence leans more toward a uni-directional approach than previous efforts, it is a stunning piece of work irrespective. There is not a bad track on the album, and both Presence and ITTOD have become two of my "go to" albums in recent years, probably because they were albums that I played less than others in past times. Presence is arguably their most technically proficient album, and ALS is a mind boggling Epic. Much like Black Sabbath's Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die, Presence and ITTOD are albums that tend to be overlooked, partially or wholly, but they are amazing pieces of work that need to be evaluated on their own merits, and not necessarily compared to previous albums. I love Presence to bits, although I tend to listen to it when I am more inclined toward a heavy guitar based sound. For Your Life on Celebration Day was such a treat.

[ListenToThis]

Presence is a hidden gem because its not as approachable and open to easy listening as the earlier albums.

In other words, Zep II is for the novice, Presence is for the master.

[journeytoroom101]

"History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time—and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened."

― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"

That quote from F&L evokes the exact sentiment I feel about Presence within the context of Zep's musical chronology.

[NoNaME]

is the best album and Achilles Last Stand the best song

[ksgemini]

Presence, PG and 3 r my favorites Presence is amazing indeed Tea for One. Achilles Last Stand...love every second of it... Every track NFBM For Your Life. Masterful

[Dr Death]

1. IV - Masterpiece

2. Physical Graffiti - Masterpiece

3. II - Great

4. I - Great

5. Houses of the Holy - Good

6. III - Good

7. Presence - Fair

8. In Through the Out Door - Fair

Conclusion, the well was running dry by the time Presence was made, few good songs.

Sad that you feel that way, because you're missing a huge and amazing chunk of what made Led-Zeppelin so special. Jimmy has said - many times - that when they released an album, it took people a year to catch up to it, and by then, they were on to their next album. One thing about Presence that everybody today is totally missing - save for some old timers who were around when it was released - is that Jimmy also said that each album represented a time-capsule of where the band was at that moment!

And life in Led-Zeppelin during the recording for Presence was very unsettled... Plant was told he might not ever be able to walk again for God's sake! The absolute king of rock singers and now he is facing a potentially career threatening injury. His wife was seriously wounded and only because they were in Zeppelin and had the money, were they able to get to hospital in time.

So... when you factor in the heavy drama surrounding the band during the time they wrote and recorded this album, it really makes it even more amazing! They even had the ability to still have a sense of humor - Royal Orleans - but all the other songs had angst, frustration, and many more negative emotions that gave birth to an album totally and completely unlike any previous effort.

Despite all the negative stuff hanging over their heads and the doubt about the future of the band, they still delivered an album that just sends chills down the spine! The entire E-P-I-C that was Achilles Last Stand - Page's guitar army, JPJ and Bonzo playing their asses off and all four deliver one of the most powerful album openers ever! And Robert's lyrics are just top-notch!

We swept New York a glancing kiss

To those who claim they know

Below the streets that steam and hiss

The Devil's in his hole...

For Your Life has a riff that just kicks total and complete ass! It is Zeppelin - musically - sounding very pissed off, whilst Plant maintains a sense of humor with the line about You said I was the only - with my lemon in your hand - ah oh... ah oh whoa...

Royal Orleans is a glimpse into a very humorous moment in the band's personal... uh... dealings... And one that never fails to make me giggle and feel a bit... sad for Jonsey! LOL

Nobody's Fault is just pure power! Robert rips off Blind Willie Johnson in the lyric department, but more than makes up for it with his amazing singing and that nasty - and I mean nasty harmonica solo!

Candy Store Rock is just fun with its quirky guitar opening and then it jumps in with Bonzo playing a fast beat and Plant getting as many Oh baby, baby parts as he can squeeze into one song! But it's a really fun song, especially when driving on the interstate! Preferablly at 75 MPH or faster!!!

Hots On For Nowhere is a song that many Zeppelin fans - for whatever reason - have no clue about. It has been said by those in the know that this song is Robert singing directly to Peter Grant and Jimmy. Some examples:

'I was burned in the heat of the moment

No! It could have been the heat of the day

When I learned how my time had been wasted

A tear fell as I turned away

Now I've got friends who will give me their shoulder

If I should happen to fall

With time and his bride growing older

I've got friends who will give me fuck all!'

Wow! Something had Robert ticked off and it's my guess that it was a couple of things... one being Jimmy's reliance on heroine and cocaine and the other is that because of the rampant drug use, he felt the band - or the two "leaders" of the band, Page/Grant - weren't exactly holding up their end of the bargain. The plot thickens as the song moves on:

Corner of Bleeker and nowhere

In the land of not-quite-day

A shiver runs down my backbone

Face in the mirror turns grey

So I looked 'round to hitch up the reindeer

Searching hard trying to brighten the day

I turned 'round to look for the snowman

To my surprise he melted away

Those are some very intense and amazing lyrics, and here's what I think they mean... The reindeer... it's pretty clear that Robert isn't referring to Santa Claus here, but what are the reindeer in the Santa story? They are what drives him and gets him to his appointed stops. Knowing Plant's genius lyric writing, to me the reindeer in this song means the duo of Jonsey and Bonham. The two that drove the music. The snowman is obviously Page... cocaine is often called "snow" and Page was at his most frail during this period. Thin, pale and probably scaring those close to him. And, in Robert's eyes, Page was melting away...

Then we get to the album closer - Tea For One. An absolute epic in every sense of the word and it boggles my mind that they never played this on the 1977 tour, the 1979 warm-up gigs or at Knebworth or the 1980 tour. Instead, we were treated to a now old Since I've Been Loving You which lacked all the emotion of Tea For One. This was Robert at his absolute lowest point and his lyrics show him to be in a very vulnerable state, which he had the courage to share with us in song. In hospital, future in doubt, his wife's health in doubt, and when he sings this line: When a minute seems like a lifetime, oh baby when I... feel this way That is something that each of us can understand.

Presence is an album filled with emotion - and most of it is negative or sad - though, as mentioned above, there's a couple times where some humor slips through the cracks - but this album is HEAVY! I totally get that people don't understand it. Especially on first listen. But man... to me, this is their best album of all! As a long time guitarist I do miss the acoustic guitar - A sad, acoustic instrumental could have fit quite nicely on here, but as I've said before when trying to explain this album to folks, this is Led-Zeppelin backed into a corner and like any great champion, they come out swinging and swinging hard!

Presence is the one album I am looking forward to the "new" version of... to see if Jimmy unearths a sullen acoustic track or perhaps something live - the Nobody's Fault But Mine from 21 June 1977 is absolutely killer! Bonham was so on fire that night and on Nobody's Fault... forget it... he was coming from another solar system!

So worry not JGaul... you are NOT alone! Presence isn't just a great album, in my opinion it is Zeppelin at their best and I've felt that way since 1976!

[Stairway is NOT stolen]

It's an alright Album. To me, it lacks the kick that Regular Zeppelin Albums (IV, HOTH,PG etc.) have.

'For your life' is epic, though.

[ksgemini]

Nice summary above. I agree Achilles Last Stand may be their best song... For me it is still Kashmir probably but they are close....nothin wrong with STH being your favorite song I have turned it off on radio every time so I only hear it in the context of the album and am not sick of it. Same withWLL and few others .. Off if they come on radio which seems to think the group made only 4 or 5 songs.... The sad state of "classic" rock stations....

[NealR2000]

There were two Zen moments in their Knebworth show that blew me away and will remain vividly in my mind for the rest of my life. One was the Black Mountain side to Kashmir segue, and the other was the start of Achilles Last Stand.

[The Dark Lord]

Sad that you feel that way, because you're missing a huge and amazing chunk of what made Led-Zeppelin so special. Jimmy has said - many times - that when they released an album, it took people a year to catch up to it, and by then, they were on to their next album. One thing about Presence that everybody today is totally missing - save for some old timers who were around when it was released - is that Jimmy also said that each album represented a time-capsule of where the band was at that moment!

And life in Led-Zeppelin during the recording for Presence was very unsettled... Plant was told he might not ever be able to walk again for God's sake! The absolute king of rock singers and now he is facing a potentially career threatening injury. His wife was seriously wounded and only because they were in Zeppelin and had the money, were they able to get to hospital in time.

So... when you factor in the heavy drama surrounding the band during the time they wrote and recorded this album, it really makes it even more amazing! They even had the ability to still have a sense of humor - Royal Orleans - but all the other songs had angst, frustration, and many more negative emotions that gave birth to an album totally and completely unlike any previous effort.

Despite all the negative stuff hanging over their heads and the doubt about the future of the band, they still delivered an album that just sends chills down the spine! The entire E-P-I-C that was Achilles Last Stand - Page's guitar army, JPJ and Bonzo playing their asses off and all four deliver one of the most powerful album openers ever! And Robert's lyrics are just top-notch!

We swept New York a glancing kiss

To those who claim they know

Below the streets that steam and hiss

The Devil's in his hole...

For Your Life has a riff that just kicks total and complete ass! It is Zeppelin - musically - sounding very pissed off, whilst Plant maintains a sense of humor with the line about You said I was the only - with my lemon in your hand - ah oh... ah oh whoa...

Royal Orleans is a glimpse into a very humorous moment in the band's personal... uh... dealings... And one that never fails to make me giggle and feel a bit... sad for Jonsey! LOL

Nobody's Fault is just pure power! Robert rips off Blind Willie Johnson in the lyric department, but more than makes up for it with his amazing singing and that nasty - and I mean nasty harmonica solo!

Candy Store Rock is just fun with its quirky guitar opening and then it jumps in with Bonzo playing a fast beat and Plant getting as many Oh baby, baby parts as he can squeeze into one song! But it's a really fun song, especially when driving on the interstate! Preferablly at 75 MPH or faster!!!

Hots On For Nowhere is a song that many Zeppelin fans - for whatever reason - have no clue about. It has been said by those in the know that this song is Robert singing directly to Peter Grant and Jimmy. Some examples:

'I was burned in the heat of the moment

No! It could have been the heat of the day

When I learned how my time had been wasted

A tear fell as I turned away

Now I've got friends who will give me their shoulder

If I should happen to fall

With time and his bride growing older

I've got friends who will give me fuck all!'

Wow! Something had Robert ticked off and it's my guess that it was a couple of things... one being Jimmy's reliance on heroine and cocaine and the other is that because of the rampant drug use, he felt the band - or the two "leaders" of the band, Page/Grant - weren't exactly holding up their end of the bargain. The plot thickens as the song moves on:

Corner of Bleeker and nowhere

In the land of not-quite-day

A shiver runs down my backbone

Face in the mirror turns grey

So I looked 'round to hitch up the reindeer

Searching hard trying to brighten the day

I turned 'round to look for the snowman

To my surprise he melted away

Those are some very intense and amazing lyrics, and here's what I think they mean... The reindeer... it's pretty clear that Robert isn't referring to Santa Claus here, but what are the reindeer in the Santa story? They are what drives him and gets him to his appointed stops. Knowing Plant's genius lyric writing, to me the reindeer in this song means the duo of Jonsey and Bonham. The two that drove the music. The snowman is obviously Page... cocaine is often called "snow" and Page was at his most frail during this period. Thin, pale and probably scaring those close to him. And, in Robert's eyes, Page was melting away...

Then we get to the album closer - Tea For One. An absolute epic in every sense of the word and it boggles my mind that they never played this on the 1977 tour, the 1979 warm-up gigs or at Knebworth or the 1980 tour. Instead, we were treated to a now old Since I've Been Loving You which lacked all the emotion of Tea For One. This was Robert at his absolute lowest point and his lyrics show him to be in a very vulnerable state, which he had the courage to share with us in song. In hospital, future in doubt, his wife's health in doubt, and when he sings this line: When a minute seems like a lifetime, oh baby when I... feel this way That is something that each of us can understand.

Presence is an album filled with emotion - and most of it is negative or sad - though, as mentioned above, there's a couple times where some humor slips through the cracks - but this album is HEAVY! I totally get that people don't understand it. Especially on first listen. But man... to me, this is their best album of all! As a long time guitarist I do miss the acoustic guitar - A sad, acoustic instrumental could have fit quite nicely on here, but as I've said before when trying to explain this album to folks, this is Led-Zeppelin backed into a corner and like any great champion, they come out swinging and swinging hard!

Presence is the one album I am looking forward to the "new" version of... to see if Jimmy unearths a sullen acoustic track or perhaps something live - the Nobody's Fault But Mine from 21 June 1977 is absolutely killer! Bonham was so on fire that night and on Nobody's Fault... forget it... he was coming from another solar system!

So worry not JGaul... you are NOT alone! Presence isn't just a great album, in my opinion it is Zeppelin at their best and I've felt that way since 1976!

Nicely played. Both Presence and ITTOD are very autobiographical and reflective of the turmoil in the band. Love them both, despite the fact that they are controversial within the canon.