Jump to content

Presence Reiusse


Zeppy98

Recommended Posts

Well, out of all the albums/companions released so far, this is certainly the biggest mystery. I mean, there is hardly any bootleg

studio stuff out there from this album !!! I have to be honest, I have no idea what's gonna come out. One guess is a stripped

down version of ALS, as Page has in these releases released no overdub versions of favorite songs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not that much of a mystery if you've been reading interviews with Jimmy Page this last month or so. He said in a recent interview that in combing the archives, he was worried that he had nothing to put on the companion disc for the upcoming remastered Presence release; none of the 1977 shows were given multi-track sound recordings (hence why no '77 material on DVD in 2003) and he couldn't locate the original tapes containing the rough studio mixes of the Presence material, but he eventually located the tape (much to his palpable relief), and on that tape he discovered "two new things" he had completely forgotten about.

So all things considered, it's a good bet that the companion disc for Presence will be the early rough studio mixes, whilst the "two new things" will likely end up on the remastered Coda...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I always wonder what it is that has made this album, not only receive a lot of flack, but commercially be so underwhelming compared to other Zep outings.

In the U.S. it sits at 3 million. Of Course the RIAA only certifies by the millions (With the exception of the first 500,000) so if it's pushing 4 million we won know until it gets there.

Still, ITTOD is certified in the U.S. at 6 million, and 3 million of that is after it's initial splash.

Regardless of peoples perceptions of ITTOD, I believe it was aided greatly by the fact that Zep hadn't released any new material in 3 1/2 years since Presence. ITTOD also had a lot of radio play because of the radio friendly material. I only mention ITTOD because it has also received less than stellar reviews in recent years by some.

But still, all these years later, you would think that Presence would have climbed to 5 million.

Edited by price.pittsburgh
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always wonder what it is that has made this album, not only receive a lot of flack, but commercially be so underwhelming compared to other Zep outings.

In the U.S. it sits at 3 million. Of Course the RIAA only certifies by the millions (With the exception of the first 500,000) so if it's pushing 4 million we won know until it gets there.

Still, ITTOD is certified in the U.S. at 6 million, and 3 million of that is after it's initial splash.

Regardless of peoples perceptions of ITTOD, I believe it was aided greatly by the fact that Zep hadn't released any new material in 3 1/2 years since Presence. ITTOD also had a lot of radio play because of the radio friendly material. I only mention ITTOD because it has also received less than stellar reviews in recent years by some.

But still, all these years later, you would think that Presence would have climbed to 5 million.

It's brilliant, but it lacks diversity and is somewhat monochromatic, with no real hit. ITTOD had way more going for it in terms of diversity and accessibility. I love both albums, but I can clearly see why Presence was not a commercial success, compared to other albums. It is an album of "deep cuts". Edited by The Dark Lord
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's brilliant, but it lacks diversity and is somewhat monochromatic, with no real hit. ITTOD had way more going for it in terms of diversity and accessibility. I love both albums, but I can clearly see why Presence was not a commercial success, compared to other albums. It is an album of "deep cuts".

Monochromatic, thats a great way to describe Presence, I love the album, but in a sense it's like ONE Big Song, Monochromatic, nice Dark Lord

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's brilliant, but it lacks diversity and is somewhat monochromatic, with no real hit. ITTOD had way more going for it in terms of diversity and accessibility. I love both albums, but I can clearly see why Presence was not a commercial success, compared to other albums. It is an album of "deep cuts".

Good points no doubt, but at least in the U.S. it's sales tell us that many Zep fans don't own it in regular form. Many own both early 90s box sets and therefore own all the tracks. Others own it within the 2 complete cd box sets. I recognize that a lot of sales figures for any album, are based on casual fans, as well as many who only listen to an album a few times. Still, I feel like if every die hard Zep fan owned a copy of Presence that it would exceed the 3 million. I have always wondered what Zep's cd sales were. Just cds, not other formats from back in the day. Presence probably does even worse just under the cd format. Not sure.

Edited by price.pittsburgh
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Monochromatic agreed.It is a very straightforward album despite the adventurous spirit of ALS.No acoustic numbers,keyboards,ballads,etc,just guitar, bass,drums and Plant delivering for the most part a straight ahead performance.I remember when i first bought the album in 76 some of it just didn't gel with me,in fact I would get bored with it halfway through FYL.Royal Orleans I hardly played at all.Now all these years later I 'm giving it serious spins and looking forward to the re master since I have a lousy first generation cd copy and i was just about to replace it when these reissues were announced.I am not expecting too much for the companion disc,as mentioned elsewhere Page did all the overdubs in about 24 hours,so a few rough mixes is probably all we get.Those 'two new things' 'will most likely end up on Coda.Can't wait for Tea for One .Now ITTOD,that's gonna be interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From a newbie's perspective, Presence is a very interesting work in that it doesn't really register on initial contact, my first impressions of that album were much the same as many others - that it was a big step down from the majesty that was Physical Graffiti - but you have to look at it in proper context and perspective, you can't differentiate the album from the circumstances it was created under... and that's the key to unlocking the greatness of Presence.

Between the personal trauma of the Rhodes incident, the anxiety of whether Robert Plant could ever walk again without aid of a cain, the frustration of having the Physical Graffiti world tour literally stopped in it's tracks and cancelled thanks to said Rhodes incident, in addition to the emerging situation with the tax exile status (socialism at work again!), Led Zeppelin were feeling the heat, their backs were against the wall, and Presence was the product of that; there's no folk ballads, no acoustic musings, no keyboard doodles, this was the Zep lashing out and coming out swinging, take no prisoners, do or die. The album may not feature instantly hummable tunes primed for FM radio, but it has a depth and maturity that just shines on repeated listenings. Four of the seven tracks - 'Achilles Last Stand', 'For Your Life', 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', and the sublime 'Tea For One' - are up there with the VERY best of Zep material, period.

It took a little while for me to fully appreciate the greatness of Presence, but now I both know and understand why it has become a dark horse favourite among Zepheads... it was both of it's time and ahead of it's time, with a production you could cut glass with, and the closest LZ ever got in the studio to replicating the tight-but-loose ethos of their live work.

The buying public at large may have been put off by the subtle and eerie sleeve design or the fact it didn't have a 'Whole Lotta Love' or 'Stairway to Heaven' but it didn't need either and that's why it stands tall among the Zep canon to this day...

Edited by The Old Hermit
Link to comment
Share on other sites

From a newbie's perspective, Presence is a very interesting work in that it doesn't really register on initial contact, my first impressions of that album were much the same as many others - that it was a big step down from the majesty that was Physical Graffiti - but you have to look at it in proper context and perspective, you can't differentiate the album from the circumstances it was created under... and that's the key to unlocking the greatness of Presence.

Between the personal trauma of the Rhodes incident, the anxiety of whether Robert Plant could ever walk again without aid of a cain, the frustration of having the Physical Graffiti world tour literally stopped in it's tracks and cancelled thanks to said Rhodes incident, in addition to the emerging situation with the tax exile status (socialism at work again!), Led Zeppelin were feeling the heat, their backs were against the wall, and Presence was the product of that; there's no folk ballads, no acoustic musings, no keyboard doodles, this was the Zep lashing out and coming out swinging, take no prisoners, do or die. The album may not feature instantly hummable tunes primed for FM radio, but it has a depth and maturity that just shines on repeated listenings. Four of the seven tracks - 'Achilles Last Stand', 'For Your Life', 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', and the sublime 'Tea For One' - are up there with the VERY best of Zep material, period.

It took a little while for me to fully appreciate the greatness of Presence, but now I both know and understand why it has become a dark horse favourite among Zepheads... it was both of it's time and ahead of it's time, with a production you could cut glass with, and the closest LZ ever got in the studio to replicating the tight-but-loose ethos of their live work.

The buying public at large may have been put off by the subtle and eerie sleeve design or the fact it didn't have a 'Whole Lotta Love' or 'Stairway to Heaven' but it didn't need either and that's why it stands tall among the Zep canon to this day...

Well said. I concur. One of eight masterpieces.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I have heard a few times that this was actually Jimmy's favorite Zep album. One reason I could see is that arguably this album has a

ton of Jimmy's famed "guitar armies". You must remember that this was 1976, and besides Hendrix there were few if any attempting

the dense layers of guitars colliding, dovetailing, meeting up in harmony or descending into dissonance . Hendrix of course died quite

earlier, so Page emphasized the guitar trickery on the album as opposed to the much more hook able licks/riffs on earlier albums.

Maybe NFBM is really the only somewhat commercial track, and even that starts with just a guitar/vocal duet. Judging from the earlier

releases, It's entirely possible the alt disc will have many stripped down/lower overdub versions of the regular songs. Many want to

hear Bonzo as loud and clear as possible, along with JPJ. What I want ??? Forget it. I want ALS with even more pleading and chiming

harmonies and complete overdub madness. This is LED ZEPPELIN, isn't it ??? Isn't the music supposed to sound awe inspiring

and powerful ????!!!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Presence is so good, the reason why it sounds so urgent, is after PG they could move fast musically .

None of this "lead singer in a accident" type lay off, they just got on with it, it must have been a band effort to bring those songs together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I think there is a certain brutality that somehow pervades all the songs. Even though HOFN and RO seem like fun songs, even they

ultimately have frenetic guitar and drum arrangements. And it really is a shame that no live material from this release will be

issued. The 5/22 ?? Ft.Worth 77' Achilles is probably the most powerful version ever. Page and Bonham seem to be locked in

some sort of instrumental mortal combat that is far more violent than anything Iv'e ever heard by any speed or thrash metal band.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I so love HOFN; the call and response dynamic between Grandmeister Jimmy and Uncle Bob is so much fun and that thundering avalanche by Bonzo and Jimmy starting at 4.01 on the original studio version is empirical.

Cheers,

Indi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I so love HOFN; the call and response dynamic between Grandmeister Jimmy and Uncle Bob is so much fun and that thundering avalanche by Bonzo and Jimmy starting at 4.01 on the original studio version is empirical.

Cheers,

Indi[/qu

I think Jones and Bonzo are the star of the show here.

Edited by grasbo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I got my Presence 2cd reissue a day early! :)

10 Ribs & All/Carrot Pod Pod (Pod) is absolutely fabulous!

Royal Orleans (Reference Mix) Is weird as hell. It sounds like Jonesy is singing thru some weird frog effect

The intros to Achilles and Nobodys Fault But Mine are a couple seconds longer on the standard version (disk 1 i mean) compared to the 1994 version.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got my Presence 2cd reissue a day early! :)

10 Ribs & All/Carrot Pod Pod (Pod) is absolutely fabulous!

Royal Orleans (Reference Mix) Is weird as hell. It sounds like Jonesy is singing thru some weird frog effect

The intros to Achilles and Nobodys Fault But Mine are a couple seconds longer on the standard version (disk 1 i mean) compared to the 1994 version.

According to Jimmy in the recent Tight But Loose interview, that is actually Robert on Royal Orleans. Dave Lewis originally thought it was Jonesy.

...and you're right, it's weird as hell!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...