Led Zeppelin
Presence
Review by Gary Hill
Often overlooked, this is actually one of my favorite Zeppelin albums. It was overshadowed by the previous disc (the double album Physical Graffiti) and haunted by what was beginning to be called "the Zeppelin curse) as Robert Plant recorded the album in a cast from an auto accident. Even though this contributed to a rush job in the studio the band still manage to pull together a disc that holds up quite well, even all these years later. The opening piece, "Achilles Last Stand" is the closest the band has ever come to progressive rock. While there are some weaker more generic numbers, when you add to that aforementioned track two stellar pieces in the form of Zep's take on Blind Willie Johnson's "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and "Tea For One", you wind up with one very powerful album.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2005 Year Book Volume 3 at https://garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2005.
|