Led Zepplin walked out of the munich studio and page got down presence and
the stones walked in and got down black and blue with perkins and mandell
The bands were at a crossroads plant recovering from an acident and taylor leaving the stones.

Presence is one of my fav zep records as is overlooked it has rock epics and
booming drums and sonic booming riffs throuhgout.Page was brilliant and never
played it safe.He puts his stamp on Tea for One - doing the blues his way and
not playing it safe his distinctive tone he gets out of his les paul you could
die for.

page's booming sonic riffs or the riffmaster hard to choose who did that
better.

Songs like Hey Negrita, Crazy Mama and Hand Of Fate were also examples of a new direction in rock'n'roll for the stones. The funk Ron Wood brought into the group is vital for two of these songs. I see those three songs as the most important tunes on the album, even though I like Hot Stuff and Memory Motel as well.

Also "Cherry Oh Baby" was a kind of 'try and fail' experiment to reach something new from the current black music. It failed. 'Hot Stuff' nail it. I'm with DandelionPowderman with those three mentioned numbers - you could almost feel Some Girls in the horizon. The melodic and easy listening Carpenters numbers "Memory Motel" and "Fool To Cry" were the odd ones, and to this very day I really don't know what to think of them. Probably they were false steps caused by not very inspirational minds that were willing to do something different but take the easy way.

But a fine and important album - a shift to better from the repetiviness of It's Only Rock'n'Roll.

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-06-16 14:03 by Doxa.

I dont agree about Memory Motel, thats a great song, I love the version on "Stripped Companion" most of all. OK Fool to Cry is a bit cheesy.
I love Black and Blue its got a very special feel. Woody was great then and the chemistry with Mandel and Preston very loose, the album just grows with the years, and Cherry Oh Baby is great, equal to the original.

OpenG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Led Zepplin walked out of the munich studio and
> page got down presence and
> the stones walked in and got down black and blue
> with perkins and mandell
> The bands were at a crossroads plant recovering
> from an acident and taylor leaving the stones.
>
> Presence is one of my fav zep records as is
> overlooked it has rock epics and
> booming drums and sonic booming riffs
> throuhgout.Page was brilliant and never
> played it safe.He puts his stamp on Tea for One -
> doing the blues his way and
> not playing it safe his distinctive tone he gets
> out of his les paul you could
> die for.
>
> page's booming sonic riffs or the riffmaster hard
> to choose who did that
> better.
>

the playing on "presence" is unquestionably good, as always.

The standard of the songs IMO by Zep standards were far from it.

Hi Gazza,

I never thought plant and page were great songwriters with me its about the
music and how they delivered the music to a live audience.

I think sir jagger was a better frontman and writer then plant.

I was listening to GNR and Slash's solo on Welcome To the Jungle kind
of reminds me of page's solo on the OCEAN.Slash has that change of pace
interlude solo sort of the way page did.

LAG DVD blows me away always but when I put on How The West Was One DVD by
ZEP - I get blown away and say wow .

well, now you mention it I happen to enjoy the 1977 tour shows that I've heard that they toured behind after "presence" came out.

I see your point about not being great songwriters - and agree more or less - but they generally still managed to make very good records for the most part (if you see what I mean - the two arent mutually exclusive)

The songs on 'Presence' worked pretty good live. I just think its a very weak record.

At the time I thought "Presence" was turgid and overblown especially on the heels of "Physical Graffitti." I've come to appreciate it more but it still ranks as one of my least favorite Zep albums.

yes the songs worked very well check out the DVD How The West Was One I was
amazed sitting and watching

Achilles Las Stand from Presence has always been one of my favorites. It has all the necessary Zep ingredients. Fat guitar tone, thunderous drums, brilliant bass, and Plant wailing away like his life depended on it. I remember reading a quote from Page who said that his all time favorite solo he ever recorded was the lead on Achilles. It really is a giant!

Presence to me is either brilliant or some of Zeppelins worst stuff. Achilles and New Orleans + parts of Tea for One are my favorite parts the rest I cant even remember. Black and Blue I havent played for 20 years,but sometimes Hot Stuff pops up in my mind...

Both albums are brilliant and underrated by the yobs who call themselves critics. When one (dares to) look at the whole tamale, "Presence" and "Black and Blue" hold up quite well, thanks very much.

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

I hope you're not insinuating I'm a "yob" or I'll have to prove it and kick your ass ;-)

Gazza Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I hope you're not insinuating I'm a "yob" or I'll
> have to prove it and kick your ass ;-)


Me? Are you talking to me? I never insult anybody before sundown. But, if you are addressing me, Gazza, I certainly did NOT insult you, you bleeding yob! haa...



"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone