PRESENCE

Well what a weird and ugly artwork. Based on the strange concept of a happy talisman, I believe that Plant should have kept it around his family in order to avoid all his personal family tragedies. Outside of that, this first real album since 73's HOTH (PG was not an album per se) is not exactly up to the usual standards of their early 70's album, because there are clearly a few tracks that were filling the space.

But does this album ever starts strongly: the amazing Achille's Last stand is a grandiose epic full of complex guitar lines and the Robert takes us in Greek Mythology as he had done so successfully years before. Little did we know that this would be Zep's last bravura track with Tea For One. Yes, the closing track is another superb epic, but not in the prog mode, but one of those great blues tracks that Page knows how to make fascinating. While TFO is not as fabulous as SIBLY on their third album, it is nonetheless an excellent outro.

What happens between the opening and the closing tracks, you ask? Well actually not much!!! Three (four) old RnR tracks with varying shades of provincial influences. RO is obviously Cajun tainted, CSR is rather boring and repetitive (it should've been half that length), and HOFN is unremarkably unnoticeable. Another RnR number, Nobody's Faulkt But Mine is however particularly superb (and even reminds me of their heyday in Black Dog and RnR on the Zoso album) Percy is in top form. Little wonder that they will recuperate this track in the 90's Unledded reformation albeit in a new form. And sadly but funnily as if to prove my point, I cannot remember from memory (as while write all of my Zep reviews) For Your Life >> nuff said, right??

Well three stars is rather well paid for an album that has only three songs (and just on prog one) worthy of notice, So I doubt I will make friends here, but a bit of honesty should normally not make much wrong.