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Presence [Remastered]
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Presence [Remastered] Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 26 Ratings

  • Summary: The seventh studio release for the rock band was recorded while Robert Plant recovered from a car accident. The remastered deluxe edition includes five reference mixes of songs and the instrumental track 10 Ribs & All/Carrot Pod Pod.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Classic Rock Magazine
    Jul 31, 2015
    90
    1976’s Presence was both the nearest Zeppelin ever got to recreating their live power in a studio setting, and the album that bears closest inspection and repeated listening when the familiarity of earlier high spots has been exhausted.
  2. Mojo
    Jul 31, 2015
    80
    Presence is the best of the three [remasters].... The deluxe edition's bonus track, a soft, piano-led instrumental titled Pod, reiterates how dark and gnarly the rest is. [Sep 2015, p.98]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Paste Magazine
    Aug 13, 2015
    80
    Like Jimmy Page’s previous deluxe remasters, these new sets are fitfully revealing, littered with extras that even obsessives will write off as fluff. But the albums’ scattered brilliance has only deepened in the past four decades.
  4. Pitchfork
    Jul 31, 2015
    76
    It might be their weakest album, but Presence is among the most special; none of these songs sound like they could have come from another record.
  5. PopMatters
    Sep 11, 2015
    70
    Like the rest of the band’s discography, Presence has gotten the remastered treatment, and like the rest of the re-releases, the bonus material leaves too much to be desired.... Despite its weak second half, Presence is too good of an album to be dismissed.
  6. The Quietus
    Jul 31, 2015
    70
    Devoid of the light and shade that had highlighted the many musical facets of the band, Led Zeppelin's seventh studio album remains a difficult album to take in a single sitting. For sure, it contains some incredible individual moments.... [Pod] A piano led instrumental dominated by the under-rated John Paul Jones and complete with some of Jimmy Page's most understated guitar playing, this is beautifully reflective music sharply at odds with what's contained on the parent album and worthy of investigation.
  7. Q Magazine
    Jul 31, 2015
    60
    Achilles Last Stand and Nobody's Fault But Mine notwithstanding, Presence sounds as rushed as it was. [Sep 2015, p.121]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 8 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. MentalMetalGuy
    Sep 20, 2016
    10
    Easily Led Zeppelin's most underappreciated album, and an essential component of any self-respecting Zep fan's collection. I have been withoutEasily Led Zeppelin's most underappreciated album, and an essential component of any self-respecting Zep fan's collection. I have been without internet for a few weeks, and the only song I had downloaded to an iPod, was the remaster of Presence. So for the few weeks I've spent alone listening to Presence, I have truly understood the subtly in Zep's songwriting in their later years. I'll go through it song by song, then discuss the quality of the remaster.

    Achilles Last Stand:
    This for me is Led Zeppelin's best song. It is perhaps their largest and most ambitious song, with some truly beautiful guitar work. First of all, although not as iconic as some other Page riffs, the riffs in this song are truly representative of the speed and vibrancy the song creates. Multiple solos are thrown about the song, and more subtly the transitions in the guitar work are incredibly fast (and for me at least difficult to replicate yourself). There is something about the drumming in this song which really is fast and lively, perhaps Bonzo's best drum track, with some truly powerful fills. Overall the song is just colourful and vibrant in a sense creating a grand and powerful atmosphere, reminiscent of their most iconic song "Stairway to Heaven"

    For Your Life:
    A slow moving, but surprisingly swaggering track. The drum beat is hard and the riff is a classic hard rock sound, but the 'sexually' (for lack of a better word) charged delivery of the lyrics. The song never breaks the pace and is consistently hard hitting and fun. Just a fun, catchy song, with a terrific solo. Page really shines in this album.

    Royal Orleans:
    I have listened to this album many times, but there is little to no way of explaining the remarkably average nature of this song. Its solid, but there is not much substance to the song besides the lyrics (which I suspect are about some sort of inappropriate sexual encounter, classic Zep).

    Nobodies Fault But Mine:
    Yet another masterpiece. The song is not trying to be hard and fast, its a smooth and catchy song, with some incredible use of flange (the guitar effect) in the introduction. This is purely guitar porn, easily Page's greatest solo. The production is flawless, and displays the peak of Zep's songwriting skill. Oh and the drumming is unforgettable.

    Candy Store Rock:
    Despite Plant's slightly lifeless vocals, this song is fast and soft. The guitar is very difficult to replicate (after many attempts in my own experience), and I believe it is a cover of an older song, possibly from the 50s, similar to what Zeppelin would have done in their first four albums. Overall, I love this song, if only Rob's vocals blended a bit better with the instrumentation.

    Hots On For Nowhere:
    Forgettable, and quite similar to For Your Life. The pace is still slow and thumping and its hard hitting, but really not a vital component of the album.

    Tea For One:
    The grand finale! And it ends on an intentionally anticlimactic note. A remake of the classic "Since I've Been Loving You" (which would make it a cover of a cover). It does explore similar themes, but what I like about Rob's vocals is that he's not screaming his head off to create an emotional performance. The guitar is so memorable...especially these strange accelerations in the pace, which seems to come out of nowhere around the middle of the song. The song is grand, but in a different way from Achilles Last Stand, and the perfect way to end this album. Like a darker version of Since I've Been Loving You, a re-invention of the blues style that Zep created for themselves.

    This album has the perfect structure. The longest songs ever in Zep's discography are at the beginning and end of the album, and despite the two lacklustre songs on the album, I feel this is Led Zeppelin's best album. This was like a return to form, a re-visitation of their original sounds, to create the greatest, most under-appreciated hard rock album. It highlights the subtlety of the later years in this bands career, the guitar is less extravagant, and more technical, and the vocals are less hyperactive, and focus on the overall tone of the song.

    Please listen to this album, and give it the respect it deserves.    … Expand
  2. PepperPlay5
    Jan 9, 2023
    10
    It's a great album. It's the cool one. This album's "presence" is essential "for my life."
  4. SirNilesIV
    Aug 3, 2015
    8
    The album is, mostly, great. If you are into Zepp, which I am, again mostly. My grievance isn't about the album, you can go read any RollingThe album is, mostly, great. If you are into Zepp, which I am, again mostly. My grievance isn't about the album, you can go read any Rolling Stone article from the 70's to find out what people thought of the album (it wasn't good, but then became great...)My complaint is the HORRIBLE redone cover art. It is a visual abomination to Storm Thorgerson's original. And it CANNOT STAND.… Expand

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