Best Led Zeppelin Album?

Presence has 'Achilles Last Stand' and 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', which together make up an incredible 16-17 minutes worth of music, but I definitely think the rest of the album falls short of the standards they'd set by that point. I can certainly understand why folks would have considered to be somewhat of a disappointment/let down after Physical Graffiti.

Also, absolutely agree on 'Carouselambra' being a great track. My highlight of In Through The Out Door by miles.

As for what I would have voted for in this poll? Fuck knows. Right now I'm thinking Physical Graffiti but in a few months time I'd probably have changed my mind.

"No Quarter" is such a complete miracle of a song / recording

Presence

presence

My beef with Presence is that Achilles towers over the rest of the album. If there had been one more go-for-broke track like it I think it would rank higher. That said, Achilles Last Stand rules.

They should've presented Teo Macero with "Achilles" and "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and said, "Now edit these into our In A Silent Way."

Nahhhh. There are some rad songs on the album, but Presence is def lower-tier Zep. You can argue about the order within the sets, but the two sets of four albums in the poll results are in the correct order.

And Led Zeppelin are easily one of my all-time top three, so I say this with love.

I'd put Presence just below the Big Four.

ugh i like the zed records with names more than any of the big four

presence is so muscular, everyone is so locked into each other, i just love hearing them play like that. it's the same feeling i get from the 1975-era tracks on physical graffiti but more

By 'Big Four', I mean the four which are correctly-placed at the top of the poll results.

Presence sounds to me exactly like what it is: a band following up their best album while one of their members is convalescing in a wheelchair. It's still great but the energy feels a little off.

By 'Big Four', I mean the four which are correctly-placed at the top of the poll results.

oh lol sorry, well i hella like presence and ittod better than iv and iii

and i think plant's performance on presence is tremendous given the circumstances, he invests a lot in the songs regardless

Presence is an example of biography influencing reception. I don't have beef with anyone who calls it undistinguished but I couldn't tell this from what kind of chair Plant's sitting in.

I didn't know the biographical details behind its recording until nearly twenty years of listening to it pretty regularly. The background just helped make sense of why it felt a little off.

alfred otm

it's good that I can't make out Plant's lyrics tbh

Presence has two tracks on it which are as brilliant as anything they ever did: 'Achilles Last Stand' and 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', which are automatic inclusions on any Led Zeppelin playlist I make without even having to think about it. As an album, though, it's nowhere near as consistent in terms of quality as the albums that came before it, IMO, and that's why I could never rank it as Zeppelin's best album. I do think it's better than In Through The Out Door, though.

Today I'd agree. Add "Hots On for Nowhere" though.

"for your life" rules, though

xxpost:

I mean, I'm all up for reappraisal of what are generally perceived to be "lesser moments" in a bands' discography. In the case of Presence though, the general assessment has always been completely OTM, and will always be so.

it's good that I can't make out Plant's lyrics tbh

Generally speaking, pretty OTM.

Just imagine how many "does anyone remember laughter?"-s there are buried within any of his more inscrutable vocals.

Pictures at Eleven > ITTOD overall.

Presence all rules except for "Tea For One"

i love that weird effect they put on on Plant when he says "tryaaan fry iiit" or whatever he says

actually tea for one is p good too

this album rules

"tea for one" is the best

better than "Since I've Been Loving You."

yeah i would agree with that
tho the lugubrious slow blues burner is my least fav zeppelin mode

do ya wanna you wanna co-co-co-co-co-caaaaiiiine?

lol I kind of enjoy just how far Plant is willing to take it on that song. If he had toned it down it would have failed much harder.

Plus I dig the chord progression that hits every time he says "worried mind"

"Tea For One" is the Presence song on which I can believe something went wrong in Plant's life, based on his performance.

Presence really falls off for me after Nobody's Fault -- if not for the last few tracks it could compete for my favorite.

I used to loathe the bluesy 36 bpm Zep as a teen; now it's like, please give me an album's worth of Tea For One.

same. gimme

Also Bonzo kills it on Since I've Been Lovin You

tho the lugubrious slow blues burner is my least fav zeppelin mode

best one of these has got to be "Baby Come On Home"

Presence really falls off for me after Nobody's Fault

wha--??!

I mean, I can see "Tea For One," but "Hots On For Nowhere" is just the BEST

Did we poll Presence? I can't find it in the search.

Apparently not! I thought ILM had polled every album ever released by this point.

That'll be a tough poll but can't see not voting for ALS

Listening to ALS again after years, I'd never noticed how much JPJ drives that galloping groove. His muted bass chug on the up beats is killer.

Say what you will about that Pitchfork review of Presence, but that part about this album being a Page / Bonham album and ITTOD being a Plant / JPJ album is pretty spot on (if somewhat reductive). Never really thought of these albums in those terms, but it makes perfect sense.

I'd rank them as:

III
Houses of the Holy
IV
Physical Graffiti
I
II

Havent heard them:
Presence
In Through The Out Door

IV
Physical Graffiti (Disc 1)
II
I
Houses of the Holy (would be 2-3 spots higher if not for "The Crunge" and "D'yer Maker")
Physical Graffiti (Disc 2)
Presence
In Through the Out Door

With HOTH, it's like Led Zeppelin were saying, "Yeah, here you go, an album so great that even 'The Crunge and 'D'yer Maker' can't ruin it." It's definitely #4 of the Big Four, though, for that reason.

For shame, I primarily listen to I-IV and Houses of the Holy. Haven't much heard Physical Graffiti all that much and I am a worse person for it. Should get to fixing that ASAP.

IV
Physical Graffiti
III
Presence
I
Houses of the Holy
II
In Through the Out Door
Coda