Led Zeppelin — Presence

I typically play what I’m posting, but today I’m posting what I’ve been playing: Led Zeppelin’s Presence (1976). I had a hankering to hear “Nobody’s Fault but Mine,” but once this record started spinning I rediscovered some other gems like “Hots on for Nowhere” and “Royal Orleans.” There are only seven songs, but I was still surprised to read this album was recorded and mixed in only 17 days. I believe I bought Presence in the mid ’80s when I worked at a chain record store. I was late to the Zeppelin party due to acute punkrockitis.

More about Presence and the cover artwork at Wikipedia.

Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin

Long time no listen. “Good Times Bad Times,” the first song on the first Led Zeppelin album, is probably my favorite of all their music. When I see how young the guys look on the back it’s even more impressive how out there this record is. Another favorite is “Communication Breakdown.” It’s more punk than the punk music that would come along almost a decade later. I liked it so much as a punk rock teenager that I recorded my own cover of it on my Tascam Porta One cassette four track. I played all the tracks and did a good job on drums and bass. My guitar work was not uh… scintillating. And I’m pretty sure the vocals were an octave lower out of genetic necessity.

Note on the back cover:

This is a stereo recording. For best results observe the R.I.A.A. high frequency roll-off characteristic with a 500 cycle crossover.

But of course.

More about Led Zeppelin at Wikipedia