Presence under fire

[ERIC ROMANO/JMC2000 <romano1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

	Presence has lately come in for some public criticisms, some
deserved and some not.  A few thoughts on the non-Achilles compositions.

Out of 5 *****

Lyrically-> **** interesting personal/demonic writing with few choruses.

Songwriting-> ** some of Page's weaker compositions.  Critics praise the 
riff repetition of artists they like by saying something like "it's an
electric mantra that hypnotizes."  Here (For Your Life) it bores and
shows which tracks Page really cared about.  I've always longed to hear
the "Tea For One" intro alternated with the shuffle blues sections, as
Page pulls hard against the rythm with that intro riff.  Similar mid-tempo
funk rythms plod along on the Presence Suite.

Performance-> ****1/2 Despite the material's shortcomings, the band's
top-flight delivery make the album worthwhile.  It's all about timing,
soul, the pauses, and laying back on the beat.  Let me explain... nearly
all the funk-based riffs pause at the end before picking up again.  Listen
to how long they hold the pause, longer than you think they should.  A
damn tight band, especially the way Plant comes in early to restart the
riffs, they isolate him so nicely in the silence.  Dig on Bonham, laying
out so distinctly behind the beat in a mature drum style.  When the band
goes boom! all on the same beat, Page hits first, then Jones, then Bonham.
Every time, every song... it's like they timeshifted the drums back a
fraction of a second.  It's all about the drums he didn't play!

Swansong?  Almost similar to the album's feel in that it's a bottom-heavy
rythm churner.  A cut above though, as Page doesn't play unison riffs with
Jones, taking off on his own.  Would have embarassed Candy Store Rock
right off the album.  Maybe not tried because page wanted to get back to
rock and away from the pastoral pretensions.  Too bad!

Thanks for reading,
Badgeholder Eric Romano