Original subtitles

I know many of you have been waiting for

this one myself included so here I go

presents Led Zeppelin 7 Studio album

well I covered some of the timeline

events as context and background for my

into the outdoor video series I'm

excited to solely focus on presence as a

historic turning point for the band

musically and psychologically while

their personal finances grew they did

leave a lot of money on the table the

expectations to make up for the last

concert year of 1976 were huge and

dangerously decadent when they came back

on the road with their most ambitious

tour and tragic swan song for North

America into the outdoor was like a

carbon copy of the events of presence or

should I say presidents laid the

groundwork and instructions for any

future emergency landing situations I

have an end to the other type of

fascination with presence let's look at

the parallels between these two albums

which I find quite strange both albums

are preceded by bad news strike in the

planned household with Jimmy Page

remaining optimistic about the future

both albums were recorded in November at

dry sounding Studios owned by pop

masterminds and freezing temperature

European cities both albums have seven

tracks each with an opening song in the

key of E minor a third track with

percussion and a closing ballad with

similar heavy accents and drum symbol

attack both albums have a 50s inspired

track where planet does his best

rockabilly impression and One Track

whose lyrics are a direct jab by one

man-made only three songs from each

album were officially performed under

the name Led Zeppelin 1978 had planned

close to his family thinking about

walking away from the band 1975 had

planned close to Jimmy away from his

family in recovery and worried about

being able to walk ever again eventually

out there was about Hope and getting

back together presence was a survival

piece in the inertia of moving record

sales and decadent chemicals of the mid

70s Rockstar feast so his presence

important yes of course it's a menacing

record worked out in emotionally a

typical yet musically familiar

circumstances unlike their previous

albums up to 1975 which were planned and

ran relatively smooth and the obstacles

Department presence was not planned it

just happened and had the shortest

songwriting preparation of all their

albums forced to cancel a lucrative

series of shows plus Elite singers on

stage career in Jeopardy no other album

in their catalog had this previous mood

and background so it's no wonder this is

a hard rock statement with such Brute

Force humor and careless bravado we

hardcore Zeppelin fans love how presence

doesn't feel like a follow-up to

Physical Graffiti it seems as if the

band had no expectations other than what

the hell just happened presence for me

is like a VIP access private rehearsal

captured on tape without the

expectations of Hadley Grange or British

recording studios you can sense the

relaxed environment of page and plants

Malibu writing sessions against the

silent urgency of not losing their 1975

moment bottom this is a record conceived

in the Los Angeles after party of social

dying hippie trails at the mercy of

self-indulgent destructive human beings

presence has no statement and that's the

beauty and curse of it after Physical

Graffiti they couldn't go for another

keyboard epic or acoustic lighting shade

piece I will not say presence has the

same composition depth and quality of

server to heaven but it created a very

special Club in place where Zeppelin

fans will not be bothered by The

Greatest Hits crowds people seem to

overlook the greatest thing about

presence even with little preparation

and business anxiety they managed to

construct their most rhythmically

complex record learning them on bass

guitar and drums really hits you in the

face with nuances and details that rival

the heaviest of 70s albums the songs are

hard to play and tricky beyond belief

the album has the good high travel

brightness of houses of the Holy the

maniac riffing of Led Zeppelin II and

the good low end of their debut so how

did I discover presence well I'll keep

it short like other albums I've talked

about latter days was my first step into

the material my first reaction was not

that great for Achilles Last Stand it

sounded angry and almost meddled in

places I missed the light and shade

elements of previous works I was never a

big fan of heavy metal I could only

digest so much and sometimes it sounded

like a parody of itself while the

technical proficiency of these bands was

never in doubt I did not revisit metal

that often back in high school my metal

head friends who were into Iron Maiden

loved every minute of Achilles how

couldn't they right I believe Steve

Harris spaced his career on the Baseline

for Achilles Last Stand because of the

metal head appreciation for Achilles I

had a distant relationship with it for

years I Associated a tune with the

average heavy metal fan who had no time

for Zeppelin's acoustic Works calling

them boring I absolutely love the middle

section of nobody's fault but mine with

the bass and drums playing that weird

Rhythm pattern around the guitar Motif

so what made me change my mind okay I

had a music teacher in high school he

had the energy and style of Jack Black

in School of Rock he was a virtuous with

guitar player himself and inspired me to

practice on my second year with the

instrument his name was Alvar matus he

was a 35 year old married man and father

of two back then he was the only teacher

in my Christian School I could share my

passion for Zeppelin and guitar

magazines with I thank him to this day

for sharing his musical knowledge he was

heavy into Jethro Tull Joe Pass and

seven is Prague broke overall it made

him sort of a black sheep among

Christians and he also helped me

understand the politics behind the

organized religion nowadays I see many

types of Fanatics out there trying to

get people to behave a certain way it

reminds me of high school is there any

hope for True freedom of thought anyway

back to the story the year was 2002. my

music teacher Alvaro played in a backup

band for a mega church he was a cool guy

with a great sense of humor who when

they told me out of the blue do you have

a vinyl copy of presence if you do I'll

buy it it's the best Led Zeppelin album

I was shocked he overlooked all the

other Zeppelin albums and said this

because my teacher knew so much music

theory this puzzled me and had my

Zeppelin hamster wheel at full speed why

was the album so good why presence I had

many questions he left our school in

2002 and I missed him dearly the new

teacher was a keyboardist raised in

church from day one who didn't know who

Keith Urban was he did know Beethoven

but told us to go with Christian battles

instead as they were quote better I had

just watched Clockwork Orange back then

so I raised my hand and said is that a

jab an insult at the great Ludwig van I

got sent to the principal's office good

times I couldn't stop thinking about

presence I had to get a copy but that

proved to be a challenge I couldn't find

a record anywhere and even found into

the outdoor first I waited a couple of

years until I got my hands on a cassette

copy of presents in 2005 listening to

the whole thing made me understand

Achilles less than and nobody's fault

but mine in the right context next to

all the other Cuts t for one blew my

mind like Since I've Been Loving You

Part Two it was a strange record it took

me a while to process it was hard for me

to understand the emotions behind it

until it became the occasional driving

soundtrack in the good bad and ugly

parts of my 20s t41 after a nasty

breakup Royal Orleans and Hudson for now

are hitting the local bars on a Friday

night for your life in a late night

romantic Endeavor next to a temporary

lady trying to like candy store Rock

while driving through heavy traffic

playing her guitar to nobody's fault but

mine and highway speed with Achilles

that stand before a job interview for

motivation and self-confidence once I

got my hands on the Led Zeppelin DVD

with net worth 1979 sounding like never

before I was 100 sold in presence

Achilles and nobody's fault were Heavy

Hitters no question playing the material

with tribute bands gave me a different

perspective on the songs

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everybody

I own four copies of the album this is

the making of presence

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foreign

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foreign

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1975 the year of the rabbit the Dublin's

35 showed 10th Heroes tour was a

commercial success with their album

released in the middle of the tour a

logistics miracle that had not happened

since their 1969 debut every other album

was either released before or after a

concert tour it sell very well and they

were bigger than the stones despite

their 46 States tour the Americas from

June to August physical Graffiti's

double album attack was everywhere some

of the preview Zeppelin camaraderie and

random friendships were lost through

armed guards outside hotel rooms with

death threats sent to the band one lady

Lynette Squeaky from demanded to speak

to Jimmy Page as she had a vision of bad

events happening to the guitarist months

later she was arrested for trying to

shoot President Gerald Ford and yes she

was a part of the Charles Manson cult

while Mark Chapman shot John Lennon he

was just one of thousands of deranged

fans trying to get close to famous

musicians it wasn't strange that someone

wanted to shoot their favorite artist

the thing with Chapman was that he

actually did it the Japanese rock and

roll operation grew too big for the ways

and Free Will of recent years it was now

a corporation of muscle brains and all

the extra help they could hire let's

open return to England at the end of

March 1975 after the band's three nights

at The Forum Peter had the idea of

staging an event reminiscent of his

quarter and Empire days of the 50s three

nights at the historic arrows Court

Exhibition Center in May sold out in

just two hours

two extra dates were added Earl's Court

opened its doors in 1937 and had an

internal pool or lake which took for

days to fill and four days to empty it

hosted many events including watercraft

exhibitions such as an annual Boat Show

which can be seen on the backdrop for

presents Peter Graham promoter Mel Bush

arranged for British trains to supply

extra units to transport fans into the

city these were dubbed the Zeppelin

Express previous acts that played

Adele's Court included David Bowie and

Pink Floyd both in 1973.

[Applause]

good

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morning

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okay

wow

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all right darling

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I want to talk about Johnny too bad

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[Applause]

foreign

machines lasers and video screens it was

the biggest production ever staged at

the venue back then and Led Zeppelin's

last UK show until 1979 at net worth

with an almost perfect set list the

show's average time clocked in at three

and a half hours while the band looked

great some of the performances were

uneven they probably felt the massive

expectations over their home country

upon them the long runs of Moby Dick and

Jason confused showed signs of

exhaustion Peter Grant told a journalist

the mafia wanted a piece of the huge

cash business of 70s rock and roll

organized crime in the music industry

have been friends in the past where

musicians were heavily exploited nobody

was making more money than a Zeppelin

and the mob made offers they could

refuse according to Rook manager Ed

Bicknell Peter grants attorney is an

underworld friends in Vegas New York and

Chicago will do anything for him at

recall at time they went to an Italian

restaurant like a scene from Goodfellas

they treated pretty Grand like a king he

seemed to gravitate towards anyone

connected whether government or the

streets so one song so the arrival of a

mysterious man and collaborator by the

name of herb Atkin I know this is a bit

of a rabbit hole but you have to check

this out it's like a Hollywood movie in

1967 Atkin was a 41 year lawyer who went

by the name of Herbert itkin he worked

undercover as a government Informer and

feared for his life in protective

custody he had evidence of a pension

fund New York City contracts case

involving union workers that led to a

conviction of local officials

politicians and 20 organized crime

figures intruding their boss Antonio

Tony Doug's corralu Herbert itkin

testified that he worked for the CIA and

FBI on assignments in Central North

America as well as London Herbert was to

inform on other 30 cases but in May 1967

he refused after custody for his

children couldn't be granted by the

government it can began his careers

informant for Senator Joseph McCarthy

who led him to the actor in Central

Intelligence Island Dallas the CIA

suggested her bit can develop contacts

with gangsters and Mafia circles Herbert

went into Witness this protection

changed his name to Herb Atkin not the

most creative name change right his

private detective agency was set up in

Los Angeles but he had to leave the

states after the New York Times revealed

his identity regarding an industrial

Espionage case thus confirming he sent

Tony Doug's corello to prison her

backing was introduced to peer Graham by

lawyer Steve Weiss after the 1973 Drake

Hotel robbery which Atkin promised to

investigate quote Peter Graham's

daughter Helen I did wonder why dad had

him on board herb used to come down in a

helicopter with his wife it was like JFK

and Jackie Kennedy rocking up Peter

Grant hired part-time actor in Northern

crime connected bodyguard John binden in

1974. Benton was recommended by Richard

Cole after he intervened at a speakeasy

brawl involving Cole and singer Roy

Harper who accidentally hit someone

after throwing a champagne bottle John

Benton saved their lives nicknamed bifo

John was witty Charming aggressive and

intimidating and yes this has been done

wearing a shirt that reads enjoy cocaine

Nick to Princess Margaret on vacation

spring 1975 Paul Rogers walked up the

stairs at Swanson headquarters in King's

Road rugroup Queen came down and nodded

at each other the band had a huge hit

with killer queen and was months away

from recording their fourth album they

weren't happy with their management of

Norman and Barry Sheffield whom Peter

Graham knew from his days at the two ice

coffee Queen sold out venues but its

band members could barely pay for rent

Peter's meeting with the band had him

telling them of Led Zeppelin's in for a

quick Garden series of shows at Madison

Square Garden in February he made a few

calls and helped Queen get 125 000

pounds from the sheffields as much as

Grant wanted to manage Queen he just

didn't have the time and passed on the

opportunity that's all picture Queen on

the swan song label next to Led Zeppelin

and by company I don't think the world

nor competing record labels were ready

for that

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wow

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that company's second album straight

shooter was recorded at Clearwater

Castle in September of 74. it raised to

the Billboard top 10 to hit songs good

loving gone bad and feel like making

love it took the band just two albums to

jump from nowhere to rockstars playing

stadium shows Swan song's second

best-selling ban was not short of his

problems despite its money-making

figures Peter Grant described Paul

Rodgers as quote the most difficult

person I've ever had to work with let's

remember Peter Grant had to work with

Jim Vincent's drunk in violent ways so

Paul Rogers was worse than Gene Vincent

he was a boxer and a 7th Dan in karate

there were many fights on and off the

stage that company was all about gold

records sold out shows and Hard Cash

profits their musical style was upfront

and direct without diving into the

Obscure nor long jams of Led Zeppelin

but followed some other Physical

Graffiti some textures to the tea but

company was able to co-exist on the

Swanson label without stealing the

Thunder of its famous brother they were

at the right time in players were in

rock and roll fully embraced scripted

shows and heavy passages new audio

audiences were eager to enjoy this Back

to Basics approach with Paul Rogers

vocal performance stealing the show

backed up by the mighty power of Boss

barrel and bass Simon Kirk and drums and

Mig Ralph's On guitar but companies soon

enjoyed the same protection as Led

Zeppelin on their 1975 U.S tour after

lawyer Steve wise hired former detective

Stephen Rosenberg as head of security

they had cops CIA and FBI agents taking

days off to join them on the road by

company's tour manager Phil Carlo at

this point I discovered the only people

who could jump red lights with a police

escort where the president of the United

States and Peter Grant

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take it down

touring America back to back with two

successful bands was exhausting for

Peter Grant but he had another reason

not to be in England tax Exile you see

tax income after the second world war

was as high as 97 to the 50s and 60s it

lowered down to 75 percent in 1971. then

in 1974 through a labored party campaign

of taxing the rich it was raised all the

way up to 83 percent for top income and

98 percent of her investment labor party

member Dennis Healey was one of the main

advocates for this policy with Robert

Plant dedicating a song for him at

Elle's Court this was eventually lowered

during Margaret Thatcher's

Administration by raising value-added

tax with this said you had bands like

the stones and others heading out for

fancy destinations in Europe they

followed a similar blueprint for

recording parting and assorted

activities Led Zeppelin kept their

bandmates houses in the UK but had to

spend nine months away they became

gypsies setting up temporary housing in

France Switzerland and Jersey Island who

believe the labor party offers the best

hope for Britain's future my faith in

the moral values which socialism

represents remains undiminished now

admittedly you wrote that some years ago

does it apply today I think so yes see

I'm just wondering when September of

1973 when you were actually shadow

Chancellor you said quote and this is

about Labor's tax plan

I warn you there are going to be howls

of Anguish from those Rich enough to pay

over 75 on the top slice of their

earning and there was I'm sure there was

yeah but I just wonder why now with the

labor government in power you believe

that

there is no talk of increasing the top

rate of Taxation on those earning the

most money Beyond 40 percent because all

they do is they move their money abroad

which is bad for us because we lose

income from it past the five children

cord Robert Plant took his family on a

holiday to Morocco the others Peter gun

included stayed in Exile mode in

Montreal Jimmy Page joined Robert

halfway through June Marrakesh with us

are higher in the Atlas Mountains

Majestic scenery pigeon plan talked

about recording music with the ambience

and Rhythm sounds of Morocco the plan

would be shelved until 19 years later

interesting to think How They carried

out the plan what would Barnum and John

say about it Page and Plant rovery Range

Rover to the Atlantic coast visiting the

Spanish Sahara of Asura and tantan the

Spanish Army had left and the Moroccan

government had roadblocks every few

miles after reaching a dead end they

headed out north crossing the Strait of

Gibraltar by ferry then driving up to

France for a final destination in

Montreal Switzerland Led Zeppelin made

tentative plans for a USA tour in the

fall and possible concerts in South

America which seemed like a risky

Venture I would say Argentina was the

best place to go before withela's

dictatorship which began in March 1976

the country's soaring rock and roll

scene up to 1975 saw many Geniuses

blossomed in the way of Russ Alberto

spinetta Charlie Garcia and many more

that I would need a couple of hours to

cover rug Giants sui Henry slash shows

at Luna Park on September 12th saw a

crowd of 30 000 fans there was a market

for a Led Zeppelin show just imagine

Robert Plant's plantations in Spanish

good evening Argentina we're gonna do a

song called kachemira the Montreal Just

Festival of 1975 was held from July 3rd

to July 20th everybody played there just

to name a few Billy Covenant Julie Felix

Larry Corel magma Paul Butterfield Rory

Gallagher Aubrey King Oscar Peterson

Ella Fitzgerald Joe Pass sadaw Watanabe

Count Basie and his orchestra Bill Evans

and Charles Mingus Etta James played on

July 11th with Jones and bass and then

19 year old future modern day Paul

McCartney sidekick Brian Ray on guitar

foreign

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August 4th Rhodes Greece quite a

premonitory name for an island Rhodes

was not to be a good vacation Marine

plan was driving a rented car with

Robert next to her in the front seat in

the back seat where their children

Carrick and Carmen plus Scarlet page

mourinhos control the vehicle and

crashed the car almost went down a cliff

it was stopped by a tree Robert looked

at his unconscious wife she had a

fractured skull and pelvis Robert had a

badly broken ankle and elbow both

Carrick and Carmen were badly bruised

and crying scarred page wasn't harmed

there was no ambulance in sight it took

hours for a local farmer to take them to

the hospital in the back of his truck

tour manager Richard Cole got a phone

call next day from Jimmy's wife

Charlotte Martin Maureen plan needed a

blood transfusion and her time was not

available in Rhodes Richard Cole had to

think fast and get a Charlie plane to

fly the roads rescue them and save

Maureen's life since Peter Grant and

Bonds were in the south of France Cole

had to figure this one out of his own

own making calls to doctors and surgeons

Swanson's account and told him he

couldn't authorize the money without

Peter Grant's approval Richard yelled at

him trying to explain the situation one

of the surgeons Richard contacted had

treated a pilot who borrowed his private

jet for the Zeppelin mission two

physicians in fresh blood landed in

roads where the owner of the car rental

agency claimed Marine plan was drunk at

the time of the accident Greek lawyers

planned their way at scoring big money

from swansong in Led Zeppelin Mantra

just Festival founded Cloud knobs saved

the day he wired the funds to fire

everyone out of Roads Cole managed to go

to the hospital get them into the

vehicle back to the airport and take off

for Rome with Final Destination England

Maureen spent weeks in bed Robert Plant

quote if we hadn't had the money

available to fly to England right away

for the best medical treatment I'm

certain my wife wouldn't be alive now

because of the labor party tax Excel

policy Robert was only allowed to stay

in Britain for a few days per year had

he stayed past his limit he would be

liable for taxes in his Force and would

have taken a huge hit with just hours

before the deadline Richard Cole saved

plants Millions by calling British

Airways getting Robert in an ambulance

to the airport and using a forklift to

get him on the plane for all the

Latter-Day bad beef between Cole and the

Led Zeppelin organization Richard was a

hero in 1975.

Jersey Island was home away from home

where plant in a wheelchair was joined

by the rest of the band Led Zeppelin's

touring momentum was gone the idea to

revive the film Project they had in the

can would slowly take shape the biggest

band in the world was now living in

Excel within their Exile Jersey Island

was to beat a Zeppelin's isolation

headquarters this is the same place

where Paige planned Jones and Grant met

on November 7 1980 to talk about John

Bonham and calm terms with his passing a

press conference announced a

cancellation of any 1975 touring plans

including the day at the green shows at

Auckland Coliseum with Joe Walsh and the

pretty things scheduled for August 23rd

and 24th

thank you

from visiting the Victoria Pub to

nightclubs on the seafront the Zeppelin

crew had a lot of time on their hands I

believe most of the inspiration for

presents was based on the band's mood

and sentiments at Jersey Island you had

the boats representing Stillness and

restaurants Gathering them for dinner

trying to make sense of what was going

on nobody wanted to stop the show and

they couldn't go home thanks to the

labor party policies what the object may

represent is a metaphor of frustration

no matter how they spend their time the

feeling was absolute there was no escape

from its presence in everyday activities

while their vaults were filled with cash

the questions piled up at Swanson

offices John bottom and Jimmy Page flew

back to London for the Melody Maker

Awards held on September 17

1975. the band picked up prices for Top

Male vocalist best album best group and

best live act Peter Grant suggested his

boys to head out overseas to write and

rehearse material for their next album

in the same way the stones wrote most of

Exile on Main Street in France

thank you

late September 1975 Robert Plant and Jim

page relocated to the Continental height

in Los Angeles before going to the

exclusive Malibu colony where they

rented beach houses Richie Blackman

lived here while forming his new band

and recording its debut album at

musicland Studios Munich in the early

part of 75. Blackburn knew the Studio's

Deep Purple stormbringer was recorded

there in 74. because he was now an LA

neighbor some sources stated Robert

Plant attended deep purple's June

rehearsals with guitarist Tommy Bolin

this would make sense as they would

later be seen hanging out together and

well the rock and roll world is a

close-knitive community purple's next

album was also recorded at musicland

Studios from August to September com

taste the band added the tell me bowling

momentum after recording with James gang

and Billy coven Spectrum which put him

on the map as a one-of-a-kind musician

who could tackle Jazz Rock and Funk fun

fact Tommy Bolin span Zephyr open for

Led Zeppelin back in 1969 Robert Plant

polished his lyrics and Jimmy worked on

his own agenda including Godfather for

Swan song's new band detective members

of Led Zeppelin met British rock singer

Michael der Barnes after watching him on

stage with his old band silverhead

around 1974 with Robbie plant on guitar

a future Robert Plant solo career frame

his playing is just amazing detective

had their bars on vocals former yes

member Tony K on keywords John Hyde on

drums Bobby Pickett on bass and Michael

Monarch on guitar you may remember him

for his signature sounds scoring big

hits with Steppenwolf according to

Michael their bars Peter Grant in the

hot California weather was strange but

necessary as his job was demanding 24 7.

John Barnum and John Paul Jones arrived

in Los Angeles in October 1975. John

Bonham's daughter Zoe was born on June

10th and he was reluctant of leaving his

family while Paige planning Bonham

stayed in separate bungalows in Malibu

John Paul Jones booked himself into the

good old Continental Hyatt in Sunset

Boulevard one of the main complaints

within the Zeppelin Camp were Paige's

nocturnal hours an alternate lifestyle

choices quote John Paul Jones Robert and

I seem to keep a different time sequence

to Jimmy Jimmy expressed the same

complaint against John Paul Jones Who

quote was never around the new Zeppelin

music had Funk and unexpected routes of

Eastern roots and American Rhythm

sections complex time signatures and

crazy Arrangements while Robert Plant

sang in a wheelchair a contrast like

never before the Led Zeppelin rehearsals

took place at sir Studios in Hollywood

foreign

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Electric Light Orchestra followed

Richard Blackman's advice and traveled

to Munich for their face their music

sessions held May through June the

Rolling Stones his initial work for

black and blue in Munich took place in

March as we can see musicland's name

resonated heavy musicland was a new

place during these tax Exile Times Los

Angeles 1975 was a place of excess

cocaine Quaaludes heroin and alcohol not

the safest or healthiest bet for

millionaire rock stars with the world at

their feet and an army of inhalers

catering to the drug of choice parties

late night missions and behind closed

door rituals were the agenda for the

kings of rock and roll as much as Led

Zeppelin's 1977 U.S tour gets a bad rap

for excess the seats of Destruction were

planted throughout 1975 besides

dangerous business partners I don't want

to point fingers on addiction but based

on testimonials and cultural habits at

the time time we the fans know what was

going on Jimmy's close friend back then

Keith Richards was quite outspoken in

his relationship with Heroin on his

autobiography which I definitely

recommend reading Keith even went as far

as saying that when they switched from

pharmaceutical cocaine to the stuff

being imported from South America things

took a nosedive no pun intended Keith

Richards quote pharmaceutical cocaine

could not be compared in any way to

cocaine produced in Central or South

America it is pure and it doesn't bring

any depression or lethargy a totally

different type of euphoria there were

absolutely no withdrawal symptoms moving

on to hard drugs the level of chemical

dependence heroin had on so many

musicians was reflected in post-1975

rock albums from that era pod was

Freedom cocaine was permission heroin

was prison and you can see it on stage

that it's tight you know and that kind

of respect you have for each other and

how do you kind of maintain that well

really because of the fact that we have

been able to to keep creating a material

that varies so much you know design many

aspects of uh imagination that can be

brought ahead in the music and in the

lyrics

um that this is the stimulus that keeps

us together you know I mean if if we

found that we were getting getting no

farther or we were

channeling ourselves down onto a one

plane and sort of

one musical level then we would be we

would start to get bored now let's

discuss the 1975 songwriting process in

a year of great records we know that

page and plan worked out sketches and

basic elements before Jones and Barnum

joined forces for the electric side of

things I went back and listened to a

nice selection of albums released in 75

and while the rock and roll guitars and

style was present there was a growing

Funk movement going mainstream with

proto-discal rhythms without drum

machines but opening the door as

preparation you see Zeppelin's Physical

Graffiti was a prophetic piece of work

in the sense that their peers took note

from ambitious guitar overdubs to

prominent keywords let's up and look

into the future with trampled on their

foot's Hard Rock Funk and ironically

presence seems to take Hue from their

double album slash track about the LA

queens and scenery October 1975 had

Paige plan Jones and Barnum living in

the place of sick again here's a summary

of albums or songs released between

March and October that I deem relevant

in the musical production styles that

played a part in present Sonic design

1975 was an interesting year where many

breakthrough tracks led to both

Innovation and parity for some of its

creators there doesn't seem to be Middle

Ground of intention it's either over the

top or bust Led Zeppelin's Rock peers

were getting dangerously better at their

game the industry jumps down overall

improved towards High recording quality

accentuating the brightness of the

hi-hats symbols and Dynamics guitars

were wider and beefier overdubs staring

keyboards and synths create a vocal

phrasing the industry was like a big

dance floor moving to the sound of Casey

and the Sunshine's debut long gone the

flower power hello Flower Powder there

was room for everyone and everything

David Bowie's Young Americans had the

funk Powerhouse in Fame and tried to put

the style on the radio where previous

British Explorations may have been a bit

shy 10 cc's of not enough remains one of

the most complex Studio creations of

1975 with massive keywords and overdubs

of Epic tape editing proportions

nazareth's Love Hurts set the template

for 80s power ballads and they shot

themselves in the foot with a hit single

that overshadowed their Hardware catalog

a classic number never to leave the

radio stations and soundtrack for

breakups while chugging a six-pack of

beers at a parking lot late at night

camels the snow goose elevated the art

of the guitar solo as melodic substance

as well as the ensemble's wisdom to

deliver an almost perfect progrog album

Jeff Beck's Blow by blow hit the shelves

and put the master himself in jazz

fusion Waters I'm almost positive it

shook the Led Zeppelin World hard and

had Jimmy Page thinking you've done it

again Jeff bloody brilliant you can hear

Beck's influence on many solos and

Rhythm lines from presence check out

constipated duck and tell me Royal

Orleans doesn't have some of that flavor

there's a bit of cause winner lovers on

t41 as well Aerosmith's Toys in the

Attic this one's pretty obvious a

meeting point for previous stones and

Zeppelin Milestones with a Twist the

guitar upfront mix have walked this way

in Sweet Emotion are a powerful American

muscle car nod to the full first British

Invasion that Black Sabbath had the

answer for with their seminal heavy

metal release sabotage how can you not

bang your head to hole in the sky right

Casey and the Sunshine band's debut

album filled with future Greatest Hits

open the mainstream dancer for some

Friday Night Fever and the major labels

took note the Wilson sisters followed

the Zeppelin footsteps mix of acoustic

and electric Vibes while pouring their

heart on key track's Magic Man and the

fast-paced drum beat of crazy on you

call me crazy but Achilles less than has

some of that Groove attack and harmonies

within Wars why can we be friends and no

Rider from their seventh studio album

added humor fun and I lose attitude on

mainstream radio Frank Zappa's one size

fits all has to be on the list because

of its crazy Los Angeles Vibes a killer

record that challenged musicians

everywhere Herbie Hancock's Manchild is

a funk Masterpiece of the highest order

it rocks and grooves hard track one hang

up your Hang-Ups is DJ sample Heaven

Pink Floyd's wish you were here was

another career Milestone with its great

production carefully EQ drums and

Architectural psychedelic passages it

was the best-selling album of 1975

beating second place Physical Graffiti

by a landslide Ted Nugent came in after

with his trash in hotel Stranglehold

sound and him not to Griff to win the

guitar battle over foghat's slow dried

while the BG's toyed around the idea of

future Saturday night falsetto and

knights from Broadway Gary Wright

reminded everyone that you could Rock

and Funk without guitars or Bass his

synthesized Textures in Love is alive

and Dreamweaver help you forget today's

pain and reach the Morning Light so this

was a vibrant and crazy music Arena Led

Zeppelin had around them as they

rehearsed in Los Angeles competition was

serious but they were now the band of

Kashmir time was on their side for now

similar to the houses of the Holy

sessions presidents began at the shadow

of a monster release on only page plan

Jones and Barnum could dare to work

against the clock right after Physical

Graffiti looking at all the tracks for

presence everything was sourced from

previous onstage ideas which makes sense

given the fact that the band was working

with a strange sense of immediacy a

studio album with little pre-production

based on their live setting Vibes lives

in the same vein of their 1969 debut

with gimulating the writing process he

went for what was Within Reach he was

not in his best creative shape and while

the final product features stutter and

weird guitar work this album did not

break new grounds they haven't done

before it feels to some extent like

wishful thinking of the shows that never

happened after Robert's accident looking

at their personal lives back then Jones

and Bonham deserve so much praise for

transforming guitar sketches into such

complex and ambitious Rhythm

arrangements as much as people say

presence was Jimmy's album one of the

greatest attributes of this record is

the fine bass in drum interplay let's

take a look at the song so I can share

some thoughts I have on the 7 Studio

album we have one Epic aggressive and

ambition track that speaks of trials and

tribulations from a Sonic design

perspective you can tell this was

Priority One at Munich the mix is hot

and well defined but it is probably the

only misleading opener from the Zeppelin

catalog compared to what follows

Achilles is like a dream sequence before

the character wakes up in Los Angeles

1975 with a massive hangover or a broken

ankle in a wheelchair for your life is a

middle ground mid-tempo song with a

complicated structure that brings you

into the world of isolated excess it is

not funny but not serious either you

just call with the flow and check your

nose for any powder Trails adding

vibrant colors to the cold sessions of

Munich would get three Cuts Royal Lanes

candy store Rock and Hudson for nowhere

a stressed and almost comic relief that

Zeppelin was prone to any of these

tracks could have been on houses of the

Holy nobody's fault but mine is like

side B of Achilles that stand using

another fade in as intro challenging

musical accents and the crashing Rhythm

sounds of Zeppelin's trademark extreme

closing track t for one brings night

time to the story a slow tempo Blues to

thank the host for throwing the party

and drive home empty-handed sound wise

it seems for your life did not receive

the up for drums and bright treatment of

the rest of the album the snare drum in

particular has a prominent Reverb sound

that makes you think it was either

post-production or recorded in a

different room at musicland for your

livestreams make up for a muddy mix you

see with all the respect I think the

final track list could have been better

and make presents stand out more because

the melancholic heavy metal intensity of

Achilles takes you down for your life

gives you no time to recover it may

throw off The Listener after and maybe

just maybe like this record was not well

received back then I would put nobody's

fault but mine at number two so the

intro prepares you for another hard rock

session track 3 candy store Rock sound

stronger after the previous Blues number

making rockabilly a nice transition that

carries the listener into track 4 Royal

Orleans which would close side a with a

nice reprise of Jones and Barnum's

merciless heavy attack for side B I

would do for your life Hudson for

nowhere and T for one a decade in

Eternal City Adventure against the

individual questioning life itself in

the suspended animation days of 1975.

it's fun

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thank you

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it started out as a wheelchair song in

reference to Robert Plant's accident

with him unable to walk for almost a

year sessions for presence challenge

past freedoms with its lyrics

referencing the Atlas Mountains in

Morocco and William breaks the dance of

Albion it is a compelling tale of

survival rage and uncertainty so let's

talk about the music Bonham's drums and

these sessions remain a mystery with

some claiming a Ludwig silver Sparkle

set was used for we do know for sure is

jumble Jones played his eighth string

Olympic base with a pick and inspired

both Hearts 1977 Barracuda and kisses

1979 hit I was made for loving you from

the Galloping beat to the harmonies it

reads Akira's Last Stand All Over Jimmy

had the entire guitar Army of tones in

here from let's pause to strats to

telecasters his color pattern is

exquisite and served as deciding

reference for the 1977 tour the intro

employs a modulation of both the minor

9th chord and F sharp answering each

other's arpeggio motifs this is the

first of three times in presence where

page used in modulation as a harmonic

resource to stir things up while they

say Jimmy was musically inspired by his

trip to Morocco and the cyclical Middle

Eastern themes the roots from Achilles

Last Stand were actually hidden in plain

sight on stage there's a reason this

strike sounds conceptually different

from the rest of the material and

presence all the riffs and sections here

seemed like a rearrangement and best

moments from their Dazed and Confused

gems of 1973 and 1975. you see Jimmy

Page never discarded ideas and this may

explain its level of complexity yet

familiar Trails where Jones and Bonham

knew exactly what to play while the

Dublin retired isn't confused from the

concert's past arrows Court it never

left it just transformed itself into

Achilles the 75 runs were long and a bit

self-indulgent with some versions

clocking in at 40 minutes while it was a

tour of the forest and centerpiece of

their live show it also suggested a new

song could come out from it Jimmy was

experimenting with new harmonies and

textures that shaped things to come this

can give us an idea of what the Los

Angeles rehearsals were like before

going to Munich the musical unit and

kitchen of this and Confused gave the

them every tool into working this new

monster piece let me do a Sonic

explanation so I can express myself

better

piece from presence

it's the wheelchair piece is called

Achilles Last Stand

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foreign

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foreign

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foreign

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half of Achilles LA stand is a clever

run of E minor and D major the other

half is a genius variation of just D

minor and C Major Seventh think about it

a 10 minute track based around two

progressions and yet it keeps the energy

up without losing a beat that's

chemistry if you ask me Jimmy's epic

guitar solo on the track is a mixture of

preview San Francisco and Woodstock

passages on days of infused the staccato

semi Bolero drum and bass part behind

the solos can be heard in a Zeppelin's

1973 versions of days of confused deep

purple's Child In Time from 1970 and

later an influence behind Metallica's

one live versions of the track feature

an insane drum field by John Bonham

right after page delivers one of his

signature licks the way they come back

into the groove is nothing short of

spectacular

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oh

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foreign

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the music

I was so fortunate to be around so many

amazingly gifted players and and if you

think about Led Zeppelin as being a trio

really we're the kind of

Wedding Singer stuck up the front

that's I always saw the reality of what

was going on in

my enthusiasm was a good contribution

but in truth those guys were amazing and

and I think Achilles Last Stand was

um one of those

it was an uncomfortable time

recording the album from which it

arrived which was presence it was a

disparate time I was in a wheelchair for

seven months or whatever it was at that

time but the music was continuing to be

developed and even though presence is

not always the most comfortable listen

in terms of I think I'll just settle

down with my girlfriend with a glass of

wine and listen to her presence but the

interplay and the melding of the

musicality of those three guys on that

track is insane yeah absolutely incense

magnificent and uh so magnificent I had

a lady friend who I was playing

it came on in the house loud and she

said I don't want to be left in a room

with this on my own we're the mighty

arms of Atlas hold the heavens from the

earth is just like um it's not a yes

song

it's not something from Tales of

topographical oceans but it was just I

was so desperate to get away from that

being trapped in that environment hop

off the bed into the wheelchair and have

somebody pushed me around and I was

saying let's get out of here

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oh