Presence (album) - Release and Critical Reception

Release and Critical Reception

The album was released on 31 March 1976, having been delayed by the completion of the album sleeve. In Britain it attained one of the highest ever advance orders, shipping gold on the day of release. It peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart, leaping from #24 inside two weeks. However, this album has not been one of the band's biggest sellers, and it received lukewarm reviews upon its release. In late 1976 the album was also overshadowed by the release of the band's movie and soundtrack The Song Remains the Same.

According to Dave Lewis, "The direct, hard-hitting nature of the seven recordings failed to connect with a fan base more accustomed to the diversity and experimental edge of their previous work. Page later acknowledged that, because the album conveys a sense of urgency resulting from the troubled circumstances in which it was recorded, "it's not an easy album for a lot of people to access ... t's not an easy album for a lot of people to listen to."

However, despite its initially subdued reception, Lewis considers that Presence

has become a much underrated element of their catalogue. The basic drums-bass-guitars formula may lack the diversity of previous Zeppelin sets, but in terms of sheer energy, 'Presence' packs a considerable punch, and has emerged as one of their most potent performances... This album is also a triumph for Jimmy Page. His production and dominant guitar style has an urgency and passion that reflects the troubled period that the group were going through at the time. 'Presence' is Led Zeppelin with their backs against the wall.

Music journalist Stephen Davis (author of Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods) gave Presence a mixed review in Rolling Stone when it was released but revised his opinion over the years, declaring Presence his favourite Led Zeppelin album and the best on-record studio representation of the band's elemental sound.