Led Zeppelin – Presence

Led Zeppelin is a band that is constantly praised and worshiped in the music world, and it is well deserved. Presence was Led Zeppelin’s seventh studio album, released in 1976, and was their slowest grossing album, initially released to lukewarm reviews. When I first read about the albums reception I was surprised because, for me, this stands as one of the groups most impressive and exciting works. When I talk about Led Zeppelin with fellow musicians this album rarely comes up in conversation and I really think it deserves to be. For me this album seems to stand to people who like the technicalities in Zeppelins work and not just the songs on classic rock radio.

The album opens with “Achilles Last Stand” which is one of the most intense song every recorded by the band. The track is a monstrous ten minutes long, but it never quits. John Boham’s drums push the track along, while Jimmy Page shows off some of his most impressive guitar work ever recorded. Page and Boham lock in riff and rhythms, with Boham matching his snare fills with the guitar riff. Boham also has some amazing snare rolls that fit in between his driving bass foot oriented drum playing. The highlight of this track is the harmonies that Page composed for the song, adding to the intensity of the track. The harmonies are all over the place and adds a whole new dimension to the song and Page utilizes his great skill of slide guitar playing. Page rips a minor key solo that really shows his command of the guitar and once his solo begins the band does a sort of breakdown where Zeppelin again locks in rhythms. The track is a great start to the album and showcases how Zeppelin could create songs that sound so large in scale. 

“For Your Life” is one of my favorite Zeppelin songs mostly because of Boham’s drums. The bass foot on this song is just great and Boham had a knack for fitting in extra accents here and there. Around the two minute mark there is a breakdown of sorts, where he moves to the offbeat while Page plays a great descending riff. It amazes me how they never lost track of time and this song proves how tight of a band they were. Page and Boham again lock in with Boham;s bass foot matching Pages riff. The song also features a great solo from Page, with him again utilizing the minor key. “Royal Orleans” is a track where the group brings a more funk type element. Page plays a classic funk sounding riff while Boham follows with his bass foot following in doubles. Boham also shifts into full time at parts really diversifying the song. 

“Nobody’s Fault But Mine” has a kind of irritating opening but it is totally worth it once the song kicks in. It is my favorite Plant vocal on the album and he has a killer harmonica solo three minutes into the song. The band repeats the into once again except this time John Paul Jones and Boham lock in providing some really intricate off beat and obscure rhythms. “Candy Store Rock” is a great rockabilly influenced song that I often find myself playing on guitar. Page’s riff perfectly mirrors Plants vocal and the song really grooves. “Hots On For Nowhere” is another cool song and Boham owns the chorus, keeping his high hat in full time while he delays he bass foot for the offbeats.

“Tea For No One” Starts with classic Boham halftime before turning into  a slow blues of sorts. Page has some amazing licks but it’s not really much of a song. Presence is not really an album that boasts Zeppelin’s songwriting but more of their technical virtuosity. It’s an album that I can listen to over and over again hearing more and more musical choices that blow my mind. Anyone who considers themselves a fan has to listen to this album. 

Pavement – Wowee Zowee

Pavement remains one of the most interesting bands to emerge form the 90’s alternative scene. Even years after their eventual dissolution, Pavement’s influence can be heard all over modern “Indie” rock. Wowee Zowee was the bands third full length album, released in 1995, and was unlike any of their previous work. The album is a conglomerate of a bunch of different genres along with Pavement’s loose, slacker-like heavy guitar sound. It really is an album that sounds like nothing else and is not only interesting musically put also has great lyrical work by Stephen Malkmus. The album has 18 songs on it and everyone sounds pretty different than the other and to me that shows the strength of the band.

The album opens with the track “We Dance” which serves as a slow acoustic opener. I’m not a big fan of the song but I understand why they would put this as the first song. “Rattled By The Rush” is the second song and one of my favorites off the album. There is some really cool syncopation with the drums, voice and guitar, with all of them hitting similar beats. The heavy guitar is also great, a staple in earlier Pavement releases, and gives the song some balls. Malkmus has his usual lyrical oddities with lines like “I don’t need a minister to call me a groom” and “Caught my Dad crying.” It is not clear what Malkmus is really talking about but, his lyrics and music convey this type of emotion that I think Pavement is really good at tapping into. It’s a sort of melancholy yet hopeful tone that is present in a lot of their music. I really enjoy the self aware nature of it and it reminds me of the type of humor The Velvet Underground had on some of their records.

“Black Out” is a song in a more depressing vein. I really like the jazz influenced chords that are all over this thing and the lead guitar riffs over the chorus are pretty cool. “Grounded” is a standout of the album and one of my favorite Pavement songs. The opening guitar riff is awesome with just two notes shifting back and fourth. This is one of the songs that give that feeling that something is off. Malkmus has his usual strange lyrics until the chorus where he shouts out “Boys are dying on this street!” Malkmus has stated he was smoking a lot of weed during this period if time and I could definitely see that for this song. It is kind of a downer but in the the best way possible. I love the Pixies influenced octave bends and droning guitar, it just adds to the unsettling nature.

“Serpentine Pad” shows Pavement in their punk rock mode channeling something like the Sex Pistols in to a quick punk jam. Influences can be heard in Pavement but whats interesting is that they sound like no one else. “Motion Suggests Itself” is another laid back song that has a killer sad chorus. The band is singing in their highest falsetto and it sounds pretty sad with the line “I won’t need someone to let me be” during the chorus. One of the funniest aspects of Pavement is how they would also throw the listener for a loop at the beginning of a song. The song starts with a swirling circus organ up until the drums and guitar come in completely changing the vibe. “Father To A Sister Of A Thought” follows and is in the same melancholy vein, with a country western twist on it. There is some really great lap steel slide that comes in at the first chorus. Before this album Pavement never dabbled that much in the country vein but I think it sounds awesome.

“Best Friends Arm’ is a good freak out, what the fuck, Pavement song. Malkmus is shouting obscure lyrics while the drums and bass groove, with a well played funk inspired guitar is layered over. The ending sounds like something out of a Can song with weird chanting and a barrage of notes. “Grave Architecture” is another one of my favorites off the album and shows how well Malkmus would create strange statement and but his strange cadences over it. THe song opens with a riff and then Malkmus says “Come on in” cuing the rest of the band. I love the chords used on this song, especially during the verses using the off beat to make them pop. Once the chorus comes in the heavy guitars come in adding to the intensity only for the song to break and go right back to the dilly dally type sound. I would argue this song goes on for to long but that was Pavements thing, just play the song till it falls in on itself into a sort of chaotic sound.

“Flux=Rad” is a straight hardcore punk song with distortion all over everything. That is f the greatest parts of the album it will go from a poppy emotional country song to a head banging hardcore punk song. “Fight This Generation” is kind of the anthem for the album and really hits the vein of early twenties angst. The string arrangement is great and really adds to the songs seriousness. The guitar fills are also great, heavily saturated with fuzz. Right before the two minute mark the song completely changes course, picking up into full time. The drums start pushing forward and the song starts building in intensity. Malkmus starts chanting “Fight this generation” cutting off the statement and playing with the pronunciation. This goes on until there is a funky bass beak down and synth solo completely changing the tone of the song. That is what amazes me about Pavement, they had this whole self aware nature to them and wouldn’t care about completely changing pace halfway through a song. They took a lot of musical risks and it made them standout from the rest of the bands of their era. The stuff is timeless and really just on the next level. This is not he most accessible Pavement record but it is amazing none the less.