It was always going to be a tough task following up the quite superb 'Physical Graffiti' but together with the fact that half the band were suffering from substance abuse and the lead singer was still recovering after a horrific car crash, it made matters all the harder. 'Presence' has always been regarded as a 'Physical Graffiti' part two and this is a fair assessment, regrettably what we have here is more akin to the second disc and the likes of 'Trampled Underfoot', 'Kashmir' and 'In my Time of Dying' are nowhere to me seen.

With the opening track 'Zeppelin' notch up another epic to add to their bulging collection of classics, 'Achilles Last Stand' is a magnificent piece and in my opinion easily the best track present. They really aim to achieve a big sound on this gem, and definitely accomplish it with the drums and guitars creating waves of power, 'Robert Plant' sounds solid and this is a track where everything sound right and comes together for a great number. 'For your Life' sees a drop in pace and a more bluesy sound reinstated, although I don't find it memorable, it does feature a nice flowing plod. On a more jazzy note is the energetic, carefree 'Royal Orleans' a short track that succeeds in breaking up the more bluesy approach of the album. Continuing with a more traditional 'Zeppelin' sound is the lightweight rocker 'Nobody's Fault but Mine', here there's some decent riffs and fretwork to be found combining with more of 'Jon Bonham's' tasty hard hitting drum work. 'Candy Store Rock' sees a direction change as they experiment with a sort of Pop / Fifty's rock, it doesn't really work for me and sounds like a 'B' side. No improvements are made with 'Hot's on for Nowhere' a pretty directionless melody that is only kept afloat by more enjoyable 'Bonham' drum work. Last up is the epic 'Tea for One', a solid blues song which has a strong plodding melancholy feel about it, I find it a decent cut but you couldn't class it as a Hard Rock track.

There's glimpses of the brilliance of 'Zeppelin' but in all honesty there's not enough, 'Achilles Last Stand' is a classic but the album needs more. Regrettably it's not on a par with 'Physical Graffiti' but it's far from a bad album.