THIS IS GREAT..Guys when we talk about Zeppelin we have to watch our manner of words..For me that i am a Zep-maniac this album ROCKS,all the spoilers who have said that it's no good,they must be drunk..You can find everything here..Blues-rock n'roll,hard rock,folk,I mean Elvis himself would be jealous if he had listened to it..Meybe he had..who knows..I will not speak for the songs..better watch them out..Neither will i comment on other Zep's lps..Anything they released till their breakup was excellent..So much talent and chemistry..ZEPPELIN and PINK FLOYD were at the top of the rock pyramid..then all the others came...

This is an underrated album, like many others have said. This was one of the last zeppelin albums I bought, and it grew on me as I have aged. It's lyrical themes are a little more subtle than the testosterone filled "whole lotta love," or "black dog," making it one of my preferred zeppelin choices nowadays. Don't get me wrong II and IV are great albums, but "presence" is more complex lyrically speaking (e.g. "for your life")and fun to listen to when you want a more funky, mellow sound. But if you wanna rock, "achilles last stand," and "nobody's fault but mine," won't disappoint.

This album explores the funk side of zeppelin, evident in jones and page's play in "candy store rock", "royal orleans", and "hots for nowhere". These tracks also exhibit some of the band's sense of humor, the lyrics don't necessarily take themselves so seriously. Plant's has lost some of his range by this album, but this works well with the funk tracks in that it smoothes them out a little bit.

I'd have to say my favorite blues track by zeppelin has become "tea for one". This song with the production of the album reminds me of some of the slower blues tracks stevie ray vaughn would later record. It is a fantastic display of Page's talent rooted in blues. Along with Plant's more mellow singing style, this song is nine minutes of paradise.

Three songs here are good. Achilles Last Stand, Nobodies Fault But Mine, and Tea for One are all great songs. Achilles Last Stand is perhaps THE Zeppelin epic; thousands of guitar over dubs flying all over the place, horrible, pretentious lyrics wheezed out by a damaged Plant; amazing bass lines pounding, and Bonham being breath taking in his drumming (this is a big deal for me to admit, as I tend to view Bonham as almost retarded) and an epic length that may not be justified by the msuical content, but is completely understandable. I never want the song to end!

Nobodies Fault But Mine is just a pounding, soaring, majestic blues song. It shows that Zeppelin truly were at their best on the blues. This is one of there best "hard blues" songs since their debut, even if it rips off Robert Johnson for part of it (to be fair, everyone ripped him off, including the Stones) wow!

Tea For One is a great "slow blues" that also sets that atmosphere that Zeppelin at there best could. These three songs would have given this album three stars on their own.

Unfortunately, the other four songs are so bad, so ridiculously self parodic and unlistenable, it actually DRAGS the rating down a star. I can't remember a single one of them, but to know they're just so stupid, and so ridiculous that it pains me to know the state the band was in at the time; Page a heroin addict, Plant in a wheel chair, tired, and sick of being rock stars. Not to mention they had VERY little time to record this, and about 90% of that time went to Achilles Last Stand (which shows; it's easily the most arranged song on here, to the point of suffocation) which means most of these songs were no doubt just bashed out in the studio with little thought to decency. Its no surprise that the two best songs are blues songs, as that was the one genre Zeppelin could just "bash out" and make sound wonderful no matter what. It's also a shame that the band didn't just lump all of the good material on one side; that one side would be one of the best "late" period sides of Zeppelin. Also, listening it on vinyl would have been easier; after listening to one side, just take it off, and go home. No, they had to spread the material all over the place, and make the album a chore to listen to, even if it's the shortest Zeppelin album ever.

Unfortunately, Zeppelin fans HAVE to buy this one, as Achilles Last Stand, Nobodies Fault but Mine, and Tea for One are essential, and you're not going to find them anywhere else. And, amazingly, there is one worse Zeppelin album.