Singer Robert Plant was recovering from serious injuries he had sustained earlier that year in a car accident; this led to tours being cancelled and the band booking studio time to record Presence instead.

Presence is dominated by compositions by Page and Plant, with only one track credited to the entire group; unlike other Zeppelin albums, it features no keyboards and little acoustic guitar.

Because Plant was still ill, the band could not tour to promote the release, and only two tracks, including the ten-minute opener "Achilles Last Stand", were performed live.

However, singer Robert Plant sustained serious injuries from a car accident on the Greek island of Rhodes on 4 August,[3] which forced the band to cancel the tour and reschedule their activities.

[4] Because of their status as tax exiles, Plant was forced to recuperate abroad, initially in Jersey in the Channel Islands, then in Malibu, California, and wrote several sets of lyrics that reflected on his personal situation and wondering about the future.

This idea was quickly dropped in favour of a title that was thought would represent the powerful force and presence that the band members felt surrounded the group.

Whereas their previous albums up to and including the previous year's Physical Graffiti contain electric hard rock anthems balanced with acoustic ballads and intricate arrangements, Presence was seen to include more simplified riffs, and is Led Zeppelin's only studio album that features no keyboards,[10] and with the exception of a rhythm track on "Candy Store Rock", no acoustic guitar.

[13] The changed stylistic emphasis on this album was a direct result of the troubled circumstances experienced by the band around the time of its recording.

The closing number, "Tea For One", was a slow blues written by Plant about the problems he faced being separated from his family, and was an attempt to update their earlier "Since I've Been Loving You" from Led Zeppelin III.

"Achilles Last Stand" and "Nobody's Fault but Mine" were added to the setlist for the 1977 tour of the United States and stayed on it through the band's final concerts in 1980.

[21] The cover and inside sleeve, created by Hipgnosis with George Hardie, features images of people interacting with a black obelisk-shaped object.

[24] The background in the cover photograph is an artificial marina, installed in London's Earl's Court arena for the annual Boat Show, in the winter of 1974–75.

[36] In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Stephen Davis said Presence established Led Zeppelin as the premier heavy metal act and featured some exceptional rock music, highlighting the "clean and purifying" guitar riffs.

In spite of a few dull blues rock songs, the album was "another monster in what by now is a continuing tradition of battles won by this band of survivors", in Davis' opinion.

[37] Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic in The Village Voice, citing "Hots on for Nowhere" as a "commanding cut" while finding much of the rest consistent but unnecessary in comparison with earlier recordings.

"[34] 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.

"[40] Lewis nonetheless believed that Presence was underrated, as its music "packs a considerable punch", highlighting Page's playing and the production on the album.

"[44] Uncut said the original album is grand "in lyric form and musical scale", while "the discs of 'companion audio,' often short on revelation, here reveal a moment of sheer anomaly.

"[47] PopMatters was less impressed, saying "like the rest of the re-releases, the bonus material leaves too much to be desired", but concluded, "despite its weak second half, Presence is too good of an album to be dismissed.

"[45] Details are taken from the original UK and US Swan Song albums; all tracks are credited to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, except where noted.