"For Your Life", Presence
Though not a favorite, "For Your Life" reigns as a standout track off Presence. The band's choice to perform it at their 2007 reunion was random and laudable. The aforementioned inaccessibility of Presence did make "For Your Life" a bit of an obscure gem, but it was a gem worthy of the significance built when a song suddenly startles you, even after such a long period of familiarity. The song takes time to build. It possessed that dark and sensuous touch of Presence. When the guitars aren't soaring and harmonizing, as on "Achilles Last Stand", everything is dropped very low, making the entire album very thick and moody. As I've said, the strains under which Led Zeppelin were placed are certainly evident. Sometimes this doesn't work, sometimes it really does. It works here. The track slowly escalates from the leading groove, stumbling into another. Page performs a sublimely funky lick, with the whole band following in pure funk form. I love that lick. They do use it quite frequently, but its possessive and alluring. Rather than being turned off by it, you simply become more captivated. The lick itself transforms, with the band carrying it to new heights. Page's solo isn't one of his best, I'd say. Certainly when I think of a great Jimmy Page guitar solo, I don't think of "For Your Life", but listening to it now, I catch his guitar going on small tangents. He has a masterful way of tossing in oddball notes, its very subtle and unexpecting. The word "oddball" sort of implies something is gonna stick out and grab you. Its immensely subtle, very swiftly thrown in, but its very tasteful and characteristic of his charismatic style. "For Your Life" is a good number, buried deep in the expansive catalog of Led Zeppelin -- showcasing the band at a raucous time in their career. Possibly one of the last great Led Zeppelin songs.
