Writers: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
Producer: Jimmy Page
Recorded: November and December 1975 at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany
Released: March 31st, 1976
| Players: | Robert Plant — vocals Jimmy Page — guitar John Paul Jones — bass John Bonham — drums |
| Album: | Presence (Swan Song) |
The first track of Led Zeppelin's seventh album, “Achilles Last Stand” clocks in at an epic 10 minutes and 22 seconds.
Robert Plant's lyrics were inspired by his travels across Africa with Jimmy Page in 1975.
Under time pressure to finish up so the Rolling Stones could use Musicland Studios, Page wound up doing the song's numerous overdubs in a single, night-long session.
For live performances, Page expected to use the same Gibson SG double-neck guitar he played on “Stairway To Heaven,” but he found that he could cover his parts with a regular six-string Les Paul or, at the 1979 Knebworth shows, a Fender Telecaster.
The Presence album was Led Zeppelin's fifth album to top the Billboard 200 chart and its seventh consecutive platinum effort.