Perhaps by this second post you can tell I’m covering some of the more obvious, true bass legends first. That wasn’t entirely the intention, but why not, and I just can’t leave this one until later. Along with Jack Bruce, he was a massive early inspiration for me as a bassist. Ask most casual fans to list the members of Led Zeppelin, arguably the greatest rock band ever to have conquered the globe, and John Paul Jones will generally be the one they struggle to remember. This is a huge injustice to such a gentleman of high musical talent, but unless they get out front and sing or pull of some brazen showmanship and mind-boggling solos at the front of the stage, bassists are usually doomed to be “the quiet one” (at least visually and verbally) lurking in the shadows and secretly holding it all together. John certainly whipped out the occasional bit of eye-catching stage wear – like that ridiculous baroque jacket with fake apples dangling off it that can be seen in The Song Remains The Same – but seemed to be admirably more concerned with professionally holding up his end of the musical tent and just getting on with it, than rock star showboating, which the other three (some more than others) had pretty much covered, bless ‘em. Somebody’s gotta do it, if you’re as big as a band like Zep. Musical quality alone doesn’t get you to the top if you don’t put on a show, unfortunately. Fortunately, consistently excellent albums help, and – with the arguable exception of their last, ‘In Through The Out Door’, depending on tastes – they had that covered, too.
All of that is for another conversation, because in this case the “quiet one” was and is a man of immense talent for music, from playing instruments to composing and arranging. Beyond Led Zeppelin he hasn’t been enormously prolific in a solo artist sense, but has kept quietly busy with a wide range of projects, be they soundtracks, solo albums, collaborations (for example with experimental improv band Supersilent, and of course the excellent Them Crooked Vultures, who hopefully, one day, we’ll be treated to more of) or production work (notably with Butthole Surfers, an unlikely meeting of minds that delighted me when it happened back in the day, being a big fan of both). His two more recent solo albums are really excellent and weird, and make a good case for him being the most musically adventurous and relevant in the modern age, compared to his living ex-Zep cohorts and their respective post-Zep musical releases, which are worthy but simply don’t come close. Looking back, his bass lines in the Led Zep catalogue (and keys in ‘Trampled Under Foot’!) are just wonderful, with a melodic flair that almost brings tears to my eyes when combined with the alchemical talents of Page, Plant & Bonham on ‘What Is And What Should Never Be’ and the mellow bits of ‘Ramble On’. And in the more visceral side, ‘Out On The Tiles’... oh man, that is some heavy wallop. And I still can’t play those awesome fast runs in ‘Immigrant Song’ without fumbling... let alone it being my favourite Zep song, it’s a benchmark of tight, solid, fluid playing that I aspire to grasping with his mastery. John Paul Jones, I bow my head with respect to your talents, taste and good character, and I would like to shake your hand from afar.
Suggested listening:
LED ZEPPELIN – pretty much everything, but you knew that already...
JOHN PAUL JONES – Scream For Help [OST] (1985) [This hasn’t aged well overall, but there’s still some great stuff here on what is effectively his first solo album]
JOHN PAUL JONES – Zooma (1999) [highly recommended!]
JOHN PAUL JONES – The Thunderthief (2001) [highly recommended!]
THEM CROOKED VULTURES – self-titled (2009)
