The artist John Paul Jones always wanted to work with: “It’d be interesting”
It’s impossible for someone to be inspired by the same group of people every time they get into the studio. Having that camaraderie is certainly great, but there comes a point where people either want to go in a different direction or would rather be anywhere else than in the rehearsal room with musicians who have become too predictable. While Led Zeppelin never had that kind of problem, John Paul Jones had his work cut out for him the minute the band called it a day.
Because, really, who in their right mind thought they could do justice to what John Bonham did behind the kit? There are many people that have to work hard for years until they find the right mojo, but Bonzo had the kind of magic that only comes once every generation, and when that was silenced after a night of heavy drinking, there was point in thinking that they were going to pick up where they left off with someone new.
And while Jimmy Page may have had the most visceral reaction seeing his musical baby be put to rest, Jones was always bound to land on his feet. He had spent years in the session music scene before Led Zeppelin had started, and since he had already been told about a job opening to be a choral master during Zeppelin’s classic run, it wasn’t like he didn’t have gigs lined up for when he found himself without a gig.
But even for someone as eclectic as a session musician, some of Jonesy’s side projects were a lot more strange than what people expected of him. There would be the occasional rock and roll band that wanted his orchestrations that would make sense like Foo Fighters, but the thought of him going to them after turning in time with everyone from Butthole Surfers to R.E.M. was a massive jump considering that he was known as the person behind ‘Black Dog’ for most rock and roll fans.
It may have been weird, but Jones was never satisfied in one area of rock and roll. On every step of his musical journey, he always sought to do whatever the hell he wanted, regardless of what anyone had to say, so it was only natural for him to pair up with artists who also didn’t care about mainstream potential. And when talking about the classic rock contemporaries who gave a middle finger to big business, Jones was knocked out at what Neil Young could accomplish.
Although Young has gone down several different avenues during his career, Jones wished that he could find time to work with him at some point, saying, “I would have thought it’d be interesting to work with Neil Young. There’s just something about what he does and the way he does it. Should he ever knock on my door, I’d probably say yes. He’s another person who doesn’t like to stand still.”
And when looking at their strengths, Young and Jones would be a perfect complement to each other as composers. Since Jones has always been about getting a song to breathe in the exact right way, putting him together with Young’s ramshackle style of playing on some of his records would have been the perfect foil for each other.
It’s not like Jones doesn’t have the chops to pull it off. He has been well-versed in just about any instrument he gets his hands on, so whether it’s him contributing on mandolin or putting together the most beautifully sludgy riff imaginable, it would work like a charm against Young’s trademark vocal whine.
