The singer John Paul Jones would work in a heartbeat: “Interesting”
When talking about the raw spectacle of Led Zeppelin, John Paul Jones tends to get left out of the conversation far too often.
He may not have been the most talkative member of the group, but when you listen to the backing tracks of all of their songs, he’s the glue holding them together, always being the one right in the middle as John Bonham played behind the beat and Jimmy Page stayed ahead of the beat. But Jonesy was always the kind of person that no one really noticed was missing until they heard him in an entirely different context.
Page and Plant were fantastic for what they were, but Jones’s exclusion did make it feel like something was missing half the time they played. None of their records were bad by any stretch, but when you look through some of their deep cuts with Zeppelin, Jones was the one locking in some of the best grooves alongside Bonzo, whether that was turning ‘Black Dog’ into one of the best riffs of all time or helping to orchestrate everything that went into a song like ‘Kashmir’.
But when Zeppelin broke up, Jones didn’t need to worry about finding work or anything. He had already entertained the idea of leaving the band halfway through to become a choir director, and while he did still choose a life of stardom, he did have some interesting twists and turns as well. He was a veteran of the session scene, after all, and that caters towards people who have every kind of genre in their back pocket.
There are still plenty of people who would have never guessed that he would have turned up on a Butthole Surfers record or make such beautiful arrangements for REM, but that’s what makes Jonesy so interesting. He was constantly shifting up his style to see what worked and what didn’t, and even well into his career, he felt that there was still some unfinished business that he had to do when working with Neil Young.
And it’s not hard to see why. Young was the same kind of musical maverick that tried his best to keep things fresh, and since he never made the same album twice, the idea of making a record with Jonesy overseeing the production and throwing in the odd riff would have made for one of the most left-field collaborations that the rock and roll world has ever seen. So for Jonesy, all Young needs to do is pick up the phone.
It’s ultimately the ‘Godfather of Grunge’s choice, but Jones knew he would drop everything if Young wanted to work with him, 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 it’s that attitude that made Young and Zeppelin work so well.
Neither of them were content to stay in one place for one time, and while it did take Young a while before he got back to the rustic sound that everyone knew him for on records like Harvest Moon, that was never the goal. He wanted the chance to surprise people, and the opportunity to work with someone like Jones would open up a world of possibilities that none of them would have thought were possible.
They were never going to need to one-up each other, but considering how well both their careers have shaped up, Jonesy and Young would make for a decent dynamic duo. Because as much as Young likes to be in control every time he makes a record, this would be a great chance for him to pick up a thing or two from working with one of the most well-rounded musicians of all time.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.