OT: Happy belated birthday John Paul Jones - some trivia and my thoughts on Zep

[TenerHallTerror]

so i began the holiday season by throwing all my Led Zeppelin CDs in my car, determined to listen to them in order.

Right now, I am up to "Presence", and here are a few thoughts:

1) "Stairway to Heaven" is not their best song. Not even in the top 3 IMHO. ("Kashmir" is the best.) But "In My Time of Dying" is better. "Achilles Last Stand" is better. "Ramble On" is better.

2) JPJ's contributions were vastly underrated. from his pastoral keyboard work on "Your Time is Gonna Come" to his eerie organ sounds on "No Quarter", to his phenomenal bass playing on "Nobody's Fault But Mine", Jonesy was the glue that held together Bonham's relentless beats, and Page's mystical guitar work.

3) his studio work resume is beyond impressive. Did not know he did the strings for Rolling Stones' "She's A Rainbow". or worked with Dusty Springfield. Jeff Beck. Cat Stevens. Butthole Surfers! (love "Independent Worm Saloon")

LINK

4) Them Cooked Vultures released the best rock album of the last 15 years, and JPJ still frikkin rocks that bass:

 

[Obliviax]

My favorite John Paul Jones quote: "I have not yet begun to fight!"

 

[PSU2UNC]

so i began the holiday season by throwing all my Led Zeppelin CDs in my car, determined to listen to them in order.

Right now, I am up to "Presence", and here are a few thoughts:

1) "Stairway to Heaven" is not their best song. Not even in the top 3 IMHO. ("Kashmir" is the best.) But "In My Time of Dying" is better. "Achilles Last Stand" is better. "Ramble On" is better.

2) JPJ's contributions were vastly underrated. from his pastoral keyboard work on "Your Time is Gonna Come" to his eerie organ sounds on "No Quarter", to his phenomenal bass playing on "Nobody's Fault But Mine", Jonesy was the glue that held together Bonham's relentless beats, and Page's mystical guitar work.

3) his studio work resume is beyond impressive. Did not know he did the strings for Rolling Stones' "She's A Rainbow". or worked with Dusty Springfield. Jeff Beck. Cat Stevens. Butthole Surfers! (love "Independent Worm Saloon")

LINK

4) Them Cooked Vultures released the best rock album of the last 15 years, and JPJ still frikkin rocks that bass:

View embedded media

I agree that:

a) Stairway is not their best song (although it is very good song and I understand why it is their most popular song)

b) JPJ was underrated/underappreciated. I think this is true of a lot of bass players unless you are doing something unusual (e.g. Flea, Les). JPJ also wrote most of "In the Evening" which might have the most haunting song beginning of all time (although the song grows stale for me after the first minute or so).

c) Achilles Last Stand is amazing.

Funny story about when I "discovered" Zeppelin:
When I was 13 or 14, I saw a clip of some documentary that cited Zeppelin and the creators (co-creators) of heavy metal. The only "metal" I knew at the time was what was sort of popular (Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Motley Crue, so I guess that dates me), but based on the extracurricular activities of the guys at my high school who had Zeppelin patches on their jean jackets, I figured these Zeppelin guys must be bad asses.

I bought Zeppelin IV and honestly thought they had somehow put the wrong album in the case. I was expecting something sounding like Slayer and only recognized the drum line of When the Levee Breaks from the Beastie Boys debut album (years later, I would realize that the same Bboys song (Rhymin and Stealin) also sampled Black Sabbath's Sweet Leaf...bad ass).

It took a couple of listens, but then not much time before I bought the rest of their albums. I still remember getting goosebumps when I heard the opening 10 seconds of Led Zeppelin III through the headphones of my Walkman.

 

[Little J]

The Sarcophagus of John Paul Jones at the USNA chapel

born July 6, 1747 – died in Paris July 18, 1792 of kidney failure

 

[psuro]

This is my version of bass players Holy Grail.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

JPJ was the engine. Could play many instruments well. This may have been posted here before....




As music savvy as this board is, most will know the story of this guy w/r/t Zeppelin but if you don't, do some investigating.

 

[Relayer]

Outside of Yes, Zep has always been my favorite band. John Paul Jones is a constant on my list of most underrated musicians. The guy could do it all. No wonder they named two popes after him

 

[Victor E. Bell]

No wonder they named two popes after him

Three!

 

[Grant Green]

JPJ was the engine. Could play many instruments well. This may have been posted here before....

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As music savvy as this board is, most will know the story of this guy w/r/t Zeppelin but if you don't, do some investigating.

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I wonder what Zep would have been like with Super Lungs. Tragic error by Terry, but worked out well for some kid named Plant. If there are any Terry Reid fans here, I highly recommend checking out the Raconteurs cover of Rich Kid blues (very Zep-like).

 

[Nit Nolte]

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This is my version of bass players Holy Grail.

I'm 58 and a bass player for about 4 years. I set a goal to learn this by 60. I'm about a third of the way through. And I agree with you.

 

[kgilbert78]

Three!

Pope Jones???

 

[Cosmos]

I agree that:

a) Stairway is not their best song (although it is very good song and I understand why it is their most popular song)

b) JPJ was underrated/underappreciated. I think this is true of a lot of bass players unless you are doing something unusual (e.g. Flea, Les). JPJ also wrote most of "In the Evening" which might have the most haunting song beginning of all time (although the song grows stale for me after the first minute or so).

c) Achilles Last Stand is amazing.

Funny story about when I "discovered" Zeppelin:
When I was 13 or 14, I saw a clip of some documentary that cited Zeppelin and the creators (co-creators) of heavy metal. The only "metal" I knew at the time was what was sort of popular (Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Motley Crue, so I guess that dates me), but based on the extracurricular activities of the guys at my high school who had Zeppelin patches on their jean jackets, I figured these Zeppelin guys must be bad asses.

I bought Zeppelin IV and honestly thought they had somehow put the wrong album in the case. I was expecting something sounding like Slayer and only recognized the drum line of When the Levee Breaks from the Beastie Boys debut album (years later, I would realize that the same Bboys song (Rhymin and Stealin) also sampled Black Sabbath's Sweet Leaf...bad ass).

It took a couple of listens, but then not much time before I bought the rest of their albums. I still remember getting goosebumps when I heard the opening 10 seconds of Led Zeppelin III through the headphones of my Walkman.

Outstanding post! Thanks for sharing.

 

[psuro]

I'm 58 and a bass player for about 4 years. I set a goal to learn this by 60. I'm about a third of the way through. And I agree with you.

This girl does a great job on this part that was filmed.

 

[BobPSU92]

Great band, obviously. I am in the minority in that In Through The Out Door holds a special place with me. It is the first Zeppelin album I experienced upon its release, though I was still just a little kid. So it's the Zeppelin album from which I remember hearing songs on the radio constantly. 1979. That Zeppelin album, The Wall, Candy-O, and yes, disco ( ).

 

[psuro]

Great band, obviously. I am in the minority in that In Through The Out Door holds a special place with me. It is the first Zeppelin album I experienced upon its release, though I was still just a little kid. So it's the Zeppelin album from which I remember hearing songs on the radio constantly. 1979. That Zeppelin album, The Wall, Candy-O, and yes, disco ( ).

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Let's all take this moment to remember Bob has a Disco problem.

 

[massimoManca II]

Great band, obviously. I am in the minority in that In Through The Out Door holds a special place with me. It is the first Zeppelin album I experienced upon its release, though I was still just a little kid. So it's the Zeppelin album from which I remember hearing songs on the radio constantly. 1979. That Zeppelin album, The Wall, Candy-O, and yes, disco ( ).

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I, too (for much the same reason you cite) , enjoy the oft-bashed ITTOD ... very interesting peek into the direction the band would have taken had it survived... much like RP's first solo album... good stuff...

epic songs as they were, I became tired of Stairway, Black Dog, Rock and Roll et al. thirty years ago... i don't think twice about clicking to another station when these tracks pop on my Sirius nowadaze... but All My Love, In the Evening, carouselambra? Nope, these are still fresh to me...

 

[massimoManca II]

so i began the holiday season by throwing all my Led Zeppelin CDs in my car, determined to listen to them in order.

Right now, I am up to "Presence", and here are a few thoughts:

1) "Stairway to Heaven" is not their best song. Not even in the top 3 IMHO. ("Kashmir" is the best.) But "In My Time of Dying" is better. "Achilles Last Stand" is better. "Ramble On" is better.

2) JPJ's contributions were vastly underrated. from his pastoral keyboard work on "Your Time is Gonna Come" to his eerie organ sounds on "No Quarter", to his phenomenal bass playing on "Nobody's Fault But Mine", Jonesy was the glue that held together Bonham's relentless beats, and Page's mystical guitar work.

3) his studio work resume is beyond impressive. Did not know he did the strings for Rolling Stones' "She's A Rainbow". or worked with Dusty Springfield. Jeff Beck. Cat Stevens. Butthole Surfers! (love "Independent Worm Saloon")

LINK

4) Them Cooked Vultures released the best rock album of the last 15 years, and JPJ still frikkin rocks that bass:

View embedded media

Amazing that UVa named their basketball facilty after JPJ ... so cool

 

[TenerHallTerror]

JPJ was the engine. Could play many instruments well. This may have been posted here before....

View embedded media

As music savvy as this board is, most will know the story of this guy w/r/t Zeppelin but if you don't, do some investigating.

View embedded media

I came to Terry Reid through the film The Devil's Rejects . . .

 

[TenerHallTerror]

Great band, obviously. I am in the minority in that In Through The Out Door holds a special place with me. It is the first Zeppelin album I experienced upon its release, though I was still just a little kid. So it's the Zeppelin album from which I remember hearing songs on the radio constantly. 1979. That Zeppelin album, The Wall, Candy-O, and yes, disco ( ).

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great tune, I love Bonzo's drum work on "Fool in the Rain"

 

[Victor E. Bell]

I came to Terry Reid through the film The Devil's Rejects . . .

Right. Same here.

 

[rudedude]

Royal Orleans background

When in New Orleans on concert tours, members of the group would stay at the Royal Orleans Hotel, and the song is reportedly based on an incident that occurred there.[2] The story goes that once, when staying at the hotel in the early 1970s, John Paul Jones brought a woman from the bar up to his room, unaware she was actually a transvestite. Both smoked marijuanaand fell asleep, the woman with a lit joint in her hand, which caught fire and burned the room down (though everyone escaped). The lyrics include lines such as "Be careful how you choose it" and "Poor whiskers set the room alight" to reference the event.

The song alludes to Jones' involvement with the lyrics:

And when the sun peeked through
John Cameron with Suzanna
He kissed the whiskers, left & right

Cameron was a rival of Jones during his career as a session musician. The song also alludes to Barry White.[2]

In an interview he gave to Mojo magazine in 2007, Jones clarified the reliability of the story, stating that:

The transvestites were actually friends of Richard [Cole's]; normal friendly people and we were all at some bar. That I mistook a transvestite for a girl is rubbish; that happened in another country to somebody else... Anyway 'Stephanie' ended up in my room and we rolled a joint or two and I fell asleep and set fire to the hotel room, as you do, ha ha, and when I woke up it was full of firemen![3]

 

[rudedude]

Great version by a great band with the great JPJ!

 

[TheGLOV]

so i began the holiday season by throwing all my Led Zeppelin CDs in my car, determined to listen to them in order.

Right now, I am up to "Presence", and here are a few thoughts:

1) "Stairway to Heaven" is not their best song. Not even in the top 3 IMHO. ("Kashmir" is the best.) But "In My Time of Dying" is better. "Achilles Last Stand" is better. "Ramble On" is better.

2) JPJ's contributions were vastly underrated. from his pastoral keyboard work on "Your Time is Gonna Come" to his eerie organ sounds on "No Quarter", to his phenomenal bass playing on "Nobody's Fault But Mine", Jonesy was the glue that held together Bonham's relentless beats, and Page's mystical guitar work.

3) his studio work resume is beyond impressive. Did not know he did the strings for Rolling Stones' "She's A Rainbow". or worked with Dusty Springfield. Jeff Beck. Cat Stevens. Butthole Surfers! (love "Independent Worm Saloon")

LINK

4) Them Cooked Vultures released the best rock album of the last 15 years, and JPJ still frikkin rocks that bass:

View embedded media

I never really cared for the Led Plagiarists sir!

 

[odshowtime]

A genius of the 20th century.

 

[Nit Nolte]

View embedded media

This girl does a great job on this part that was filmed.

Agreed. I love seeing young people play stuff that I grew up with.

I haven't started on that part. I'm about in the middle of the uptempo section.

 

[Nit Nolte]

Great band, obviously. I am in the minority in that In Through The Out Door holds a special place with me. It is the first Zeppelin album I experienced upon its release, though I was still just a little kid. So it's the Zeppelin album from which I remember hearing songs on the radio constantly. 1979. That Zeppelin album, The Wall, Candy-O, and yes, disco ( ).

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ITTOD is basically a Plant and Jones album. Bonzo and Page were so gacked out on heroin and coke that they could barely function. I'm with you. I think it's a great collection.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

this may be their most underrated tune:

 

[Relayer]

There are so many great songs on Physical Graffiti. The opening of "In The Light" is classic JPJ.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

There are so many great songs on Physical Graffiti. The opening of "In The Light" is classic JPJ.

jammed "Achilles Last Stand" on the way home from work last night . . . jeez, he could pound the f**k out of a bass as well

 

[Nit Nolte]

JPJ played an 8 string bass on Achilles.

 

[Relayer]

When we went to Eagles-Giants a couple weeks ago, Met Life Stadium was cranking Achilles Last Stand 30 minutes before kickoff. If that doesn't get you going, nothing will.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

ok rounding out my collection . . . finished "Coda" this weekend. Started in on the BBC Sessions. "Poor Tom" and "Walter's Walk" are the highlights of the unreleased tracks, but this "cover" of an old Sleepy John Estes tune is probably my favorite "unreleased" track . . . jeez, Bonham's drums and JPJ's bass work are master classes in each instrument: