Thirty-Eight Years Into His Career, Led Zeppelin's Bassist Says: 'The Time's Come'
by Mark Voger
in Asbury Park Press and the Home News Tribune

 "Every new project I work on, every new project I do, I learn something, whether it's production or arranging," says John Paul Jones, whose bass lines once shook stadiums as the bassist for rock icons Led Zeppelin.

"I've been professional for . . . 38 years, I see. I've just finally decided now it's time to concentrate on my own music for a while -- that I can bring all these skills into line and produce myself, arrange my own music and also, obviously, the performing side."

Since Led Zeppelin's premature disbanding following drummer John Bonham's death in 1980, Jones has operated behind the scenes, producing or arranging for such diverse acts as Diamanda Galas, The Butthole Surfers, R.E.M. and Elephant Ride.

"I suppose in the last 20 years," Jones, 53, says during a conference-call interview, "of all the things I'd done -- between producing, arranging and composing -- the one thing I hadn't done was play live. . . . This album gives me, really, a body of music that I can then take out onto the road and play live. So it's two birds with one stone, really."

The album is "ZOOMA" (Discipline Global Mobile). Jones' first-ever solo effort is a collection of progressively tinged, driving rock instrumentals.

Did Jones ever worry that the longer he avoided making a solo album, the greater fans' expectations would be? "Nah," he laughs. "Most people have forgotten about me, haven't they?"

First off, he had to decide what a John Paul Jones solo album should sound like.

"My musical interests are so diverse," he says. "I've often thought before that maybe I should do a solo record or something. But I've never really known what to do.

"This really is the focus of wanting to know what I wanted to actually perform on stage, that brought me to doing this type of record.

"The album was designed to be played live."

On stage, Jones and his band will perform all of "ZOOMA". "And, you know," Jones hints, "why shouldn't I do a couple of Zeppelin tunes?"

Jones is asked what his relationships with his fellow Zeppelin survivors -- guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant (who reunited without him beginning in 1994) -- are like today.

"Like today? Well, I haven't seem them today," Jones jokes.

"I'm around for Zeppelin business, if there's meetings to discuss stuff."

And do these meetings happen often?

"More frequently than I'm happy with at the moment," Jones says, "because I'm trying to get on with this project, to take it on tour.

"But," Jones makes a groaning sound, "relations are cordial, I suppose. There's no point in being unnecessarily immature about this. I can't say we hang out."

So what are the chances of a Led Zeppelin reunion?

"It's pretty remote," he says. "Um, no. Not really. I don't think so. We have different ideas on what should be done and how it should be done, I think.

"I'm happy to be doing my own music for a change.

"Something Diamanda told me: 'If you're going to put that much effort into music, it might as well be your own.'

"And I thought, 'Ah, the time's come. Enough of other people's stuff!' "