Mr Altruistic

One of the classic lyrical lines from Dancing Days, one of Led Zeppelin’s many hits, that to this day I still don’t understand. Ahhhh the obligatory Led Zeppelin entry. You knew it was coming didn’t you? But did you know why? Here we go…

I first got the inkling to play bass guitar when my brothers mate Rob used to bring up his Cherry Red Aria Pro II Cat Bass (see image above) and his quadraverb, and he and my brother Mike on his Ludwig Vistalite Big Beat Series Drumkit would jam the rhythm section on a handful of Zep tracks. I always envied them, though at that young stage of my life I thought Zep sucked, I was into The Thompson Twins or Bronski Beat or something tragically gay like that. Anyways. I digress.

The day I knew I was going to be a bass player was when I found one of my brothers old Santana cassettes. The album was 1978s Inner Secrets, the track that did it was One chain (don’t make no prison). I heard the running-octave bassline in that track and thought to myself that’s it i’m taking it up. Other standout tracks were Move On (another great bassline), Open Invitation, Well Alright and Dealer/Spanish Rose. The last 3 tracks really showcase Carlos’s guitar virtuosity. If you think that Smooth track he did in the 2000’s is good you have to listen to the old stuff, you’ll cream your daks.

So where does Zep tie in? Well the aformentioned Rob wanted to unload his bass… and I bought it, and began learning by ear from tapes. The first thing I ever learnt on bass was the ending to Stairway to Heaven when Jimmy Page wails in with the lead. Then I went through a multitude of other Led Zep tunes, practicing them with my brother playing Bonzo on drums, before I found my masterpiece. I purchased 1969s Led Zeppelin II, and was struck absolutely dumb when I heard track 3 The Lemon Song. No band gives their bass player a solo, let alone that fucking long, but it works and it is honestly the best bass lead I have ever heard. I can play quite a lot of the solo and I found that it opens up a whole new world of playing to you. From learning that solo you can go places you couldn’t go on the fret board before. It is like an awakening. So you can see where this is heading…

I became a huge fan of John Paul Jones (JPJ) after that. Especially since he was a session musician and predominantly a keyboard player. He was probably the least known member of the band. He hid behind his keyboards, and was little known. John Bonham gained notoriety when he died, at age 32, from the increasingly common rock-star-alcohol-induced-vomit-suffocation. Whilst Page and Plant have been inseperable through many re-enactments and tours of the band, JPJ has faded into obscurity, doing his own thing, working on small unknown albums and only really popping up recently when he produced New Zealand band The Datsuns 2nd CD Blacken my thumb. He truly is The most underrated musician on the planet. Here’s an excerpt from an interview with ex-Guns’N'Roses and current Velvet Revolver bass player Duff McKagan, that nicely sums up my thoughts on JPJ:

Listen to John Paul Jones — he didn’t get that groove listening to “rock” all the time. He was a real soulful player, and there wouldn’t have been Led Zeppelin without John Paul Jones. No doubt about that. Amen

Now, you might think to yourself, dude my favourite band is Hootie and the Blowfish, what the fuck has Led Zeppelin got to do with them? Well, go listen to the album Encomium, which is a tribute to Led Zep by a number of bands, including Hootie. They fittingly cover the very Hootie-ish Hey Hey What Can I Do? and more importantly it rawks! Another band from the other end of the spectrum that plays on that album is Tool, and they are fucking hardcore.

That’s what Zep were about. Diversity. The music itself is complexingly brilliant. Twin and Triple neck guitars, Bassplaying mandolin-wielding keyboardists, and arguably the worlds greatest ever rock drummer, all gelled together with poetry style lyrics. Hey, don’t think they haven’t influenced your favourite band poindexter. You are probably sitting there singing along to Matchbox 20s latest dull hit on your iPod, oblivious to their influences and wondering how they do it. I’m telling you it was probably Led Zep. They were and are that big. If you like music and you don’t like them, then throw away half your CD collection because they sure as shit influenced all the bands you like.