Been a Long Time

AMONG THE GREAT mysteries of Led Zeppelin, the fate of bassist John Paul Jones figures alongside such riddles as what those runes meant on the cover of Led Zep IV and just what gonad-stirring hair rock ever had to do with Hobbits in the first place. But the Page-Plant faithful who might have expected the sideman to be beating the nostalgia drum with the hammer of the gods might be surprised that Jones's current musical project isn't a barrel full of white blues.

Fans familiar with Jones's extensive, though low-key, post-Zep career as a composer, arranger, and producer might as easily wonder whether Zooma (Discipline) sounds like Jones collaborators such as R.E.M., the Butthole Surfers, Brian Eno, Diamanda Galas, or the Mondrian Quartet. It so happens that the musician's latest effort rocks like the monster child of King Crimson, John Zorn, and the London Symphony Orchestra (whose members Jones brought into the studio). And even when the beat is as heavy as John Bonham's tombstone, the bassist never loses his long-cultivated gift for subtle arrangements; each song plays like a symphony for drums, bass, and guitar.

"I've always had problems as to what form a solo album would take," Jones admits over the phone from London, shortly before launching his first solo tour, which stops by the Cabooze Thursday. "As you can probably guess, I've got really diverse taste in music. When I came up with the thought of playing it live, then I could concentrate on what I like to play live. I thought, I really enjoy playing rock 'n' roll, and I like blues-based rock 'n' roll. Let's base the album on that."

Creating an entirely instrumental blues-rock opus without reminding listeners of The London Symphony Orchestra Plays Classic Jethro Tull was a challenge that Jones took seriously. Layering Zooma's hard grooves with a painstaking mix of electronic effects and bass lap steel, Jones achieves a mixture that's both dense and intricate. And given the inherently noncommercial nature of his current project, he isn't expecting any Top 40 singles--or Puffy collaborations--anytime soon.

"It's instrumental and therefore most radio doesn't really want to know about it," Jones says, chuckling. "That's fine with me. It gives me a freedom. I don't have to compete with Aerosmith." The arena veteran also finds the idea of performing in Cabooze-sized clubs alluring. "When you play a stadium, you can't see anybody," he explains. "You know they're out there, but they're so far away. The sorts of places I want to play are the smaller places, where I can see the audience and get a vibe out of them. I don't want to go back to stadiums. I've done all that. It's simply not that sort of music."

While few former Rock Gods are willing to forgo the commercial benefits of nostalgia, Jones remains tenacious about one thing: He has no interest in recreating the Led Zeppelin experience--"or redoing anything," he adds. "The reason why I went in with Led Zeppelin in the first place was to get out of doing sessions forever. I really need change: mentally, physically, every way. So I've always tried to keep out of ruts. I just didn't want to start another Led Zeppelin-type of band or move back into that whole scene once Led Zeppelin had finished. And I do have all these other musical interests, so I like to pursue them. It keeps me alive."