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John Paul Jones
THE THUNDERTHIEF
(DISCIPLINE GLOBAL MOBILE)

Stars graphics

As the solo career of former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones continues, it becomes increasingly obvious that he was the linchpin in that thunder-and-lightning blues-rock ensemble. Especially in the architecture of his riffs, which — as the signatures of this disc’s "Leafy Meadows" and "Shibuya Bop" testify — were the crux of classics like "When the Levee Breaks" and "Kashmir." It’s not just that Jones is a world-class bass player blithely having his way with four-, six-, 10-, and 12-string instruments. His arrangements here run from prog-rock fury to back-country folk to Eastern melodicism, all with utter conviction. And they create a playground for other musicians, allowing guest guitarist (and label owner) Robert Fripp to spray a firestorm throughout "Leafy Meadows" — the kind of ripping, heroic soloing he abandoned in King Crimson long ago — and the rhythm section of drummer Terl Bryant and Chapman-stick player Nick Beggs to improvise. Jones’s command of steel guitar is also impressive; he builds probing lines to an explosion of digital-delay-enhanced melody in the schizo-country "Hoediddle." And he turns a mean Irish jig with his mandolin on "Freedom Song." Consider this album’s title a dare — few musicians could even attempt to steal John Paul Jones’s thunder.

BY TED DROZDOWSKI

Issue Date: May 23 - 30, 2002
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