John Paul Jones contribution mislabeled on Robyn Hitchcock album

An update on a story published here back in March.

And I don't mind saying, I was right.


Propellor Time, the new album from Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3, was released on March 22 on the British label Sartorial Records, featuring guest performances from John Paul Jones that were recorded during six-day sessions back in 2006.

By the time the album was released, there was no official word released publicly as to which songs Jones played on -- or what instrument he was playing, out of the many instruments he commands.

Hearing only the sound clips offered online at that time, I guessed that Jones was the source of the mandolin that could be heard on two of the tracks, "Luckiness" and "Born on the Wind."

Not so, I was told. Three days after the album release, label boss and musician Terry Edwards wrote to tell me Jones plays mandolin on "Luckiness" and "Evolove." Well, I guessed the right number of tracks, I guessed the correct instrument, and I was right on one of the two songs. I made my correction and was satisfied.

Until a copy of Propellor Time arrived in the mail. Even though the liner notes even identify John Paul Jones as playing mandolin on tracks 3 and 10, which corresponded to the tracks Terry had indicated, I knew it had to be a mistake. There was no mandolin to be heard on "Evolove." Moreover, there was mandolin on "Born on the Wind" but nobody taking credit for it in the liner notes.

I brought the discrepancy up to Terry Edwards, and the label boss replied with embarrassment. He wrote me on April 14 and didn't have a definitive answer yet. He wrote:

"Sorry it's taken a while to get back to you. Robyn's away on tour & I've not been able to ask him about JPJ's involvement - but it sounds to me as if you're right. And we spent SO much time on getting the credits right on the album... I'll report back when I know more."

Today, he sent me his definitive answer.

Hi Steve,

Can't remember if I got back to you re John Paul Jones' contributions on Propellor Time. You're right, of course - he's on the penultimate track, not Evolove. The last two tracks got flipped and the playing credit for JPJ was overlooked. Human error, eh?

All the best, Terry

So, despite how the CD's liner notes read, John Paul Jones plays mandolin on tracks 3, "Luckiness," and 9, "Born on the Wind." Just as I thought! Thanks so much to Terry for following up on this and setting the record straight.

Another thing: Wouldn't that make this pressing of Propellor Time a collector's item? I quickly wrote Terry back asking him if he ought to market it as such. He said they've already gone into re-pressings of the CD and vinyl, with the error intact.

However, rarity seekers need not despair. Terry alerted me to a limited-edition release of this 2010 album on cassette tape (remember those?) that he says is so far the only edition of Propellor Time to have been released with an updated version of the liner notes, correctly identifying the two tracks that feature John Paul Jones. That sounds like an obscurity to me!

It's a limited run of 100 on clear plastic cassettes. They are signed and numbered by Robyn Hitchcock. Each order of this tangible item also comes with a free download of the album (so that you can actually listen to it using modern technology). The tape is available exclusively through the Sartorial Records online shop.

John Paul Jones guests on Robyn Hitchcock album released today

John Paul Jones is a special guest on the new Robyn Hitchcock album released today in the United Kingdom. The album is called Propellor Time, credited to Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3, and appears on Sartorial Records.

A news release about the album says the music was recorded during six-day sessions back in 2006.

Artist management for Jones could not confirm exactly which tracks he played on, nor what instrument or instruments he played.


From what I would guess listening to it, Jones may have played mandolin on two of the songs, "Luckiness" and "Born on the Wind." I would love to receive confirmation of this! Update, May 29: I was right, and the CD's printed liner notes happen to be wrong: full story here.

The album can be downloaded in MP3 and FLAC (high-definition) formats from Hitchcock's official store, which also has compact discs and vinyl available for purchase. Update, March 25: Purchases in Europe and the United Kingdom can be made online here.

Led Zeppelin's music featured at MerleFest

While Led Zeppelin didn't make an appearance at MerleFest 2008 (was anybody predicting this?), the group's music did. The Waybacks chose to perform Led Zeppelin II in its entirety for the Hillside Album Hour on Saturday afternoon. Here are some clips from that performance:

John Paul Jones has been semi-regular at the annual MerleFest in North Carolina over the past five years. He first attended in 2004 when he was taking mandolin lessons from Chris Thile. He returned the following year, performing together as members of Mutual Admiration Society. In 2007, Jones performed again at MerleFest, sitting in with Uncle Earl, the Sam Bush Band, Donna the Buffalo and the Duhks.

This year, Jones was assumedly overseas, readying for an onstage performance April 30 with Robyn Hitchcock at Bergenfest in Norway.

John Paul Jones returns to London stage for R.E.M. concert

Uncut reports today that John Paul Jones performed onstage at the Royal Albert Hall in London last night, along with Robyn Hitchcock.

The concert, billed as R.E.M. and Friends, saw the premier London performance of tracks from R.E.M.'s new album, Accelerate.

Onstage, R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck noted the presence of Jones, who provided string arrangements for several songs on the group's successful 1994 album, Automatic for the People.

Uncut reports that Buck said he had been debating with Jones backstage over what year Led Zeppelin performed at the Royal Albert Hall. Buck said 1969, whereas Jones said 1970. Buck claimed to have a bootleg of the show, so he said he was sure.

Actually, they're both right.

• A June/July 1969 concert series at the Royal Albert Hall billed as the Pop Proms included a June 29 performance from Led Zeppelin.
• But the group's more famous and widely bootlegged Royal Albert Hall performance took place on Jan. 9, 1970; much of that set was officially released on DVD in 2003, with edited versions of two live cuts from the show having been officially released back in 1982 on Coda.

Jones and Hitchcock are scheduled to perform together again at Bergenfest in Norway on April 30.

John Paul Jones' busy year

John Paul Jones has had an active year. Having produced the album Waterloo, Tennessee for Uncle Earl, he began the year with several appearances with the group. In London, he appeared on BBC Radio 2's "Bob Harris Country" show alongside Uncle Earl and accompanied them onstage on Jan. 27 at their premiere London performance. Jones and his wife, Mo, allowed them to stay at their home while they were in town. The "g'Earls" were also able to meet all three daughters of Mo and John Paul Jones.

Waterloo, Tennessee was released March 13 while the group was in the middle of a U.S. tour. Jones flew from London to New York to join Uncle Earl onstage on March 14. They caught up again at the end of the following month at the Merlefest bluegrass festival in Wilkesboro, N.C. Throughout the four-day festival held April 26-29, Jones sat in with several acts: Uncle Earl, the Duhks (Video of their "Whole Lotta Love" cover on April 28 can be seen here and here, and audio of the entire set can be purchased here), Donna the Buffalo and the John Cowan Band. Audio of a four-song set he played on April 28 with Uncle Earl's Rayna Gellert can be found online here.

Jones' first billed appearance of the year was in June at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn. There, his name was included as part of the scheduled SuperJam alongside solo star Ben Harper and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots. Jones commented in a videotaped interview a few hours before going onstage for the SuperJam that he had not yet met either performer – much less discussed what material they would play or rehearsed anything. It was truly to be an impromptu jam session. In the meantime, however, Bonnaroo held plenty of other activity for Jones, including two sets on the afternoon of June 15. He sat in with Uncle Earl during their 12:30 p.m. spot and with Gillian Welch during her 3:45 p.m. spot (A 10-minute video can be seen here).
Jones then played Bonnaroo's SuperJam set beginning at midnight. As Uncle Earl explained in a newsletter in July:

Well, the truth is, if we went to festivals like Bonnaroo every weekend, we just might be in danger of trying to be actual rock stars. We saw The Police, and Sting took off his shirt at the end of their set. But even better, we got to see our dear John Paul Jones there in his truly native element, rocking out in a midnight "superjam" with Questlove and Ben Harper. The crowd went wild. John took a full ten minutes to walk across the stage and pick up his bass, and he needed that much time for the applause to chill out enough so the band could play music. It was intense and very humbling. To think we had been playing Cluck Old Hen with the man just hours before!!

A one-minute video capturing the beginning of "Good Times Bad Times" can be seen here, although a much better-sounding clip contains the middle of the song including a fine guitar solo from Harper. Michael Ward joined on bass to allow Jones to play lap steel for "When the Levee Breaks," video of which can be seen here. Ten minutes toward the end of "Dazed and Confused" can be seen here while another source captures it all in parts one and two. Ben Harper was interviewed afterward, commenting that he was "dazed and confused" to find himself playing onstage with Jones.

For good measure, Jones also sat in at Bonnaroo with Gov't Mule the following night for the tail end of a set that ended up heavy on Led Zeppelin numbers. (Videos show their set list as including "Moby Dick" riffs at the end of a drum solo before settling into "Livin' Lovin' Maid (She's Just a Woman)" – which can be seen both here and here – followed by "Since I've Been Loving You" and, finally, "No Quarter" – the beginning of this song is here, and more toward the end is here.)

During the week that overlapped July and August, Jones made no less than three concert appearances with Robyn Hitchcock and his band, which also includes Peter Buck of R.E.M. The first two took place in Italy on Monday, July 30 (footage of this show can be seen here and also here), and Wednesday, Aug. 1. The third was at the Down on the Farm festival in Halden, Norway, where – in addition to the Campfire Stage set with Robyn Hitchcock – Jones also played a set on the Main Stage with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

This busy year of jamming continues next week as Jones is set to perform again with Robyn Hitchcock on Sept. 14 at the End of the Road festival in Dorset, England.