 | Future Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones recorded this lifeless version of "Baja" in 1964. It's historically interesting for a couple of reasons beyond just the Zep connection. It is also a clear illustration of how misunderstood surf was in the UK in the sixties. The backdrop of the Shadows and the small combo sound of the UK, both wonderful in their own rite, were completely at odds with the whole concept of surf. Unlike Australia, the genre was lost in translation, and the major label influence on the arrangement was the final straw. Listening to this reminds me of the early experiments the CIA conducted in machine translation between Russian and English. The test phrase "the flesh is weak, but the spirit is strong" kept coming back "the meat is rotten, but the vodka is good!" |