Another Guitarist Down

Goodness - two musical obituaries in two days - this one perhaps even more obscure than the last, but a good deal more central to my particular musical life. I see on Alicublog that Pere Ubu's Jim Jones has died. I doubt that the true depths of my devotion to Pere Ubu has come through on this blog: but they are, and have been, one of my favorites, since I first discovered them in the mid-80s. Jones was part of the Cleveland scene in the 70s, turning up on a great many records, and he joined Pere Ubu proper when David Thomas put them back together in the late 80s, and stayed throughout the 90s, until his health forced him to retire. Of all the Pere Ubu guitarists through the years, he's probably the least distinctive - of course Laughner and Herman and Thompson were about as distinctive as punk (and post and pre punk) guitarists got.... But Jones' stay was a pretty impressive run for the band. Not up to their first pass through (but what is? who was better in the late 70s?), but they still produced - what, three? great records (Tenement Year, Worlds in Collision, Raygun Suitcase), and 2 other excellent records, plus a great live record (Apocalypse Now) - they're on the shortlist of the best bands of the 90s, as well as the 70s... Jones' virtues are probably summed up in the solo on Memphis I mentioned a couple weeks ago - a basic, uncluttered, snarling riff that makes the song. He did that consistently, playing just what made the songs... I don't know how much of their less experimental and abrasive sound from that period was his doing, but it's good music, sometimes great, and he served it well.