When I listen to the recordings of Nic Jones — a handful of albums released in the ’70s and 1980 along with two rarities and outtake CDs that his wife compiled more recently — my heart breaks. For starters, the British folk music in his repertoire is just plain beautiful. Secondarily, here is a musician who had incredible guitar dexterity and a timeless voice, someone who created stellar albums that have stood the test of time like few others. And, despite all that talent, Jones — the victim of a car accident nearly 30 years ago that permanently damaged his motor skills — cannot play anymore.
It’s a story as tragic as many of the classic folk ballads he perfected.
I’ve been an unabashed fan of Jones for a long while. In one of our first issues, I wrote about him in the Fretboard Journal and gave a roundup of the CDs of his music that are still in-print (sadly, even now some of his best albums are still out-of-print). I then tried for years to find someone who could interview Jones for us. We finally got one and the story is in our most recent issue thanks to the UK’s David Walters.
If there is any justice in the world, Jones will receive the attention that fellow icons such as Bert Jansch and Michael Chapman have recently received. I’d love to see those early solo albums reissued finally, too. Because he can no longer go out and perform, which undoubtedly limits his audience, that may be wishful thinking.
But there is hope. His wife has done excellent work on the rarities CDs. Nic has joined Twitter. And on Friday, May 28, 2011, he returned to the stage in London to perform “Ten Thousand Miles” with his son, Joe, on guitar.
The night was a tribute to the performer entitled “In Search of Nic Jones.” And by all accounts, it was a beautiful evening of music. From what I hear, Jones sang another, unlikely tune, after this one: Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” (apparently one of his favorites). I’ve read that the night was being professionally filmed and I look forward to seeing the footage when it’s unveiled.
There are scores of great musicians out there still roaming the earth who, for one reason or another, had their careers cut short. Jones is just one example, a personal favorite. But he’s a guitarist that I think any acoustic music lover should check out. If you told me ten years ago (before I heard Jones) that an ancient whaler’s tune could make me cry, I would have laughed in your face and asked you where you keep your kilts. But such is the power of music performed and interpreted well… it can change attitudes. There’s something about Jones and his Fylde guitar, those interesting tunings and that voice that just wins me over every time.
