New Zealand retro-rockers the Datsuns are working with John Paul Jones at Jacobs Studios in Surrey, England. The former Led Zeppelin bassist is producing their new album, due later this year, the follow-up to their self-titled 2002 major-label debut.

"He's a legend to all of us," says drummer Matt Datsun. "It took a little while to get over the fact that . . . 'Hey, John Paul Jones is here!'" To loosen the guys up, Jones bought them fireworks, which they set off on the British holiday Guy Fawkes Day.

Jones became a Datsuns convert after seeing them at London's Astoria. He then made a trip to New Zealand while they were working on new material. "The great thing about him is he'll make a few suggestions here and there, but he won't tell you what to do," says Datsun. "But if we get stuck, he'll come up with something good."

The group has recorded fourteen tracks, about "relationships, being on the road, and women." Working titles include "Messin' Around," "What I've Lost" and "Feelin' Alright." The bulk of the boisterous riff-laden material was written right before the band entered the studio, though a few tracks were written on the road and one even predates the previous album. "We attempted to record [the song] for the last record but we just couldn't pull it off," Datsun explains. "Now, after playing together for so long, it's really come together."

The band wants Jones to do a bit more than just produce the album. "We're hoping to coax him to actually get into the studio and play something . . . anything," says Datsun. "We'll see what happens."

ALISON M. ROSEN
(February 26, 2004)