One of the most ludicrous statements I've heard from someone who professed to be knowledgeable about rock music went something like this:
"I don't know what's so great about Jimi Hendrix. A lot of guys play guitar like him."
In a way, that may be true. But all those guys - from Frank Marino to Stevie Ray Vaughan - all came down the pike well after Jimi did his thing.
Sure, there were some electric guitar players who could pump out some hot licks before Jimi's time: Cliff Gallup and James Burton playing early rock 'n' roll, Buddy Guy and Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones with the blues, to name a few. But no one even dreamed of exploring the sonic dimensions of the instrument we now take for granted before Mr. Hendrix hit the scene.
The lasting images are of him torching his axe during the feedback-screaming outro to "Wild Thing" at Monterey, or of his radical redefinition of Francis Scott Key at Woodstock. Mix in his repertoire of seminal proto-metal tunes like "Foxy Lady" and "Purple Haze," and you have the popular conception of Jimi as pure wildman.
But check out the scene in the 1973 documentary "A Film About Jimi Hendrix" when Jimi, perched on a stool in a boutique, picks an extremely fluid version of "Hear My Train a-Comin'" on acoustic 12-string. Shorn of all his electronics, Jimi demonstrates he still has the chops, chiding the folks present during filming that they probably didn't think he could do that.
While Hendrix tops a consensus list of greatest rock guitar players, he also explored new frontiers in recording. Handling the production reins on his masterwork, the two-record "Electric Ladyland," Jimi took full advantage of the primitive technology available at the time to develop a soundscape that still sounds fresh nearly four decades later. Take a listen to the extended "1983 (A Merman I Shall Turn to Be)" into "Moon, Turn the Tides (Gently, Gently Away). And while you're at it, take another listen to his reinvention of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," rock music's greatest achievement.
Since Jimi died 35 years ago yesterday, he certainly has had plenty of players following in his footsteps. But even they will acknowledge that the followers always play second fiddle to the master.
"I don't know what's so great about Jimi Hendrix. A lot of guys play guitar like him."
In a way, that may be true. But all those guys - from Frank Marino to Stevie Ray Vaughan - all came down the pike well after Jimi did his thing.
Sure, there were some electric guitar players who could pump out some hot licks before Jimi's time: Cliff Gallup and James Burton playing early rock 'n' roll, Buddy Guy and Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones with the blues, to name a few. But no one even dreamed of exploring the sonic dimensions of the instrument we now take for granted before Mr. Hendrix hit the scene.
The lasting images are of him torching his axe during the feedback-screaming outro to "Wild Thing" at Monterey, or of his radical redefinition of Francis Scott Key at Woodstock. Mix in his repertoire of seminal proto-metal tunes like "Foxy Lady" and "Purple Haze," and you have the popular conception of Jimi as pure wildman.
But check out the scene in the 1973 documentary "A Film About Jimi Hendrix" when Jimi, perched on a stool in a boutique, picks an extremely fluid version of "Hear My Train a-Comin'" on acoustic 12-string. Shorn of all his electronics, Jimi demonstrates he still has the chops, chiding the folks present during filming that they probably didn't think he could do that.
While Hendrix tops a consensus list of greatest rock guitar players, he also explored new frontiers in recording. Handling the production reins on his masterwork, the two-record "Electric Ladyland," Jimi took full advantage of the primitive technology available at the time to develop a soundscape that still sounds fresh nearly four decades later. Take a listen to the extended "1983 (A Merman I Shall Turn to Be)" into "Moon, Turn the Tides (Gently, Gently Away). And while you're at it, take another listen to his reinvention of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," rock music's greatest achievement.
Since Jimi died 35 years ago yesterday, he certainly has had plenty of players following in his footsteps. But even they will acknowledge that the followers always play second fiddle to the master.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home