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His true legacy consists of four albums (including 'Band of Gypsys'), a greatest hits compilation, a string of singles and not to forget a part in the 'Woodstock' album and film, the former of the two making me a fan somewhere in 1972 is my best guess. My real introduction to things Jimi Hendrix was the video of 'Voodoo Child', the single that was released posthumously and climbed the charts late in 1970, his biggest hit in The Netherlands. Somewhere in 1973 I got the compilation album 'Pop History. Vol 2', a series the label Polydor released around its best artists. By then I must have known at least most the singles, I realise, as I was disappointed that most were not on the double album. Instead there were long tracks on it like 'Who Knows', a long 'Voodoo Chile' mix and all sorts of other psychedelic outings from 'Electric Ladyland' that were far beyond the comprehension of my young adolescent brain. Sides 1 and 4 were my favourites I recall.
I haven't played 'Pop History' for ages, having bought all the regular albums and some of the stuff released later, especially since the Hendrix estate took over, but stopped at some time any way. Enough is enough. Basically after the great box set released around the year 2000. There's only one album left I want to buy, 'Hendrix In The West', but I never run into it.
So Jimi died on this day 50 years ago. His name lives on, as does his music and his influence on guitar players. We will never know what he would have released had he lived nor whether he already was on the top of his game or just starting.
What I offer here is in line with a new series I started, to take a look at his single releases in The Netherlands and give my view on them, in honour to a master guitarist, at times great singer but most of all a powerful performer that I never got see live.
Hey Joe (1966)
Hendrix had toured the U.S. behind several artists as backing guitarist for a few years, before former The Animals bassist Chas Chandler invited him to come over to London to form a band around him. Together with guitarist turned bass player Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell he formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience and started to play live in London, scaring the wits out of Eric Clapton and Pete Townsend, who only had a good nights rest after Jimi's demise as he has once said, probably only half in jest. In short a phenomenon on guitar had entered the U.K. pop and rock scene.
Late in autumn of 1966 the trio's first single was released, a cover of a U.S. folk song taken on in the Hendrix style. It grabbed the attention of many, becoming a hit in many countries. It never got into the top 10 here, like most of Jimi's singles, but is obviously THE single and his most famous song. Where many songs of the below are more or less forgotten.
Whatever he borrowed from other interpreters of the song, is irrelevant. This rendition is so strong and well played that it foregoes any discussion. All the lead and support lines he plays, the little screams of his guitar, they all show the desperation of Joe, who has no option left but to go to Mexico. The loose way of drumming is in the style of that other trio unleashed in London around the same time: Cream's Ginger Baker. All in all there's so much going on in the song, it's more or less incredible for a first single. This was not a one hour haste job first single but well thought out planned, rehearsed and recorded.
The singing is perhaps not the best but convincing enough and the background oohs and aahs totally supportive and adding (something angelic) to the song.
Hey Joe has put the spotlight on Jimi Hendrix and has not gone away right up to this day.
I got to know Purple Haze, to the best of my knowledge through the Taiwan copy triple LP 'Woodstock' soundtrack album, a father of a friend brought home with him from sea. Listening now to the original, with its horrible stereo mix, it is a miracle the song got to number 14 at the time. The song is rough, loud, out there psychedelic and primarily of course absolutely exciting. The central riff is a staple of rock. It is a shame the recording is so unclear as there are some beautiful little details, like the few cymbal sounds Mitchell produces, coming out of the melee like a fog horn in the mist. Hendrix isn't the best of singers here, as he has to strain himself to get to the notes and the power the song needs. Having said all that, Purple Haze is one of the most exciting psychedelic rock songs the era produced. A killer rock song and a certified hit for decades to come.
The Experience's third hit is a totally different beast. A psychedelic ballad with a few rock and jazz elements. Hendrix shows that his voice is ideal for ballads. The delicateness the song needs comes from his mouth with ease. His talent shows in the way he crafts his guitar solo. It is so to the point and yet adorned with beautiful notes. The rhythm guitar also holds several beautiful moments, effective runs and these fast fills. It makes The Wind Cries Mary stands out now, just like it did at the moment I got to know the song, somewhere in the seventies. There simply aren't that many songs like it. It was the band's first top 10 hit, reaching number 7 but also disappearing out of the charts fairly fast. I like it alright.
Somewhere in the mid 70s my cousin decided to give me a couple of singles she already had on LP. The result is that I have 'Hey Joe' and The Wind Cries Mary in my collection. The only other one I ever found second hand is 'Voodoo Child'. The single next up, also, but I couldn't afford that amount of money as a student.
It may even be in the 1980s that I heard this song for the first time. Maybe later even, with the release of the "Radio One' cd or when I finally got around to buying 'Electric Ladyland'. I honestly do not know any more. Fact is that I liked the song immediately. The intro is simply so special as are several other parts. Again a psychedelic song that is very far out there but still managed to get a, albeit low, chart position. Again you can hear Hendrix straining his voice, shouting almost. It does make me think what would have happened had the band added a truly good singer. It would have taken most of the magic of Hendrix as performer away, so it would not have worked as well, I must conclude.
The addition of the keyboard, played by Hendrix after being shown each single note and chord in advance, gives the song a special vibe, that makes the song stand out between all the other singles. As does the wah wah guitar, a new little effect that Jimi immediately embraced and used.
I may have gotten late to the single, the song is excellent and a hit that deserved its spot in the charts.
The final single of 1967 and for close to a year, is one of the singles on the 'Pop History' double album. This is a song that I do wonder whether it should have been a single. On the other hand it is driven forward by a strong, elementary riff. The crying guitar underscores the heat Jimi is in while seeing the foxy lady. The harmony "foxy" gives the song a little mystery, just like all the harmonies in the singles do when present. It is a minor feature but they do set Hendrix singles apart in general. In Foxy Lady it is one of the distinctive features with the loud guitar work. Foxy Lady is a song without comprise, a precursor to heavy metal and 'Born To Be Wild'. As a final comment, vocals, lyrics and music are totally aligned and that is why the song does work.
The only single of 1968 is another cover. Hendrix had made Bob Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower' his own shortly after the release of Dylan's first comeback album, shocking the world once again, with the change 'John Wesley Harding' presented from his 1965 - 1966 work. Jimi Hendrix knew a good song when he heard one and presented the world its final version, as a single and on 'Electric Ladyland'.
Psychedelia may slowly have been on its way out late in 1968, Jimi returned to form with a great track, reaching number 10 in the fall. The studio plays a large role in this track and all sort of new effects that could be used. Gone is also the bad stereo mixing. Jimi's grandeur obviously allowed him to use the best of the best and it has paid off here. All Along The Watchtower in essence is still recognisable as Bob Dylan's song. It is what Hendrix and band did all over it. Layer upon layer of guitars are stacked on top and along side each other, creating a stack of sound so varied and rich that I am close to having not enough ears to keep up. Hendrix always loved to experiment with sound and overdubs but here could live up to his abilities, while having become a better singer as well. This song is still on the radio every once in a while and that is a deserved position as it is a tremendously rich cover version and great single.
I must have heard this song at the time but do not have a clear recollection (as goes for the precious single). The song was re-released in 1990 because of a much shown add on TV. (The famous denim commercials? I can't remember.) It didn't chart, just like it almost didn't in the winter of 1969. With the passing of time it has become one of my favourite Hendrix tracks. Just listen to the way it starts. Confusing, loud, weird and then that intro kicks in, cheerful, fun, different. Ultra short, 2"19 and that is it. Crosstown Traffic is like the streets on Manhattan crossing the island. Much shorter, keeping up the north - south traffic, just like all the stops and starts reflect in the song. At the same time it is so incredibly joyful and exuberant. It sits totally apart from what the band does in all its other songs. The dynamics are so much different, there's a piano running into the song, the little instrumental bridge announcing the end, is a great find. Crosstown Traffic is the kind of song that makes me bounce and laugh.
The single edit of 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)' was released after Hendrix had died to push something out. Ever since recording 'Electric Ladyland' Hendrix had spent an enormous amount of time in the studio, building his own along way, "Electric Ladyland" in NYC. Where excitement is concerned, this is the single of singles, except that I do not have a clue any more what the single edit sounds like, knowing, first, the mix of the song made for side one of the 'Pop History Vol. 2' and then the two version on 'Electric Ladyland'. The single is tucked away safely among the hundreds and hundreds of other singles in my collection.
Voodoo Child is one of the most exciting songs I know. The intro is exceptionally great. The wah wah underscoring the sound of just these few notes that are played before Hendrix really takes off on his guitar. An elementary blues based song, shows all a great artist can do with just a few chords. A great melody, a great song and numerous guitar solos flying all over the song. The bass that keeps pumping its riff, while the drummer can almost do what he wants. Hendrix who varies his vocal melodies, making it sound like a different song, were it not that his guitar keeps up the central riff (with a thousand little variations). Realising that Voodoo Child would never have been a single if Hendrix hadn't died, I should almost be grateful he died. But I'm not. It remains a shame. For the record, it reached #4 in the charts.
What would he have released if he had lived? It will remain a mystery. 'The Cry Of Love' was released, in a hurry I suppose to have something on the market capitalising on his death. I for one have never really liked the album nor the new titled one in the 90s. The songs for the most part are just not of the quality the world had gotten used to and let me include 'Band Of Gypsys' here, as that is a great, great live album, filled with original songs that really rock. My theory is underscored by the double a-side single that, like several other Hendrix singles barely, charted over here.
Angel is a beautiful song. I'll grant you that, but let's face it, we already have 'Little Wing' and this is another 'Little Wing'. I am willing to set aside that inhibition and allow for the fact that Angel does have a beautiful chorus, while there is an arrangement showing great care has gone into the song. And still I have the feeling that the song is not where Hendrix wanted to take it yet. That it was never truly finished. What it does show is the growth Jimi Hendrix made as a singer. Something I haven't mentioned in the last few singles but is a fact. Who gave him singing lessons between the first album and 'Electric Ladyland'? Or was it just confidence?
Freedom is a rocker but also of the kind we had already heard better. What may have happened in my opinion, had Jimi lived, he might have tossed most of the songs on 'The Cry Of Love' into the bin and start all over again. Providing that he had found focus again and the urge to release new material. Freedom is not more than nice and has nothing of the urgency we read about in the above. Nice solo, once again, a little like the Allman Brothers were getting into around the time. But nothing stellar, exceptional. Listening to the album right now as Spotify continues always, I can say that of course having this album is better than nothing at all, but I maintain that the touch of brilliance is missing in all songs. The sparkle, the exceptionalism, the inspiration. That's my verdict.
(Only) two singles released by The Jimi Hendrix Experience or Hendrix solo did not chart: 'Let Me Light Your Fire' and 'Gypsy Eyes'. The first one did not ring a bell, but turns out to be 'Fire' from the 'Are You Experienced?' album with a new title.
Finally, let's not just commemorate Jimi Hendrix but also those who made his breakthrough possible as well:
Noel Redding (1945 - 2003)
Mitch Mitchell (1947 - 2008)
Chas Chandler (1938 - 1996)
Eddie Kramer (1942)
Billy Cox (1941)
It's sad to conclude that, to the best of my knowledge, The Jimi Hendrix Experience was the first rock band of which all its original members have expired, including its first manager cum producer.
To finalise here's my personal top 5.
1. Voodoo Child
2. All Along The Watchtower
3. Crosstown Traffic
4. Hey Joe
5. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp
Wo.
Listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:
https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g
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