Hendrix

[anniv 63]

As Pink Floyd once said , Careful With That AXE Eugene!!!
And for every Custom Shop Hendrix Relic Strat a free can of Ronson Lighter Fuel!!!
I shudder at these You Tube practical tips using lighter fuel or any other toxic agents to clean your pride and joy instruments body!!!

Mike

[iefje]

To me, Hendrix was a master with the guitar. Whether you like his style or not, he was in many ways innovative, progressive and ahead of his time. For instance, his Woodstock performance was (to me) immensely powerful. Not just his aggressive style of guitar playing and the ultra-high volume of the sound from his amplifiers, but also his messages towards the Vietnam war, which was at its height at the time. His rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" was described by conservative Americans as 'unorthodox', but I think he made it absolute clear with his strident/distorted arrangement of the American anthem that he protested against that horrific war.

[tolo]

...one thing is for sure. He was a better guitarist than vocalist...

[Twang46]

Hendrix for me was a great innovator as well as guitarist

One of his "party tricks" was to pick up a guitar (or bass) & play it left and or right handed..............try it sometime if you think it's easy

His live performances were his forte & those who missed him live (As the experience) missed out on something special......................... if you were lucky enough to be in the NE when Chas first brought him over & caught one of those gigs.......truly a life changing experience (when your ears stopped ringing for long enough to think again)

Certainly not to everyone's taste but during his time a very important part of the music world & and an enduring legacy to rock

Dick.

[Uncleboko]

I was at that gig at a London college when Hendrix sat in with Cream - 3/6d to get in if I remember! Amazing player.

[GoldenStreet]

hank is reputed to have written "Throw down a line" with Hendrix in mind . I wonder if there is a demo somewhere?

Apparently, the song was rejected by Hendrix (or Chas Chandler?), so it is probably unlikely it got that far. It was, however, picked up by Mickie Most and recorded by Jeff Beck (with vocal by Rod Stewart) during the 1969 Jeff Beck Group "Beck-Ola" album sessions. Originally unissued, it eventually saw the light of day on the 2006 reissue, as one of several bonus tracks.

Bill

[humdrum]

Re the Hendrix debate....I had the temerity to say that I thought Hank Marvin was a better player than Hendrix on "the strat forum"website (under my username for that site Shadoogie) & was immediately branded a troll. The discussion is still on there for anyone interested under the heading "Win Jimi's guitar"......Yours/Humdrum/Shadoogie.

[ash]

Personally i think Jimi was brilliant. Those first 3 Experience albums and the non-lp singles are essential. There are dozens of fantastic live performances "out there" too. Comparing Jimi and Hank is a waste of time. They both played a Strat and that's about it. Jimi didn't wear glasses.
They both bought something new and exciting to guitar playing and continue to be influential. It's not fair to blame Jimi for the wave of crap twiddly speed merchants that followed anymore than it is fair to blame John Coltrane for every sax player riffing endlessly through scales in the name of jazz.
Hendrix was a very good composer, heavily influenced by Dylan. Vocally he's not great but more tuneful than his royal Bobness. He's not just a noise merchant guitar-wise. Castles Made Of Sand, One Rainy Wish spring to mind and side 3 of Electric Ladyland is a masterful sound painting. He's also pretty mean on an acoustic guitar (seek and ye shall find). Third Stone From The Sun is quite Wes Montgomery-influenced.
He did get trapped by the early "tricks" but he knew that and was frustrated by it. He didn't actually burn and smash guitars that often, it's been blown out of proportion. Sometimes he did just hammer on/off instead of playing with his teeth, sometimes he really did play with his teeth - so what.
His complete performance at Monterey is a masterclass of electric guitar playing. I wish i could have been there.
Some performances of Machine Gun are as powerful a statement as Alabama by John Coltrane if more confrontational and a bit louder !
He's admired by people such as Peter Green, Jeff Beck etc. who all also deeply admire Hank.
I would however argue that lack of discipline (studio-wise) exacerbated by the lack of input from Chas Chandler meant that he spent most of 1969 and 1970 recording rather repetitive, similar sounding tracks that weren't of the same standard recorded from 1966 to 1968. At least he was trying to move forward and significantly alter his style which i often feel Hank and The Shads completely gave up doing far too early in their career's.
I could have waffled on less...bottom line - Hank is brilliant, Jimi is brilliant and i wish i could play half as well as either of them. We should be really grateful for the awesome music they made. We are very lucky.

[ash]

PS.
whether you entirely agree with the content and marketing style (which i do not), at least he continues to be the subject of some fairly thrilling archive releases. That's something Hank and the boys could learn from if they don't want to be forgotten which they are in danger of.

[Fenderman]

I wouldn't say the Shads are in danger of being 'forgotten' about (at least not yet!).