Week 12: THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE (420 to 30: A Music Retrospective)
One of history's greatest pioneers and players of the guitar, Jimi Hendrix died too young! He went largely unnoticed in the United States until hopping over to the UK and forming "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, becoming the international star he remains today. Their time together as a group was brief, breaking up even before Jimi's untimely death, but their three albums are rich and loaded with awesome psychedelic rock.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Here's 7 of my favorites from The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Week 12: THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE
#078/420 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Fire”
(no YouTube link available at the time of posting)
Oh, if Jimi were alive today. I think he’d even have Dylan and Prince beat in terms of output. But he only made it to 27. And he struggled to even get popular in the first place. Nonetheless, he remains one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. And the way he experimented with music in general remains admirable and in a class of its own even today.
One of my earliest favorites from The Jimi Hendrix Experience is this song. I have only one burning desire, let me stand next to your… Fire.
What a great band.
And by the way, you'd think who is perhaps the greatest American guitarist ever would have released his albums in America first, but no we chased him away to England so take heed you ungrateful bastards, this is what we lose to ambivalence! Jimi Hendrix!
(The overly psychedelic US album cover is definitely better than this weird UK one though...)
#079/420 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “One Rainy Wish”
(no YouTube link available at the time of posting)
“Golden rose, the color of the dream I had
Not too long ago
A misty blue and the lilac too
A never to grow old.”
Axis: Bold as Love probably features the least recognizable line-up of Hendrix music of the three JHE albums, and also has the most subdued vibe, but it’s really a fantastic centerpiece to the other two and this is my favorite of the bunch.
Lovely poetry, lovely playing, just a great, chill song. Jimi Hendrix had quite a range of power from absolutely intense to as melted into the beanbag chair of tranquility as one could be. I mean, he does get a little riled up in this song too, but the mellow comes back after a sick drumroll and you’re on a cloud again.
Even though Jimi Hendrix is considered one of the greatest of all time, I still think he is underrated. I see his face on more t-shirts than I hear his songs on the radio and yeah he had a cool afro but c’mon.
#080/420 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Are You Experienced?”
(no YouTube link available at the time of posting)
Backwards guitar? Now that’s experienced. An awesome song from The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s debut album which bears its name sans question mark. Released in 1967, it reminds me of what The Beatles were doing at the time with Sgt. Pepper’s and Magical Mystery Tour, which together remind me why 1967 is the year I’d pick if I had to pick one year in music as the greatest. (Though there are many contenders.)
If there is a Valhalla or a Fólkvangr we are headed for, I imagine this is the song that plays as we enter. Except maybe without the war? Something epic though, for sure. Some kind of great plains beyond. I want to take you where Jimi describes.
“Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful.”
(US album cover here for variation)
#081/420 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)”
(no YouTube link available at the time of posting)
1983 would never be anything but a distant dream to the short life of Jimi Hendrix, but damn it if this song isn’t one of the most epic journeys in psychedelic rock. This is the longest running time of any song in my countdown clocking in at 13 minutes and 40 seconds, but it is worthy of that claim.
At 1:50, such a good part. “Well it’s too bad — that our friends — can’t be with us today.” Man, when he screams that, “that our friends,” so good. I like to imagine that is the exact line he is yelling out on the album front cover. We are now all lowering into the underwater civilization of psychedelia that The Jimi Hendrix Experience is taking us to. The drumming is also awesome in this song with the militaristic rata-tat-tats as we drift downwards and the light, twinkling, maritime-sounding accents here and there.
Jimi wasn’t an extremely melodic singer, but when a song was written for him (by him), well, a song was written for him. And this is definitely one of those songs. What he lacked in a melodious voice, he also more than made up for as a melodious guitar player, as the center of this song more than demonstrates.
If you like psychedelic and/or progressive rock, and you’ve haven’t turned this one on before, you really must set aside the 14 minutes to do so.
It really is too bad our friends can’t be with us today, Mr. Hendrix.
#082/420 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “All Along the Watchtower”
You can’t find Bob Dylan on YouTube, you can’t find The Jimi Hendrix Experience on YouTube, but for some reason the paradox of a Jimi Hendrix Experience song that is written by Bob Dylan defies the rule and can be found on YouTube. I guess some songs are just too good for copyright protests.
It was rare on a Jimi Hendrix album for a song to not be an original, but if this is the result to that exception, I welcome the occasional anomaly. This was originally a Bob Dylan song, in fact he performed it as an encore at his concert that I witnessed in 2009, but even Dylan himself has begun to think of it as a Hendrix song over the years, saying “Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way.”
The recording also features Brian Jones, the founding member of The Rolling Stones, on some of the percussion. That’s because this was being recorded as The Jimi Hendrix Experience was crumbling as a unit on what would be their final album together, but quite a cool collaboration nonetheless and definitely one of their very best recordings.
#083/420 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Purple Haze”
I believe Jimi’s most iconic song and one of my personal favorites as well. He has his share of iconic jams, “Foxy Lady” and “Voodoo Child” immediately come to mind, but this is my favorite of the bunch to blast. It demands to be played at some volume. And who knows what untold number of rock songs were influenced and inspired by this one.
It’s also one of the great, iconic songs of psychedelic rock specifically and there are even weed strains to bear its name today. But believe me, you can definitely get stoned to any Jimi Hendrix song! It doesn’t have to be this one. There should really be a weed strain for every Jimi Hendrix song in fact. (And… I have to believe that I’m not the first person to think of that, and there probably is such a selection in some far corner of Washington state. Someone pick me up some Spanish Castle Magic please.)
I also think this is one track where each member of the Experience really shines. The drumming and bass here are perfect compliments to Jimi’s lead. A true classic.
#084/420 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Burning of the Midnight Lamp”
(no YouTube link available at the time of posting)
Hendrix’s first time with a harpsichord and his first time with the wah-wah effect as well. Brilliant. This is my favorite Jimi Hendrix song for sure. Best mix, best vocals, best backup vocals, best lyrics, best guitar, best harpsichord, the list goes on.
This is just one of those songs that really suits my personality. I am often up burning the midnight lamp alone and this song captures that mood and energy very well.
“Now the smiling portrait of you
Is still hangin' on my frowning wall
It really doesn't, really doesn't bother me too much at all
It's just the ever falling dust
That makes it so hard for me to see
That forgotten earring layin' on the floor
Facing coldly towards the door”
“Loneliness is such a… drag.” Man, ain’t that just it right there. Literally a drag. Purple Haze.
Don’t let anybody ever tell you Jimi Hendrix wasn’t the man. It's amazing what The Jimi Hendrix Experience accomplished in only about 2 years. Perhaps his drug use was both the key and the crucifix to his success and demise respectively, but burn brightly ye falling stars, and burn that midnight lamp. Hendrix lives on in his music.
Next week, 27 month continues with one of the 90s' tragic figures and his controversial death by apparent-suicide, it’s Kurt Cobain and the icons of grunge, Nirvana.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Week 2: The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
Week 3: A Tribe Called Quest
Week 4: Weezer
Week 5: Bob Dylan
Week 6: Led Zeppelin
Week 7: 2Pac/Makaveli
Week 8: Billy Joel
Week 9: Electric Light Orchestra
Week 10: Elvis Presley
Week 11: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band
View the full list of "420 Songs" here: https://tinyurl.com/y8fboudu (Google spreadsheet link)
fantastic song list ;9)
Thank you much! I am enjoying going through all of these and picking ones out to share.
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