I will never forget Jimmy's "Fire" blaring from a pair of ARs placed in the third floor windows of our dorm...the guitar licks echoing across campus and and drifting over the battle fields on an Indian Summer night in 1969 at Gettysburg.
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Sooo, OneMug, I'm bettin' you have a pretty nice Mermen collection? In case you didn't know, their stuff is all over the Archive... http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=Mermen%20AND%20mediatype%3Aetree%20AND%20collection%3Aetree -RW- |
i have always had trouble understanding hendrix as a "guitarist". i've heard a hundred guys who can play (way) better than he could. but as someone who could make his musical imagination come directly to life, free of the limitations of technique or electronic machinery, straight out of his upside-down fender strat (he didn't even bother to get a left-handed model)- there's only a handful of musicians that can dream and play great at the same time. and what a wondrous set of dreamscapes he possessed. it's too bad he couldn't find a set of guys to groove with down the road as he became more and more disallusioned with "just" playing rock and roll. not that R&R is not great music, but imagine Jimi hooking up with groups doing experimental material, like Henry Cow, Soft Machine, Hatfield, etc. Or perhaps he needed to work relatively alone in an electronic studio like Frank Zappa to continue to unravel his Opus. either way, in one documentary on his career, his exceptional talent and fiery performances were so great, that he literally made guitarists like Clapton and Townsend quite "nervous" having to appear on the same stage after he was through playing. |
Interestingly, I mentioned The Jimi Hendrix Experience in the "Best short lived bands" thread and almost nobody second'd the motion. However, some folks did mention Four Non-Blonds, Spinal Tap and The Knack. Go figure...... I can't think of another artist that had so much influence given so little time.... Enjoy, TIC |
Still have my original LP of "Are You Experienced," and my concert stub from November 24, 1968 at Miami Beach Convention Hall. Also have the Rolling Stone Hendrix memorial issue October 15, 1970, and a poster from his appearance at the pop festival at Gulfstream Park in May, 1968. Jimi was the greatest. There was no other like him. My sister actually saw him when he opened for the Monkees on tour after Monterey Pop. |
Saw him twice. Even still have a ticket stub. Dallas Civic. $4.00 Balcony. Sunday April 20, 1969 3:00 PM (check the time out!), section 7, row 0, seat 7 (like anyone was sitting). Had to have the Dallas police help us find car after, 68 Mustang.... And yes, he was very very good. And The Wind Cries Mary :-( |
Ah Jimi, why'd you have to leave us so soon. True story: Years ago my Brother-in-law asked if I would make him a tape from all the surf albums I had. (Don't ask). In a moment of creativity I decided to tape the intro to "Third Stone from the Sun" up to the point where Jimi says "and you'll never hear surf music again" paused and then did the rest of it with all the surf music. Sent it to him. Weeks later asked him how he liked it. He said, "yeah great but WTF was all that stuff at the beginning?" I don't think he got Jimi. Thanks for the reminder. |
