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Hendrix Overrated?


MTM105

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This may start a firestorm,but i think part of the reason is that Jimi is a black man in a predominatly white genre

Oh Lord, not the race card. News flash: Jimi wasn't black. He was sorta light brown.

It's much simpler than that. When you reach the top of anything, no one can raise you any higher. You can only be knocked down.

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Blind Lemon Jefferson

I really don't think we can fully ever grasp who we are influenced by, because we really don't know. Even if you don't know the name, and a music teacher who was influenced and taught you was influenced, or you emulate someone who was influenced on his building blocks, then you were influenced and owe that original person a debt of gratitude. Music is a chain that is being built, stretched, and handed on to the future. Who then could have dreamed of the Ipod or MP3-4's? Just as we think it the height of technology, the Ipod in 100 years will look crude as will our recording technology.

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A lot of people now have no concept of how crude equipment was to record a live anything back then.

Not only that - anyone ever try playing those '68/'69 Strats?

They're not the most "hand friendly" guitars out there.

Then....try playing it upside down.

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This may start a

firestorm,but i think part of the reason is that Jimi is a black man in a predomin-

atly white genre.

Sorry, I missed something.

Jimi's race is part of the reason for what?

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This may start a

firestorm,but i think part of the reason is that Jimi is a black man in a predomin-

atly white genre.

Sorry, I missed something.

Jimi's race is part of the reason for what?

Jimi's race is part of the reason for what?

Poor Jimi -- died in total obscurity.

Johnny Cash -- same deal (had to go to a hip/hop label to get produced because of racism).

Sarcasm off.

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A lot of us got into Van Halen first. Then we heard the live albums from Hendrix and Jimmy Page and their playing seemed sloppy. There's no denying the genius of those guys, but when you've been listening to super-clean studio shred, those live performances can seem a little underwhelming. Of course, the live albums I heard were Hendrix's Live at Winterland and Zep's The Song Remains the same - not the best stuff from either guy.

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I have always had a mystical concept of Henrix as an untouchable guitarist who superceded humanity with raw talent and vision.

After watching the Woodstock DVD, the concert footage really brought me down-to-earth; and I witnessed a guitarist who just seemed to be just an average working Joe jamming with his buddies.

The Woodstock DVD somehow ended my fascination with the whole Hendrix marketing campaign.  Kinda like finding out Rob Halford is gay.

Am I alone in this opinion?  I love listening to Jimi as much as the next guy.

I am sure this will stir up controversary, and I don't mean to offend.  You really have to watch the DVD to know what I am referring to.

Unfortunately Jimi did do his fair amount of drugs and thus he did perform consequently. his bad stuff is bad.

BUT

his good stuff is epic - stuff of which history is made.

If he had been alive IMHO he would have done some swell jazz stuff with people of the likes of Davis, for example - it would have been far out.

And if you want to diss his technique in the light of today's standards, just try to cop Little Wing.

It's a known fact that nobody can do it right, note for note, slur for slur.

JJ

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You have got to get a copy of the Band Of Gypsys Live At The Fillmore.  The problem I always had with Hendrix was with Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding.  They were just too hyperactive for my tastes.  The Band of Gypsys is non-stop heavy grooves with incredible guitar playing.  It's almost too much for me to sit and listen to the whole thing at one time.

.

.

.

I love Hendrix but prefer the studio recordings.

Mitch Mitchell was a white jazz drummer. That

meant he was banging on everything, as fast

as he could. Not exactly what I call a funky drummer.

His style is not exactly dancable or funky at all.

I find his playing very irritating at times. And personally

think that a better more stable drummer whould have

brought out more of Hendrix music.

The Band of Gypsys had Buddy Miles on drums.

I clearly prefer him as a drummer over Mitch.

I also personally think that Hendrix greatness

as an artist also involved his singing style.

His voice is as personal as his guitarplaying.

The Band of Gypsys started a form of great funk

that would be picked up by Sly Stone.

As a guitarist Hendrix was outstanding. Just as inovative

for guitar as Larry Graham was for bass, (he invented the

slap bass funk style). There has been 1000s of players

after Hendrix that where faster and had more technique,

but not many, if any, has had the same soul and feel to

their playing.

What Hendrix did can never be tought at the Musicians Institute in LA.

There are hundreds of Steve Lukathers out there, and they

will not even come close, ever.

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The first Jimi I heard was 'Foxy Lady'. I was maybe 12 and thought it was cool, but didn't really 'get it'.

Some years later, I 'got it'. THAT'S when my jaw hit the floor.

Every guitarist - no, every musician - needs a little Jimi in their hands.

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I don't view hendrix has over-rated or under-rated. I love listening to hendrix but I always wondered what could have been if he cleaned up. A while ago I was listening to the SRV box set and by the time you go into disc three you could tell when he cleaned up off the drugs coz how he played and sounded...

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There are about 5 or 6 Hendrix songs I really like and I don't like the rest of his stuff. I don't care what anyone else thinks. Little Wing is my favorite and I think it's the best thing he ever did. Great chord progression. As for the rest. If I never hear a feedback covered record called art and style again, I don't care.

And while I like the song, no one will ever persuade me that the solo in Purple Haze is "good".

He did what he did, same as everyone else. There you have it.

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There are about 5 or 6 Hendrix songs I really like and I don't like the rest of his stuff. I don't care what anyone else thinks. Little Wing is my favorite and I think it's the best thing he ever did.

I generally agree with this statement. I honesty felt that he "blew his load" with Are You Experienced?

But just to reiterate, Monterery Pop sends chiils up my spine whenever I hear Like A Rolling Stone and Wild Thing. It is vintage Hendrix and an entire generation caught onto that vibe.

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He did what he did, same as everyone else. There you have it.

Or, one could say, "He did what he did, BEFORE everyone else."

That's more-or-less the point.

And others did unique and unrelated things both before and after him. Regardless we all do "something" if it gets noticed or not.

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Everybody has a bad night, Even Hendrix, plus the fact that he was on acid most of the time...My Uncle saw him in Oklahoma City back in 69 or 70, he told me that Hendrix played for about 20 minutes, that there was a loud annoying buzz, and Hendrix was getting more and more pissed everytime he heard it, finally he thew his strat on the ground and said "fuck it" into the mic and left.

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OK, here's a different perspective. I understand and respect exactly who Hendrix was and what he did and that he was a revolutionary in the contexts of guitar playing and music in general.

Having said that, his stuff just doesn't "get me there". Yes, I am a self-ackowledged weirdo and I just got something off my chest I have been holding in for years. Hendrix was, I guess, really all this that and the other, but his stuff just doesn't move me.

Now when I picked up that first VanHalen album in early 1978, before they really started catching on, I nearly soiled my pants. Eddie has lost his edge, but DAMN. He was the next revolutionary after Jimi and I "got" his stuff.

RIP, Jimi. I hope you enjoy seeing the fruits of what you started ~40 years ago!

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Can anyone on this board honestly say that they were not influenced by Hendrix.

Tons of people can, myself included. It's unlikely that anyone who's around my age would have Jimi as a primary influence. Instead, it would be guys like Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Ynqwie Malmsteen, etc... That's not to say that I can't appreciate Jimi's music and what he meant to guitar players in general (whether or not they know it).

-Austin

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Tons of people can, myself included. It's unlikely that anyone who's around my age would have Jimi as a primary influence. Instead, it would be guys like Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Ynqwie Malmsteen, etc... That's not to say that I can't appreciate Jimi's music and what he meant to guitar players in general (whether or not they know it).

-Austin

Are you claiming to have been influenced by guys like Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Ynqwie Malmsteen, but not by Jimi?

I don't see how that could be possible, seeing as he was one of their primary influences.

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Can anyone on this board honestly say that they were not influenced by Hendrix.

I'm 33 and can honestly say that Hendrix did not influence me directly.

My first influences were 80s alternative bands and players. Robert Smith/The Cure, Johnny Marr/The Smiths/TheThe, Joey Santiago/pixies, and Peter Buck/REM, etc.. So, Hendrix was never in my radar scope. If the players who influence me then and now, were Fans of Hendrix, I don't hear it..

That being said, I own Jimi Hendrix:Blues, which I spin from time to time, but it's not in the forefront of what CD I'm going to take to work with me...

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Other than the fact that he changed the way the electric guitar is played, wrote some of the most brilliant timeless music of the last Centaury, was able to break down many racial barriers and stereotypes, create an unheard of volume of work in a 3-4 year period that is still being analyzed and studied and even arranged into symphonic pieces, helped the sale of countless Strats, Marshall stacks, fuzz and wah pedals...... and inspired countless people to pick up the guitar....

Yup... just an average Joe

Absolutely correct! Nice post :lol:

Tonedef

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