Top Jimi, Really?

Why, oh why does this thing

keep going out of tune?

I am going to stir things up today. Normally I write about favourite stuff that I can easily gush about, but seeing as this is the first day of 2015, I'd like to make waves and tromp into less agreeable territory.

Jimi Hendrix. You've all heard of him, right? Even if you know nothing more about him, that name rings a bell. Innovative rock guitarist, psychedelic 60's, Woodstock, burning guitars. Some of those things might mean something to you, the uninitiated, too. 

For decades Hendrix's music has been hailed as among the most influential ever. He still regularly tops Top Guitarist Of All Time lists. But I never understood that. Sure, I heard some of his tunes on the radio back in my young days, stuff like Hey Joe, Crosstown Traffic, Purple Haze, and so on. To my ears, the music was fine, but it never blew my mind. I even shelled out for a double-album "best of" set to give myself a chance to appreciate Hendrix. But even that didn't grab me. 

For one thing, the radio overkill on the few songs I mentioned above is a problem. Stations have largely ignored better song choices, with their minds set on profits from the "big hits". Sadly, the commercial side wins out over the artistic side in the business. Business. And I got bored of hearing those same few songs over and over.

After years of not listening to that double-album set, I ditched it. Too much dust collecting on it. After maybe a decade and a half, I again thought I'd give Hendrix a go, and picked up the "Ultimate Experience" collection, a compact representation of his best known songs, plus a few tasty treats. The Star Spangled Banner stands out among the bunch, and I will tell you why: it is because it is a recording of a live performance. And I think that is the key. Hendrix was at his best onstage. The man fed off the audience, and the audience off him; the excited energy that he felt and harnessed, then released through his instrument in concert far exceeded his studio recordings. 

For me, something is clearly missing on Hendrix's studio albums. The sound is dry, flat and often lifeless. Even the most rocking of his songs can come across as listless. But I guess that's just me. Star Spangled Banner on that Ultimate Experience CD is another story.... somehow the electricity of that concert moment was captured on tape, and I feel each crisp attack on guitar strings. I even get a bit of a shiver down my spine when Hendrix hits high tremulous notes. So the guy's music is not entirely lost on me. 

From my bookshelf... loaded with

great paintings of Jimi

The one other Hendrix album in my collection is Live At Winterland, a document of his 1968 concert performances in San Francisco. This disc was highly recommended on a live album list I saw long ago, and I felt I owed it to myself to investigate Jimi's talents on the stage. 

On Winterland there is a whole new vibe to the music. Hendrix simply tears it up, reaching further into the stratosphere with his Stratocaster... the slightly imperfect meshing of drums, bass and guitar actually gives greater atmosphere to the recording. More breathing room, airiness, something tangible (or intangible?) upon which that spark flies from amplifier through the recording process to my speakers and ears at home. 

Songs like Fire and Foxy Lady truly come to life on the Winterland record. Hendrix gave Sunshine of Your Love, a Cream song, a nice kick in the pants with his trademark sound and style. Here, his solos sing with urgency, spontaneity, and vitality. 

I think that the studio was unkind to Hendrix. Something about the compressed, leaden sound, and even the structure of the process and environment must have affected the way Jimi played there. Sure, he had the artistic and technical side of guitar to his advantage, but the headphones, stool, glass booth, whatever... had to have robbed him of some of that fire that we hear in live shows. I know the man also loved the audio engineering side, stretching his talents, but I'll take his live efforts over his studio output any day.

I wasn't of the 60's generation. I was born then, but wasn't old enough to appreciate anything at the time, so I didn't grow up with Jimi's music in context... you know, Vietnam, the MLK and Kennedy assassinations, the Manson murders, the moon walk, and Woodstock. That may make a difference. But then again, guitarists and music fans my age and younger have loved Hendrix albums. 

I needed something besides the "liveliness" of concert recordings, too. Only a few songs, studio or otherwise, stood out for me in Hendrix's catalogue: Fire (the live version preferably, which I actually played on guitar for a while), Spanish Castle Magic (pulsing with a blistering live aura), and The Wind Cries Mary and Little Wing (both delicately beautiful, jazzy compositions). 

I can certainly respect Jimi and acknowledge his contribution to innovations in guitar and rock music. I suspect that his songwriting may be part of my issue, but definitely the representation of his music on recorded media fails to satisfy the rock fan in me. I get a bigger charge from other music of that era; artists like Cream, Beatles, Doors, Floyd, CCR, even the Beach Boys.