Please help, I don't get Hendrix!

[Roli]

Okay, I may be a bit provocative, but this is the Bad Dog so here we go. The problem is, when I listen to his records (which I go through frequently): I feel he plays pompously all over the place, I dare to say the "badword"; sloppy.

This surprises me even more when I think of one of Jimi's biggest (musician) fan, SRV, who is all about tight rhythm and groove.

What do you think, what's wrong with my ears?

 

[John Harrison]

To each his/her own. That being said, some context might help. You don't mention your age, taste, etc., which may have something to do with your "not getting Hendrix".
From time to time, just about every major player gets slagged, on one discussion site or another. Plenty of folks get their hackles up when one of their favorites gets dissed. I prefer to explore the other's "resistance", myself.
While this thread could/might become a bit heated, with arguments about who's better or what have you, let me just say that to fully appreciate Hendrix, you have to have some understanding/comprehension of what he was creating in his time.
While others may be faster, cleaner, more learned or more technically proficient, Hendrix was an innovator, first and foremost. He wore his influences (Buddy Guy, for one) on his billowy sleeves, but he also did a lot of things that hadn't been done previously.

A side note, not meant to sidetrack this thread - the other night, on Rock Star: INXS, Ty (the lone African American contestant), said, in his farewell, that voters hadn't fully supported him, intimating that blacks aren't associated with "rock". Agree or not, it did get me thinking, and Jimi Hendrix came to mind, immediately, as he withstood a lof of pressure to make his music more "black". An ironic suggestion, given rock'n'roll's geneology and Hendrix's pedigree (musical and othewise).

 

[Durtdog]

I wouldn't worry about it. When Hendrix was in his heyday, lots of people didn't care for his music, in my observations at the time.

Hendrix was a breakout...NOBODY was doing anything like that at the time. His use of feedback, his all out playing style, his tones, on and on. And he was WAY cool for the times, still would be today if he were alive, I'd bet. Sure, you hear that stuff all the time now, but not then. It was entirely new (at least to the general public).

I think that was the most significant thing about Hendrix.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

you'll get some great answers to this.

i only heard him live once, at woodstock. but for what it's worth:

i tend to class artists as either technicals or emotionals. i think of vaughn as a technical and hendrix as an emotional. (johnny winter is an emotional vaughn. robin trower is a technical hendrix.)

this is an argument that springs up here in some form or other all the time - it usually gets framed something like: "if keith richards sucks, why do i love him?" richards doesn't suck. neither did hendrix. but their music isn't about the drill, it's about the emotional impact of the music. they know the drill, but they push beyond it. sometimes sloppy? inevitably. but who'd want them to rein it in?

i think coltrane said to learn the book, then throw it away. (i know someone's going to correct me on that!) he was the first (that i can think of - here come more corrections!) of the widely listened-to giants of emotional improvisation - hendrix's spiritual big daddy.

i was just listening to a phish album yesterday, lawn boy, and was struck (again) by their work. all four of them know the book cold, but they'd throw it away when they played. like coltrane and hendrix, they shot for the transcendental moment. they had no interest at all in delivering a precise rendition of anything anyone had ever heard before. they cooked.

those are my favorite artists. the emotionals. the ones who turn up the heat. the ones who cook.

 

[RevMike]

I felt that way for a long time about ......dare I say....Jimmy Page. I had so many friends that were into Led Zep that I couldn't get away from hearing it. But after listening to him over the years a lightbulb finally went off and I reallized, wow this guy is amazing. Sloppy, yeah but he was an inovator, a pioneer of heavy music. Both Hendrix and Page played with what EVH once described as "reckless abandon". The genius is in their passion and feel. Maybe they didn't hit every note, but man they make you feel it. My advice, keep listening. Maybe it'll click, maybe it won't. If you are that intrigued by his music, my guess is that someday you'll get it.

 

[OaklandA]

I'm guessing...like the previous poster that this may be generational. I'm guessing you're in your mid-20's or less. Not to knock you for that, but may explain you not "getting it".

If you listen to a lot of the old Blues guys from the 30's through the 50's, they too were "sloppy" and all over the place at times as well as playing melodically(sp?). Guys like Hendrix, Page, Keith Richards, etc. came up emulating that style and therefore come off sounding more primitive, roots style, or...as you say, maybe sloppy.

Hendrix was a stylist over being a technician. He played out of tune, was theatrical, and at times his soloing wangered off aimlessly. He was also capable of amazing flashes of heartfelt, soulful playing that you just don't hear much of.

Sometimes Jimi is best enjoyed in small portions. You might want to listen to cuts from the "Blues" CD every now and then...or some of his better live stuff. Electric Ladyland is a masterpiece IMO, but to each his own.

Ultimately we all have different tastes. You may never "get" Hendrix. I know I don't get a lot of players that are touted heavily now either, No crime either way.

signed,
a confirmed rock & blues geezer

 

[Roli]

This is pretty interesting, and I used to ask myself: does he play this way on purpose?

Just like when I see a minimal art abstract painting and I know (or do not know) that the artist made something more "crowded" onto the canvas before.

Just to answer the "age" question, I'm 27.

 

[skiraly017]

At first, I didn't get Hendrix either.

"Third Stone From The Sun" and "Up From The Skies" helped me turn the corner, as well as listening to live stuff. The Winterland CD really did it for me. The live version of "Machine Gun" from Isle Of Wight is a stellar performance. I've just downloaded all six Winterland shows off of Bit Torrent, so I'm starting all over again.

If it makes you feel any better, try as I might I still don't get Coltrane.

 

[Stratosaurus]

The thing about Hendrix is that he played sloppy but made it work for him. I'm 24... and also feel that Hendrix is overrated by todays standards (basically, for those who didn't experience him when his kind of stuff was new and exciting). If he came out on stage for the first time today with music being what it is, people would raise their eyebrows and think he needs practice.

Hendrix's stuff is what it is to me. But If I were there to see him play I would probably say Hendrix is what everything else isn't -- pure.

 

[Stratosaurus]

A side note, not meant to sidetrack this thread - the other night, on Rock Star: INXS, Ty (the lone African American contestant), said, in his farewell, that voters hadn't fully supported him, intimating that blacks aren't associated with "rock". Agree or not, it did get me thinking, and Jimi Hendrix came to mind, immediately, as he withstood a lof of pressure to make his music more "black".

Living Colour comes to mind for me here. Vernon Reid is a rocker, and Cult of Personality is definitely not a rap song.

 

[Bob Rogers]

Similar thing

When I was first getting interested in jazz in the early '70s, there weren't really that many great radio stations for me to listen to, so I read a lot of books to figure out which records to search out. Read a lot about Charlie Christian. Finally got to listen to him on records and I couldn't understand what the fuss was about. Heck, this was just standard stuff. It was recorded and played better on other records. T-Bone Walker, Chuck Berry, every studio musician in LA or NY played this stuff. Took me a while to realize - yeah, every studio musician could play each of CC's licks note for note. And yes, a few could play them technically better while preserving the swing. Point was, CC was the well from which they drew the water.

So the point is that you can "get" Hendrix (in the sense of understanding how important (and surprising) he was) and still prefer to listen to SRV or Trower or any of the people who he inspired. (I prefer Jim Hall to Charlie Christian.)

 

[dean]

Hendrix

I think John hit the nail on the head with this comment:

let me just say that to fully appreciate Hendrix, you have to have some understanding/comprehension of what he was creating in his time.

If you listen to any other guitarist from Jimi's period (Clapton, Beck, Page, Green), I think they have all said that Hendrix was taking guitar playing to an entirely different level or to another world. He was experimenting with effects that we take for granted today - Roger Mayer was literally inventing his effects for Hendrix.

Stratosaurus says:

Hendrix is overrated by todays standards

and I have to agree with him given the tremendous gains that players and manufacturers have made over the past 40 years. I feel the same way about Van Halen - overrated, but none-the-less, a trailblazer. I think we are in the Golden Age of guitar playing because of these players and their innovations. (Well, maybe I'm not in the Golden Age - more like Dirt Age.) But it's like comparing the sophistication of automobiles today with those of the 60s - we may like the old ones, but the new ones are much more sophisticated.

I do think there was no one like Hendrix while he was alive. Interestingly, Roli, Hendrix died when he was your age - 27. This is a good thread - it helps me develop greater insight into reasons why I like/dislike things.

Dean



[/i]

 

[genelovesjez]

I wouldn't worry about it. If you don't like it, then find something you do like and listen to that. Don't feel you have to like something just because other people do - life is too short for that, and there's too much other music out there.

I'm sure Jimi would tell you the same thing.

 

[RockinCarl]

At first I didn't get Hendrix either-- I was a die-hard Rockabilly guy, and when I heard him do "Blue Suede Shoes," I just didn't get it. But after I while, I started listening to other types of music besides Rockabilly, and I turned out to like Jimi... Who knows, this might happen to you where you don't understand him, and someday it'll just happen that you like him, or it may not. It's all a matter of opinion.

 

[11 Gauge]

Get "Blues"...

...and listen to it about 20 times. something will click, most likely. yes, there is slop, but those Hendrix cuts are just so raw, alive, and otherworldly, that i'd be surprised if you didn't get something out of it.

i thought i knew what Hendrix was all about, hearing all his other albums, seeing video performances of live stuff, etc. then i heard "Blues", and it all went out the window. i had a deep appreciation for him before that, but this album just really did it for me.

i felt this 'direct connection' to what the man was doing with that guitar - just unreal.

as for Hendrix's technical boundaries, you may want to check out "First Rays..." - very clean for him, and uber-polished in the studio. you may still conclude it to be high on the slop factor, but you might just change your mind too. as a plus, it's been remastered (by Eddie Kramer himself) with modern techniques, so it almost feels as if it's been recorded recently.

just dig in a bit more to his stuff (i personally love "Axis...") - you might 'figure it out', if that makes any sense.

 

[CountryShawn]

I've thought about this issue with various musicians (not just limited to guitarists), and there is a critical element of the "time period" that they were creating this music.

That era was a ground-breaking era for pop music, sometimes largely experimental in nature.

It's kind of obtuse to think about, but I tend to think more about the change / new flavour of pop music he created over and above the guitar playing that sat on top of it.

Since that ground breaking era, many folks have taken it, and then focused on perfecting the "parts" to form a highly polished product.

While it may have been not as polished, there is no arguing that he was breaking new ground in his era.

That's my .02

Shawn

 

[Geyser]

I thought it was interesting in the original post that you mentioned the rhythm and groove of SRV's playing versus Hendrix's. Jimi Hendrix was a ridiculously talented rhythm player (he got his start as a rhythm player for the Isley Brothers and Little Richard). When his band was "on", no one created grooves like them. There's a lot of good suggestions on here. I'll add one: the 2-disc Hendrix BBC Sessions. Sure, there's some "slop" on there but there are some tunes where Mitchell, Redding and Hendrix lay waste to any other power trio in music history. Especially of note is a version of Foxy Lady where Jimi lays down an almost "honkytonk" solo. I can't help but bounce around when I hear that track.

I'll say "ditto" to the emotional vs. technical player argument. I've always felt like musicians are divided into these groups. I too prefer the emotional players. But I had this old roommate who would argue til he was blue in the face about these obscure European heavy metal guitarists who could play circles around Hendrix and Page. Maybe he was right...but I don't necessarily want to listen to them.

And as far as "getting" an artist, I never liked AC/DC until about a year ago. Then something just clicked in my head. Here's this band that has been writing the same song over and over again for 30 years, playing the same riffs and spouting the same double-entendre lyrics...but somehow they're the greatest rock band in the world. Now every time I hear an AC/DC tune, I just get this giddy little feeling inside and think that something is right with the world.

 

[maestrovert]

i agree that age and era context can limit and hinder, if not out right ruin one's appreciation of Hendrix' music.....

younger cats especially don't "get" it at all.....why ?
it must be understood that at the time, stereo was a new thing relatively speaking, and that f.m. radio at the time was quite another thing than it's now become.....

Hendrix' music was extremely "spatial" for lack of a better term....heavily dependent upon panning and phasing for the astonishing psychoacoustic effects upon us listeners....these sonic factors completely disappear when the music is converted to digital mastering/playback, because the phase angle relationships within the mix are lost !!!

The younger people have never known any reproduction medium other than digital.....listening to the original releases of Hendrix {pre digital} on good quality analog{turntable/reel to reel} equipment may allow you to "get it".......

 

[Roli]

I keep thinking about this era-thing. Why do I get Buddy Holly or Django Reinhardt or Miles Davis, though they are from even earlier eras than Jimi Hendrix?

 

[Joel Terry]

I've heard this many, many times before. To each his or her own, I always say. You either like something or you don't. I don't like oatmeal, which is a time-honored healthy food, but I don't want anyone trying to convert me to eat it.

I am a huge Jimi Hendrix fan; certainly, Jimi has had an astounding effect on my playing--particularly his Curtis Mayfield-influenced tunes ("Little Wing," "One Rainy Wish," "Drifting," etc.). When I was about 12 or 13, after listening to Jimi over and over and trying to play along with his records (yes, I'm 37--I know what vinyl LPs are 8) ), it finally occurred to me that Jimi used his thumb as a fretting digit. This was an epiphany to me--probably one of the most amazing discoveries I ever made as a guitarist. All of the sudden, I could play a lot of Jimi's unorthodox chords and partials, and I built on this knowledge to augment my playing style and my songwriting. Since then, I've tried to develop my own style of playing; consequently, I don't think anyone can really hear any of my influences (and I have many divergent influences) in my playing, except maybe Jimi's influence.

But back to the subject at hand: It's no disgrace to dislike or "not get" a particular person, place, thing, situation, or event. Thank God we're not all clones of each other.

Joel