Not A Budding Guitar Deity
2
By es-355mono
Despite the inexorable hype Jimi receives from the Hendrix industry driven media, and despite all their relentless efforts to prop him up as the all time, master of guitar this side of the spiraling galaxy, this LP reveals the raw Hendrix, in his pre heavy feedback-pyrotechnic laden form post Chas Chandler. Sure enough, this reveals a really solid, experienced and talented R&B, Blues and rock guitarist showing his more disciplined side and all the basic riffs, passing chords and little phrases that became a staple of his later evolution. That said, it also reveals some sloppy technique albeit nothing horrible but not what one would expect from a so called future crowned king of electric guitar.
Of course, the Hendrix cultists will praise any Hendrix recording regardless of whether its truly deserving or if he farted on the strings, played out of key or totally botched a solo...they would still hail it as "fantastic, transcendent guitar":-)
If you compare Jimi's development at this period with Clapton over in England during his Bluesbreaker tenure 65-66, the difference is quite remarkable. Clapton's playing as far more technically & dynamically accomplished, powerfully vocal in its blues mode and clearly shows a budding blues virtuoso in the making as opposed to Hendrix's work which reveals a very good guitarist but nothing that would turn your head to any great extent as compared to B.B. & Freddie King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin etc., or even the Rockabilly players at the time who were extremely talented.
However, all of this is moot because according to the Hendrix industry who relentlessly promotes him in movie documentaries, or fictional movies (as in the total "lie" that Hendrix blew away Clapton when he jammed with Cream during a performance at the Polytechnic Institute in England pure fiction which has been so grossly distorted by Chandler then later, the Hendrix industry in order to present a false example of Hendrix's superiority, bordered pure libelous fiction but due to media cowardice, is not questioned...in truth, Baker was not impressed and both Bruce & Baker were annoyed that Chandler forced them to allow JH on stage where he played Killing Floor...a tune that despite more lies, was NOT something Clapton couldn't play, are U kidding, a simple 3 chord blues progression, its another example of their brazen fairy tales, however, it works and its still repeated over and over in the press"). EC simply observed that JH was a blues guitarist but what did shock or impress everyone was simply his outrageous stage act, NOT the playing itself, but the antics, using his teeth, rubbing the guitar in his crotch...that is what bothered EC and Cream because they knew a novelty act like that in England would present a threat to their agenda which was to become England's top blues-rock trio.
These movies plus drudged up bootlegs and an inexorable tsunami of press, crowns him as the permanent, anointed king of ALL guitar regardless of the genre, or facts, or an honest breakdown of his work as a guitarist i.e., technique, content, space, timing, taste and his general pallet of chording, riffs and tone. Truth be told, it wasn't until Hendrix heard the historic Bluesbreaker "Beano" LP with Clapton (which was only known to the "hip" guitarists at the time) that he was stunned enough by Clapton's unprecedented fluid, dynamic soloing to realize he had to kick into gear if he had any hope of competing at that level which is why when Chas Chandler found him during his US talent scouting mission, Jimi made it a condition that he would only travel to England if he could meet this new guitarist, Eric Clapton.
These days it is practically considered heresy to even critically analyze a Hendrix recording which demonstrates how this man, in his death, has been grossly deified and endowed with supernatural powers he did NOT posses in real life. Of course, all music and art is subjective, that is fine, but when objective criteria is applied, James Hendrix is one of the great innovators no doubt, and deserves a place at the table along with Clapton and a hand full of other rock-blues guitarists that shaped the genre but.....he was NOT the greatest of all time, of all genres and if he were around today, Jimi himself would be embarrassed and probably sickened by the mindless adulation and hype he receives, even 46 years after his last recordings. Now I DO fully expect the usual, generic hate responses that will accuse me of being everything from a moron, to a Hendrix hater or an idiot to a racist. Sorry, being ethnically mixed excludes me from that predictable form of attack and add to that, I'm a professional guitarist with over 50 years of experience who SAW all those guys in person. Without Charlie Christian or even Chuck Berry, I doubt there would have been a Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Beck, Bloomfield, or todays Eric Johnson, Vai or Joe Bonamassa. To me, however, the true guitar virtuoso greats that rarely get their deserved praise, adulation or press, are the icons of jazz guitar, i.e., Wes Montgomery, Johnny Smith, Joe Pass, George Benson, Kenny Burrell or John McLaughlin. Plug that into your Crapocaster
