Jimi Hendrix Live

thesultan

There is no doubting the man's talent but live I'm not totally taken about. A lot of wailing and feedback. (possibly too much)

droidman123

thesultan wrote: »

There is no doubting the man's talent but live I'm not totally taken about. A lot of wailing and feedback. (possibly too much)

I never got the "hendrix was the best guitarist ever" thing myself.there are way better guitarists past and present that have/are been better than hendrix imo.walter trout,rory gallagher,gary moore,andrew latimer,roy buchanan to name just a handful.its all about personal opinion of course,but i totally agree with you op in relation to hendrix live,too much fuzz and distortion used.i dont think hendrix would be in in my top 20 guitarists of all time.

NIMAN

Anesthetize

There's no such thing as too much fuzz and distortion.

droidman123

Anesthetize wrote: »

There's no such thing as too much fuzz and distortion.

Of course there is, when you are judging how good a guitarist is.

Anesthetize

droidman123 wrote: »

Of course there is, when you are judging how good a guitarist is.

I usually don't judge guitarists based on their technical ability on the instrument. I usually judge them on either their inventiveness, the sounds and textures that they can achieve with their instruments, the moods that they can invoke, or how well their guitar playing actually fits the music.

droidman123

Anesthetize wrote: »

I usually don't judge guitarists based on their technical ability on the instrument. I usually judge them on either their inventiveness, the sounds and textures that they can achieve with their instruments, the moods that they can invoke, or how well their guitar playing actually fits the music.

No doubting hendrix was very innovitive at the time,i just think there are/were much better guitarists around,as in some i mentioned above.i know its all subjective imo the likes of rory gallagher,gary moore,andrew latimer,walter trout and many more were way better guitarists than hendrix ever was.i,m not saying hendrix wasnt great,he just wouldnt be near my top 20

thesultan

I won't be that captivated by his live show as I would by other artists live.

XR3i

Pete Moss

Anesthetize wrote: »

I usually don't judge guitarists based on their technical ability on the instrument. I usually judge them on either their inventiveness, the sounds and textures that they can achieve with their instruments, the moods that they can invoke, or how well their guitar playing actually fits the music.[/QUOTE]

There's no doubt Hendrix would be up there with the greatest in terms of inventiveness, texture and setting the mood, when it comes to his work in the studio. He used the recording studio as an instrument itself and created earth shattering sounds, which stand the test of time. But, the OP did question his live performances, and in this regard I'd agree with the OP. Fair enough, lashings of fuzz, reverb and a wah was Jimi's style, and a terrific style at that, but after a while, his live sound can get a bit muddy in comparison to other guitarists who can show more virtuosity when playing live.

In saying that, his acoustic version of Hear My Train A Comin' really shows what the man was capable of without the fuzz, reverb, wah and recording studio.

Yamanoto

Anesthetize wrote: »

I usually don't judge guitarists based on their technical ability on the instrument. I usually judge them on either their inventiveness, the sounds and textures that they can achieve with their instruments, the moods that they can invoke, or how well their guitar playing actually fits the music.

That's a point well made.

I've always felt Jimmy's playing lacked both polish & inventiveness tbh, though there was clearly groove by the bucket-load. You can absolutely be a great guitar player & be lacking in technique, but to be a really interesting guitarist (on a purely musical level), you have to bring something new and something unexpected to the table. Jimmy never threw that curve ball for me & what he did musically had long since been delivered by a slew of delta blues players - the stagecraft, feedback, buzz and distortion excepted.

In a sense it doesn't matter much, as it's the myth & the legend that's been written into the record as fact.

eviltimeban

He was the best guitar player ever.

Why? When I hear Jimmy Page (the 2nd best guitar player ever) or anyone else play, I know it's a guy playing guitar. I can hear that. There's Jimmy Page, and there's the guitar.

When I hear Jimi play, there's no distinction. He is the guitar. The guitar is him. His hands and the fretboard are one.

Now, live - you have to remember that back then there were no in-ear monitors, precious little stage monitors, crappy amps, bad PA systems, etc. So it was always going to be a challenge to do what Jimi was doing.

What I'll say is get a copy of "Live At Winterland" (you may need to look for that one) - a really fantastic set and it sounds like a record. You can really hear his playing. Also, "Band Of Gypsys" has some amazing stuff on it.

For the record, Page is probably the more rounded player - more variation in style etc, but for sheer natural talent, it's Jimi all the way. Other guitar players at the time knew that (Clapton etc), they could recognise it. It just wasn't a question.

And what a humble man for all that talent. Dick Clark once interviewed him and said "so you're considered one of the best guitar players in the world" and Hendrix laughed and said "how about one of the best sitting in this chair".

dasdog

eviltimeban wrote: »

What I'll say is get a copy of "Live At Winterland" (you may need to look for that one) - a really fantastic set and it sounds like a record. You can really hear his playing. Also, "Band Of Gypsys" has some amazing stuff on it.

Found that tucked away and listening to it now. So much activity, inventiveness and funk where others would just go lazily between chords. KPFA Tapes are also excellent.

Rothko

Tbh, I think sometimes it can be hard to judge a live performance just by watching a video of it.

philstar

how will Prince be remembered as a guitarist ????

droidman123

philstar wrote: »

how will Prince be remembered as a guitarist ????

Probably as good.as hendrix imo,but to be fair its hard to compare as they had different genres,but prince was a better guitarist than some people might realise

paulmurphyvec

Jimi is GOD!!! Amen

Anthonylfc

jimi was muck live

im playing the guitar since i was 10 , i'm 38 now ( by no means great ) but can hear if somebodies good or bad

what did on his albums was amazing ( if we all had studio time we'd be kings too )

he never replicated that stuff live , granted in the 60's nobody was doing what he was and for that he'll be a pioneer

i just never liked his live stuff , that's my opinion

current guitar gods for technique ( not neccessarily feeling or whatnot ) is Joe Bonamassa

for feel id have to say SRV , Gallagher , Moore

Lorelli!

I like him live. He relied and played on feedback in his music to give that harsh messy raw sound and I'd imagine doing that live on stage can be hit and miss?

If I had the chance to go to one of his gigs I would not be saying no!!

Anthonylfc

Anthonylfc wrote: »

jimi was muck live

im playing the guitar since i was 10 , i'm 38 now ( by no means great ) but can hear if somebodies good or bad

what did on his albums was amazing ( if we all had studio time we'd be kings too )

he never replicated that stuff live , granted in the 60's nobody was doing what he was and for that he'll be a pioneer

i just never liked his live stuff , that's my opinion

current guitar gods for technique ( not neccessarily feeling or whatnot ) is Joe Bonamassa

for feel id have to say SRV , Gallagher , Moore

Lol, "Jimi was muck live"..."we can all be kings in the studio"...:D

And what, because you play guitar that makes your opinion more qualified? I'd actually bet hard cash that you are quite a basic level on the instrument.

Anthonylfc

Deleted User wrote: »

Lol, "Jimi was muck live"..."we can all be kings in the studio"...:D

And what, because you play guitar that makes your opinion more qualified? I'd actually bet hard cash that you are quite a basic level on the instrument.

cause i have an opinion ??

actually a session musician so hardly a novice , not amazing either

he never hit the heights live like he did in the studio that's a fact

eviltimeban

It's hard to make any kind of reasoned opinion about live music in the 60s, as the technology and equipment was so basic and under-powered compared to today's standards.

That and the lack of decent fold back monitors must've meant that it was very hard to really hear what you were doing on stage.

But let's not forget - not only did he play guitar, but Jimi wrote and sang all those songs. Plus he was a great performer. So saying you don't like his live guitar playing is only one part of the piece - he usually sang great, played great songs, and put on a show. And his live band was usually top notch, Mitch Mitchell is essentially his equal on the drums.

Listen to the original "Live at Winterland" album and you'll hear a pretty faultless collection of live recordings. The extended jams of Tax Free and Red House are better than what he put on record.

Lorelli!

eviltimeban wrote: »

But let's not forget - not only did he play guitar, but Jimi wrote and sang all those songs. Plus he was a great performer. So saying you don't like his live guitar playing is only one part of the piece - he usually sang great, played great songs, and put on a show. And his live band was usually top notch, Mitch Mitchell is essentially his equal on the drums.

It's hard to believe he was meant to suffer from terrible stage fright. Obviously he overcame that somewhat but apparently there were times in the beginning where he performed behind the curtain rather than face the music!

I always remember reading that Clapton was not too welcoming of him at first and quite envious of his abilities.

Anyway he is arguably the greatest guitar player ever and definitely up there. Not overated by any means.

beauf

Lots of artists claim they never captured a good likeness of themselves performing live.

My favourite Hendrix is the Blues album. I have a version of machine gun live that I think is fantastic. I don't know where it's from.

Because his stuff is so familiar to us I think we lose a lot of the context of his music. I think his music was otherworldly.

thesultan

Speaking of guitar gods I love the tone and feel of Paul kissoffs playing.

thesultan

Speaking of guitar gods I love the tone and feel of Paul kissoffs playing.

thesultan

Speaking of guitar gods I love the tone and feel of Paul kissoffs playing.

thesultan

Speaking of guitar gods I love the tone and feel of Paul kissoffs playing.

thesultan

Speaking of guitar gods I love the tone and feel of Paul kissoffs playing.

thesultan

Speaking of guitar gods I love the tone and feel of Paul kissoffs playing.

sydthebeat

Stammer much?