The Jimi Hendrix Experience:
Jimi Hendrix: Guitar, Vocals, Bass (All Along The Watchtower)
Noel Redding: Bass, Vocals (Little Miss Strange)
Mitch Mitchell: Drums
Also:
Mike Finnigan: Organ
Freddie Smith: Horn
Larry Faucette: Congas
Buddy Miles: Drums
Chris Wood: Flute
Stevie Winwood: Organ
Jack Cassidy: Bass
Al Kooper: Piano
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, what can I say about them that I haven’t already in my other Jimi reviews. I can’t think of a goddamn thing except for; they were and still are extremely influential and were fronted by the legendary Jimi Hendrix.
I do believe that for a time Noel left the band because of a recording dispute, he was replaced by Jimi on All Along The Watchtower, and also by Jack Cassidy on Voodoo Child. I was actually not aware of the fact that Mitch didn’t play on every track until I looked at the cd booklet, but in fact he was replaced by Buddy Miles on Rainy Day, Dream Away and Still Raining, Still Dreaming. Anyways on to the review
The instrumentals on here are simply some of the best I’ve heard. I don’t want to sound fanboyish, but really I do believe that. The guitar is extremely creative and well played, the drums provide a great beat and have great fills, and same with the bass.
The Guitar work is definitely some of my favorite guitar work on an album. It varies from many styles, like blues, rock, psychedelia, and a little bit of jazz with a bluesy feel. Of course many of you know the guitar intro to Voodoo Child (Slight Return), the amazing wah riff is really creative and just has a perfect sound. Then when it gets into the song, man it just sounds like pure rock. It’s got energy, creativity, and sounds pretty bad ass. The many mini solos and fills thrown in between words are typical Jimi but they work and are never repetitive because he always does them differently. I am not too fond of the chorus, but really who cares it’s not much of the song, but it doesn’t help it. Another great riff is the intro to Burning of the midnight lamp. It’s got a whole lot of wah on it and a bit of distortion and sounds great. It’s a very awkward sounding riff but is really great. And how can I talk about the guitar work and leave out All Along The Watchtower. The guitar work here is simply amazing. His fills throughout are very bluesy. The solos are full of bends that Jimi did a lot, but he keeps it interesting and doesn’t stretch it out as he so often does. Then there’s a really cool bridge with a bunch of slide with an awesome echoey and spiraling feel. Then it goes right into an amazing wah solo. Then another cool little chord progression then goes back into the verse. Gypsy Eyes has a very nice guitar in. Coping the vocals on the verse during the singing and doing a very bassy tone to the main riff. There’s nothing here that really qualifies as a solo, just some great riffs and excellent fills. Voodoo Chile is another great guitar track. It’s extremely bluesy and has a great tone. Most of the song is a solo really. It’s pretty long clocking in at: 15 minutes it can get very repetitive. So despite the amazing guitar work it is one of the worst on here.
The Bass work on here is really nothing spectacular. You really don’t notice the bass on Hendrix cds. Although there are some nice riffs the guitar takes over. But if you listen closely to Long Hot Summer Night you’ll hear a very nice and catchy bass riff that adds that great beefy feeling to the song. It would be nice though if you could hear it more. Jimi does a nice job on the bass with All Along The Watchtower. It sounds like it’s just improvised fills based on the three main chords of the song. He doesn’t do as good a job as Noel would’ve though if you ask me. Jimi should stick with the guitar even if he provides some nice fills. It would be nice if you could hear the bass more on Rainy Day, Dream Away because really it’s hard to tell if there even is one, and with the extreme jazziness of the song a strong bass line would have really helped the song but luckily the excellent musicianship of all the other musicians makes this flaw less obvious. The bass work on Little Miss Strange is very nice however. It’s a very nice and fast walking bass line that suits the chaotic feeling of the song. This is one of Noel’s best lines on the cd, he has a quite excellent part during the solo and you can actually hear him well. If you couldn’t it really would take a lot away from the song because it’s just so nice of a bass line. His bass work on Come On is also very nice even if he is just copying the guitar, but at least you can hear it.
The Drums are excellent on hear, combining rock and jazz into one to create amazing fills and creative beats. Some nice beats can be found on Come On. It’s full of excellent and driving jazzy beats with some excellent snare rolls during the verse. Some nice rolls can be found during 1983. They really add a great marching beat that really keep some great time. That is one of my favorite drum parts by Mitch. It really adds to the solemn feeling when the main riff is played and kind of keeps that feeling going when Jimi sings. He doesn’t always do complicated drum fills and beats though; he knows how to keep it simple like on Voodoo Child (Slight Return), he does a great job keeping a nice and easy rock beat that gives it great energy. Still Raining, Still Dreaming is another good example of this. Buddy keeps a great driving beat going and does a great job standing in for Mitch. Mitch’s beats on Crosstown Traffic are really creative and his bass drum work is done really well and isn’t done to loudly as I often notice some drummers do that. He keeps an excellent beat that really gives the song its energy. His snare fills on Long Hot Summer Night are very well done and provide a nice soft and jazzy feel. His occasional high-hat openings really add to the nice sound of his beat. This is another one of his great beats. But he also throws in a really simple beat during the bridge that yet again provides a great backing beat that keeps the song going.
The Vocal work on here isn’t that great. Jimi’s voice isn’t bad nor is it great, it’s just good. For the most part he’s on key, but I wish he would have varied in the styles he sang. The same style of vocals can get boring, but the instrumentals are more the main focus on here so it doesn’t take away from the songs for the most part. Noel makes an appearance on vocals on here also. He sings in an awkward voice on Little Miss Strange. He sounds very confident I find. He delivers the words in a fast way compared to most Hendrix songs. He does a very good job and should be commended for his work on this track.
Overall this cd is a really nice listen. I find you have to be in a certain mood to listen to it though. It can be a little boring at times and the solos can be a little stretched out but in general it’s got some great material. It’s very creative, well played, and well written music that I would recommend to any fan of rock. It combines psychedelia and blues to create an excellent sound. Also when the saxophone appears on Rainy Day it really helps the song and basically saves whatever parts it's in.
Pros:
Creativity
Consistent
Effects on the guitar
Drum work
Cons:
Solos can be boring and too long
The bass is too quiet
