Brit Reacts to Jimi Hendrix | Band of Gypsys | 'Machine Gun' Live at the Fillmore East

[@paulprendergast3184]

The best ever performance on an electric guitar, other worldly!!

[@lennarthallberg9918]

Well said!

[@claytonpaul4259]

Bomb dives, explosions, and screams of terror throughout. Jimi was a master of improvisation. His feelings come straight thru the amp, and the sounds are the subject matter of the song, it's the pinnacle of music.if there's a universal language, jimi tapped into it. Primal empathy.

[@jonbangelini]

That’s the absolute BEST version of this song. It’s probably my favorite song of all time… I didn’t know there was actual video of him playing it tho 🤯

[@srv2217]

This is the absolute mountain-top of electric guitar performances. It's hard to imagine it will ever be topped.

[@christibrennan4086]

You are so correct. The whole thing is such an emotional experience.

[@davidmcdaniel5929]

It hasn't been, never will be for all eternity

[@BarbarraBay]

what about Stairway To Heaven or Comfortably Numb? 🤣🤣🍭🍭😹😹💉💉💉💉

[@VoodooChildSlight]

The apotheosis of electric guitar virtuosity.

[@FNMCaffeine]

Greatest guitar solo. His guitar was possessed that night.

[@gillan5]

Simply the greates live rock performance to this day!

[@DoctorD250]

This performance is considered by many to be the single greatest performance on electric guitar... ever. Hendrix was the voodoo shaman of the Stratocaster, and nobody knew how to get every possible tone out of the instrument like Jimi. Very few artists would ever attempt to perform this song, because of how Jimi crushed it. And he played the whole thing with his eyes closed.

[@acescionti711]

He was the guitar god. May he rest in paradise till his song is needed again

[@JohnLedger-g4i]

Taken from us at 27. Such a loss. RIP Jimi you genius. Not sure that the angels will get your music but we had the pleasure of it but unfortunately not for long enough !!!!

[@callmeoutlaw6601]

This has always been my favorite Hendrix song. Don't know why but it just found my sweet spot.

[@JohnMcaulay-gp6nb]

Charlie, I recently watched a video on KZbin where Steve Vai & Joe Satriani were being interviewed together & during the interview they were asked what they considered to be the best recorded live guitar solo & both, without hesitation , said this solo from ' Machine Gun' on the 'Band of Gypsies' album. Joe Satriani calls this the Bible of live guitar solos, based on the fact that this was played on new years eve 1969, and the limited equipment Hendrix had at his disposal compared to guitarists today. Also because Jimi's solo here is completely improvised on the spot & because of the tone he creates on his guitar & also the sounds he is able to produce that match the sentiment of the lyrical content, i.e. machine gun fire, bombs screaming & exploding & sirens, just the astonishing level of inventiveness & imagination. For the time of this recording & the fact that it is live is absolutely astounding. Genius. By the way, Miles Davis thought this was one of the greatest things he had heard. This was because he recognised the supreme skills of Jimi's improvisation, so important in Jazz, but also the whole structure & atmosphere of the piece, the bravery to voice such opinion against American wars & of course Jimi's extraordinary expressive genius on the guitar, an unmistakeable trademark. Miles Davis grew up as a young Jazz trumpeter, knowing and searching for his own unique voice on his instrument, that thing that as soon as someone hears it, they know who they are listening to. That was also something he heard with Jimi. Miles called it " That mutherfucking machine gun ," and if you know about Miles Davis, that was his way saying that he thought a piece of music, or a musician he heard was of the highest quality. He called many musicians he admired " mutherfuckers," on their chosen instruments. Really enjoyed the reaction. I'm a huge Jimi fan, 65 yrs of age, have a Hendrix tattoo on my right forearm I had done when I was 17yrs of age. Cheers from Glasgow, Scotland.

[@VoodooChildSlight]

Informative. Small correction: It was recorded at the first show on New Year's Day 1970.

[@PointyTailofSatan]

50 years, and still the greatest rock guitar performance of all time.

[@pierretoureille7359]

Yes, The Perfect Guitar Solo indeed!

[@vladdrakul7851]

IMHO the single greatest Rock performance EVER. Still brings me to tears after half a century later! Hope you are all doing well out there!

[@Wilburnator]

My favorite Hendrix song, and my favorite version of it!

[@Vetionarian]

I saw you on the Stick of Joseph! Glad you were able to visit and experience our culture here in Utah. I love Hendrix he had a swagger that is almost unmatched. My dad raised me on classic rock and I'm a die hard music fan because of the blessing in my life called Rock and Roll.

[@user-wy1ev4yq5d]

Great song.. Remember when this was released and we'd spend hours listening to this particular composition. Buddy Miles, Billy Cox and James Hendrix. Thank you for showcasing this LP and this particular song.

[@ok-qt4kr]

Brilliance never gets old , Charlie . Thanks for your appreciation for Timeless excellence .

[@rodgerarne1437]

Great upload, I really enjoy watching people appreciate Jimi as much as I do. Been a fan since I got his first album Are you Experienced back in 1967, still listening 57 years later, but this Fillmore Album is the pinnacle of them. Love it

[@jasona7]

That run at 9:12 always sticks with me.

[@brettwinter2007]

My favorite part in the solo too minus maybe the first 2 sustained notes

[@raiderfan71269]

Mine too.

[@jessejordache1869]

Yep. I first heard it when I was about 13, sometimes in the 90s, and my head did the full exorcist. If I still had the record, I could probably drop the needle right on it.

[@jazzmandolin5004]

Compared to guitarists now, he had virtually nothing for effects and the range of tones and the endless range of emotions. This guy was one of a kind.

[@paulprendergast3184]

Indeed. Jimi was also unique and original in his use of amplifiers.

[@jazzmandolin5004]

@@paulprendergast3184 Something else. I bought the Band of Gypsies when it first came. Since those days there have been many fabulous guitarists who have done great covers of Hendrix tunes. But if you revisit Hendrix those other great guitarists don't quite get there, some how Hendrix goes deeper for a lack of a better term.

[@Pianoman999]

They had to invent what he did naturally

[@tonyrabbett5312]

He used a wah-wah pedal, an Arbiter Fuzz Face, a Univibe pedal, and an Octavia pedal. I think the effect that you noticed was the Univibe :)

[@Martin-gz4qn]

No, the effect was sheer volume and masterfully controlled feedback.

[@MalandjoDanho]

uniquement deux pédales au sol

[@Asymmatrix]

@@Martin-gz4qn Nah there's clearly a pedal too.

[@davescurry69]

Really enjoyed your reaction to what I consider the greatest single musical performance I've ever seen or heard. This is the performance that you show to someone who wants to know why Hendrix was the greatest. He's on another level. It's like Parker or Coltrane. It transcends genres. Miles Davis said it was the greatest thing he'd ever heard. Enough said.

[@gavtoye]

Apparently Miles Davis was in the audience of this performance, and it convinced him of Jimi's greatness.

[@muckmuckthageneral2691]

The way Jimi sings is classic blues style, you can hear it through out blues history.

[@Bluesrockguy]

The whole piece is not just eloquently, flawlessly played - it's the way he can simultaneously simulate the sounds of war, BUT not just wild sound effects (though he does that near the end). His phrasing itself captures the sounds, feelings (screaming bombs vs screaming women and children as they're homes are bombed) of war. The tone even SOUNDS like mud and blood. You can "see" soldiers staggering and falling to the ground, the wind blowing over the battleground of dead soldiers...and then, just when you think the war is over, it starts all over again at the end! Truly mind-blowing.

[@richardbeaton7324]

The effect he's using is a Uni-Vibe on chorus mode with a couple of gunned Marshalls ;)

[@ronw9517]

Jimi almost motionless burns the hole place down with seemingly a complete army arsenal yet he was only playing an upside down strat. For the people being there that night and witness the best guitar solo in the history of mankind it must have been an outer body experience. Later that same year the world lost the most talented guitar player there will ever be. Thanks a million times Jimi for sharing your amazing musical talent with the world. 54 years onwards it still is unparalleled.

[@danreed5171]

WSUP Chuck......IN Rock and Roll, it does NOT get any better than Mr. Jimi Hendrix...............Original Creative Genius and could play what he heard

[@cocornichonfly]

The sound at the end doesn't just sound like a bomb but like a bomb that you take on yourself with the feeling, the whistling of a bang in your ears...

[@Uptown59]

I first heard this in the early 70's I was about 14. It's still amazing. Maybe the most amazing piece of music I've ever heard.

[@rjmccready4913]

Multiple hundred watt Marshall’s cranked is what delivers a signal that sustains that long.

[@faolanliath6687]

There is no other guitarist that has ever or will ever come close to this performance.

[@lindakilby2979]

Remember when this was recorded with the great Buddy Miles (Down By The River) Protesting Vietnam

[@markrenton5791]

living in a van?

[@alexp1017]

9:00 one of the best transitions of his I've ever heard. Someone once described this part as launching into the archetype face-melting solo

[@mikeys7536]

The whole Band of Gypsies album is gold. Some of Jimi’s best work IMO.

[@PeterOConnell-pq6io]

Hendrix was an ex-US 101st Airborne troop. He knew what automatic weapons were about.

[@ShabaniMan]

That we lost this beautiful soul was and still is a monumental tragedy for the world of music. He only played for 12 years. I been playing for over 40 years and can't come close to this virtuoso. I started playing because of him. The guitar gives me so much joy and to have him as inspiration is a gift .

[@teeroh99]

6:39 When the only reaction you have is "No. . . ." I feel you, brother. It's just unbelievable the places he goes in this performance.

[@jeffkatt]

Yesss! The greatest guitar solo in recorded music history.... ❤

[@snail415]

As a lefty player myself, it was Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain who compelled me to try playing an upside-down righty at age 15. 30 years later, I haven’t looked back.

[@robertwoods3750]

should have left at least camera on him at all times , cause watching him play was the show!.

[@bryanslocum3954]

My father had a Japanese import this album he got in the Navy he was so proud of it but the song machine gun he reveled in

[@DfromTC]

The war scenes are from the Vietnam documentary “Hearts & Minds.” And this song is an anti-Vietnam war song. The noises he makes replicate bombs, machine guns, screams, terror, etc.

[@jamesmcclain5005]

I love this version! WOW!

[@Peppovitch]

If I remember correctly, One of Jimi's specialties was playing close to the amp, and the reverb alone on the strings allowed him to make unique, interesting sounds.

[@hjackson718]

This is the definitive statement on electric guitar. This is mount Olympus. No one at no time has played better than this.

[@GoldTop57]

Pure creativity. Impeccable

[@citizenpatriot1791]

You commented on Hendrix's vocal style throughout this performance well it is a synergy between his voice and melodic lines played in unison where his voice sounds more like the sound of the guitar, and the guitar sounds more like his voice... 🎸

[@nickshelley3118]

jimmy page said he hears his solos in his head before the first time he plays them

[@d4mdcykey]

If the relevance of this song does not hit you in the feels then your mind has been co-opted by death merchants.

[@mikesumner2020]

That album has always been my favorite Hendrix performance.

[@johndegouveia9616]

one word. GOAT.

[@EvanWeber1234]

Going crazy

[@827dusty]

By the way, to add to his legendary status, Jim learned to play on a right-handed guitar as a kid growing up in Seattle. Dad got him a cheap guitar from the Sears Bargain Basement, but Jim was a lefty- No problem, the 9-year-old just flipped the guitar upside down, and taught himself to play everything backwards from the normal right-handed guitar player. If you don't believe me, look at any video and you can see the volume knob is up on top of the guitar, rather than on the bottom where Fender Stratocasters knobs are located. This man was the best ever.

[@philipbrougham6360]

Yes but always strung in the standard way ..that is low E nearest to you ...

[@louise_rose]

Brilliant, groundbreaking song - both for its guitar playing and as a political and human statement about the Vietnam war, at the time. I also love the final song of the album, "We Gotta Live Together", for almost the same reasons: it's musically great and also a powerful appeal for human dignity and against hate, bitterness, poverty and exploitation. "We Gotta Live Together" was edited down by several minutes across the opening, to achieve a more dramatic and concise intro. At the start, Buddy Miles led the Fillmore crowd in a repeated chant with the title line before the song proper took off. A fuller recording is preserved on "Live at Fillmore East" and on that one, you can also hear how the track segued in without a pause from another take of "Machine Gun", tying the two songs together

[@JohnLedger-g4i]

Retuning whilst playing as well !!!!

[@MalandjoDanho]

pas ré accordage, il recherche les effet

[@AnniesEggs]

Hendrix from the summer of 1969 was travelling in a different direction to the other guitar gods -a sort of funk/shredding combination.

[@johnellis1567]

You’re the first one to get it, in all the reviews I’ve seen, you actually get it. If I was an air siren, this is what I’d like to grow up to be able do. Buddy Miles and Billy Cox have to get a mention for staying with him, not easy when you consider Hendrix never did anything the same way twice and Machine Gun was no exception.

[@baltimoremusic2009]

The only guitar effects at that time were distortion, echo and wawa. He used volume and feedback to get his sounds! Truly amazing!

[@jonathanwobesky9507]

through this piece you can hear the Univibe, no echo, and the overdrive came from his amp's preamp high setting vs the poweramp. A wall of amps overdriven. Univibe is like a phasor, but not quite

[@kennethbaldonado4348]

Hendrix is the GOAT! No debate

[@snail415]

Your parting thoughts about authentic performance- Again, Devin Townsend’s ‘Deadhead’ at Royal Albert Hall. It’ll change you!

[@lennypersonalized]

He is channeling the electricity.

[@74900kdw]

Yeah thanks for pausing a great guitar solo so you could make sure we heard the forgettable thing you had to say. That's just fantastic reacting. Pause something iconic to say something nobody will ever remember. Bravo sir!

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

You're the only one bitching because you're the only one stupid enough to click on a review and then bitch when a review is given. If you want to watch it uninterrupted then go and watch the original and not a review. I'm shocked that this needs pointing out to you. Also, we have to stop to adhere to the terms of fair use for copyright. If we provide the same viewing and listening experience as the original then we risk the video being blocked and wasting 4 to 5 hours work. Stop throwing your toys out of the pram and grow up 🙄

[@rodgerarne1437]

@@TheCharlieSmithChannel Agree Charlie, that's why you watch a reaction video, to see the reactions. I love seeing others that love Jimi as much as I do.

[@GillianyyAndja]

👍

[@michaelwebster8389]

Yeah - when he did that song it was always a real height of creativity.

[@louise_rose]

Yes, it was a true leap forward - also I think it was important for him to connect with a BLACK audience...Most of his earlier fan base had been white, but the Band of Gypsys was definitely a black project, rooted in black musical traditions: funk, soul and r'n'b - and he knew that many of the soldiers drafted to Vietnam were also black.

[@MalandjoDanho]

@@louise_rose c'est pour cette raison que la production et management ont détruit le projet

[@louise_rose]

@@MalandjoDanho Yes, I know it wasn't seen as a commercially useful road by his manager (much the same way that Barry Gordy at Motown fought Marvin Gaye over "What's Goin' On?" because he didn't want one of his top artists to go into political topics)

[@siriosstar4789]

it's not drunken it's crying and despair . he's wailing as death rains down from above .

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

I was talking about his style in general. Not just this song. He has the same style across the board. I also wasn't suggesting he was trying to portray actual drunkenness 😂

[@hanskung3278]

Wow, the video is showing the atrocities of war and the snare drum is on it.

[@kimmjohnston4744]

I think this was the concert where a journalist confronted Jimi, and basically said he was a gimmick guitar player. This is why he's standing still just playing his a$$ off. He was a sweetheart by all accounts but, he had a lot of, "oh, yeah?," in him, too.

[@littlegiantproductionsandr3091]

At this stage, Hendrix had already established himself as a monster guitarist (see Monterey, and Woodstock). It doesn't seem plausible that he would defer to some "journalist's" misguided contention just to prove him wrong.

[@palitsalagivickers4588]

It was his promoter Bill Graham.He didn't like the shows on day 1 of this 2 day 4 shows contact with him . After this show he approached Bill Graham and said " how did you like that"

[@thedon2880]

This was his peak along with his live performances at woodstock, gone way too soon.

[@claudebuysse7482]

Thanks a lot to Chas Chandler and GB to gave us that genius guy. He was not well know in his own country because black.

[@healthybrand]

Amazing wasn't it? Now imagine being in the audience and tripping balls on your psychedelics of choice, as was the case for a large percentage of those in attendance at many concerts at this point in time., and probably especially at Hendrix gigs. I saw Band of Gypsys in June of 1970 and at one point in the show, the roadies started tugging the red velvet stage backdrop curtain side to side, giving the effect that the whole buidling was rolling on waves. They were playing with our minds, and it was super groovy.

[@allanmakela3011]

Jimis thoughts really were an electric ladyland,we only tasted the changing landscapes that dropped from his fingers into unheard realms,the technique of imagination,and soul,as,one

[@MrTeemaxx]

Have you ever heard of the Blues? He is singing from his Blues roots...

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

Have I ever heard of the blues? 😂😂 yes of course. I used to play blues piano and owned a blues bar

[@alvingrimes7053]

On that night God said " This one is mines!"

[@tyronerucker6128]

You got to her Shirley Bassey- You can have him.

[@tonetone7572]

Others like Jeff Beck and Pete Townsend toyed with feedback before him but Jimi made feedback his bitch keeping it caged until he wanted to use it either to shock the listener, make a bold statement, create music out of it or imitate the sound of whatever he desired. Hendrix was and still is on a level that no one else will ever reach.

[@louise_rose]

And it was only when he got to London in late '66 that he really began exploring feedback, because the amps that he had known before didn't allow that level of extended sustain and flow at all. It only became possible when he switched to those fat Marshall amps - so he was an incredibly fast learner in so many ways! If you listen to tapes of Jimi playing with the Curtis Knight band in late '65-early '66, he is not using any effects, pedals or true feedback. The phrasing and choice of notes is unmistakable, we can hear at once that it's him - but there's no hold-on feedback or use of distorsion, because the gear they were using would not have allowed it.

[@aramhamparian9641]

This is Star Trek stuff. Way, way, way before its time. I'm always shocked when I hear it.

[@obiem9319]

7:15🎉

[@zedtap4528]

Jimi did not like his voice he would use a change wall look from behind and ask we ready ? He would not let people watch him sing on his songs You should look for Valleys of Neptune (sessions) 21:16 long song It is amazing to hear him creating the song and is very different from the album version

[@joecoin]

Hows he gettin that sound? Hahahahaha, he's yanking it out of his soul. And yours.

[@wade8240]

Oh yes, there's a lot happening in that solo. Great job attempting to break it all down into words. Many of those techniques were uniquely his, without official names or terms to describe them properly. Unfortunately, much of that knowledge was lost with him. What an incredible talent, gone far too soon!

[@gj5066]

On that historic night God was playing via Jimi.

[@kingsalomon99]

This is the ultimate Anti-War song!!

[@williamoates9887]

Hey, if you love Hendrix yet you don't know Machine Gun ..... 'Where have you been ?? ' ...... Its like saying I love Santana, but I don't know Black Magic Woman .....

[@williamoates9887]

Its not so much a song or solo, its more a deep felt statement manifested on a Guitar

[@alvingrimes7053]

Too bad he bever played with Miles or Coltrane. This is other worldly sorcery

[@Uptown59]

Your comment that Jimi's singing had a drunken sound. Could be. But if you think about it and what he was singing about and his guitar was screaming. Maybe he wanted to sound like he was crying or was desperate.

[@MalandjoDanho]

POURTANT LE BAND OF GYPSYS N"EST TOUJOURS PAS RECONNU AU ALL OF FAME ... ;une grande injustice

[@terencetreece6633]

What Marcin

[@mlyle1000mobile]

Drunken? Lol no not hardly innit.

[@Martin-gz4qn]

Dude, TALK LESS. You talked over a few really amazing guitar licks and missed them entirely. This is a piece you need to let it play through with no talking, then either replay it with talking and just talk about it but you need to let it play all the way through the first time with ZERO narration so you can hear every note and feel every emotion.

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

This is a review. If you don't want to hear a review then don't click on a review. We can't just let it run through or it'll get blocked for copyright infringement. We're not allowed to provide the same listening and viewing experience as the original 🙄

[@louise_rose]

You sound like the original recording would be very hard to find? I'm willing to bet you can easily find the track uploaded here on KZbin, or why not buy a copy of the amazing album itself?

[@GillianyyAndja]

Fake reactors everywhere 😂😂😂

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

What is a fake Reactor? 😂 I feel honoured to be taking up enough mental real estate in your head that you've come back to the same video 2 days in a row to make the same dumb baseless statement

[@GillianyyAndja]

Fake reactors? 😂😂

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

Huh?

[@Niko3387Y]

You talk too much, listen and learn

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

It's a review. If you didn't want to hear someone give one then why did you click on it instead of going and watching the original. I can't understand that level of stupidity. We're also not allowed to run it through uninterrupted otherwise it violates the terms of fair use for copyright and gets blocked, wasting 4 or 5 hours of work 🙄

[@Niko3387Y]

@@TheCharlieSmithChannel ahah you're sensitive, you can make pause for talking instead. I understand for copyright

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

@Niko3387Y I'm not sensitive at all. It's just a really stupid thing to say 😂. And no, pausing isn't enough because you could still stitch the paused sections together and make the full track. By speaking over some of it I ensure that this isn't a substitute for the original

[@Niko3387Y]

@@TheCharlieSmithChannel ok mate

[@julienmarquet8612]

The greatest ever....NO DEBAT😂i, really, liked your reaction because, you realized Jimi was not a human being 😂Somewhere else, something else, but, not a normal human being😂Peace from France ✌️

[@StevenOslica]

Easily the greatest guitar player ever