Hendrix is underwhelming... until you understand this

[@robertmahoney1662]

Jimi coming out of nowhere with this sound in ‘67 is the perfect illustration of the quote “Talent hits a target no one else can hit, genius hits a target no one else can see.”

[@BrianKiddDevDesign]

wow, That is a great quote and definitely applies to Jimi.

[@Durmomo0]

One thing Hendrix did that SO many other hotshot guitar players never do is...actually wrote great songs.

[@Gnaritas42]

And that's why he worshiped Dylan and where he learned it.

[@sojungvage9740]

so true!

[@LM-du8wg]

Little Wing has entered the chat...

[@brumd]

hear! hear! That's exactly it. He wrote great songs, his solos served the songs (most of the time) and he had a distinctive singing voice and unique stage personality (most will recognize him from seeing a mere silhouette). And those things contribute equally to how influential he is. E.g. there are not so many people who can name Jeff Beck songs, even though he is probably on par with Hendrix in terms of technique and innovation.

[@jamesfetherston1190]

Big time.

[@fozzle6503]

Never found him underwhelming, always thought he was brilliant.

[@mrq6270]

Same here! When I first heard Hendrix I thought wow, I bet there’s lots of other amazing guitarists out there to discover. I kept looking but nobody rocked my world like he did until Van Halen came along. Now many years later and Van Halen no longer interests me. Still listening to Hendrix though!

[@udasai]

Eh, his vaunted Woodstock American anthem sounds awful, but impressive considering he was basically unconscious while playing it.

[@ronmatthews1738]

It's like when people say Beatles songs are simple. As the saying goes, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and they just don't understand music.

[@blisterbrain]

​@@udasaiThe anthem bit isn't iconic because of its technical or musical brilliance, it was just an image thing, like supposed to be an emblem of the times or something. Actually, it was just a thing he often threw in in the middle of jams, this one just sticks out because, "Ooh, Woodstock" or whatever. The slow bit he ends with after that is really cool, though.

[@sombra1111]

@@udasai It was supposed to sound awful! It blends the awful sounds of war with the anthem. It was a protest against the Vietnam war. I thought that was very very obvious, but I guess I was wrong

[@mykhedelic6471]

With Jimi, you get songwriting, groove, lyricism, derring-do, creativity and attitude that is unmatched. His guitar is more than notes, more than technique: it's color, shape, texture, characters, vistas, thoughts, feelings, painting. sculpture, light. If you get THAT lesson from Jimi then you've learned. Be bold as love, don't just play-- be.

[@ImpulseGenerator]

Fantastic description.

[@ronhutcherson9845]

Yes - perfectly said

[@theofficialdiamondlou2418]

Ride the flow ….

[@lawrencerinehart5747]

Experienced Analysis, My Brother.

[@Fiascopia]

I love your description and agree that it's Jimi's personality that flows through his music and especially his lead guitar, it speaks to you. Just to add that the phrase is actually "derring-do" although you obviously had the meaning correct :)

[@joegearing1745]

The Band Of Gypsys live at the Fillmore is the best showcase of what Jimi Hendrix was capable of (imo) I can't imagine anyone into guitar listening to it and not thinking it's one of the greatest examples of electric playing, ever.

[@sundaynightdrunk]

I first heard Machine Gun from that record when I was a kid in the '70s. It blew my mind what he was doing on a guitar, and I was already listening to Zeppelin and the Stones.

[@jackgilchrist]

That's a big affirmative.

[@joeylodes]

As Steve Vai recently said about the Machine Gun solo “It’s The Voice Of God”

[@henrymrowicki7004]

Band of Gypsys is still one of my favorite albums, came out the year I was born.

[@joegearing1745]

@@sundaynightdrunk Machine Gun was the one song I didn't like at first, it had a cool groove but the solo sounded like a lot of noise UNTIL, and I don't care how corny or cliche it sounds, I listened to it high one night. During a long screaming held note, I literally exclaimed "I get it now!" (or something close). It felt like I was riding a rollercoaster lol, but it was also like I could understand the musical story it was telling me.

[@fudgesauce]

I had a similar experience back in 1985 or so. I had heard about the genius of Orson Wells and how Citizen Kane was this towering achievement in cinema. There was no video on demand then, so when it showed up on cable at one in the morning, I stayed up till three am or whatever to watch it. And I was underwhelmed. But that was because all of his innovations were lifted by so many subsequent directors that decades later it didn't seem groundbreaking at all.

[@UTubeHandlesSuck]

I've had a hard time with _Citizen Kane_ since I found out about its fatal flaw- one profound flub that sort of eclipses EVERYTHING else. The movie starts by beating us over the head with, and even SHOWING US, how Charles Foster Kane died alone in a room with nobody else there. Then it spends the entire movie with the world obsessed over Kane's last word. *_WHO HEARD IT IF HE DIED ALONE?!?!?_* Boom, entire movie torpedoed.

[@milesparker557]

Yeah, being influencial basically means that everyone's gonna imitate you, to the point that it's hard to recognize your achievements from an outsider's perspective. You really gotta view art through the lens of the time period and environment it was created in.

[@Javier-qk7ms]

But as an audience, we can set our mind state to appreciate it if we think in terms of movies or music of the same era, then you appreciate it as something ahead of its time.

[@TheGotoGeek]

Regardless of technique, Kane is still a better movie than anything you see nowadays.

[@gabrielilles6506]

Had the same underwhelming experience with Citizen Kane in the 2000’s. I was like “this sucks” 😅

[@the-engneer]

For me it's the solo from Bold As Love that never ceases to blow my mind at how well it's aged and is the perfect blend of Jimi's rough sound and a beautiful melody

[@CorbCorbin]

Listening to him, and then learning The Wind Cries Mary, just let me realize, that what I thought was an easier song than others of his I’d heard as a kid, really is master songwriting. The solo is simple, and one of the first I learned, but the changing rhythm part for it, snd how he plays within the chords he’s using, just opened a door for me, that was key to my being able to play solos and improv, much faster and better than my peers learning. Metal players, loved how I could improv so easily, and just make up jams, even ones based on much more technically difficult things they were doing. I learned how to play things, I hadn’t learned from them, and then I tackled Soul, R&B, Funk, etc.

[@the-engneer]

@CorbCorbin I love your comment! The Wind Cries Mary is my favorite Hendrix song to play, but my favorite to listen too is Little Wing just because it's such a beautiful song in itself and he wasn't showing off In that one, so it shows he was more than just a good guitar player. He was a good song writer. Same with Castles Made of Sand, and Wind Cries Mary he knew how to write good song's Jimi is the one who single handedly inspired me to play guitar, but I also taught myself mostly from old school metal like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden lol I'm a musical Klusterfuk I listen too and play just about anything but there's certain groups I always go back too and The Jimi Hendrix Experience is one of them, and it's not just because he was an amazing guitar player its also because Mitch Mitchell was an amazing drummer, and Noel Redding was an awesome bass player they were all talented. I could rant about it all day😂

[@gclip9883]

Bold As Love may actually be my favorite song of his (although 1983 is also a contender). But that entire album is just brilliant. I feel like Axis: Bold As Love is the perfect intersection between the pop songwriting of Are You Experienced and the more experimental and free flowing playing of Electric Ladyland. The entire album goes by like a breeze for me. No song overstays its welcome. In fact, a lot of the songs leave me wanting more (specifically Little Wing and Castles Made Of Sand). And Bold As Love just hits so much harder when listening to the entire album. It's the ultimate climax to one of the greatest psychedelic rock albums of all time, in my opinion.

[@TheMegaGamingWizard]

One Rainy Wish has a special place in my heart.... it's only a dream, go out and tell someone about it ❤

[@seedmole]

Little Wing for me. I'd listen to it on loop, wishing it'd never end. One winter, not long after picking up guitar, I sat there and practiced it until I could play it. It's still one of the few actual songs I can play. Can't imagine a more influential song, except maybe some random ambient stuff that sent me into a whole drone/ambient kick.

[@Liam-fn8yl]

I have never. ever. ever. found hendrix underwhelming.

[@noviatoria2436]

I was born in 2000, and growing up learning guitar with access to the internet, I saw all kinds of insanely technical shredding stuff all over. Everything from Van Halen to Polyphia, and a lot of that stuff is cool music, but it's often so technically complex and so fast it takes a lot of effort to even follow what's going on musically. So when I did get around to Hendrix, he instantly became one of my favourite players, because he was the best at using the electric guitar to express musical ideas in a way that was melodic and easy to follow, while still being flashy and virtuosic. Plenty of more recent players could play faster, more complex stuff than Jimi Hendrix, but nobody else's playing is quite as expressive as his.

[@Mike-eq4ky]

Now go listen to Randy Rhoades on the first two Ozzy albums...

[@interstellar618]

The foundation of almost all the shred you listened too was either directly or indirectly influenced by Hendrix. No one even remotely played guitar like him before he hit the scene. From 'Experienced to Little Wing to Voo Doo Chile. You can hear it somewhere from nearly every rock/metal guitar player since.

[@broncohab]

@@Mike-eq4ky all good, but I hope your not suggesting he was anything like Hendrix?

[@riffraffrichard]

The expressive aspect is the best bit. His emotions are directly channelled into the instrument!

[@brushstroke3733]

I liked "Are You Experienced" when I first got it in 1991 as a fourteen year old, but it didn't blow my mind right from the start. It was when, like you, I started thinking of it in context that I began to understand Jimi's importance. "Are You Experienced" came out in 1967, the same year as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released. Knowing how revolutionary the latter was for its time, then hearing what Jimi did, I could see how mindblowing his music was at the time. He really did come from outer space. He was a comet, a shooting star, and we are so lucky he passed through and graced us with his creativity for a few great years.

[@simon1714]

The first time I heard Jimi was the opening of Voodoo Chile (slight return). That muted wah riff melting into the hook and then slamming into the main riff changed my life. I still get shivers when I hear it

[@yearginclarke]

He played some powerful and intense guitar on that one. Heard it countless times since I first got into him 23 years ago, and it never gets old.

[@TheFunktipus1]

Same. I still get those chills when I hear that song.

[@Apocalypse4162]

Me too man I'll never forget the first time I heard it, where I was and what I was doing, and how that song made me feel stoned before I even knew what that felt like. I fell in love instantly and thats really rare for me. It was pure bliss.

[@realitypeace8024]

Exact same experience when I was 17 years old. That's when I got serious about guitar.

[@simon1714]

@realitypeace8024 I was probably about the same age. 16 I would say, because I bought my first guitar soon after

[@MarcSiqueira]

Hendrix's all along the watchtower and little wing always blows my mind, to this day! The 1st time i went to a guitar lesson class the teacher asked me: "what kind of music do you like?" To which i responded: "i wish i could play guitar solos like Hendrix!", he let a laughter escape but with excitement, then he said, well at least i know now where to begin to teach you lol. Thus my journey with pentatonics started lol

[@glass2467]

What most guitarists today, and other musicians, still don't get - is that the power and brilliance of Rock music back then was not in the perfection of these ideas, but in the raw exploration of those licks and ideas. Today musicians might perfect a Hendrix lick to the point of completely losing the magic. Back then they were exploring. Boldly going where no musician had ever gone before. Dangerously and heroically attempting and reaching. Hearing that was and is exciting. Making mistakes in the process is part of the brilliance. Playing through loud noisy amps and distorted effects - all very non perfect sounds - add to the danger. Not even the guitarists themselves could fully control that sound. Today, guitarists and singers, and other musicians think that perfecting this is a good thing. But in fact it's a boring thing. Even the digital distorted sounds they use are tame and boring. They miss the whole point of music, or at least Rock music. Go exploring, surf on a dangerous wave, not caring if you wipe out in the process, musically. That's what is exciting.

[@hazardeur]

that's why i cant take a lot of modern metal bands seriously. its missing that raw component at lot of the times. they scream with perfect technique and it just sounds less legitimate because it is. same for all the sampled drums, the digital guitars, the programmed bass, the grid alignment of it all. some can make it still work within these limitations but for most of the lesser bands, it just sound so toothless while trying to be heavy, its actually comically funny to me

[@glass2467]

@@hazardeur Yes, I get that. I feel the same way.

[@Rhythmicons]

@@hazardeur Absolutely. Part of what made Metallica great is that they had cold war era fears and 70s-80s era struggles. They paid their dues by the time Puppets came out.

[@keithkruse2595]

You can all thank all those damn west coast (Seattle) hippies.

[@antithug7942]

Huge Hendrix fan here. To me the quintessential & best Red House version by Jimi is on the Hendrix in the West album recorded live at the San Diego Sports Arena, May 25, 1969. His leads and everything he does on the guitar in that song is absolutely mind blowing, to me anyway. I still get chills listening to his main lead break and the lead break he does leading up to the end of the song. Just unbelievable & creative.

[@jroze33]

Underwhelming is a word that has never correlated with Jimi. The man recorded for 4 years and left a legacy lasting more than the average lifespan. When I was in middle school, I grasped that I’d never grasp the time/space Jimi lived in, I immediately knew off Purple Haze he was an enigma that I will chase my entire life. An absolute god at his craft, leaves today’s masterful guitarists still jaw dropped at his bag of tricks he’d pull out in the studio, and stage.

[@southerntrendkiller2632]

100% this

[@douglasbaird6552]

These tictok, social media musicians are such phonies.

[@bullcrap9409]

@jroze33 I was underwhelmed at the time. And still don’t think the songs are anything special.

[@eyss5767]

@@bullcrap9409 Good for you, you are objectively wrong.

[@kyle8575]

@@bullcrap9409You can think the songs are underwhelming from a personal standpoint. That’s okay. Not having respect or understanding for their importance is not okay.

[@dasninjastix]

It took me around 40 years to finally hear what differentiates Jimi, I don't have the technical knowledge or musicial vernacular to properly define it, but his sense of rhythm and dynamics (loud/quiet, hard/soft) of his playing are supernatural. They impart such emotion, they're so crazyily communicative. Somehow it's like he's folding you into the music as he's playing, like a continuous current that changes in strength and speed. It's maddening and glorious.

[@JeffreyTheTaylor]

It is his giant hands, friend. He can mute and bend at the same time. Add a perfect sense of time and pitch, he is one of one.

[@xavier4519]

It is his giant hands, he literally picks you up and folds you

[@jackgilchrist]

It's so much more than big hands. 🙄 OP is right on.

[@JeffreyTheTaylor]

@@jackgilchrist "Add a perfect sense of time and pitch, he is one of one." As I said.

[@realitypeace8024]

Genius musicians often have a very unique and personal sense of time and rhythm. Jimi did. His pocket was truly amazing. He also had an irregular attack with which he could make the guitar sound like a reed instrument like the sax.

[@EricW6800]

Just try to understand or even attempt to copy his rhythm playing. His solos are great, but his song writing and especially the rhythm parts are just phenomenal. Some even dare to call it sloppy. After listening to it daily for 40 years I still find new nuances and I'm in awe. What a gift, thank you Jimi ❤

[@Lou-jl4ov]

its sloppy trash

[@eyss5767]

@@Lou-jl4ov Post your music, it 100% sucks.

[@Lou-jl4ov]

@@eyss5767 no. you dont deserve to listen to it if you listen to a drunken black moron who choked to death on his own vomit and think he was some sort of God. rofl.

[@dtjb793]

My little insignificant comment is 'the better a guitarist I became, the more I appreciated how good he was.'

[@LukeMaynard]

I don't think it's insignificant at all! The only analogy I can think of is that Jimi is the CN Tower of guitarists. I live in downtown Toronto, and it's impossible to get lost because no matter where you are you can see where the CN Tower is and know which way you're headed. But the illusion of the tower, because it's so big, is that it looks like it's about a 10-15 walk away. "I could totally walk there," you tell yourself. Then you walk for 35 minutes, and the whole neighbourhood has changed, and you left one area of downtown and passed through a residential area, and now you're back in what looks like downtown, and you're still just a 10-15 walk from the Tower. "I could walk that," you say. "I've already walked for 35 minutes, what's 10 minutes more?" Then you've walked for around an hour, and you're down to the waterfront, and you look up, and you're in luck because the Tower is straight along the waterfront and only 10-15 minutes away. That's what it feels like chasing Hendrix's skill as a guitarist. It doesn't seem that hard when you start. And as you get better and better, it doesn't feel like he's THAT far ahead of you. And yet you keep advancing until you're one of the best living guitarists in the world. And you look up and he's just a little bit farther ahead. Maybe if you keep walking, you'll get there... and you'll become a greater and greater master for doing it. But you'll still never get there. And maybe that's okay, because wanting to play like Hendrix has brought you this far.

[@sonicbooomboy]

@@LukeMaynard That's a great analogy

[@realitypeace8024]

@@LukeMaynard Love it.

[@mypal1990]

A lot of guitarists formed from what Hendrix has done on the strings. The man was ahead of his time.

[@jvsings9146]

By leaps and bounds

[@micmathers1]

the solo from "may this be love" is what got me hooked. headphones are a must. Or lay with your head between the speaker (good ones) like I did.

[@Browny84]

I was pretty heavily into the White Stripes when I first heard Jimi Hendrix. I was just delving deeper into the blues and the history of rock and roll. Jimi absolutely blew my hair back. I’ve never heard anything before or since that made me feel that way. Sure, many guitarists can play rings around Jimi in a technical sense, but very few, if any, play with such feel and such reckless abandon. There won’t be another like him,

[@tonetone7572]

he left us in 1970 he was just starting out and was already getting "better"..just think if he would have lived and continued growing and breaking more and more new ground and honing his skills through the decades no one would play rings around him.

[@ronlight7013]

Yes, I see on Wikipedia that Red House was released in 1967 on the British version of Are You Experienced? And that it was recorded in 1966. But trust me, as an American who daily listened to the very first FM underground radio station and swooned over the American version of Hendrix’s album, we didn’t hear Red Door until at least a year or two later. Are You Experienced? was totally mindblowing rock, but the final half-dozen songs you have on your CD were not part of the original American album. The album had its own unique integrity, but without the material you might think it contained.

[@senseibear2436]

That's crazy man... Would make anyone wanna give it up and change their name to Morgan Freeman...

[@EagleHerbs2015]

exactly. Didn't hear Red House until decades later. And don't even think it rises anywhere near the mind blowing "experience" of the rest of his playing and compositions.

[@yearginclarke]

@@EagleHerbs2015 This live version of Red House is phenomenal: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aILIf5-thpqra6c

[@trevorcook4439]

I’m not sure why America had to have a different release for any album than the rest of the world!

[@ronlight7013]

@@trevorcook4439 Not quite what happened. U.S. record companies operate independently of those of other countries. The only specifics I know for sure are in the case of the Beatles where the British Parlophone would release 14 songs to an album but U.S. Captiol Records only 12. Capitol would hold onto the remaining two songs to build material for a novel album unlike any British release. It wasn't until Sergeant Pepper (1967) that Capitol got on board with replicating what came out of England. BTW English releases were technically superior, too, during the British invasion. Thus, Are You Experienced?

[@stoffls]

How could anyone be underwhelmed by Jimi Hendrix? He was way ahead of his time and set the tone for current and future guitarists. Even the guitar greats of his time, Clapton, Beck, Page could not believe what they saw at the Marquee Club in London in 1967. I personally think that Electric Ladyland is THE masterpiece of his short career. A record unmatched for the ages!

[@petealba707]

I don't get it either. I started playing in the late 80s and was inspired by metal but it didn't take me long to get it after i heard Little Wing and Machine Gun.

[@mrcoatsworth429]

Oh I get it. He was ahead of *his* time. Not ours. It's relatively easy to forget how influental and trail blazing he was.

[@gimiked8685]

It's the same with anything. Current f1 drivers are not trying to beat 1980's lap times. We always stand on the shoulders of past greats.

[@judih.8754]

It's like the old adage goes "you had to have been there." It was ground breaking. Even Jeff Beck is quoted as saying he was blown away, thinking "OK what do I do now?"

[@michaelvarney.]

Only the ignorant could be underwhelmed by Jimi.

[@toms5951]

It took me years to finally appreciate Hendrix. A few months ago at Buddy Guy's farewell tour he gave a pretty long speech about Jimi, giving him and many British players credit for revitalizing the Blues but there was something special about Jimi: "A fire that had never burned before. And before we knew it that fire had burned out but the mark he made will always be there, if not for that I probably wouldn't be here today playing for you, and there isn't many of us left" (to paraphrase). It's definitely a time period I wish I could have seen evolve.

[@Lou-jl4ov]

its because he sucked. you brainwashed yourself thru repetition

[@mcswordfish]

I got into Hendrix when I was 12 (back in '96), just as I was starting to play guitar. I now have a 15year old son who's been playing for a couple of years, and through a combination of my preaching and his love of RHCP, he's taken to Jimi too. It brings me so much joy to hear him jamming and improvising Little Wing. It's doubly good when he uses my Uni-Vibe I bought a few months back. Definite parenting win

[@lopezb]

So cool to hear that. My son is 14 and I am trying to raise him to hear some of what I grew up on. It's wonderful to see younger folks get turned on by the music we knew when kids. He's learning to play piano and knows some Chopin and Bach and also Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas. Trying to expose him little by little to Beatles and Hendrix and Coltrane and Miles and Traffic and Dylan and and and... but also newer stuff like this: Giacomo Turra: kzbin.infoe7jMit_fbiw I hope he takes up the guitar as well, I want to pass my Martin and my Tokai on to him some day! RHCP- can't do better than that!

[@kachaazema4971]

Your take on guitar playing pre- and post-Hendrix, UNDERSTANDING HENDRIX’ CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT, was outstanding. So so good to hear your comparisons (imaginations) to what contemporary blues men or Brits would have played on that track. Really brought it to life. Excellent vid, brother 🎉🎸

[@epsilon6516]

6:46 hearing a player that I respect refer to the guitar as “our” instrument is always a good feeling to me, it’s such a little thing but to know that I am in even the smallest possible way a part of something so amazing is always just a good feeling. Keep rocking our instrument brothers and sisters🤘

[@ilhadi]

Not one for tears. But I did at that "our instrument"

[@thomasmiller5057]

The first time I heard the song Are You Experienced I was decidedly NOT underwhelmed

[@vinanddex]

The most amazing Hendrix blues track for me is 'Hear My Train A Coming' live at the Berkley Convention Center. He takes the guitar to places its not been since. Truly incredible track.

[@daveguitarnowski4402]

Same here. What a freakin' solo!

[@michaelciancetta6397]

nothing sounded like that ;)

[@bonehead2768]

AWESOME playing!! Look forward to seeing you shred more in your videos, they're ALWAYS entertaining and informative. Thanks for the Great effort and Thank You for this channel, BEST guitar channel going in my opinion. Thanx!!!!!

[@lopezb]

True, awesome playing!!!

[@T_SDuarte]

Discovering Hendrix for the 1st time is like reading a REALLY CLASSIC AND GENRE DEFINING author for the 1st time and realizing where all the tropes, conventions, commonplace stuff and even cliches came from. Some might even have been discarded by now! But he was the guys that not only laid the 1st stone, but built the entire 1st building. And man, what a beautiful, masterful and timeless building it was. To the point of becoming a world heritage site. That’s Hendrix. He’s the “lost link”; every rock and metal guitarist can trace his origins back (more or less directly) to him.

[@lopezb]

Well put! Like seeing Greek architecture or Rembrandt or Klimt or Picasso and realizing that's where it all came from....

[@paulshepherd9528]

Great video here... on a topic I have spent a LOT of time thinking about. You hit the nail quite cleanly with the mention of 'context'. As a kid who grew up with Hendrix sound, there was always a sense of awe. Of course, you try it out stoned and it's a whole new ball game. Then you go to places no man had before set foot, lol. I am more of traditionalist... my Celtic genes like melody and structure, I'll be honest and say that some of JH's live performances left me wondering how the same guy could play so differently. At times it was just chaotic and noisy, yet at other times stunningly beautiful. Yes, underwhelmed. The truth is that the man took the axe to the wall of the day's sound, and countless of us waltzed through that wall because of it, not really perhaps fully realizing what a service had been done. There was bound to be a mess made here and there in the process. I just love Little Wing because it so beautifully highlights his touch. I have yet to hear anyone really completely emulate that, though SRV gets wicked close to it... but then, he knew the value of the hole in the wall. Cry of Love is loaded with great stuff, from the driving opening of Freedom to the floating of Angel, and all points in between. Of course we all have our favorites. Maybe the real testament, the proof if necessary, is that 50 years later he is still being talked about by guitar players. He was that guy, for sure. Clapton knew it. SRV knew it. Van Halen knew it. Beck knew it. It goes on. The fact that great players are still doing Slight Return as a demonstration of their own skill levels and appreciation tells me we are right. He was the greatest of his time, and probably the single biggest influence either directly or indirectly to this very day. You can quite literally point to that moment in time and say that it changed everything for us as players. Each of us has something from JH's repertoire that still blows our minds... He painted with sound, in colors never seen before. I don't miss him because he never left. The next world is here and he took us to it. ... yeah, I'm a fan, lol...

[@maxherron1376]

Here is a historical reference. I was in the 7th grade when that came out, but I was a very young drummer. Fire is what caught my ear. Anyway, Red House was not on the US version of Are You Experienced. I didn't get to hear that until the first time (of 3) that I saw them live. It blew me away again. Thanks for the breakdown on this video.

[@DoCc7872]

You are, without a doubt, experienced 😁 rock on 🔥💯

[@lamech006]

You are blessed my brother!

[@kkjhn41]

Yeah the first US version of Red House was on the Smash Hits album with a different mix from the UK Are You Experienced one.

[@hijmestoffels5171]

‘Machine Gun’ on Band of Gypsies is another good example of Hendrix’ extraordinary talent.

[@owenhershey13]

Absolutely!

[@AvidCat5000]

I was a weird kid who wanted to understand music as an art form, but I didn't really listen to the current songs on the radio. I wanted to start near the beginning and listened to mostly classical (Beethoven/Pachelbel/etc) for a long time. Certain genres didn't appeal to my tastes at first. As I got older, hearing the constant country songs on my parents stereo, (Travis Tritt/Shania Twain/etc) I started to like newer styles (Hank Williams/Johnny Cash/etc) but refused to like metal or hard rock. Then, I heard Ozzy and Meatloaf. My mind opened up and I fell back into the greats (Hendrix/CCR/Eagles/etc). I was stubborn about music and how I should enjoy it. Now, I have such a wide range of musical interests (Ghost/MF DOOM/100 gecs/Fatboy Slim/Rob Zombie/Eminem/etc) and appreciate the history of the sounds. Also it helped that my step-grandad was an old radio/party DJ and showed me the power of it all. Music is magic imo. Hendrix was just a vessel and one of the g.o.a.t.🤘✌️

[@JonathanAcierto]

The key to what you said is you “learned his solo.” That’s the thing people don’t do nowadays is try to actually LEARN music. Not just listen and judge, but to actually learn and understand. This is what makes me appreciate styles I never thought I’d like. I didn’t appreciate bluegrass and country until I started playing and learning those genres.

[@shemphouse]

Jimi made me realize a guitar player could be a superhero, and guitar playing could be a super power.

[@tolstoy21]

I had the same response to Paul McCartney's bass playing (and the Beatles in general) until I got older and really listened to them and really understood how he (well, and the Beatles) fit into the history of music.

[@edwardq6697]

"Are are any other moments in recorded (musical) history like this?" Two that come to mind immediately are Charlie Parker and jazz bebop in the early 1940s and then John Coltrane's wall of sound/Coltrane changes in the late 1950s - early 1960s.

[@philhughes9562]

Another moment like that that changed guitar playing was the first Van Halen album in 1978, Eruption kicked off the next phase of guitar playing

[@lopezb]

The first jazz record I bought was in about '67 and was Coltrane's Live at Birdland. I asked the guy in the record store (remember those?) if he'd recommend a jazz record for me to start on. He went crazy, "this--not, this..."and then settled on that one. What a wonderful choice! I had been into the Beatles et al but that blew my mind in a different way....same as Hendrix did....and Miles a few years later (ESP, Nefertiti..)

[@kc_jones_gaming]

If you ever looked at an accurate tab book for Jimi Hendrix, you would immediately see why. It takes a year to decipher certain nuances that are common to his playing. Once you figure it out, you start feeling how much freedom he truly had with that instrument. It’s crazy. Anyone who doesn’t understand and thinks he’s “mediocre” has never tried to perfectly replicate his music

[@BeatlesCentricUniverse]

Great comment!

[@Yourbankaccount]

Learning Hendrix or any other great guitar player with tabs is the worst idea ever, use your ears bro. Tabs are inaccurate for like 99% of time

[@kc_jones_gaming]

@ Hal Leonard tabs were quite accurate for Jimi. Good luck with doing it by ear though. The guitar not being at the front of the mix will have you trying for a while. I wouldn’t have known about thumb over chords if I didn’t have tabs. Tell me how you ear a thumb 😂

[@BeatlesCentricUniverse]

@Yourbankaccount KZbin has made every average guitar player in the world better (talking mainly about myself). Lots of KZbinrs have accurate tabs!

[@Yourbankaccount]

@@kc_jones_gaming There are hours of video material featuring Hendrix using thumb to fret the chords, not to mention countless other guitarists as well lol

[@Jerry_Fried]

From my perspective, when my mind was blown by “Are You Experienced” as a sixteen-year-old in 1967, the really revolutionary stuff - the stuff no one had heard anything like - was in “Third Stone from The Sun,” “Are You Experienced?” and “Manic Depression.” Those were the what-the-hell-is-this songs.

[@televinv8062]

I don't think it's possible to imagine how mind blowing Are you Experienced and Hey Joe were in '67 UNLESS, you were a teen or young adult in '66 or '67. I'm sure it was as mind blowing as say Elvis 10/12 years earlier for young people. The reason I say this is because older friends and family members, who were into rock, rock and roll have told me what you posted, for years. Glad you were around to witness his 'emergence'. 👍

[@frankanuzelli3640]

We are the same age and yes, being a big fan of Clapton, Page and all those guys I knew immediately that Jimi was something totally different. A ton of people can copy him really well but nobody did what he was doing. He was a game changer.

[@lopezb]

Completely agree about "Third Stone". Back then I thought I was the only one who appreciated it. Another little-mentioned one I love is House Burning Down.

[@tonetone7572]

"Third Stone" 1967 is the first rock jazz funk fusion song.

[@matcoffidis1135]

To me, it's hard to sum up Jimi's playing. A few terms that come to mind: freedom, expression, explosiveness, color...Ive never heard a guitarist since that has captivated me like has. What a legacy he left us in 3 short years...🎸👍✌️

[@alsantangelo]

Understanding historical context is critical, and not just when talking about music, but everything.

[@michaelciancetta6397]

exactly

[@GraphiteBlimp27]

I’ll share my experience with this and some thoughts: I got into rock music when I was in high school. Radio songs (you know what I mean) and then deep into Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd discographies. I was interested in Hendrix but had not listened at the point I took a History of Rock classic my freshman year of college 2013. We got to the Hendrix part and the Star Spangled Banner, and I had heard it before and thought it sounded like shit. Whiny and thin strat tone, overwhelming distortion, and atonal phrases. Then in class it hit me- I could hear the sounds of bombs, the roaring of jet engines, screams of people being incinerated, the “theater of the mind” type of thing that is my favorite part of music. The fact he could make theses sounds out of the guitar was unprecedented, and the demented version or the anthem is such a cherry on top of the whole Woodstock experience. What were we fighting for? Is this really the America we believe we can be? You gotta think when listening to this music, guitar was mostly a rhythm instrument, leads in jazz were quiet and subtle, and we had barely seen the advent of string bending and expressive electric blues playing of the 60s. Hendrix comes in, can nail those blues sounds, but then throws on distortion and it’s unhinged edge of your seat rock n roll. This is not even to mention his excellent songwriting, studio experimentation and innovation, and showmanship (such as playing behind his head, with his teeth, or lighting his guitar on fire!). So many of the things he did are now standard in the rock and metal vocabulary. It’s why some of my friends with modern ears just think Zeppelin sounds like “normal” 70s rock, well it’s because they laid the template for 70s rock!

[@baimun]

Growing up as a huge fan of Prince, it was pretty evident to me the 1-2 punch of Hendrix and then VanHalen just a few years later. It's difficult to find any rock musicians who can't be traced back to them in one way or another. Even when you take neo-classical Yngwie, or metal-fusion like Paul Gilbert, their tones and flash have direct lineage to Jimi and Eddie. ☮💜🎶

[@D-Ski-Bike-Kayak-Etc-cv5tm]

I love this! In the early 80's, at 12 years old I heard the opening lick to the Red House guitar solo and that is the day guitar became an obsession for me. It took years before I found Guitar For The Practicing Musician. In that magazine, Red House was transcribed by someone named Andy Aledort. Over the years Andy's transcriptions would unlock the guitar for me. He was essentially my 'virtual' guitar teacher. During covid I paid for a Zoom lesson with Andy specifically so I could thank him for 'teaching me' the solo to Red House.

[@adalsegu9670]

this song is why i have always been a believer

[@adalsegu9670]

its also worth mentioning the opening solo is also genius

[@BrianKiddDevDesign]

Jimi Hendrix is the Godfather of the modern electric guitar. Other notable solos are the solo from "Bold as Love" from the album Axis: Bold as Love and also "1983 a Merman I Should Turn to Be" along with "Voodoo Child: Slight Return" from the album Electric Ladyland. Oh, and of course, the solo from "All Along the Watchtower" on Electric Ladyland. That honestly is probably his best. Keep in mind that until this day, the great Steve Vai has stated that there has only been two major paradigm shifts in electric Rock guitar: Jimi Hendrix with his debut and Van Halen with their debut.

[@whyceeguy]

For me a big part of the problem with these types of discussions is the need to use hyperbolic terms such as "Greatest", "Best", etc. If we refer to somebody as "Great" then we are not putting them above everybody else, just near the top. As pointed out there are a lot of things one might listen to now and think that you have heard a ton of guys sound/play like that but if you really dig down you will find that there is some guy who was the first to do it and that is more what the discussion should be about. There is never a question that somebody will take the ball and run with it and take it to another level. Another overlooked ground breaking moment was Tom Scholz, nothing sounded like Boston before that first record and then suddenly everybody sounded like that.

[@lopezb]

Everybody who met Hendrix always commented on what a nice guy he was....no ego. Just creativity, just expression, just music, a gift to the world....

[@insulartomb]

really impressive video! brilliantly explained, shown and demonstrated

[@eti313]

Jeff Beck w/The Yardbirds "Happening Ten Years Time Ago" 1966. Check it out. Jimi did.

[@lopezb]

Excellent choice!!!!!!!! Also "Shapes of Things", named after a SF book by HG Wells.

[@lopezb]

Since I was teenager when that came out (I even saw him live once, in Berkeley, first show before the one that made it to record) I love seeing young guitarists and fans discovering all that music for the first time. You hit a lot of the great bands (Yardbirds, Mayall, Beatles) but I'd also mention Traffic, Airplane, Cream, Blind Faith, Doors, Who, Love....) and as players, besides Clapton and Jeff Beck, also Peter Green and Mick Taylor. But Hendrix was something special. Another great blues of his- my favorite- is "Come On". One of the things so many miss about Hendrix is how great he was as a singer, songwriter, and lyricist. Nowadays there are many who can imitate his licks, but nobody who can write like him, and very few who can break new ground. Who comes to mind as a groundbreaker is maybe Tim Henson and Matteo Mancuso and now Giacomo Turra: kzbin.infoe7jMit_fbiw But they are mostly playing short amazing cuts, not writing extended tunes with voice and lyrics...

[@jk-76]

I got "Are You Experienced" in like 1984-85. I was 9 or 10 years old and had been "playing" guitar since I was 6. I had heard Hendrix on the radio because my parrents are rockers from the 70s but I never sat down and listened to him. That tape changed my world. I understood how he was winging most of it and invented some cool aproaches. I learned a handfull of songs and even visited his grave when I was in the Army and stationed at Fort Lewis, WA. I introduced a few guys to Hendrix throughout the years and they all realized they were missing some great music.

[@TheSalMaris]

on first listening to this in 1967 it was absolutely beautiful, man.

[@jamesfetherston1190]

As for Red House, I would say that there are definitely recordings of Buddy Guy venturing into that territory before 1967. Another big part of the shift in playing, can be heard inBeck’s Bolero recorded in May of 1966

[@AngelHadzi]

I also though of Buddy Guy, but Hendrix takes it even further

[@jamesfetherston1190]

@@AngelHadzi Sure, and while Buddy Guy was likely unfamiliar to a lot of rock fans back then, he was someone Jimi would have been very familiar with.

[@AngelHadzi]

@@jamesfetherston1190 absolutely

[@kkjhn41]

Are You Experienced was recorded in 1966 and released in 67. Hendrix had been playing and writing the riffs and music used on the album throughout the early 60s while playing the Chittlin circuit, He played with big name R&B acts like The Isley Brothers, King Curtis and Little Richard but he also played with dozens of smaller acts for years after leaving the Army all the time storing up ideas for songs that he couldn't play as just a backing player. Only the Isles understood what a talent he was and spotlighted him in their act. But Jimi wanted to front his own band and soon ghosted the Isley Brothers like he did with every band he played in, just disappearing without a word. When Beck saw Hendrix for the first time he considered quitting until he met Jimi and found out what a sweet and humble guy he was. Jimi asked Jeff about certain riffs he played and Jeff was impressed that someone he considered to be so great was aware of him. Right until he died Jeff would quote Hendrix lines in his solos and cover his songs like Little Wing in concert.

[@jamesfetherston1190]

@@kkjhn41 You aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know, with the exception of the recording of “Are You Experienced” which was recorded over a five month period, most in early 1967. That said, I am not at all maintaining that Hendrix was not the most influential guitarist in history, just that some of what Sammy was saying is a bit overstated. The sound of how the electric guitar was played was changing, and that change was coming from many corners - in the UK, guitarists like Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton (the Beano album), and the aforementioned Jeff Beck were well on their way of transforming how they approached electric guitar before any of them heard of Hendrix. This is not to say Jimi didn’t kick it up a notch.

[@ShayneLewis-rg3rb]

Love your show, keep on rockin' brother!

[@donald-parker]

Old guy (69) here. Johnny Winter And Live was released 4 years after Hendrix Are You Experienced and I have to believe Johnny was playing the way he played long before that live album was released. It's My Own Fault off that album is showcases some similar approaches to blues, but it is much cleaner and much more inventive way IMO with the seamless movement between major and minor pentatonics - used in a very "call and response" sort of way. There are also live recordings of both artists playing Johnny B. Goode. IMO the Johnny Winter version wins hands down. I liked a lot of Hendrix's writing, and he certainly was the master of looking cool, but his playing did not inspire me nearly as much as Mr. Winter's did.

[@kkjhn41]

The Hendrix version was an off the cuff Jam that made all others sound weak by comparison. Johnny was a great blues player but he didn't have the inventiveness of Hendrix who took the guitar far beyond the blues and changed the very sound of the instrument while also influencing every aspect of music from songwriting to fashion to the concept of building a world class studio to live and record in.

[@petertaysum8947]

I tend to run a mile if the conversation gets into "who is the best", and I appreciate your admiration of Johnny Winter. I think Jimi, though very much his own talent, was influenced by other players. Randy California and JW were both admired by Jimi, and he was quick to praise others. Jimi's place at the top comes from his ability to take all the influences and pave the road to the future.

[@robertvavra414]

Thanks for remembering the 'Johnny Winter And Live' album. At the time, the joke was 'Johnny Winter has joined The McCoys.

[@daveguitarnowski4402]

@@robertvavra414 Johnny should be getting royalties for his version of Jumpin' Jack Flash. After that gig, he owned it.

[@franciscordon9230]

Absolutely amazing, thank you for sharing. Love the historical analysis and amazing music.

[@TimmyJamesDafunnyMan]

im 29 years old i started listening to Hendrix when i was 18 i never found him underwhelming

[@DanJanTube]

It's a matter of age. I have a friend in their 20s who thinks EVH was nothing special because "he just sounds like everybody else from the 80s."

[@cheffrey82]

I presume your rebuttal is "no, everyone from the 80s sounds like *him*"

[@michaelciancetta6397]

well they should not talk about music let alone do it ahhahahaha

[@Ateesh6782]

You are making sense with this angle on Jimi. I first heard his 1969 Star-Spangled Banner on radio when I was in highschool in communist Hungary (I am 57, was born when his first album came out). Mind you, I did not grow up listening to rock music AT ALL. So that ONE impression fucked me up forever: his approach is indeed from space. He’s just there. Again, think of a kid becoming a Jimi fan without ever really liking any rock music at all. It’s both a linear tradition (which I did not know THEN) and something so meaningfully disruptive that it just breaks through. And it will stay just as important for ever.

[@BaldPerspective]

I'm sorry, but any guitar player that thinks Hendrix is underwhelming, even before realizing the truth, is sad. Hendrix obvi inspired SRV, Frusciante, & Mayer, but he still mops the fkn floor with all of them; even tho Are You Experienced is "old," it is still filled with better, cooler, more colorful, & more creative playing than almost anything else after it. I normally hate Beato-style rage-bating, but this is probs why we have lost our way as musicians lol. Glad you're a fan, now, Samurai.

[@joshcoxmusic]

Jimi was innovative and great but we all know SRV was 10-fold better

[@Stevestevestevestevestevesteve]

Yup

[@JPVillalobos27]

@@joshcoxmusicHow so?

[@MrDrSirGuyManJr]

As a 28 year old guitarist, the historical context of what he was doing was somehow always obvious to me. And to me, he didn’t just change how the blues was played, but songs like Hey Joe (which I know is a cover of a blues song) are where true rock guitar solos begin. I’m not sure it’s possible to describe using music theory what the difference is, but Hey Joe is the earliest song I can think of that elicits the emotional impact and feeling conjured by subsequent great rock guitar solos. Even though it’s the same scale used in the blues, it doesn’t sound like I’m listening to a blues solo anymore, it was a whole new sound and feeling, which is now today an old and familiar feeling sought after by many rock guitarists. He also played stuff pretty far removed from the blues, like purple haze’s solo is in Dorian, if I remember correctly. As well as his psychedelic experimentations like 3rd stone from the sun, are you experienced? Etc. And furthermore, how can we not talk about his rhythm playing, which to me is where his largest influence on guitar is. Songs like little wing, where he essentially plays the same chord progression but never plays it the same way twice, in fact every performance including the one in the studio, are improvisations made possible by the thumb being used for the bass note opening up seemingly endless possibilities for embellishments with different voicings for each chord. I know he didn’t invent that technique either, but he was the first one to do it in such an effective way that it blew everyone’s mind that had heard it at the time, and many minds since (like mine, haha). You put all of that together, and that’s why he is so often regarded as the greatest of all time

[@kaneblaireau4864]

Curious where you would put Sister Rosetta Tharpe in there. She certainly did a LOT to set the foundation for Hendrix.

[@StereoTyp0]

Definitely, her playing deserves to be remembered

[@judih.8754]

Amen!!

[@robertbrown2728]

I'm sure that all the great guitarists of that period would acknowledge her as an influence. Eric Clapton certainly did.

[@dhio9615]

Bleeding Heart at the Royal Albert Hall for me is a masterclass in blues soloing. The way he articulates common licks is so good.

[@bonehead2768]

Jimi was very humble and an American Veteran ( US Army), definitely a Legend, but EVH is, was and always will be the GOAT.

[@Chasing72]

I respect your opinion but disagree. Without Hendrix most of us would never have picked up the guitar.

[@smoothpicker]

Hearing hendrixs music when it his music first came out, yes im old as hell, was pure joy! I was 15 when i first heard his music when my friend bought the album. I had been playing guitar for a couple of years, half assed at best to be honest but hearing how he played and the double-stops and how he used chord inversions and the effects he used very tastefully just hit me in the soul. From that day on i wanted to play in "that"style. Ive been playing ever since, althought arthritis has limited what i can do these days but i still love playing guitar.

[@jamesonpace726]

Very well put, Mr Samurai....

[@Andy000Burns]

I'm probably about the same age as you, and Jimi Hendrix was a life changing musical discovery for me. That's likely because I found it when I was younger. But still to this day it offers a certain spiritual, surrealistic vibe that you really can't find - especially in guitar oriented music.

[@MalMotorDedo]

I'm 22, I've heard a bunch of guitarists like Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Jerry Cantrell, Billy Corgan, Marr, Fripp, Page, Iommy, Brian May, obv Frusciante. Point is, I've heard a lot of varied music with guitars, heavily listening for the last 8 years of my life and I've just recently heard Hendrix (like, I knew him and a short part of 1 or 2 of his songs, but never actually sat with his music) and I instantly felt it, dude had a way of playing so fluid and almost free-form that you will most likely never hear again LIKE THAT. I wasn't underwhelmed because I think Hendrix is a special and unique player and nobody can outdo him in his field. I was underwhelmed with early heavy metal, because I do think that bands have made better metal in the same field as Priest, Maiden and Sabbath (to an extent, Sabbath also has something that sticks out).

[@henrymrowicki7004]

Check out his Band of Gypsys album, it's live and came out in 1970.

[@sombra1111]

Jimi Hendrix was never underwhelming. Sometimes I think musicians who care too much about technique are the worst musicians out there. They get desensitized to the most important thing in music, which is feeling.

[@bryanh3057]

He was never underwhelming to YOU. That is the beauty of music. It is completely subjective. 👍

[@sombra1111]

@@bryanh3057 Sure 👍

[@Peter7966]

First time I heard that album, probably a year after its release, I knew something different was there, but I didn't have the guitar or music language yet to know what. Manic Depression was the snared me on a deeper level... the guitar, the shifting rhythm, the lyrics and the other worldliness of it all. I'd just never heard anything like that. It's still one of my favorites.

[@troyjones2358]

Me too.

[@StarQueenEstrella]

0:30 it’s also worth mentioning that in his incredibly short life, Jimi Hendrix wasn’t a popular figure. Not only was he refused by both Black and white audiences (white folks wouldn’t listen to him because, well, racism; and Black folks wouldn’t listen to him because they claimed he was playing “white man’s music”), but he got booed off the stage by fans of The Monkees, who he actually opened for.

[@kkjhn41]

The fans of the Monkees were 13 year old girls and their parents, booking Hendrix on that tour was done by his co-manager Mike Jeffries and was soon fixed by his other manager Chas Chandler who made up the story about the Daughters of the American Revolution demanding The Experience be removed. It ended up being a great publicity boost because of the story. While it's true that Black DJ's and radio stations refused to play him his White fan base was huge. The Experience headlined and sold out shows all over the world and were the highest paid live act in the world when they were touring. His was the highest paid act at Woodstock because he was one of the most popular musicians of the 60's, that business of people calling him the greatest guitarist in the world didn't start when he was dead, it was while he was alive and active.

[@OmniphonProductions]

The day I finally _got_ Hendrix also became the day I finally _got_ Picasso. Picasso could have painted anything; portraits, landscapes, little bowls of fruit...you name it, he could paint it and paint it very well. Instead, he decided to paint his subjects from multiple angles in a single painting...piecing together those perspectives into one image (like cut-out letters in a ransom note). Such is the case with Hendrix. He could have played Blues, Rock & Roll, Country, Soul, Funk...you name it. Instead, he said (paraphrasing), "I'm going to explore _off_ the path as much I can, while always _keeping_ the path in view and _returning_ to the path just often enough to reassure the audience that I'm not lost." GENIUS!!! P.S. Believe it or not, The Monkees hired Hendrix to be their opening act, and he got booed off the stage. The Monkees _got it,_ but their audience wasn't ready for it yet.

[@Douche.of.the.Dabbleverse]

To be underwhelmed by Hendrix...what a horrible existence.

[@mikethebloodthirsty]

He probably gets overwhelmed by Taylor Swift.

[@tonray9395]

Amen..tell it like it is brother

[@thommccarthy1139]

Yeah you have got to be an idiot to come to that conclusion. Dude in the video trying to play his stuff has 0% of the steaze doesn't get it at all.

[@grumpyparsnip]

this comment wins the internet.

[@Lou-jl4ov]

he's not a drugged white guilt loser

[@JohnWhite-xc3md]

Jimi's flow. His rythm playing/rythmic flow of notes when soloing was incredible. Then when you hear what he plays behind his voice when singing during live performances like "Who Knows", "Machine Gun", etc was other worldly.❤❤❤

[@Pumpkinking64]

Thinking Hendrix is "underwhelming" is insane.

[@mynamethog1151]

No not really, if you’re a young guy like me, the first listenings of Jimi with less appreciative ears, jimi just sounded like every other blues rock boomer typer play 🤣

[@michaelciancetta6397]

@@mynamethog1151 so who do you think sounds better regardless of genre or era? because that is the key.. if you listen to satriani of course he is way more technical but really? satriani? or who? govan? if you ca not hear the difference maybe you should give up music..

[@benjaminhawthorne1969]

Thank you for this. 🤗 My older brother had a poster of Jimi on his wall and I'd always heard how AMAZING he was. I finally purchased one of his albums, "South Saturn Delta" and was QUITE underwhelmed. I listened to the album over and over again and NOTHING about it resonated with me. Your video showed me that I may have purchased one of Jimi's rare "stinkers." 💩

[@LoveMyCountry2845]

If you don't recognize the genius of Hendrix immediately, you're lacking something as an artist.

[@HexOmega3113]

I agree that he's a musical genius, I just don't think he was the greatest of all time.

[@sepp4624]

If you don't instantly hear the same old shit you beat to death as a beginner guitarist, you're lacking something as an artist.

[@christravis8288]

Growing up in the 90s my first wave of favourite guitarists were people like Brian May and Joe Perry but when I heard Hendrix he was instantly the one for me. Up until that point lead guitar sounded so technical, so planned out and rehearsed to perfection. Where as with Jimi it sounds raw, it sounds like he's singing through the guitar and it always sounds like he's just on the right side of losing it. So much expression. He's a legend that fit a hell of work into his 27 years.

[@dinithewinny3542]

Im probably better than hendrix but no one is ready for that conversation

[@Schitzor]

Define better

[@the-engneer]

Prove it

[@joeylodes]

Jimi will always be the Mountaintop for me. I was lucky enough as a kid in the late 70’s to have a brother 14 years older than me who constantly played Hendrix , Sabbath , Zeppelin, and Purple in the house. Great video !

[@pvgaming8243]

The only things that are actually underwhelming are youtube guitarists.

[@michaelciancetta6397]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha true

[@The_Majestic-p6f]

I'd love to see you analyse some of Malmsteen's blues licks, they are obviously Hendrix influenced, and the way he incorporates them into his playing is great

[@pinkyellowblue007]

You have to understand there was nothing before Hendrix

[@TheSkillotron]

This is sarcasm, right?

[@nickrouse8426]

​@TheSkillotron Literally not sarcasm. Perhaps needs clarification? I think he means that people didn't use guitar effects to their fullest potential until Jimi discovered them as they were invented and showed us how. He pioneered a path to follow. He innovated rhythm playing. He even made Eric Clapton embarrassed at his own perceived lack of skill compared to Hendrix. The dude was magic.

[@Groovegandalf]

Yeah except for everything that was before him.

[@sgbh8874]

Glen Campbell

[@michaelciancetta6397]

@@TheSkillotron Hear My Train A Coming' live at the Berkley Convention Center.. listen to this and then come back and tell me what sounded like this before

[@Ron322]

What made me GET IT was...watching Jimi's set on Woodstock '69. That's when I watched in awe and realized how we owe 99% of guitar awesomeness...TO HIM. We wouldn't have Satriani, Yngwie, Vai and many others without him.

[@modularmuse]

Just the feel of the intro to the studio version of Red House, with his impeccable timing, blew my mind when I first heard it. The whole track is dripping with feeling.

[@robertfoose9453]

The Win Cries Mary...a great song, but it is what made Hendrix really groundbreaking. He played the 'electronics' as much as he played the guitar. Yes, he adopted and adapted licks from previous eras, but he was so forward thinking that he also realized the possibilities of both his pedals and the techniques for recording. As you mentioned, everybody does it now...but primarily because he did it first. His creativity was truly unbounded. [P.S. - I heard and saw him from thirty feet away in 1968...and noticed he was nonchalantly chewing gum while he blew me away!]

[@scudmtbuoy]

About 30 years ago, one of the guitar magazines had a feature on Red House. After reading that, and re-listening to the song, I was a believer.

[@ibuiltthesky]

Great little history lesson there, Really enjoyed it 👏👏

[@SuperStrik9]

Hendrix was the guitarist who inspired me to start playing. Will always love his work.

[@jimroberts6176]

Spot on assessment and very well-articulated. This could be a semester elective at a college.

[@johnfirth6541]

I have a book on the history of guitar. from classical to modern. the author wrote that Jimi was the first to really understand and use the power of *electric* guitar and all the sounds that could come out of it. This on top of his psychedelic addition to classic blues and other things. Many people were innovating then, but understanding that an electric guitar was a different instrument than an amplified acoustic made him truly innovative.

[@PeterTea]

History is the necessary context needed to understand how we got to today.

[@cdprince768]

Great analysis of the originality of Hendrix's solos. And he was also revolutionary in the manner he infused psychedelia with traditional blues, his original and evocative songwriting, his mastery of feel, and his soulful singing.

[@StrekRout]

I scored a last minute ticket to Paul Mccartney one month ago for 40 bucks, and after a couple songs in, they suddenly started playing Foxy Lady. Holy shit I went nuts. Paul improvised a little and after the tribute he said some words about hendrix. Never expected that coming, I just feel blessed for experiencing that

[@pyrothane]

Love this deep dive - more please

[@majorgruber5925]

For me, it's Hendrix's cover of "Like a Rolling Stone" at the Monterey Pop Festival that truly reveals the depth of his brilliance and connection with his guitar.

[@bencarrdus9583]

You're so good at these analyses SG.

[@zorglub76]

I'm nearing my 50s, and one of my favorite exercises nowadays is listening to the music I love, but trying to hear it as teenagers hear it now. And yeah, a lot of that old music (yes, it's old) is incomprehensible to kids in the same way as me never understanding Duke Ellington's importance. OTOH, it's fun when one of those old songs hits my (teenage) son hard.. He's playing Toxicity on repeat, and we're still not allowed to play On the Melancholy Hill in front of him, because it made him cry when he was 5-6, and he still has trauma from that song :)