CD TRACKS 13 & 17 ovis ecixe EE Jimi Hendrix ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER Of all the Dylan cover versions, none generates so much excitement among guitarists as Jimi Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower. 30 - years on, JON JANNAWAY examines the hackground of this unique track. arlem, New York. August, 1965, A heal-cracked asphalt strip, lttored with junked-up apartment blocks and the kind of hotels that charged hy the hour. ‘A si- mile festering black scar on the alabaster underbelly ‘of the white man’ indifference.’ in the words of playwright Sylvester Leaks. A young Jimi Hendrix had finished successful stints with the Isley Brothers, Arthur Lee and © Lite Richard and was now foraging for his noxt meal tcket. He vas living with a Harlem ‘foxy lady, Fayne Pridgeon, broke and ‘ducking from hotel to hotel to avoid paying the bills. One summer afternoon, Jimi returned to their temporary hotel room with a large brown paper bag tucked under his arm, but not the groceries he was meant to pick up, He'd spent their last few dollars on Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. This wasn't Jimi’s frst encounter with Dylan, but it was a key ‘moment in his own artiste development. Having toured and recorded with black R&B and soul artists, the guitarist was now looking to go out on his own with a new sound, The record companies at the time were promoting lightweight pop, but Dylan showed Hendrix that there was a ‘market for serious songs. According to Fayne, Jimi played the record until the needle sliced through the grooves. In his isolated and hungry state he surely empathised with the sentiments of Like A Rolling Stone and Ballad Of A Thin Man. He absorbed the images of the sea, the rain and the road ~ themes that would later oceur countless times in his own songs. Hee was intrigued by Dylan's poetry his use of colours and the manner in which his balfspoken, nasal slur bore almost instrumental qualities. {As Jimi rose to further notoriety on the New York club eireuit, he jammed at The Loft fon Hudson Street and blew everyone avvay in the legendary Cafe Wha?. It was then (1966) that Hendrix was to have his only meeting with his songwriting hero, They met in the Kettle Of Fish on MacDougal Street. Both stoned, they spoke for some time, though when quizzed about the meeting later Hendrix could only recall: “We Just hung about laughing, Yeah, we just laghed.” THE WATCHTOWER EXPERIENCE ‘The next two years would see Jimi Hendrix rise from club ‘musician to legend. Live and on record he would pay homage to Dylan, playing Like A Rolling Stone, Can You Please Crauel Out ISSUE 46 AUGUST 1998 aCe LC) Mea MTL) Pecan) cue at Dla Ode CR mL Priel a Ua ‘Your Window and, of course, All Along The Watchtower. Jimi, still reeling and dazed from the massive suecess of both Are You Experienced and Adis: Bold As Love, was at a party in London with Traffies Dave Mason and Rolling Stone Brian Jones when he first heard Dylan's joln Wesley Harding LP. He was stunned. His {initial idea was to record I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine but he felt that the song was too personal to Dylan and should not be covered. ‘When he heard Watchtower... however, it was a different story. Jimi leapt up: “We gotta record that!” he exclaimed. “I gotta do that now.” Lis then girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham, confirms his enthusiasm for the song. “He came right out of himself when he did All Along The Watchtower,” she said. “He enjoyed it. He loved that song,” ‘The party crowd moved to Olympic Studios where in the early hours of January 21st, 1968, the basic 4-track recordings were made with Jimi on electric guitar and bass, Dave Mason on a 12-string acoustie and Mitch Mitchell on drums, The session was engineered by Fddie Kramer and produced by Chas Chandler. SLIGHT RETURNS Hendrix’ arrangement of Dylan’s epic tale of man racing towards Armageddon has since prompted Dylan to proclaim the version better than the original. The produetion brings new significance to the Iyrics and the colision ofthe track’ folk feel with Hendrix’s space-age apoealypti guitar soloing is a perfect reficetion ofthe song’ theme. The highlight is Hendrix’s mammoth solo. Every note is perfect, every articulation flawless. As if in deference to Dylan, the guitarist forsakes his usual Rery, reckless abandon to adopt a considered, almost restrained approach, emphasizing melody and sound, not pyrotechnics. The result is what many claim to be the greatest guitar solo of alltime. topens with hard rock pentatonie playing, killer phrases and perfect bends. Next, a Strat in open-G picks up the plot. Jimi played the guitar on his lap using a lighter as aside to get the ghostly ‘moaning’ sound. Then its back to straight Strat and wah before the climatie conclusion of devastating unison hends With the basic tracks done, the tapes were flown to the Record Plant in New York where additional tracks and effects (reverb and echo) were added. As the fifth Jimi Hendrix Experience single, Watchtower... reached No 6 im Britain and No 20 in the US in November 68, Jimi later said “I felt ke Watchtower... was something I had written bout could never get together. I often feel ike that about Dylan.” Ultimately, All Along The Watchtower stands as musical testimony to the talents of one of the greatest songariters of the 20th Century, and one of the cleetri guitar's true pioneers. EEL >> EEE:A oie Jimi Hendrix _ ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER Dylan cover versions don’t come much more epic than this. cp TRACKS 13 & 17@ EIT MORGAN transcribes Hendrix's interpretation of Boh's 8-chord masterpiece, from the album Electric Ladyland. LOFtARS, goitars and more guitars Despite the fact that some of the finest ‘work ofthe Jimi Hendrix Experience -was improvised without studio trickery, their albums were meticulously put together AU Along The Watchtower features at leat three six-string acousties, one rhythm electric gitar ‘and one lead, plus drop-ins galore. This transeription features all the important aspects ‘of each part, but foruses on the lead fils. The famous intro lead part uses a lightly overdriven tone on.the neck pickup to pick out that aanforgetable lead figure, and the verse fils use prereen Terese ee i 8 chm 4 z the same tone, but Jimi varies the volume on his Strat to adjust the gain levels. These fils are ‘purticularly worth studying as an example of how Hendrix used R&eB-style chordal omamentations jn a rock conteat, a key part of his distinetive shythi style, OF the three solos, it isthe second, ‘with its multiple parts, that guitarists most admire, especially or the wahelicks and unison bend conchusion. But its well worth lourning all these solos note-for-note, theresa library of licks and tricks here that every guitarist needs to Jnnow. So tine up, tirn on and drop in to mis ‘masterpiece ~ the hour is geiting late ‘The guitar part from A along The ettiewern Sl, a i pears onthe Jimi Hendrix album Elect Lada. Full backing track, minus the ‘main guitar part and vocals, ‘Tho guitars wore a Tekaming -EN-100 forthe acoustic parts ‘and an early Japanese Squier Sat tough Mars MP) and Boss €X7O0for athe | electric parts. Guiters/backing: Kit Morgan Poaeary BoA 6: AUGUST 1998 ISSUE 46@ cv macs 13 & 17 DOE FEATURE Ae tie) SIMI HENDRIX: All Along: The Watchtower (cont...) 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