I've had another one of those epiphanies this week, writing about when Jimi first came to London and settled into the only period of domestic bliss he ever knew, with Kathy Etchingham.
In 1968, when Jimi and Kathy were shifting from Ringo's flat in Montagu Square to the loft apartment on Brook Street, Jimi was working on his third album, the double LP that would become Electric Ladyland. His band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bass, were out touring in the US and Europe. In between, Hendrix would spend time in studios on either side of the Atlantic.
his exploration of the recording studio as an instrument in itself, pushing out trhe envelope with the patient help of engineer Eddie Kramer and Record Plant's Gary Kellgren.
He told Disc magazine, "My music is my personal diary. - a release of all my inner feelings, aggression, tenderness, sympathy, everything.
With the double album scope, Hendrix was able to express his range of emotions more fully.
All Along The Watchtower was recorded in January 1968, only a month or so after the release of the Dylan album from which is was taken, Joohn Wesley Harding.
It shoecased Hendrix's extraordinary range as a guitarist, with solos played on different guitars in different styles. Dylan reportly said that Hendrix found things in the song that others people wouldn't think of finding there.
Mitch Mitchell's monumental solo and drumming in general on Voodoo Chile.
Time ran out, leaving this album as the most complete expression of his genius and vision.
It's not perfect, but then Hendrix wasn't perfect. Still a young man, not willing to be tied down in any way, he made many missteps and probably abused friendships and the support of those around him. But there's no denying his genius as a guitar player and musical visionary.
Don't look on it as self indulgence, consider it as the artists showing you the full breadth of what he or she can do. Same goes for The Beatles' White Album.
Of course, it's tragic his life was cut short at 27, especially when you listen to Electric Ladyland's touchstone moments and imagine what he would have been capable of if he could have got back on the straight and narrow on his return to London.
I am reading the booklet that came with the Experience Hendrix mid 1990s CD reissue of Jimi's 1968 masterpiece Electric Ladyland.
I think I know a fair amount about film footage of Jimi, but I have never heard or seen anything related to this ABC footage. Surely, it it does exist, it would have seen the light of day by now. But if it didn't exist, how could the Experience Hendrix CD notes be referencing it?
The DVD is worth getting for the extra footage, most of which features engineer Eddie Kramer peeling back the layers of the backing tracks to show the detail and the unique vision that Jimi applied to the album. Some of this is just beautiful, especially the rhythm tracks behind 'Have you ever been...'
Another thing this extended episode reveals is that on the original acetate of the album, the 'white-coated men at CBS' had got the name of the album wrong. Many years before Kirsty MacColl turned it into a joke album title of her own, here it is, Electric Landlady!
Here's a clip from the original Classic Albums program, which contains brief footage from the Record Plant sessions at the very beginning:
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