Comments on Light On Dark Water: Music of the Week – May 28, 2006 Jimi Hendrix: Fi...

Yes, I can sympathize with the "Voodo Child" crux....

2006-06-16T13:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, I can sympathize with the "Voodo Child" crux. Before I converted to Catholicism I went to a Baptist Church. We used to have a summer festival there, and one year my brother, his friend, and I wanted to play some music there. Well, we were all listening to Hendrix at the time, and wanted to do one of his tunes, and decided on "Fire," then realized the lyrics were a bit sketchy. So we proceeded to perform the worst instrumental version of "Fire" ever. Later I was to learn that the origins of the song were actually quite innocent and amusing (a rainy night, a warm fire, and a wet dog in the way).

Dylan himself said much the same thing about "All Along the Watchtower," mysteriously noting that he didn't know why Hendrix didn't cover more of his songs, since they were all his anyway

I wouldn't argue with your estimate of Ladyland at...

2006-06-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't argue with your estimate of Ladyland at all. I have to admit there's a slight discomfort for an orthodox Catholic in a song called "Voodoo Chile/Child", but, dang, that "Slight Return" is so fantastic that unless God gives me a direct order not to I'm going to keep listening to it.

...had he lived... The ever-unknown and tantalizing question... "All Along the Watchtower" always makes me wish he done more covers. When you think of the songs current at the time that he could have covered, it's a shame.

I think that Electric Ladyland is Hendrix's defini...

2006-06-15T19:11:00.000-05:00

I think that Electric Ladyland is Hendrix's definitive statement as a musician, so I tend to go with that, even if Axis has a better ratio of good to mediocre songs. Double Albums always have some filler, but Hendrix filler (like the filler on The White Album is miles above what a lot of contemporaries were putting out as their best stuff. I think "1983: A Merman I Should Be" and "House Burning Down" are great examples of Hendrix's burgeoning social criticism (testified to also by his cover of "All Along the Watchtower"). That and his embrace of jazz on "Rainy Day" show that he would have gone off into an interesting direction had he lived.

No, haven't heard that one. Thought about buying i...

2006-06-15T10:25:00.000-05:00

No, haven't heard that one. Thought about buying it but AMG rates this one higher, and I didn't think this one was so great. But then I frequently disagree with AMG. Still, I'd want to hear before buying this time.

So which side were you on in that debate? I never cared that much for Axis myself. I guess I might cherry-pick one disk's worth of stuff from Ladyland and call it the best Hendrix album. There's some mediocre stuff on there too, though.

Have you checked out South Saturn Delta? That's an...

2006-06-14T21:17:00.000-05:00

Have you checked out South Saturn Delta? That's another posthumous release that my brother bought - he said it was alright. He and I used to get in a debate about which was better - Electric Ladyland or Axis: Bold as Love.