Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
Jimi was following in the footsteps of others. Charlie Christian first established the electric guitar as a jazz instrument in Benny Goodman's band in the 40's. Les Paul refined what was possible with his own guitar designs. People like Jimi and Jeff Beck were expanding the horizons of what could be done on an electric guitar, deliberately exploring the possibilities of effects boxes like wah-wah peddles, phlangers, and echoplex.
Beck's later work was jazz rock fusion, and I can't see Jimi going any other direction.
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Dennis
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Beck went in so many musical directions he had to retire from music 5 or 6 times so he could keep coming back; his biggest obstacle nowadays is his hearing (or lack thereof); his tinnitus got so bad that I missed out on seeing him open for ELP back in...'93? Might have been '92.
Anyway, RE: Hendrix, my vote's for blues. Sure, he could/would have, on some level and at some point done a jazz fusion album (dream trio with Terry Bozzio and Tony Levin
) but Beck always had the more classical bent; I always considered Hendrix's style more comparable to early-Zeppelin-era Jimmy Page: Technical but raw at the same time. There was an energy to their playing that defies description.
There's been a wealth of previously-unreleased stuff marketed by his dad, so it stands to reason he wouldn't have run out of inspriation for quite some time. I submit the following alternate timeline: 3 or 4 more albums (yes, one of which would have been fusion-y), then he'd have sat out the late-'70s. He'd probably have done the ARMS concert in '83 with Beck, Page, & Eric Clapton; at least one of Geldof's (Live Aid, Live 8) concerts; rehab in the mid-'80s; big comeback, guest spots on a few albums, triumphant solo release (and inevitable backlash), R&R HOF performance. THEN, he'd sit in the Pantheon with Page, Beck, and Clapton; like he already does, only collecting royalties like they're going out of style. I don't think he'd have started his own label but might have sat in the producer's chair once or twice, if he'd had a good enough reason.
However, my Magnum-voice tells me MTV couldn't come up with enough money for him to have reprised his Woodstock performance for the '94 or '99 anniversaries. I think he'd have known better.