[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by devilsadvocate

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.

One of my treasured memories was seeing Beck in a movie made of some benefit concert, playing with Eric Clapton. Erid did first break, and played impeccable blues. Come second break, Beck took off from there and rapidly achieved low earth orbit.

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.

Well, maybe. I have a live recording of Jimi doing Red House, and it's the sort of blues guitar I'd expect from BB King when he's [really cooking. But Jimi's roots are actually R&B more than blues, and he played with folks like the Isley Brothers before going solo. I can see him exploring the blues, but I can't see him regressing to a completely traditional style and forgetting all of the stuff he did to extend the range of what could be done on a guitar.

Agreed, I think, on the differences between Hendrix and Beck. But I'd love to have heard Jimi backed on drums by the late B. J. Thomas of Procol Harum.

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.

He might. I do wonder who else he might have played with over the years and what the results would have been.

(I heard a story about an early tour where Hendrix was on the same bill with Stephen Stills. Back in the hotel after a gig, Jimi and Stephen were jamming, staring into each others eyes, totally lost to the world, while Mickey Dolenz from the Monkees made whang whang whang noises on a guitar , just randomly strumming, since he couldn't actually play he thing. He stopped, and Hendrix and Stills acted like they'd run into a brick wall, and both screamed "What did you stop for?" )

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.

I profoundly hope so. (I did recently see a web add for a guitar designed by a Japanese manufacturer, intended to be destroyed on stage while performing... )
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Dennis