Fact #38848
When:
Short story:
The Jimi Hendrix Experience record the song Tax Free at Olympic Studios, London, England, UK, Europe, and add bass overdubs to their cover of the Bob Dylan song All Along The Watchtower.
Full article:
Mitch Mitchell (drummer, Jimi Hendrix Experience) : Jimi and I had different musical tastes – he turned me on to Dylan lyrics and I used to play him John Coltrane and Roland Kirk – but we did see eye to eye in the bass player department. Noel, bless his heart, went to see Bob Dylan once at a gig in Ireland, and Bob told Noel that he liked his bass playing on Jimi’s recording of Bob’s All Along the Watchtower, which, of course, is really Jimi on bass.
It was just so much easier to make records with just Jimi and myself, because Jimi was one hell of a bass player. In actual fact, he played better bass when he played a right-handed bass upside down!"
Jimi was so solid, I could actually play less and leave more space; those were some of the only times when I wasn’t compelled to overplay, at least until Billy came onto the scene. Jimi and I were always aware that we needed a funky, rock-solid bass player. I had some fantasies about really fattening up the bottom end, by getting Larry Young on organ, maybe Howard Johnson on tuba, along with a killer bassist. I wanted overkill, miles of low end!
Andy Johns (producer/engineer) : I remember when we did All Along the Watchtower. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon. Jimi came to the studio with a Bob Dylan record, and he said he wanted to do that song. Dave Mason said, “I need a 12-string acoustic.” I had this gorgeous Harmony acoustic that got passed around a lot. The Stones used it, and it was on a lot of records. We had to drive to my flat in Norbury to get it - a pretty grim part of London. I hadn’t paid my rent, so I crept upstairs past the landlord, but he heard me and said, “Andrew! Andrew! Are you there?” So I climbed out the bathroom window and came down the drainpipe holding this guitar. I jumped into Dave’s Jaguar, and we went back to Olympic and cut All Along the Watchtower, which a lot of people like, although it’s not my favourite.
(Source : Guitar Player, May 2012)
Bob Dylan : I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this (All Along The Watchtower) and ever since he died I've been doing it that way. Funny though, his way of doing it and my way of doing it weren't that dissimilar. I mean, the meaning of the song doesn't change like when some artists do other artists' songs. Strange though how when I sing it I always feel like it's a tribute to him in some kind of way. He did a lot of my other songs too from that period... Drifter's Escape, Like A Rolling Stone, Crawl Out Your Window, some others I don't remember. He would have done Masters of War exactly the way I do it now.
(Source : not known)
Eddie Van Halen : Hendrix blew my mind, like everybody's. One of my favourite guitar solos is the second one in All Along The Watchtower. I get goose bumps every time I hear it.
(Source : not known)
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It was just so much easier to make records with just Jimi and myself, because Jimi was one hell of a bass player. In actual fact, he played better bass when he played a right-handed bass upside down!"
Jimi was so solid, I could actually play less and leave more space; those were some of the only times when I wasn’t compelled to overplay, at least until Billy came onto the scene. Jimi and I were always aware that we needed a funky, rock-solid bass player. I had some fantasies about really fattening up the bottom end, by getting Larry Young on organ, maybe Howard Johnson on tuba, along with a killer bassist. I wanted overkill, miles of low end!
Andy Johns (producer/engineer) : I remember when we did All Along the Watchtower. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon. Jimi came to the studio with a Bob Dylan record, and he said he wanted to do that song. Dave Mason said, “I need a 12-string acoustic.” I had this gorgeous Harmony acoustic that got passed around a lot. The Stones used it, and it was on a lot of records. We had to drive to my flat in Norbury to get it - a pretty grim part of London. I hadn’t paid my rent, so I crept upstairs past the landlord, but he heard me and said, “Andrew! Andrew! Are you there?” So I climbed out the bathroom window and came down the drainpipe holding this guitar. I jumped into Dave’s Jaguar, and we went back to Olympic and cut All Along the Watchtower, which a lot of people like, although it’s not my favourite.
(Source : Guitar Player, May 2012)
Bob Dylan : I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this (All Along The Watchtower) and ever since he died I've been doing it that way. Funny though, his way of doing it and my way of doing it weren't that dissimilar. I mean, the meaning of the song doesn't change like when some artists do other artists' songs. Strange though how when I sing it I always feel like it's a tribute to him in some kind of way. He did a lot of my other songs too from that period... Drifter's Escape, Like A Rolling Stone, Crawl Out Your Window, some others I don't remember. He would have done Masters of War exactly the way I do it now.
(Source : not known)
Eddie Van Halen : Hendrix blew my mind, like everybody's. One of my favourite guitar solos is the second one in All Along The Watchtower. I get goose bumps every time I hear it.
(Source : not known)