When I first started playing music,
I never attempted to write my own songs. My lack of music theory and technical
playing skill at the age of 8 did not give me a lot to work with. Instead, I
practiced those skills by learning other songs written by those more
experienced than myself, crazy right? Beginning musicians starting on bass,
guitar, piano, or any instrument start with this. However, besides a great
learning tool for novice players, covers can be an art of interpretation.
In a modern context, remixes are a
great example of the reimagining of another musician’s song, but the practice of
covering a song is not new to popular music. From Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine
Inch Nails “Hurt” to Amy Winehouse’s cover of the Zuton’s song “Valerie,” it is
surprising how many songs gain fame because of a cover. One of my favorite
songs that, surprise, happens to be a cover, is Jimi Hendrix’s version of Bob
Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” Hendrix’s version is a what a great cover
should be; a reimagining of a song sonically while preserving the character of
the original.
1970’s Electric Ladyland was Jimi Hendrix’s last full-length LP with his
band The Experience, and the album includes tracks like “Voodoo Child” and
“Burning of the Midnight Lamp” with intricate, experimental production and
extended sections where Hendrix’s soloing displays the power of psychedelic
rock. Beyond these original tracks, the surprise is that the most focused
display of Hendrix’s musicianship is found on “All Along the Watchtower,” a
song off of Dylan’s 1967 album John
Wesley Harding.
The song (link below) has a
laid-back, minimal production style and includes few instruments in the
arrangement. Only an acoustic guitar, drums, bass, harmonica, and vocals help
bring to life the song’s story of a Joker and Thief. Dylan sings the song
reserved instead letting the harmonica soloing act as intense transitions
between each of the three verses. The song is quintessential pre-electric
guitar era Dylan and is a classic example of great folk/singer-songwriter
material, but what Hendrix does to rework the original is astounding
Regardless of the hundreds of times
I have pressed play, the intro instills a sense of power with its hard-hitting
snare and floor tombs combined with Jimi’s iconic treble guitar tone. These
opening 10 seconds sound nothing like Dylan’s version almost as if Hendrix
wanted to trick his audience into thinking it’s one of his compositions. It continues
with the original harmonica replaced by a melodic guitar line that cuts through
the rhythm section commanding attention. Then the first verse hits with Jimi
singing, “There must be some kind of way out of here said the joker to the thief”
as he accentuates guitar parts to emphasize each line in the verse. Suddenly,
the ending of the first verse is met with a soloing section that gives way to
one of Hendrix’s biggest strengths, improvisation.
There are many parts of this song
that could be discussed at length, but I wanted to focus on the solo because
Hendrix does something uncanny; He changes his guitar tone and playing style three
separate times. As he sings, “so let us not talk falsely now. The hour’s
getting late,” the solo that precedes acts as the sonic answer to what happened
to the Joker and the Thief. The solo begins with the same lead guitar tone we
have heard in the intro and solo, but something is different. Treating his
guitar as rising action in the song’s story, Jimi’s solo climbs as if the
characters are traveling to a towering mountain when at the last moment of
tension, there is a change to a psychedelic, dreamlike, plateau of tone.
Listening to this part of the solo
with headphones, the euphoric sound weaves between the left and right earbud as
if two guitars are simultaneously playing next to each ear. Even in the mix of
instruments, everything is pulled back and distanced to add to the ambience. For
me, anytime during this section of the solo, I visualize myself floating in
deep space where each pluck of the guitar is transmitted as green, purple, and
yellow sound waves bouncing off of one another and myself. This space like effect
was produced using a wah pedal that Hendrix was famous for throughout his
career, and it’s used as an excellent transition to the final section of the
solo with its harsh contrast.
Up till this point, Hendrix’s
improvisation in the solo has been used to great effect with crafting the cover,
and to finish it off, he goes for quite a climax. He changes to a dry treble
tone, and as he does, the rhythm section starts to creep up with the bass and
rhythm guitar becoming hotter in the mix and drummer Mitch Mitchell hitting the
crash cymbals harsher. As the rhythm mix gradually gets louder, Hendrix resorts
to fast plucking and even palm muting the strings eventually leading his solo
to change dynamically by playing farther up his Fender Stratocaster’s fret
board. This equates to an explosion of playing from every member of the band,
and the solo finishes with Hendrix singing the last verse, but this time with
more vocal power than before.
Jimi Hendrix’s version of “All Along
the Watchtower” is a cover song that can be used as a creative model for anyone who plays covers or remixes songs. Even as I am writing
this and listening to the Hendrix’s version, trying to describe to my best
ability the intricacies of the track, I can’t help but still try to figure out
how he rethought a song like that. It is certainly something to aspire to.
Let me know your favorite cover or remix in the comments!
Jimi's Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY
No comments:
Post a Comment