Jimi Hendrix would have been 75 today. Is there an electric guitarist alive that hasn’t been touched by his awesome spirit and phenomenal playing? Of course I know the answer is yes, but I refuse to accept it. I have lots of guitarists I admire and being an effusive sort, I will often declare one or the other to be the best guitarist that ever drew breath. In all honesty I give that accolade to Prince, but Jimi comes a close second.
Simon Shepherd, a boy in my class in Bangor Grammar School, made me a C90 cassette mixtape in 1988, shortly after I’d started playing guitar. Side A was “Are you Experienced” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Side B was “Vivid” by Living Colour. He had amazing taste in music for a shy Scottish kid living in a basement room in suburbia, and he changed my life. Sadly he is no longer with us, but wherever you are, Shep, thanks for blowing my fucking mind.
The highlight of the Jimi record was “Red House”. I couldn’t believe that anyone could play like that, and I still find it hard to comprehend. So much has been said and there’s nothing I can add, really, so I’ll stop there.
It’s been an amazing time since the (ahem) last proper post here. I’ve been producing an album for Boris Grebenshchikov, and it has been an amazing journey so far. He’s a great guy – an enigma, a fascinating dude to work with. I’m not sure how much I want to write about it until the record is done, feeling that any dilution of energy is wrong. I fucked that up royally on the Ramshackle Crow record – gave so much away, showed the magic behind the scenes, and weakened it to the point where it could only die. I won’t do that again. I learned many things working with Bryan Ferry, and one was to keep everything under wraps until it was truly ready – the moment of reveal was something to be treasured. You need your confidence – no “sounding out the audience” or shaping the record by committee. And I get that now. I have started work on rebuiling the Ramshackle Crow album, as I love the songs – but this time it will be what I originally wanted it to be; a minimal, lean, mean sound of analogue synths and DADGAD guitar.
This is the first version of Red House that I heard from Shep’s tape. In the classic way that music imprints itself on your soul, this will always be the definitive version, despite being a lot less common than the other take. There is unreal energy in this.