J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr picks his favourite Jimi Hendrix songs
When lists of the top guitarists of all time crop up, the usual suspects like Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and David Gilmour frequent the top ten in various arrangements, but the one name that invariably surfaces as the cream of the crop is Jimi Hendrix. His style pioneered psychedelic blues music and opened doorways only he seemed to be able to enter.
When trying to understand why Hendrix was a cut above the rest, it can be helpful to revisit comments from some of his gifted neighbours in the top guitarist lists. “One guy can ruin an instrument. Jimi Hendrix, bless his heart – how I wish he was still around – almost inadvertently ruined guitar. Because he was the only cat who could do it like that,” Keith Richards told the San Diego Tribune in 2010 when discussing Hendrix’s inimitable style. “Everybody else just screwed it up, and thought wailing away [on the guitar] is the answer. But it ain’t; you’ve got to be a Jimi to do that, you’ve got to be one of the special cats.”
While Hendrix’s peers of the 1960s, including Clapton, Page and Gilmour, have long lauded the late virtuoso, the impression he made has by no means been lodged in time. Over the past five decades, aspiring rock guitarists have struggled through guitar tutorials, wondering if they’ll ever be able to play the lead run in ‘Purple Haze’. Many have tried to emulate the style, and many have failed, but they’ll always remember the first time they heard Hendrix.
For me, it was ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ from The Experience’s 1968 album, Electric Ladyland. The song begins with a few scuffs that morph into whammy-laden licks and eventually explode into a heavy onslaught. Writing in a feature for WFUV, J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. picked this classic out as the first entry of his five favourite Hendrix tracks.
“The guitar sound is so heavy when it kicks in, it just bowled me over,” he wrote. “That’s my basic takeaway from this — how heavy a song can kick in, and how cool a guitar can sound.” This style pioneered in ‘Voodoo Child’ can certainly be heard in the DNA of Dinosoar Jr.’s material as Mascis weaves heavy chords with melodic lead runs.
Next up, Mascis picked out ‘Little Wing’ from Axis: Bold as Love. This 1967 classic showcases Hendrix’s more clearcut, melodic style, which predated the more distorted sound of his later releases. “I heard Derek and the Dominos’ version first and loved it,” Mascis wrote of ‘Little Wing’. “That was the first used record I ever bought. Then I realized that Hendrix wrote it and, of course, loved it. This version is so clean and pure.”
Following Electric Ladyland, Hendrix released the live album Band of Gypsys, his first release without his backing band, The Experience. Hendrix himself wasn’t particularly satisfied with the album, releasing it reluctantly as pressure from his label mounted.
The live album may lack the depth and detail enjoyed in Hendrix’s earlier studio releases, but it gives the listener a chance to recapture the mind-boggling talent exhibited at Hendrix’s stage shows. One highlight that caught Mascis’ imagination was ‘Machine Gun’, which boasts the “best solo ever when it comes in, and he just holds that note. Then that cool drum fill comes and goes, but the note is still singing — then he just rips the most wailing shit ever. It’s just sick.”
For his final two selections, Mascis picked out ‘Spanish Castle Magic’ and ‘Jam Back at the House (Beginnings)’, both from Hendrix’s historic performance at Woodstock ’69. The set was famed most for Hendrix’s rendition of the US anthem ‘Star-Spangled Banner’, which he employed to protest the nation’s controversial military operations.
The set was caught on film and showcased in the 1999 movie Jimi Hendrix: Live at Woodstock. In his WFUV feature, Mascis pointed out that one of the performance’s greatest moments, ‘Spanish Castle Magic’, wasn’t included in the movie. “I never thought Hendrix’s show was that good — out of tune, with a bunch of conga players, it seemed not his best idea— until the album came out and you realize the show was amazing,” Mascis wrote. “I’ve listened to it over and over. I love it, and this song is killer. This should’ve been in the movie.”
For his final selection, Mascis chose ‘Jam Back at the House (Beginnings)’, also from the Live at Woodstock album. He added: “More Woodstock jams; cool riffing that sticks in my head, year after year.”
J Mascis’s favourite Jimi Hendrix songs:
- ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ – Electric Ladyland (1968)
- ‘Little Wing’ – Axis: Bold as Love (1967)
- ‘Machine Gun’ – Band of Gypsys (1970)
- ‘Spanish Castle Magic’ – Live at Woodstock (recorded 1969, released 1994)
- ‘Jam Back at the House (Beginnings)’ – Live at Woodstock (recorded 1969, released 1994)
