Why did Jimi Hendrix listen to one of his songs backwards?
Although he is most lauded for his groundbreaking efforts on the guitar, Jimi Hendrix was not just a pioneer of the fretboard. He was an innovator in many ways, a natural inclination which saw him affect the world extensively.
It’s often overlooked, but apart from re-writing the handbook of what a modern guitarist could and should be, Hendrix also partook in his fair share of studio advancements. As a key player in his era’s flourishing psychedelic rock movement, it makes a lot of sense that he would also seek to push himself in the recording process. This is a common theme for all greats of this period.
This desire to innovate in every sense was also a facet present from the beginning. Apart from his searing guitar lines and the elemental rhythms of bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, on The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 debut album Are You Experienced, Hendrix showed the extent of his luminance during the recording process.
Although the hit singles are the most famous offerings, perhaps the most crucial effort included on the record outside of these is the closing track, ‘Are You Experienced?’. This is because of the musical genius that underpins it. Of course, Hendrix’s guitar work is some of the finest on the album with the rollicking track, but the way he reached his creative vision makes it really stand out.
Most notably, there’s the rhythmic scratching noise that sounds like a DJ scratching a vinyl to contemporary listeners. However, it was actually played on the guitar by Hendrix, running his pick along the strings in a muted fashion. He then reversed how it was played in the final mix, a trick The Beatles first employed on ‘Rain’ the previous year. There are also the backward cymbals, which add extra dynamism to the wall of sound, and the repeated piano chord that drones in the background.
In order to achieve this weird soundscape, engineer Eddie Kramer sub-mixed a recording of the band, reversing the playing, which he then transferred onto one of the four available tracks, creating a clash between the normal sounds and the backward ones.
However, the most astounding facet of the process was Hendrix’s solo, and his approach sheds light on the visionary attitude that made him such a hero of popular culture. To understand how his guitar work sounded backwards when he recorded it, he would regularly listen to his recordings played in this way to figure out how to approach it in the live setting. According to his biographers, this took no time at all.
Listen to ‘Are You Experienced?’ below.
