From: Douglas Baldwin <coyotelk@optonline.net>
To: Miko Biffle <biffoz@gmail.com>; Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 8:49:08 AM
Subject: Re: OT: why no love for noel redding?
Yo crew -
I think poor Noel got the short straw for a number of reasons. IIRC, he joined the Experience with promises of becoming a guitar player in the band and having his own songs recorded. So he was a frustrated guitar player stuck on bass. Then he's playing with two of the greatest players ever - Hendrix and Mitchell. And can you name one song he wrote besides "She's So Fine?" Then he's drugging and drinking and groupie-ing like only a young male in his 20's in the late 60's could, alongside Mr. H, who would out drug/drink/grope everyone right up to his death. And the band was being hyped as THE GREATEST THING SINCE JESUS and they were being tossed into grinding tours with mismanaged money and riots outside the concert halls.... So poor Noel just couldn't keep up on any front - musicianship, songwriting, excessive lifestyle, crappy business.
And Miko, yeah, Jimi was one of the sloppiest players going at times. Again, it was par for the course. But man, give me "Machine Gun" at the Fillmore! Jimi changed our DNA. Sometimes I cry when I think of his dying.
Music is going to break the way because music is in a spiritual thing of its own. It's like the waves of the ocean. You can't just cut out the perfect wave and take it home with you.
-- Jimi Hendrix
Wave on, wave on....
"The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus rendering it suseptible to divine influences."
-- Thomas Mace (17th century), transmitted to Gita Sarabhai, as told to John Cage
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 5:32 PM
Subject: Re: OT: why no love for noel redding?
This has nothing to do with my personal feelings for Noel—it's impersonal. It doesn't matter who played the parts (but I guess the player had to have a name, so I used it.) Realize that I LOVE the entire band and have unbelieveable, life-changing memories surrounding my first-hand witness of the music. (Meaning I was there to see it—first tour, second tour) But when I sit down in front of the monitors and listen, I have perceptions I'm not going to ignore due to personal bias.
There are always considerations regarding how one ended up with xyz (whatever results followed)—but the resulting document still has specific sonic qualities. Just my humble, honest opinion. Would it be safe to say Hendrix was sometimes a very sloppy player? *-) (Ducking NOW!)
To cleanse any sullifying damage my sacriligous statements may have caused, I command you all to go home and watch "Jimi Plays
Berkeley" tonight and revel in absolutely amazing, skronky, beautific, Hendrix bliss. Be sure to add plenty of your favorite beverage or potion.. -m
On 3/17/09, scott hansen <evanpeewee@yahoo.com> wrote:
|
wow-i read this and thought "why no love for noel?" he was a young kid (early 20's if?) who thought he was auditioning for the new animals (house of the rising son), and got thrown in the world of JHE. i thought he was a good bass player for the experience. yes, i know there are arguments on the 2nd & 3rd albums that jimi played a lot of the bass stuff (i'm not up on my everything jimi did history in the last 10 yrs or so), but give the guy a break. he was just playing the bass in the band, he wasn't responsible for the recording and mixing. WHEN I LISTEN TO MY TAPES THAT ARE OVER 20 yrs old, IT ALL SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. when i still listen to this now that i've hit mid 40s-i'm amazed at the maturity of the writing and the adventurous nature of the music-all done by 3 guys who were still in their early 20s (and remember the lead singer/composer-was a HS dropout, and a product of 50's era education-& he was african american-a lot of the odds
were against him!). that, and the fact that the guy got shafted for his part of what he contributed, and he died a few yrs ago at such a young age (wasn't he in he mid-late 50's?) cut him some slack please!
end of my rant...
s---
Maybe my beef is with Noel Redding specifically? I can listen to Zep,
> Sabbath and many others on vinyl and feel the bass is adequate (for
> the day)—I just don't find Redding's bass that satisfying. Mitch
> Mitchell OTOH ranks right up there with Bonham in my book! -m
|
--
Miko Biffle
Biffoz@Gmail.com
MBiffle@FoxRacingShox.com
"Running scared from all the usual distractions!"