Is it just me, Jimi Hendrix albums are crap

[MartinBarre]

I realise that title will likely get a very aggressive response, but sorry, while I like his playing, and I quite like his vocals, there's just something about his songs that I can't get into.
I think it's the production, or maybe it's his guitar tone, I'm really not sure. Even his really good songs like Voodoo Chile and Purple Haze sound like crap for some reason. Every one of his songs sounds like a jam session, some of them to a stupid extent, with the drummer just doing his own thing totally at the expense of any rythm or sense of the song.
Even on the stuff you know Jimi spent ages in the studio working on the production, they sound like his band just did a quick jam, fucked about doing whatever they felt like and put it on tape.
Now I'm not expecting "Hysteria" like levels of gloss, but FFS the Beatles, the Doors, Jethro Tull, Zep, all these guys made tight sounding albums back in those days.
Why do Jimi Hendrix albums sound like shit?

[SeventhSon]

hey dude, you have a hot wife, but you're a friggin loser!!!

j/k!

i absolutely love hendrix, but some respected guitar players like Tommy Emmanuel have the same opinion as you do...they just don't "get" it. What's funny is Tommy Emmanuel worships SRV and SRV worships Hendrix, so go figure...

[quiksilver]

Heh heh. Yeah, I'm guessing you're in for some vitriol. I was never impressed with Jimi's playing or singing, but I figured that's because I was inescapably comparing it to later amazing players (e.g., Edward Van Halen). Your points about other bands of the same era are well taken, but I'm guessing that Jimi and his band were going for a looser vibe.

[Endrik]

the production was one of the strongest points of his albums, no one had done the stuff he did... can't get much better than stuff like "Third Stone From The Sun"
and good production is all about great performance not so much how nice or tight it sounds... Jimi and co. were masters of brilliant spontaneous performances... creating their cosmic and pshychedelic vibe... that was their goal and they archived it 100%

[MartinBarre]

I'm not bashing him - like I say I like his playing, he's a decent singer, I even like the songs. There's just something about his albums that sounds like shit to me, I can't put my finger on it. Like 7th Son says, this has been noted before, I know Marty Friedman isnt a Hendrix fan - I just don't know why the songs sound so crap.
"Loose"? Yeah, it really is - so why spend a Def Leppard like amount of effort on production only to release albums full of jams?
I remember reading that on some song, I think it was "Watchtower", Jimi didnt have a slide handy so he used a ring.
Well, isn't that just ridiculous? Go down the shops and BUY a fucking slide, don't just use a ring! It seems like they put in a ton of effort, yet were as sloppy as fuck at the same time and it shows.
Who was it that didn't want to work with Eddie Kramer? AC/DC? Can you imagine an AC/DC album recorded like a Hendrix one?
Actually that would work.

[Endrik]

Yeah, it really is - so why spend a Def Leppard like amount of effort on production only to release albums full of jams?

because that was his goal... Jimi Hendrix is not Def Leppard... Jimi Hendrix enjoyed playing psychedelic blues based rock music with spontaneous approach... the kind of thing which was important durning the late 60's cultural revolution.

I remember reading that on some song, I think it was "Watchtower", Jimi didnt have a slide handy so he used a ring.
Well, isn't that just ridiculous? Go down the shops and BUY a fucking slide, don't just use a ring!

what's ridiculous is when every musician would do something which is very common...
Reb Beach didn't have a 12-string guitar when he recorded Winger's debut album... so he recorded one take with a normal string set and the other take with high 6 strings from the 12 string set attached to his guitar... (Nashville stringing) the result was unique and cool... and that's what it's all about. When you are in a creative process than going to a store to buy shit is your last concern.

[Axewielder]

"Axis: Bold as Love" had an amazing production and sounded largely orchestrated (but with some improv). His later Band of Gypsies stuff was really stripped down and had almost no production at all (and a LOT more improv).

[MartinBarre]

because that was his goal... Jimi Hendrix is not Def Leppard... Jimi Hendrix enjoyed playing psychedelic blues based rock music with spontaneous approach... the kind of thing which was important durning the late 60's cultural revolution.

But Tull have a few psychedelic blues type songs in that vein - they sound ten times better. I'm not saying the actual songs are better, just that the overall sound is better.
It's really hard to explain what I mean here.
I think I would love Hendrix if his albums were produced the way everyone else's are. I don't think you can tie his production into the cultural revoloution - how come the Doors didnt sound like shite? Nah, I dont buy it.
And what about that drummer of his, going fucking mental half the time! Clearly no one had heard of the Phil Rudd approach in Jimi's band of gypos!

[MartinBarre]

I THINK what I'm meaning here is that Jimi's songs sound like everyone in the band is jamming. Most bands would write a song and sort out their individual parts exactly. So, normally, the bassist and drummer would lay down the backing track in a regimented fashion to suit the song. Think Motorhead.
But in Jimi's band each member just did whatever the fuck they felt like doing and it was put on the album.

I love songs like Wind Cries Mary and Angel. But they sound like shit.

[Axewielder]

Keep in mind that today you can just flip on a POD and have a perfectly crunchy Marshall tone. In '69, that wasn't the case. As far as I'm concerned, Jimi is the "Father of Distorted Guitar". Things were a lot more experimental back then, and not all those experiments worked. I don't care for his extreme distortion / fuzz sounds, although they worked on some songs. His tone on "All Along The Watchtower" was godlike.

[Endrik]

But Tull have a few psychedelic blues type songs in that vein - they sound ten times better. I'm not saying the actual songs are better, just that the overall sound is better.
It's really hard to explain what I mean here.
I think I would love Hendrix if his albums were produced the way everyone else's are. I don't think you can tie his production into the cultural revoloution - how come the Doors didnt sound like shite? Nah, I dont buy it.
And what about that drummer of his, going fucking mental half the time! Clearly no one had heard of the Phil Rudd approach in Jimi's band of gypos!

because when Jimi Hendrix would have sounded like everyone else, he wouldn't be Jimi Hendrix. I Like Tull but their production is booring to my ears.
Mitch Mitchell and Buddy Miles played like Jimi wanted to... he had is creative vision and I'm not the one who tells him what to do. AC/DC style of drumming wouldn't be Jimi Hendrix's vision. With The Experience he needed Mitchell's power, flash and jazzy runs with Gypsies he needed Buddy's groove and fills

[Endrik]

But in Jimi's band each member just did whatever the fuck they felt like doing and it was put on the album.

yes, that's called artistic freedom, if you don't like it don't buy it

[SEEGERMANY]

Martin, Martin, Martin, you're gonna stroke out buddy! Hendrix, as well as his albums, were so far ahead of the times, some people still haven't caught up! Look, I'm no Hendrix fanboy, but the cat was the definition of "loose" rock and roll. I hate to be so cliche', but to a degree, you just had to live that era to completely understand.

So what if you can't find a slide. The real concern was not running out of weed! Let's lose the music angle for a minute and talk movies. Rent the first Dirty Harry movie and even though it's a classic, the production is nothing like today's work. The acting is about as cheesy as it comes compared to current high action movies. It's just a different era.

Back to music. You mentioned Zep. I can remember listening to some of their early work and thinking Bonzo was the most spastic drummer on the planet. In fact, I recall an article in Circus Magazine (how many of you old fuckers remember Circus, Circus Raves, Hit Parader) where was voted as one of the worst drummers. Decades later, he's considered a drum god! To me, his drumming was every bit as loose Mitch Mitchell.

Enough of this crap. You drinking that single malt yet? Well, I am! Just remember, that was a different era and Hendrix didn't play by anyone's rules, especially the record company and their production engineers.

[MartinBarre]

yes, that's called artistic freedom, if you don't like it don't buy it

But Jimi is the only guy I feel like about this. I feel like I'm missing out on some great songs because they sound like shit!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=optmciK5W2Q

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uo_aqcub9j4&feature=related

Take those - the drums are pretty free, as is the bass, but it all sounds as tight as fuck. It's not a jam. Everything there sounds like it was done for a reason, but at the same time is kinda live and loose.
Hendrix's stuff sounds like people just turned up and farted about. The crime is they did it with awesome songs!
Mutt Lange must want to eat his own arse at the injustice of it all!

[Endrik]

for me the weakest point in The Experiment was Noel Redding's bass playing... it wasn't bad at all but nothing special, but they made it work, and it fits into their arrangements