Tag: Noel Redding

Jimi Hendrix – Bold As Love

After seeing the clip of a younger Jimi Hendrix with Jr. Walker and the All-Stars, I had to post something by him since it’s been a while. His playing and writing still blows me away. Hendrix had a flow through his songs. Is this one very commercial on the surface? No, but it IS because of the way he arranged his songs. His songs draw you in with that flowing sound. I first really found Hendrix when I was 11 or 12. Later on, when I started to play guitar and bass… no, I couldn’t do his solos (still can’t!), but I took some of his movements to the bass.

His guitar playing was off the charts and identifiable like a fingerprint. He slid a lot while playing, and after him, many guitar players picked that up as well. This song closed out his album Axis: Bold As Love, released at the end of 1967. Six months after his debut album, Are You Experienced. The biggest difference between the two albums can be heard. It was Hendrix realizing that the studio itself was an instrument, and learning how to play it or work it. I also read where his songwriting was catching up with his guitar playing, which fits.

The basic track was cut live by them, with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell locking into a loose groove. Hendrix kept the structure simple at first until the end, when it exploded. His voice was very intimate and more confident than on the first album. You could tell from this album that he wanted his lyrics more exposed.

The verses move gently with Noel Redding’s bass and Mitch Mitchell’s drumming, keeping everything fluid rather than forced. The album Axis: Bold As Love peaked at #3 on the Billboard Album Chart and #5 in the UK in 1967-1968.

Bold As Love

Anger!He smiles, towering in shiny metallic purple armorQueen jealousy, envy waits behind himHer fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground

Blue are the life-giving waters taken for grantedThey quietly understandOnce happy turquoise armies lay opposite readyBut wonder why the fight is on

But they’re all bold as loveYes, they’re all bold as loveYeah, they’re all bold as loveJust ask the axis

My red is so confident, he flashes trophies of warAnd ribbons of euphoriaOrange is young, full of daringBut very unsteady for the first go round

My yellow, in this case, is not so mellowIn fact, I’m trying to say it’s frightened like meAnd all these emotions of mine keep holding me fromGiving my life to a rainbow like you, but I’m

Yeah, I’m bold as love, yeah-yeahWell, I’m bold, bold as loveHear me talking, girlI’m bold as loveJust ask the axis

He knows everythingYeah-yeah-yeah

Yeah

…

Jimi Hendrix – Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

This song explosion is like an atom bomb going off. From the first words “Well, I stand up next to a mountain and I chop it down with the edge of my hand” you know Jimi means business. This is no boy band, folk cafe, or pop song. Jimi is shooting to kill. This song is off the great 1968 Electric Ladyland album. From the tone of the guitar and how he spits out the lyrics, the song is a masterpiece. The guitar riff is one of, if not the best. There was another song called Voodoo Chile that was recorded, but it is a different song. 

This song was recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience in May 1968, during the sessions for Hendrix’s third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland. The day before this was recorded, Jimi, Steve Winwood, Jack Casady, and some others had a jam in the studio called Voodoo Chile. This song was almost an accident after they built this song with a riff from the previous day. 

A camera crew from ABC-TV came by to film Hendrix for a documentary. Hendrix, always the showman, wanted to give them something great. So, he grabbed his guitar, and the Experience basically created “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” on the spot. It was a stripped-down, turbo-charged echo of the longer “Voodoo Chile” jam from the previous day.  This time built around that now-iconic riff.

Unfortunately, that footage from this day is said to be stolen. The footage of the previous day’s jam was left alone. Did the thief die and leave the unattended films to rot into dust? Are the reels locked away in some forgotten vault or stashed in an attic? Were the films destroyed in a fire, deliberate or accidental? Is some private collector viewing them at this moment? We may never know.

The readers of Music Radar voted this the very best rock riff ever. That is saying a lot, but I can’t fight that much at all. If you are wondering, Guns N Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine came second in the poll and Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love” third.

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) was released in the UK after his death. It peaked at #1 in 1970. It was his only number 1 hit in the UK. 

Joe Satriani: “It’s just the greatest piece of electric guitar work ever recorded. In fact, the whole song could be considered the holy grail of guitar expression and technique. It is a beacon of humanity.”

Voodoo Child (Slight Return)


Well, I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand
Well, I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand
Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island
Might even raise a little sand
Yeah

‘Cause I’m a voodoo child
Lord knows I’m a voodoo child, baby

I want to say one more last thing

I didn’t mean to take up all your sweet time
I’ll give it right back to you one of these days, hahaha
I said I didn’t mean to take up all your sweet time
I’ll give it right back one of these days
Oh yeah
If I don’t meet you no more in this world, then
I’ll meet you in the next one
And don’t be late
Don’t be late

‘Cause I’m a voodoo child, voodoo child
Lord knows I’m a voodoo child, baby

I’m a voodoo child, baby
I don’t take no for an answer
Question no
Lord knows I’m a voodoo child, baby