HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: HEAR MY TRAIN A COMIN' (2013)!

Oh, for a time machine to go back to London in 1966 and to hear the unknown Jimi Hendrix play at The Scotch of St James club. For Paul McCartney, this is his very own “I was there” moment.

Director Bob Smeaton has made films on a variety of musicians, from The Beatles to the Spice Girls. But his latest film "Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin'" goes much deeper into the life of the late performer than he ever expected.

The critically acclaimed two-hour documentary unveils previously unseen concert performance footage and home movies  that invites you to imagine what it must have been like to witness Hendrix re-fashioning rock music before your very eyes. It also sources an extensive archive of photographs, drawings, letters and more, that provide insight into the personality and genius of Jimi Hendrix.

"This is the first documentary of this type where it goes from his birth in Seattle in 1942 right up to his death in London at 1970. So it’s the whole story from beginning to end," said director Bob Smeaton.

Far from the tragic figure that he’s often painted to be, friends, fellow musicians and former band-mates Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox describe Hendrix as a man who was rarely without a smile on his face or a guitar in his hand.

Linda Keith, who discovered him in New York and brought him back to London, recalls: “He had no interest in anything other than music and women.”

But this sanitised film ignores many of the more unsavoury chapters in Hendrix’s life. The only brush with the law that you’ll find here is when his neighbours complained about him still playing the guitar at 4am – something that most music fans would have given their right arm to hear (to be honest I'd give a finger myself).

Smeaton also covers how Hendrix seemed to transcend race with his music. He was an African American artist loved by a predominantly white audience, during a time of racial turbulence.

"I think when Jimi made it in the UK it’s like, we haven’t got the race thing in the UK," Smeaton said, "it’s not as prevalent as what it is in America because the guys who are listening to the blues in the UK, people like Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, saw these blues guys generally older guys like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, etc and they idolized those guys."

The film also goes into details about Hendrix’s legendary performance at Woodstock. "I think that’s the way he felt the national anthem should be played because that suited the emotion at the time - Vietnam was happening; there were race riots happening," Smeaton said.

"I don’t think it was a conscious thing to try and reach out to a black audience or stir anything up. He just played it the way Jimi Hendrix would play it and thank God the cameras were there to capture it."

A pioneering electric guitarist, Hendrix had only four years of mainstream exposure and recognition, but his influential music and riveting stage presence left an enduring legacy.

"Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin’" will be available on Amazon (DVD & Blu-Ray. Available to pre-order now) beginning Nov. 5th, and hopefully in a few selected cinemas!

Also coming November 5th (4th on Amazon), Jimi Hendrix Experience: Miami Pop Festival (pre-order here), the first-ever release of one of the guitar virtuoso's most sought-after performances, as originally recorded on site by Hendrix's long term sound engineer, Eddie Kramer. Never available in any form, Miami Pop Festival is being released as a single CD and a limited edition numbered double 12" audiophile vinyl set (all analog cut by Bernie Grundman, pressed at QRP on 200 gram vinyl). 

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Miami Pop Festival introduces the first recorded stage performances of "Hear My Train A Comin'" and "Tax Free" while showcasing definitive live takes on such classics as "Fire," "Hey Joe," "I Don't Live Today" and "Purple Haze." The package includes never before published photos taken at the festival and an essay by award-winning music journalist and Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli. 

The first ever major rock festival staged on the East Coast, the May 1968 Miami Pop Festival was the first event promoted by Michael Lang—who would organize Woodstock, the biggest pop culture event of the decade, fifteen months later—and Ric O'Barry, who had been the dolphin trainer for the popular television program Flipper. Lang and O'Barry had been inspired by the June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, the groundbreaking gathering where Jimi Hendrix, making his US debut, famously set fire to his guitar at the conclusion of his performance. Lang staged the festival at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida, securing the Jimi Hendrix Experience as the headline act for the two-day festival. 

Jimi Hendrix Experience Miami Pop Festival 1. Introduction 2. Hey Joe 3. Foxey Lady 4. Tax Free 5. Fire 6. Hear My Train A Comin' 7. I Don't Live Today 8. Red House 9. Purple Haze BONUS PERFORMANCES 10. Fire (Evening Show) 11. Foxey Lady (Evening Show) Miami Pop Festival, May 18, 1968 Gulfstream Park, Hallandale, Florida

Read more on jimihendrix.com

WHAT IF HE DIDN'T DIE?

Few months ago, 12 previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix recordings from 1968 and 1969 were made available as People, Hell and Angels. The legendary guitarist was experimenting with new sounds and musical directions for First Rays of the New Rising Sun, the planned double-album follow-up to Electric Ladyland, and on "Somewhere," Hendrix sits down with Buddy Miles on drums and Stephen Stills on bass for a far-reaching psychedelic blues jam. Recorded in 1968, "Somewhere" rides signature Hendrix wails, long exploratory solos and free-flowing wordplay. Rolling Stone's Greatest Guitarist of All Time shows why he's earned that title with unparalleled skill and eternally innovative sounds, but "Somewhere" suggests his most complex work may have only been ahead of him..

INFLUENCERS: MUDDY WATERS!

McKinley Morganfield (1913 – April 30, 1983), known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician who is considered the "father of modern Chicago blues". He was a major inspiration for the British blues explosion in the 1960s and is ranked No. 17 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

His influence is tremendous, over a variety of music genres: blues, rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll, hard rock, folk, jazz, and country. 

The Rolling Stones named themselves after his 1950 song "Rollin' Stone" (also known as "Catfish Blues", which Jimi Hendrix covered as well). He also helped Chuck Berry get his first record contract. Hendrix recalled "the first guitar player I was aware of was Muddy Waters. I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". Cream covered "Rollin' and Tumblin'" on their 1966 debut album Fresh Cream, as Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters when he was growing up, and his music influenced Clapton's music career. The song was also covered by Canned Heat at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival and later adapted by Bob Dylan on the album Modern Times. One of Led Zeppelin's biggest hits, "Whole Lotta Love", is lyrically based upon the Muddy Waters hit "You Need Love", written by Willie Dixon. Angus Young of the rock group AC/DC has cited Muddy Waters as one of his influences. The AC/DC song title "You Shook Me All Night Long" came from lyrics of the Muddy Waters song "You Shook Me"

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs of Muddy Waters among the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Following his death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World, "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music".

VOODOO CHILD GAYAGEUM!

Hendrix would be proud!

A BROTHER'S STORY: JIMI HENDRIX!

Jimi's younger brother, Leon, sets the record straight on the life of this musical icon. From Jimi's experimentation with the sound and vibration of plucking wires attached to the posts of their brass bed to the moment he picked up his first stringed instrument, this is a fresh and intimate look at an enduring icon from the brother who was there from the beginning. Leon sheds light on the origin and meaning of classic Hendrix tunes, which Jimi would play for his brother over the phone as he wrote them on the road. He also chronicles the complicated Hendrix family dynamic, the culture of sex and drugs that came with Jimi's stardom, and his tragic death. In time for what would have been Jimi's 70th birthday in 2012, this captivating account sheds new light on rock and roll's genuine legend.

Buy here!

27 CLUB: THE THREE WE'LL MISS!

As you may know, or may not, The 27 Club is a term used to refer to popular musicians who have died at the age of 27. The number of musicians who have died at this age and the circumstances of many of those deaths has given rise to the idea that premature deaths at this age are unusually common.

We're not going to talk about 'the club', their personal lives or the circumstances of their deaths, but only enjoy their music and sigh, as we did not have the chance to hear more of what they had to offer!

Stand up for: Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix!

WHAT RAY'D SAY!

Forget everything I ever said about music, artists, bands whatsoever.

Although I love various artists from Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix or Aretha Franklin 

to Richie Hawtin, Jay-Z or Chimie (bet you don't know him), Ray Charles is definitely the most 

complex artist in 'my' history and perhaps my favourite! Enjoy with a freshly brewed cup of coffee, please!

THE CLASSICS: VELVET JACKETS!

Dressed up, or dressed down with jeans and a tee, these are a MR PORTER & FASHIONSPAM favourite!

Velvet has long had regal associations - in 14th-century England, King Richard II asked that he be buried in the stuff - but its more interesting, bad boy reputation can be traced back to Lord Byron. Painter Mr Richard Westall famously depicted the 19th-century poet wearing burgundy-coloured velvet, and, with the party season upon us, MR PORTER takes an endorsement from one of history's most notorious lovers pretty seriously.

We're not alone in our admiration for soft, tufted cotton, as almost all the designer brands are offering velvet jackets this season. The fabric has long had a louche image, redolent of relaxing with a glass of brandy and a cigar after a formal dinner, or Bond-esque nights out in expensive clubs. It's an image that's been refreshed this season, in that the new velvet jackets come with slim cuts, shorter bodies and softer construction.

However, if the shapes have been refined the classic colours are un-improvable, which is why Acne and Dolce & Gabbana have jackets in a shade of burgundy of which Lord Byron himself would have approved, while bottle green, burnt orange and chocolate brown line up alongside more sober black and blue. Although black and navy blue are the easiest colours to wear there's a strong logic to going for bolder hues, in that as most men already own a navy blue suit, and a black dinner jacket, this is an opportunity to expand the sartorial repertoire.

Whatever colour you go for, a velvet jacket is extremely versatile. Dressed down with jeans and a T-shirt it's right for a weekend lunch, or a casual day in the office, while, at the other end of the spectrum, it can substitute for a tuxedo over a crisp white shirt, black bow tie and tux trousers. No wonder men in search of a good time have been wearing velvet jackets since the days when Lord Byron was scandalising Europe with his bad behaviour.

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ENJOY LIFE!

Random posts during my study breaks

In my opinion the top 3 guitarists ever!
Enjoy!