Jump to content

Your Ad Could Be Here

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower (full cover)


nilJake

Recommended Posts

4 hours ago, buckoff said:

I didn't know Dylan wrote that


Yep, I am pretty sure it’s on John Wesley Harding, which came out in the mid/late 60s, maybe 67 or 68. iirc Hendrix released it on Electric Ladyland within 5 or 6 months of Dylan’s first release. The Hendrix version was so popular it well outstripped the Dylan version, and the true compliment was that Dylan incorporated many aspects of Jimi’s cover back into the original for live performances of the song. I’m a big Hendrix fan and I  am a fan of 60’s Dylan (his vocals deteriorated to a point of pain outstripping pleasure). My uncle runs a Dylan fanzine and I was a big fan of the 60s folk revival in USA and UK so I was always pretty aware of Dylan.

 

 @Jarkko you did pretty good with the guitar parts. Nice to see you working on the detail. It sounded a few bpm slower, though I guess it depends on the version. It might be just lacking that energy that Jimi infused his tracks with. Part of that energy came from his sound. It always felt like he was wrestling with his guitar, like it was a barely contained wild cat. The tameness of your sound robs it of that vital energy. I used to gig a Marshall 1959HW handwired plexi head with master volume conversion and full stack 4x12 angled and straight cabinets. The sound of those EL34 valves is pretty distinctive. It was a beast but such a joy to play. Of course a lot of the sound was in his modded strat itself and his effects chain. These days you can buy a cheap modelled amp and fx set up. They do lack that special face melting element, but for the price and for a Hendrix enthusiast they are pretty damn good.

 

Vocal wise a little bit of work could really help you move it up a few notches . The emphasis on parts of some words, especially in the latter half of lines would make a big difference. You generally sing in tune, it’s just attention to detail that will raise your performance up a few clicks.
 

All that said, you should be proud of your performance. I’m just picking areas that could be improved to try and help you develop. Good stuff :)

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're a brave man to have go at this @Jarkko!!  But it is a solid result, so bravo. 

 

Remember that, besides Jimi, there were also some very inventive drums and bass that made the whole greater than the sum of its parts ... plus it was ground-breaking for the time.

 

Personally, I think it would be hard to equal the original, both for guitar tone and playing chops. Being high on something would have made the playing looser and inspired.  If next to impossible to imitate, why not try to find your own tone and work out some new licks?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, GregB said:

why not try to find your own tone and work out some new licks?


As Jarkko was using Jimi licks and arrangement I was guessing imitation was a keen motivator. I do however agree, it’s tough to match. You are effectively competing in a sound like Jimi contest with Jimi… we are all gonna lose that one. Often better to focus on a more original cover to reduce comparisons, if you are doing it as an official release.  Doing a cover based on imitation is almost always going to result in a “nice try, but…” type comparison. If you try to do an original interpretation you are more likely to get listeners looking passed Jimi to hear you as you, not you the lesser Jimi (as we all would be)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the instructive and on-point feedback! I really appreciate it :)

 

About guitar parts / licks: Yes, it's kinda pointless to try to do those licks better than Jimi, I would never do them even near as good.. This is one of my all time favorite songs (from any artists) so I was so hyped to learn those solos / licks to even that close to original and therefore they ended up in the final version. I was really close to add my own solo to the ending / outro but left it out.. maybe next time :) Anyway, I've played guitar for 4 years now and all this feedback is very important just now to get some thoughts to improve in the future so thanks again!

 

About singing: I very much agree on the "tameness" thing, my singing is boring and will try to improve the feeling side of it instead of just thinking if i'm in tune or not. I think I sing in tune more or less naturally already, but need to do work on different areas.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well done for putting this out there Jarkko. Great raw material you had to work with. The lyrics are fantastic here in my view - can take as much or as little as you want from them. Your guitar playing is very good and this is a well produced track. I thought that your video worked well - difficult to sync your voice with the guitars, though you did a decent job. I read your comments above - in terms of backing and developing your natural vocal style - this is all about belief. No vocal gymnastics required. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Nice!  Seeing one of your fingers on your picking hand resting atop the Strat's volume pot near the end of the video brought back memories for me independent of the classic song.  When I had a Strat, that damn volume pot was always in my way and drove me nuts!

Edited by HoboSage
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...
On 2/11/2023 at 6:35 AM, Thomas Atkins said:

I thought you played that really well man! Cheers

Where you from by the way Jarkko? If you don't mind me asking?

Sorry for a very late answer :D Im from finland!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Your Ad Could Be Here



  • Current Donation Goals

    • Raised $1,040
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By continuing to use our site you indicate acceptance of our Terms Of Service: Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy, our Community Guidelines: Guidelines and our use of Cookies We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.