Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower (full cover)

[nilJake]

Hi! Here is my first full cover. Any feedback is welcome!

 

[john]

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

 

 

[GregB]

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?

[john]

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)

[nilJake]

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.

[TheGarageJump]

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. 

[john]

11 hours ago, buckoff said:

Your good for 4 years , it took Jimi years and years to hone that 

Very true

[Kevin1]

Very well done! Such a great song!

[HoboSage]

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 December 4, 2022 by HoboSage

[Thomas Atkins]

I thought you played that really well man! Cheers

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

[KenyonL]

I don't know how you manage to play the guitars so slow but note for note, really love this. Weird laid back exact cover lol, LOVE this

[nilJake]

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 Im from finland!