Jimi Hendrix-Machine Gun Greatest guitar performance ever

musicismylife78musicismylife78 Posts: 6,116
edited July 2009 in Other Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVvtIS2YGVI

This is the single greatest guitar achievement in history. Nothing really even comes close.

From a social standpoint, I think you would be hard pressed to find another more damning statement, musical or otherwise of the effects of war on a populace. The lyrics are extremely political, but whats more interesting I think, is just like the Star Spangled Banner rendition and woodstock, Machine Gun conveys feelings with mere guitar riffs and notes. The music itself is the statement. The words are almost an afterthought.

The moment at 4:19 is absolutely stunning and jarring. How the hell does he do that?

And then the stuff at 5:17. Wow.

There is a reason, Mike put this as his favorite guitar performance ever. And the reason is just that, it is clearly, the best ever. By the best ever.

As I said, I studied on my own and in school about vietnam and wars. And I think in many ways, to understand the effect war has on people, one could maybe just show this, and Jimi's Woodstock set, and then call it a day. Really all that needs to be said on the subject
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Comments

  • Ledbetterman10Ledbetterman10 Posts: 16,859
    "I've never seen anybody play electric guitar like that. There's nobody even in the same building as that guy....nobody on the same level."

    Neil Young
    2000: Camden 1, 2003: Philly, State College, Camden 1, MSG 2, Hershey, 2004: Reading, 2005: Philly, 2006: Camden 1, 2, East Rutherford 1, 2007: Lollapalooza, 2008: Camden 1, Washington D.C., MSG 1, 2, 2009: Philly 1, 2, 3, 4, 2010: Bristol, MSG 2, 2011: PJ20 1, 2, 2012: Made In America, 2013: Brooklyn 2, Philly 2, 2014: Denver, 2015: Global Citizen Festival, 2016: Philly 2, Fenway 1, 2018: Fenway 1, 2, 2021: Sea. Hear. Now. 2022: Camden, 2024Philly 2

    Pearl Jam bootlegs:
    http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
  • drew0drew0 Posts: 943
    Band of Gypsys is currently one of the CDs rotating in my car. My jaw hits the floor everytime Machine Gun comes on.

    The 0:19 mark in Power of Love also sends shivers running down my spine. It is like a whole wall of emotion and colors just hits you right in the head.
    Pittsburgh 6/23/06
    Madison Square Garden 6/25/08
  • philthehipphilthehip Posts: 2,084
    Im a massive fan of Hendrix, love his style and the way he and guitar were one. By his own admission he was turned on by his sound lol. But.... I dont think he is the greatest guitarist. I feel that honour falls at Mr David Gilmours feet. Alot of other guitarists have taken the Hendrix sound and adapted it to their own needs but DG is just a single force all out on his own.

    This is moving away from the thread but just had to comment
  • Ledbetterman10Ledbetterman10 Posts: 16,859
    philthehip wrote:
    Im a massive fan of Hendrix, love his style and the way he and guitar were one. By his own admission he was turned on by his sound lol. But.... I dont think he is the greatest guitarist. I feel that honour falls at Mr David Gilmours feet. Alot of other guitarists have taken the Hendrix sound and adapted it to their own needs but DG is just a single force all out on his own.

    This is moving away from the thread but just had to comment

    Well I of course have nothing at all bad to say about Gilmour as he is one of my favorites (and I actually like his stuff more than Hendrix's) but I wouldn't say he's better than Hendrix. Personally I think that Hendrix is a bit UNDERRATED. That sounds insane since he's universally recognized as one of the best. But I think too many people get caught up in his amazing solos and don't really note how well he structures his songs. Electric Ladyland is just out of this world from a composing of music standpoint.

    But yeah I like Gilmour more too simply because I prefer Floyd to Hendrix. But Dave's sound has been adopted by many too. I personally think that Mike McCready's bluesy solos (Black, Nothing As It Seems, All or None, Of The Girl) lean more on Dave's style than Jimi's
    2000: Camden 1, 2003: Philly, State College, Camden 1, MSG 2, Hershey, 2004: Reading, 2005: Philly, 2006: Camden 1, 2, East Rutherford 1, 2007: Lollapalooza, 2008: Camden 1, Washington D.C., MSG 1, 2, 2009: Philly 1, 2, 3, 4, 2010: Bristol, MSG 2, 2011: PJ20 1, 2, 2012: Made In America, 2013: Brooklyn 2, Philly 2, 2014: Denver, 2015: Global Citizen Festival, 2016: Philly 2, Fenway 1, 2018: Fenway 1, 2, 2021: Sea. Hear. Now. 2022: Camden, 2024Philly 2

    Pearl Jam bootlegs:
    http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
  • Someone asked Miles Davis what he thought of Jimi Hendrix and all he kept saying was "that motherfuckin' machine gun" and shaking his head in disbelief. :D
  • philthehipphilthehip Posts: 2,084
    philthehip wrote:
    Im a massive fan of Hendrix, love his style and the way he and guitar were one. By his own admission he was turned on by his sound lol. But.... I dont think he is the greatest guitarist. I feel that honour falls at Mr David Gilmours feet. Alot of other guitarists have taken the Hendrix sound and adapted it to their own needs but DG is just a single force all out on his own.

    This is moving away from the thread but just had to comment

    Well I of course have nothing at all bad to say about Gilmour as he is one of my favorites (and I actually like his stuff more than Hendrix's) but I wouldn't say he's better than Hendrix. Personally I think that Hendrix is a bit UNDERRATED. That sounds insane since he's universally recognized as one of the best. But I think too many people get caught up in his amazing solos and don't really note how well he structures his songs. Electric Ladyland is just out of this world from a composing of music standpoint.

    But yeah I like Gilmour more too simply because I prefer Floyd to Hendrix. But Dave's sound has been adopted by many too. I personally think that Mike McCready's bluesy solos (Black, Nothing As It Seems, All or None, Of The Girl) lean more on Dave's style than Jimi's

    On reflection I would agree with what you say. I do find it a shame how alot of my friends dont really listen to Hendrix but instead turn up the sick guitar solo and say over the music how amazing it is. I myself love his sweeter more intimate side. The Wind Cries Mary from Are You Experienced I adore. I think his albums as a whole are not as well known as people think.

    So that in mind Im just off to work and taking Are you Experienced with me.
  • keeponrockinkeeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    philthehip wrote:
    Im a massive fan of Hendrix, love his style and the way he and guitar were one. By his own admission he was turned on by his sound lol. But.... I dont think he is the greatest guitarist. I feel that honour falls at Mr David Gilmours feet. Alot of other guitarists have taken the Hendrix sound and adapted it to their own needs but DG is just a single force all out on his own.

    This is moving away from the thread but just had to comment

    Well I of course have nothing at all bad to say about Gilmour as he is one of my favorites (and I actually like his stuff more than Hendrix's) but I wouldn't say he's better than Hendrix. Personally I think that Hendrix is a bit UNDERRATED. That sounds insane since he's universally recognized as one of the best. But I think too many people get caught up in his amazing solos and don't really note how well he structures his songs. Electric Ladyland is just out of this world from a composing of music standpoint.

    But yeah I like Gilmour more too simply because I prefer Floyd to Hendrix. But Dave's sound has been adopted by many too. I personally think that Mike McCready's bluesy solos (Black, Nothing As It Seems, All or None, Of The Girl) lean more on Dave's style than Jimi's

    Little Wing is one of the most beautiful pieces of music to come out of that era. Perfection.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
  • I think the best version of Machine Gun that Hendrix ever played was at Norman, Oklahoma, in May 1970. The song that night was performed as a tribute to the dead of the Kent State, Ohio, shootings, a couple of days previously:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9qFqMn7z5I
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3I-qtEJsUw
  • thanks for posting
    2005: Borgata 2, Philly
    2006: Camden 1&2, East Ruth 1&2
    2008: BONNAROO, MSG1, MSG2, Hartford
    2009: Philly 1, 2, 4
    2010: Hartford, MSG1, MSG2
    2012: Made in America
    2013: BK1, BK2, Hartford
    2015: Global Citizens
    2016: MSG 2 (ISO MSG1)
    EV Solo: NJPAC 2008; Tower Theatre, PA 2009; Hartford 2011
  • You'll hear in this clip the first live, embryonic version of "Machine Gun", in the midsts of a long jam with Buddy Miles, Eric Burdon and others, at the Newport Pop Festival, Devonshire Downs, Sunday June 22nd 1969. Before he even had the riffs, he was calling up something from his myriad notebooks. Jimi wrote all the time.

    This shows that the lyrics were no afterthought, but the first thing that came to Jimi:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MfzLywiTn4


    In fact, if you listen to each of the four versions of Machine Gun performed by the Band of Gypsys over the new year period of 1969-70, you'll be struck by how different they are. For example, the December 31st 1969, second set version of "Machine Gun" doesn't really have a major solo at all: the lyrics are to the fore.

    It was only from the April 25th 1970 concert at the LA Forum (with Mitchell on drums), the start of the so-called "Cry of Love" tour featuring the Hendrix-Mitchell-Cox Experience, that the band worked to model the song on the basis of the LP version we all know (January 1st 1970, first set).

    If you think I'm a Hendrix anorak, there are people I know who can look at two photos of Hendrix wearing seemingly the same outfit under the same lighting and still identify that one was taken on one night and another was taken the following evening, "Because he was wearing different pants". Damn, that strays into unadulterated aspergers territory there .....
  • WobbieWobbie Posts: 30,079

    If you think I'm a Hendrix anorak,

    "An anorak or parka is a type of heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur or fake fur, so as to protect the face from a combination of freezing temperatures and wind."

    You Brits sure can eff up the english language! :mrgreen:

    Yeah, Machine Gun is definitely a lesser-known Hendrix gem.
    If I had known then what I know now...

    Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
    VIC 07
    EV LA1 08
    Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
    Columbus 10
    EV LA 11
    Vancouver 11
    Missoula 12
    Portland 13, Spokane 13
    St. Paul 14, Denver 14
    Philly I & II, 16
    Denver 22
  • cutzcutz Posts: 11,806
    "I've never seen anybody play electric guitar like that. There's nobody even in the same building as that guy....nobody on the same level."

    Neil Young


    LOL! With no disrect, but you can't be serius? "One note Neil". I like Neil Young, but he's now where near the Guitarist of Jimi Hendrix.

    I remember when i would be partying with my friends when i would tell them, i'm gonna play 3 brothers now, and they were like WHAT? Then i would play Band Of Gypsys>LOL! Believe it or not, but that was the FIRST Hendrix album i got into. I had a older brother, who' was into Hendrix.
  • cutz wrote:
    "I've never seen anybody play electric guitar like that. There's nobody even in the same building as that guy....nobody on the same level."

    Neil Young


    LOL! With no disrect, but you can't be serius? "One note Neil". I like Neil Young, but he's now where near the Guitarist of Jimi Hendrix.

    Who said he was? WTF are you talking about?
  • cutz wrote:
    "I've never seen anybody play electric guitar like that. There's nobody even in the same building as that guy....nobody on the same level."

    Neil Young


    LOL! With no disrect, but you can't be serius? "One note Neil". I like Neil Young, but he's now where near the Guitarist of Jimi Hendrix.

    I remember when i would be partying with my friends when i would tell them, i'm gonna play 3 brothers now, and they were like WHAT? Then i would play Band Of Gypsys>LOL! Believe it or not, but that was the FIRST Hendrix album i got into. I had a older brother, who' was into Hendrix.


    Ledbetterman10 is quoting something Neil Young said about Jimi in an MTV interview from about twenty years ago.
  • Jimi's last Machine Gun, Friday September 4th 1970, two weeks before he died.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRUunRDAj40
  • gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
    A bit off the main topic, but wasn't there supposed to be a new Jimi biopic? I'd read Andre 3000 from Outkast was originally cast but it didn't really work out.
  • Pepe SilviaPepe Silvia Posts: 3,758
    there is some amazing stuff on the LA without the words boot

    i think Hendrix and Gilmour were different guitarists, each the best at their types of music. Gilmour does a lot more with less notes and has a different flow, at least to me.

    i can't even count how many times i played machine gun over and over and over when i was younger. it was really disappointing when they released that dvd and right when it would get to solos it would cut to someone like Slash talking about how great Jimi was and how much he influenced him....it was so annoying, Jimi is one of those artists where he is one the tree trunks to all sorts of bands/sounds, i don't need to hear how he influenced all these obvious people, at least not in the middle of him playing

    and I agree with the comment about nothing as it seems, all or none...and floyd. if you like pink floyd you should check out flavor crystals, i thought they sounded a lot better live than their record but it's still really great. i saw them open for the brian jonestown massacre and they were one of the best bands i've seen
    don't compete; coexist

    what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?

    "I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama

    when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
    i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
  • cutzcutz Posts: 11,806
    cutz wrote:
    "I've never seen anybody play electric guitar like that. There's nobody even in the same building as that guy....nobody on the same level."

    Neil Young


    LOL! With no disrect, but you can't be serius? "One note Neil". I like Neil Young, but he's now where near the Guitarist of Jimi Hendrix.

    I remember when i would be partying with my friends when i would tell them, i'm gonna play 3 brothers now, and they were like WHAT? Then i would play Band Of Gypsys>LOL! Believe it or not, but that was the FIRST Hendrix album i got into. I had a older brother, who' was into Hendrix.


    Ledbetterman10 is quoting something Neil Young said about Jimi in an MTV interview from about twenty years ago.

    LOL!!! Sorry, i guess i didn't have my HIGH-DEF glasses on, to notice the quotation marks. :lol:
  • WobbieWobbie Posts: 30,079
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVvtIS2YGVI

    This is the single greatest guitar achievement in history. Nothing really even comes close.

    That is some face melting shit, right there :shock: :mrgreen:

    Couldn't watch it at work.....thanks for sharing.
    If I had known then what I know now...

    Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
    VIC 07
    EV LA1 08
    Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
    Columbus 10
    EV LA 11
    Vancouver 11
    Missoula 12
    Portland 13, Spokane 13
    St. Paul 14, Denver 14
    Philly I & II, 16
    Denver 22
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