The 1960’s were pretty much made up of three major components, sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. Music was one of the only ways for people to cope with everything else happening during the time, such as the Vietnam War. One of the biggest musicians to shape that time period was Jimi Hendrix. His songs brought together love, peace, rebellion, power and many other attributes to express his talents. While most of his songs were important, I think his version of “All Along the Watchtower” had the biggest impact on the decade and the ones to come. Using the lyrics, sound, and overall package, I will explain how big All Along the Watch Tower’s influence had on music and the culture.
Hendrix released the song on September 21st, 1968 and within months …show more content…
His new techniques amazed crowds and made him instantly famous. The song is 100% guitar driven, but also uses, a classic rock drum set, electric bass, electric rhythm guitar, and lead electric guitar, which Hendrix played. Personally, I think Hendrix was the best guitarist of his time and used the instrument very effectively. He was very well known to play some riffs with his tongue and play with the guitar behind his head. The mood in “All Along the Watchtower” is very psychedelic yet, rocky. For example, Hendrix always wore bright colored loose clothes and a bandana or scarf around his head. His version of the song is so famous because of the way he played it. He took a song that used a clean electric sound and made it into a distorted, soloing song. The lyrics are not even the most important part of the song. Hendrix was always very sound driven opposed to lyrically driven. He used his guitar and solos to do the talking. You see this all throughout “All Along the Watchtower”. Since there is no chorus, Hendrix placed “face melting” solos there to express his feelings and get his ideas out. The speed is about the same as Dylan’s version, but it seams faster due to the sound. The song is in Major, but he uses many flats and sharps to make it sound more diverse and add more too it. Since it was recorded in 1968, the sound is nothing compared to modern recording sound, but it is really good for the time period. …show more content…
It has a distorted sound, classic rock drums, and hard solos that amazed everyone. This song overall works, the lyrics do a great job of telling a story that not only made sense, but fit with the time period and culture it was released into. As I said earlier, the song is 100% sound driven, while the lyrics play an important part, the sound of the drums, bass, rhythm and most importantly, the lead guitar are the main focus. This is the kind of sound that one would listen to in the car trying to get pumped up, or at an oldies rock festival. It is still very well known today and played everywhere. Setting played and plays a big role in listening to this song. It must have been amazing to be at Woodstock or another live event and listen to Hendrix play this song. With his eyes closed playing a solo. Watching his emotions during the song. Seeing how much he gets into it, moving around, dancing, smiling, this all plays a huge role in how people feel will watching or
Hendrix released the song on September 21st, 1968 and within months …show more content…
His new techniques amazed crowds and made him instantly famous. The song is 100% guitar driven, but also uses, a classic rock drum set, electric bass, electric rhythm guitar, and lead electric guitar, which Hendrix played. Personally, I think Hendrix was the best guitarist of his time and used the instrument very effectively. He was very well known to play some riffs with his tongue and play with the guitar behind his head. The mood in “All Along the Watchtower” is very psychedelic yet, rocky. For example, Hendrix always wore bright colored loose clothes and a bandana or scarf around his head. His version of the song is so famous because of the way he played it. He took a song that used a clean electric sound and made it into a distorted, soloing song. The lyrics are not even the most important part of the song. Hendrix was always very sound driven opposed to lyrically driven. He used his guitar and solos to do the talking. You see this all throughout “All Along the Watchtower”. Since there is no chorus, Hendrix placed “face melting” solos there to express his feelings and get his ideas out. The speed is about the same as Dylan’s version, but it seams faster due to the sound. The song is in Major, but he uses many flats and sharps to make it sound more diverse and add more too it. Since it was recorded in 1968, the sound is nothing compared to modern recording sound, but it is really good for the time period. …show more content…
It has a distorted sound, classic rock drums, and hard solos that amazed everyone. This song overall works, the lyrics do a great job of telling a story that not only made sense, but fit with the time period and culture it was released into. As I said earlier, the song is 100% sound driven, while the lyrics play an important part, the sound of the drums, bass, rhythm and most importantly, the lead guitar are the main focus. This is the kind of sound that one would listen to in the car trying to get pumped up, or at an oldies rock festival. It is still very well known today and played everywhere. Setting played and plays a big role in listening to this song. It must have been amazing to be at Woodstock or another live event and listen to Hendrix play this song. With his eyes closed playing a solo. Watching his emotions during the song. Seeing how much he gets into it, moving around, dancing, smiling, this all plays a huge role in how people feel will watching or