Psychedelic Barbershop Quartet

[originals]

Supposedly Jimi Hendrix once called The Beach Boys a 'Psychedelic Barbershop Quartet'. I'm not sure if this was meant as praise or criticism, but I think it is a cool way to think of the band circa the 'Smile' era. It would have even been an interesting album title, methinks.

[originals]

Not a big Hendrix fan, by the way - - I don't know about the rest of you. He was certainly innovative on the electric guitar, but not anything that I actually enjoy listening to.

[Autotune]

A seminal figure. But couldn't care less about his songs.

[I. Spaceman]

One of the greatest artists of all time, made at least four of the most stunning albums ever made. Not surprised he'd be talked down here, tho. Too black, too strong.

[Music Machine]

I agree that his official discography from when he was still alive is flawless and I'm also a fan of the posthumous albums from the early 70's, Cry of Love through Loose Ends and his live set from the 1970 Atlanta Pop Fest.

[Summer_Days]

I love Jimi, and never gave a damn whether he liked the Beach Boys or not. Jim Morrison was a fan though, which i think is awesome.

[OneEar/OneEye]

He might have dug Smile had he the chance to hear it.  Either way, favorite Jimi album is Axis: Bold As Love.  I appreciate his others, but to me this is the one I most love hearing.  Also, his Star Spangled Banner was, is and will always be the definitive version of that song - still as appropriate and resonant today (sadly, really) as it was when he first performed it. 

[originals]

I also remember reading a Pete Townsend quote from the 60's where he says that Brian lives in a fairy tale world of gumdrops and peppermint clouds or something.
I wonder if Pete has come around at all since then. He seems to have mellowed a bit.

[Jim V.]

One of the greatest artists of all time, made at least four of the most stunning albums ever made. Not surprised he'd be talked down here, tho. Too black, too strong.

I've actually found myself agreeing with you a lot recently, but not on this one Ian. Maybe I've just never got it, but I never got into Hendrix. And it surely has nothing to do with his "blackness". I've liked artists from Charlie Parker to Sly Stone to OutKast, so being "too black". I've never been a huge fan of the guitar. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I'm not huge on guitar heroes. I thought George Harrison had a great style; very restrained. I like a bit of Clapton, I felt his had some soul. And I really like Lindsey Buckingham, but it's probably more for his songwriting than his guitar player image. And "too strong"? I don't get where you're going with that.

I gotta ask though, what is the fourth stunning album that you refer to? I suspect the first three are the Experience albums, but is the fourth Band of Gypsys or The Cry of Love, or possibly that re-configured First Rays?

I do feel however that I am missing out with Hendrix, that I'm missing something that I should be seeing. But through all these years, I just haven't been able to get into his stuff.

[halblaineisgood]

I'd put Hey Joe in the top ten(possibly my personal number one) of all time greatest  records. Right up
there with WIBN, good vibrations, Be my Baby, Runaway, strawberry fields forever etc. No guitar wankery either, great solo.. 
Sweet female background vocals on, too. Pretty amazing debut single.

[rogerlancelot]

I'm a big fan of the later stuff (Cry Of Love or reconfigured 1st Rays). In particular the song "Night Bird Flying" which I had played at my wedding reception. I think he was coming a long way from his earlier noisy stuff and was paving a way into 70's funk. Hell I probably have more studio bootlegs (digital downloads) of Hendrix than any other artist and all recorded in the span of less than 5 years. Amazing (although sometimes tedious).

[mabewa]

I love Hendrix and agree with the statement that the stuff he released while he was alive is amazing.  I like the reconfigured "New Rays" album a lot too. 

Some people think that Hendrix was anti-BBs, but I'm not sure.  I love the 'Psychedelic Barbershop Quartet' comparison, even if he meant it negatively.  I think that it might have been influenced by hearing "Heroes and Villains," which fits his description quite well...  or maybe it was the whole Smiley Smile album.  I do wonder how he would have reacted to the finished Smile album--I have a feeling that he would have been impressed.

BTW, the idea that Hendrix was anti-BBs is partially due to the line "you'll never hear surf music again" in "Third Stone From the Sun."  THAT line was definitely misinterpreted--Hendrix was a Dick Dale fan, and the line was a reaction to hearing that Dick Dale had cancer.  Whatever Hendrix actually felt about the BBs, that line is not anti-BBs and not anti-"surf music" (of course, we can debate whether the BBs were ever "surf music" anyway, beyond their lyrics!). 

[Shane]

Hendrix was simply reacting to hearing the Beach Boys' latest record, which would have been the Smiley version of "Heroes and Villains".  Judging by the way the general public reacted to this album at the time, I think he simply said what a lot of people were already thinking... a generalized reaction of "Meh."

I really like Jimi Hendrix.  In my opinion, he has become so revered as a "guitar God" that his considerable songwriting skills are often overlooked.

[Jukka]

I really like Jimi Hendrix.  In my opinion, he has become so revered as a "guitar God" that his considerable songwriting skills are often overlooked.

This really bugs me as well. He was too good for his own good!

[The Heartical Don]

I am not a Hendrix fan, and that is not because the man was coloured (self-evident, this), nor because he played 'strong stuff'. Even analysing the term 'strong stuff' could take hours on end, by the way. Distortion and decibels don't define 'strong', IMHO. If you ask me, Pet Sounds contains more strong (= real) emotions than the (to me) seemingly interminable guitar antics of mr Hendrix.

So no, I don't like endless guitar noodling. For me that has nothing to do with the Platonic idea of great music. I see myself as a classicist, not a romantic, in this respect, and whenever music induces an association with 'bohemian life', I get unwell (to wilfully exaggerate).

The genius of Brian lies in the expression of deep emotion within the boundaries of superbly crafted musical forms, and more often than not he succeeds in this as per pieces lasting two to three minutes. That is an unique gift. That is why I love him (but it's not the only reason - he's often pictured, by illiterati, as a rather weak man who squandered much of his talent for a strong drug and alcohol habit; that's nonsense, he fought heroic fights that many people won't encounter in the whole of their lives).

I see it as only natural, or logical, that I adore Wilson, and Beethoven, and Charles Ives, and Bach, and Debussy.

So, the upshot: I don't like music that, shall we say, 'cuts loose', to never form a satisfying whole, a structure.

Please flame away at your leisure (the Don just doesn't 'get' Hendrix, for instance). I can have that, even have a jolly good laugh about such a difference in opinion and taste.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

I also remember reading a Pete Townsend quote from the 60's where he says that Brian lives in a fairy tale world of gumdrops and peppermint clouds or something.
I wonder if Pete has come around at all since then. He seems to have mellowed a bit.

Yes Pete has definately come around since then. At the time he was scathing about Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations (too much production being one of his complaints, which is somewhat rich from the man who gave us Tommy), but he´s since had a change of heart and can be seen close to tears in one recent(ish) clip of him meeting Brian backstage, even going so far as to say Í love him´. I´m sure i´ve read somewhere that he particuarly likes Smiley Smile.

[Cabinessenceking]

I also remember reading a Pete Townsend quote from the 60's where he says that Brian lives in a fairy tale world of gumdrops and peppermint clouds or something.
I wonder if Pete has come around at all since then. He seems to have mellowed a bit.

Yes Pete has definately come around since then. At the time he was scathing about Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations (too much production being one of his complaints, which is somewhat rich from the man who gave us Tommy), but he´s since had a change of heart and can be seen close to tears in one recent(ish) clip of him meeting Brian backstage, even going so far as to say Í love him´. I´m sure i´ve read somewhere that he particuarly likes Smiley Smile.

From what I have heard and can imagine, many people feel drawn towards Brian's childlike personality. He does not come forth as one of the many bullshit rockers who have strong opinions and view themselves highly compared to others. Brian to me is a very humble and has a very down to earth personality. Even today he speaks about the Brian back then as something he can't fully understand was his former self. Almost as if he says to himself 'I could never be that guy'. Quite fascinating really!

[Summer_Days]

I also remember reading a Pete Townsend quote from the 60's where he says that Brian lives in a fairy tale world of gumdrops and peppermint clouds or something.
I wonder if Pete has come around at all since then. He seems to have mellowed a bit.

Yes Pete has definately come around since then. At the time he was scathing about Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations (too much production being one of his complaints, which is somewhat rich from the man who gave us Tommy), but he´s since had a change of heart and can be seen close to tears in one recent(ish) clip of him meeting Brian backstage, even going so far as to say Í love him´. I´m sure i´ve read somewhere that he particuarly likes Smiley Smile.

Is that on Brian Wilson On Tour DVD? I remember Pete saying he loved Brian, but don't remember him being close to tears meeting him...

I love the fact that 3/4 of The Who love BW/BBs. I wonder if John Entwistle loved 'em too.

[Jukka]

Townshend's definitely come around since the 60's. After all, he's a fan of ABBA (naming SOS as one of the great pop songs of all time), and those guys were all about producing.

[Wah Wah Wah Ooooo]

I think it's on the On Tour DVD, Pete says something like "I love Brian Wilson so much. I find it hard to live with."

[originals]

Supposedly Jimi Hendrix once called The Beach Boys a 'Psychedelic Barbershop Quartet'. I'm not sure if this was meant as praise or criticism, but I think it is a cool way to think of the band circa the 'Smile' era. It would have even been an interesting album title, methinks.

What a beautiful picture! If exclude pink & dark-blue colors. Nevertheless, I don't know about album title but this colorful wonder would be a great album cover. E.g. for 1967's SMiLE.

As for Hendrix, I, myself, consider what he said as praise. The quote doesn't sound like offense towards the Boys. Why "Quartet", though? They're at least "Quintet".

Btw, I hadn't listen to Jimi Hendrix yet, only have 2 songs - "Third Stone from The Sun" & "The Star-Spangled Banner". The latter is a great take on The US national hymn! I agree with One Ear/One Eye, to me it's also the definitive v-n of the song. The last minute of it, when the guitar goes staccato, is my favorite bit! If Jimi's songs are of the same level as those 2, then his records would be on my Top-list, along with The Beach Boys, The RS, NRBQ, Kaleidoscope (UK & US bands) etc. 

From the 3 guitar heroes the best is Jimmy Page imo. Not keen on E. Clapton & J. Beck. Also I like how Joe Walsh, Peter Green, Elmore James & Jesse Ed Davis play. And those are the 1st ones that came to my memory. The list is much longer.

Thanks - I had fun creating it.

[guitarfool2002]

Anyone can like or not like Hendrix's music on an aesthetic level, but in terms of this thread I don't think it's fair or accurate to run with a premise based on his comments when asked a direct question about one particular Beach Boys record, a record which at the time received many comments and reviews that echoed Hendrix's less than positive feelings.

Hendrix approached music, guitar, and the recording studio in a way that no one at that time was doing, above all he was an innovator and a trailblazer beyond comprehension at a time when folks buying a Mac laptop have a program installed which offers more recording capability and power digitally than Hendrix had with Eddie Kramer in the studio in 1970. You would think as a result there would be a lot of recordings in 2012 that could do what Jimi and Eddie Kramer did times 10, yet where the hell are they? Just food for thought.

Like all the greats, Hendrix was not great all of the time, and had many off nights as a performer and had studio recordings and experiments which didn't fare as well as others. yet the overall legacy of his body of work is immense, and deserves all of the historical context and praise which it receives - taking into account exactly what he was doing at a time when no one was putting it together that way.

Listen to his core studio albums with headphones, good headphones, and a lot of the technical aspects are mindblowing, again for the times when it was recorded. Eddie Kramer and Hendrix deserve equal billing on these - they had to co-exist to make it possible.

Go to YouTube and find any number of live performances. Some are just otherworldly in how Hendrix - at heart a blues guitarist - managed to create stream-of-consciousness improvised music and not sound contrived or as if he were recycling old ideas. And using just a few guitar external effects, how he would coax and wrangle those sounds from what today would be considered a bare-bones guitar rig...it's amazing.

In the big picture, the fact that Jimi didn't care for Heroes And Villains is insignificant. If some fans of the Beach Boys hold that opinion against him, I have to think it's their loss.  

[originals]

And I'm not convinced it was a putdown on Jimi's side.

[Jukka]

And I'm not convinced it was a putdown on Jimi's side.

Me neither. In fact, he was just stating a fact. Psychedelic barber shop is a very apt way of describing Smiley Smile -era.

[pixletwin]

May This Be Love is at least as beautiful as anything on Pet Sounds.