Lake - (H.E.L.P.) "Hendrix in ELP would never had worked"

[ronmac]

Huh--would you rather Noel Redding sang more?

Hendrix never liked his own voice, and more often than not he basically just talk-sang his way through his songs. But there's a great story about him delivering the lovely, soulful vocal on "Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)" and coming out of the booth in tears, saying "I can sing!"

Yep, I believe ha also hated being watched laying down vocal tracks. He was encouraged to sing by everyone else who felt he had a better voice than he felt he had. Very modest man. I love his voice.

[hewhoknows]

Been interesting reading the usual disagreements about whether Palmer could keep time

I've seen Palmer with both Asia (multiple times) and with ELP (also multiple times). IMHO, Palmer seems to rush or drag the beat quite a bit. Even on simpler music (Asia), he can rush 4/4 time. There was a recent ELP concert on AXS TV (previously HD Net) and they were grossly untogether. Not tight at all and much worse than I recall from live shows. I believe it is up the drummer and bassist to ensure how tight a band can sound. If they are solid, some drifting of the melody instruments is not nearly as noticeable, but it's always MUCH better when complex music is dead on tight.

[GuitarGeek]

Yep, I believe ha also hated being watched laying down vocal tracks. He was encouraged to sing by everyone else who felt he had a better voice than he felt he had. Very modest man. I love his voice.

Yeah, Eddie Kramer said once that he had to build a scrim that Jimi would hide behind when he was recording vocals. I always heard it was Voodoo Chile that he heard on playback that made him say "I can sing!", but I suppose which song it was is a moot point, rather than he didn't have a whole lot of confidence his singing ability. Reportedly, one of the things Jimi liked about Bob Dylan was that he liked the fact that Dylan sang his own material, even with that voice of his, which I guess encouraged Jimi to press forward as a vocalist.

[Adrian]

Been interesting reading the usual disagreements about whether Palmer could keep time - I say yes, when it suited the material eg almost anything he played with Asia

Then listen to how much "Heat of the Moment" speeds up between the start and the end. Palmer has always been a very erratic timekeeper.

[Rufus]

Then listen to how much "Heat of the Moment" speeds up between the start and the end. Palmer has always been a very erratic timekeeper.

It's called skill & precision !

[YESHEAD777]

Just doesnt make any sense musically. classical psychadelic blues i guess. who knows.....

[Frumious B]

I know he wasn't fond of listening to his own voice, but I think Hendrix is incredibly underrated as both a singer and a songwriter. Yes, he was a fantastic guitarist and is rightfully recognized as a revolutionary force there, but hardly anybody would give a damn about him if the great songs weren't there also.

[Mikhael]

Been interesting reading the usual disagreements about whether Palmer could keep time - I say yes, when it suited the material eg almost anything he played with Asia,

Nah - listen to "Heat of the Moment" on the album; he rushed fills and parts on that.

[edit] Oops - someone else already beat me to that one!

[Jeremy Bender]

I know he wasn't fond of listening to his own voice, but I think Hendrix is incredibly underrated as both a singer and a songwriter

Absolutely. John Lennon was always self-conscious about the quality of his singing --understandable when you have McCartney in the same band-- but he's easily one of the greatest rock singers ever.

Yes, he was a fantastic guitarist and is rightfully recognized as a revolutionary force there, but hardly anybody would give a damn about him if the great songs weren't there also.

Again, absolutely. What blows me away is how much he grew as a songwriter in the 4 years he was in the spotlight. He was constantly evolving, the stuff that was packaged as the "final album" The First Rays of the New Rising Sun has some great songs on it.

Hendrix is the ultimate rock star, taken from us far too soon.

[ronmac]

Absolutely. John Lennon was always self-conscious about the quality of his singing --understandable when you have McCartney in the same band-- but he's easily one of the greatest rock singers ever.

I consider John the greatest ever and a better singer than Paul, who was no slouch, BTW. I know I've stated it here before, but I consider John's rendition of Rock and Roll Music to be the greatest R&R vocal ever laid down on tape.

[No Pride]

I know he wasn't fond of listening to his own voice, but I think Hendrix is incredibly underrated as both a singer and a songwriter.

Jimi didn't think of himself as a singer and he only did it because Chas Chandler felt that he had to sing if he was going to front his own band. The fact that at the time, people were digging singers who were hardly great (particularly Bob Dylan, who Jimi loved) gave him the confidence he needed.

Personally, I loved his singing. What he lacked in technique, he more than made up for in soulfulness. And as a songwriter, he was as great as he was prolific. When you think about how many killer tunes he cranked out in a matter of three years, it's pretty mind boggling!

[trurl]

I never thought of Jimi as a bad singer... heck, if Rex Harrison "sang" then Jimi was Placido Domingo.

[Garden Dreamer]

Manager: "Okay Greg, we've put together a list of drummers that we think would be worth auditioning, which ones do you want us to call up: Ian Paice, Cozy Powell, Pip Pyle, Simon Phillips, Ray Phillips, Neil Peart, Jeff Porcaro, John Panozzo, Colin Petersen, Florian Pilkington-Miksa, Ric Parnell..."

Greg Lake "You're a complete bastard. But call Cozy Powell anyway."

I'm impressed with your ability to reel off a bunch of drummers whose names start with P!!

[mogrooves]

Hendrix had it all. Nonpareil. Beyond category. Sui generis.