BOOK REVIEW: Are You Experienced? The Inside Story of the Jimi Hendrix Experience

In the 1960s, The Beatles ruled the music world, but the sheer number of extraordinarily talented bands who were all making music at the same time in London was truly staggering.  In addition to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks, Cream, the Hollies, the Animals, the Zombies, the Yardbirds, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience were all releasing fantastic singles and albums in this incredibly fruitful and fertile climate.  Within this collection of bands, the Hendrix Experience was perhaps the most unique of them all, formed in the autumn of 1966 when former Animals bassist Chas Chandler brought American Jimi Hendrix to London, recruited bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, and put together a band that first took the UK, then Europe, and by mid-1967, America by storm.  I've always thought of Hendrix' career running in parallel with that of his good friend Eric Clapton's band at the time, Cream. Both bands were power trios with virtuoso guitarists, phenomenally talented drummers, and excellent bass players (although Jack Bruce's virtuosity lopsidedly compares with Redding's excellent skill, unfair because Redding was a guitar player who had never played bass before hooking up with Hendrix). Both bands burned brightly, releasing hugely successful singles and albums and changing the face of live rock with their loud, heavy, and long concert performances. Both bands earned record-setting profits on their ever expanding American tours, and by the end of the decade, both had splintered: Cream from internal clashes and egos, and Hendrix from overwork, creative differences, and tragically, Hendrix' death.  Similar to Cream, where each member has written a memoir, there exist books by each of the members of the Experience...I've reviewed the closest we'll ever get to a Hendrix memoir and Mitch Mitchell's book is on my to-read list, which leaves us with Noel Redding's book.

I first purchased Noel's book in 1996 when it was first released. At the time, I read it and enjoyed it, but for the purposes of this review I've read it again, and I'm glad I did. It's subtitled "the Inside Story of the Jimi Hendrix Experience" and that is certainly true as Noel is candid, honest, funny, and bitterly cynical (when appropriate) in his telling of the meteoric rise and fall of the Experience's legendary career. He stays true to his word, too, as there is very little in this book about his life outside of his experiences as pertaining to the Experience. Born in Kent in 1945, like just about every musician of his generation, Noel was bitten by the music bug early and by the time he was in his early 20s, he was a working (and struggling) professional musician in and around London. His big break came in September of 1966 when he auditioned for a new band Chas Chandler was putting together around an unknown American guitarist named Jimi Hendrix. Redding was persuaded to switch to a bass, an instrument he'd never played before (but one which he would establish himself as one of the best of his era). Rounding out the band was former child actor and well-known London jazz and rock drummer Mitch Mitchell.  Steady gigging and fast recording sessions on a shoestring budget yielded hit singles right off the bat in the form of "Hey Joe," "Purple Haze," and "Foxy Lady" and by the time their debut album Are You Experienced? was released in mid-1967, the Experience were one of the most popular bands in England, with fellow musicians (Paul McCartney in particular) as their biggest supporters.  After their breakthrough at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, the Experience ascended to become one of the biggest concert draws of the 1960s, helped along by two further exquisite albums (Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland).  However, all was not well within the band, and this is what forms the meat of Noel's story.

From the outset, this was a band that was assembled, not a band of friends who slogged long and hard and worked their way up from the bottom together. While Noel describes a real friendship and affection that developed between all three members, he also points out that they came from such ludicrously different backgrounds (starving black American musician, former child actor of an affluent family, and working-class suburban kid) such that while these disparate roots were often a source of humor and bonding between them, they also served as wedges (most notably between him and Mitch).  Their prodigious drug intake and Jimi increasingly falling prey to numerous hangers-on and sycophants led to rows which came to a head during the making of their landmark third album, Electric Ladyland in 1968.  Hendrix' perfectionism and inability to delegate any aspect of the music making to anyone other than himself and Eddie Kramer led to Chandler's departure and Noel's detachment, two close confidantes whose abandonment shook Jimi deeply. A final disastrous tour in 1969 led to the break up of the band, and although an attempt was made at reforming in early 1970, Jimi and Mitch effectively froze Noel out and they never worked together as a trio again.  Eventually, Hendrix succumbed to various pressures, both internal and external, and died under mysterious circumstances in September 1970, an event that devastated those who knew him, including Noel. But the effects on Noel's life that his years in the Experience had was about to get even bigger.

Even though the band was earning huge amounts of money during their career, especially between 1968 and 1970, they saw very little of it thanks to their unscrupulous and shady co-manager, Michael Jeffrey. Noel would end up spending the remainder of his life fighting to try and get his fair share of the royalties and percentages on all music he played on and film with his likeness. From the point in the book when Jimi died up until the end, it reads like an almost farcical tale of navigation through a legal labyrinth that has to be read in order to be believed. While it's a sad and cautionary tale reading the litany of ways in which Noel, Mitch, and even Jimi were swindled out of their money (mainly by the villainous Michael Jeffrey, who has been discussed in just about every Hendrix book for the same reasons), after a while it begins to simply be a laundry list of failed lawsuits and bills piling up that Noel and his longtime companion Carol couldn't pay. It is quite sad to read of just how skint Noel was...at one point, he and Carol were doing odd jobs around their village in Ireland simply to earn enough to buy bread, potatoes, and milk so that they could eat; they lived in a house that was in such a state of disrepair that they could not afford to fix, and they were constantly beset by people who treated Noel as though he were a retired millionaire (based on his time with Hendrix) who would then cut all ties with him when they found out he was broke. He eventually settled all claims to his rightful Hendrix money for a paltry sum that ate away at him until he decided to kick his addictions, buck up, shake himself out of his depression, and move on. By the end of this book, he was much happier and was earning good money playing gigs around the world with his own band or at Hendrix tributes, and had a publishing deal for his book.  Sadly, Carol, who had helped compile the book from his diaries, passed away in 1990 right before the book came out in the UK, another death of someone close that devastated Noel.

The feeling one takes away from this book after reading it is that, while Noel (mostly) had fun during his time in the Experience, the years afterward were wasted by lawsuits, depression, drug and alcohol addiction, and financial troubles that destroyed his love of music until he was well into his 40s. It's a candid, humorous, sad, and cautionary tale of a man who reached the peak of the rock music world at a ridiculously young age and spent the rest of his life paying for his youthful naivety and inexperience until finally finding peace and comfort before his untimely death later on in 2003 at the age of 57.

MY RATING: 8/10

 

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BOOK REVIEW: 27: A History of the 27 Club

The story of the dead rock star is almost a sad cliche at this point in time; certainly when a famous musician dies at a young age, most people aren't surprised and in many cases, it's almost expected to happen. Drink, drugs, reckless behavior, and unhealthy lifestyles are all some of the reasons many of the top musicians of their day end up passing away before their time at an age when most of us are just starting to come into our own as adults. However, there is a small subset of these deceased stars who all have a rather eerie thing in common; this is, of course, the fact that a disproportionate number of them died at the age of 27. Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain are the most famous and highest profile cases of this, but there have been numerous others, including Amy Winehouse, D. Boon, Pete Ham, Al Wilson, Robert Johnson, Pigpen McKernan, and so on. What is it about the age of 27 that seems to be so cursed? The exploration into this phenomenon is the thesis behind Howard Sounes' new book 27: A History of the 27 Club.

***special thanks to Sean and Da Capo Press for sending me a copy of the book to review!***

The term "27 Club" was coined by Kurt Cobain's mother after he died in 1994, when she said "now he's gone and joined that stupid club..." The idea behind the term has been around for decades, however, most notably after three of the highest profile rock stars of all time all died within ten months of each other: Jimi Hendrix in September 1970, Janis Joplin in October 1970, and Jim Morrison in July 1971. Their deaths brought to larger attention the fact that so many musicians before them had died at 27, and the pattern continuing to the present day has only strengthened the idea that there is something almost supernatural behind it. However, is this really the case? Author Howard Sounes takes a look at six of the highest profile deaths in order to examine this.

The book is set up as a multi-strand mini-biography of each of the subjects, starting with investigations into their births and childhoods, later going on to detail how they achieved fame, how they coped with it, and the series of events that ultimately led to their untimely and premature deaths at 27. In this way, the author hopes to see if there is any commonality between his subjects and whether the fact that they (and many others) all died at the same age is more than just mere coincidence. While the level of depth into the lives of the subjects (with the exception of Winehouse...more on this in a bit) isn't any deeper than what can be found in any potted synopsis of their lives, the author does a nice job weaving them all together, which is especially useful given how much the lives and careers of Jones, Joplin, Morrison, and Hendrix overlapped and interacted. 

While there is much that is different about them, one thing they all do have in common is their unhappy childhoods. In the cases of Morrison, Joplin, and Jones, they came from intact nuclear families that nevertheless had strained parental relationships that were not as emotionally nurturing or safe as they should have been.  Conversely, Hendrix, Cobain, and Winehouse all came from broken homes.  In all cases, all six had very strained, and sometimes nonexistent, relationships with one or both of their parents that persisted into adulthood. All found success at a relatively young ages after years of struggle, and all used drugs and alcohol in order to cope with their sudden fame and wealth, as well as to dull the pain of their unresolved traumas. In several cases (Cobain, Joplin, Hendrix) there were serious mental issues such as depression and bipolar disorder, while Brian Jones singularly seems to have simply been a nasty piece of work as a human being. Indeed, as the author points out by the end of the book, of all of the "Big Six 27s" (as he calls them), at their core they all seemed to be decent people who had serious issues, except for Jones, who seems to have just been an unlikeable character; nearly everyone he worked with or interacted with did not speak kindly of him.

The premise of the book is that there is something all of the Big Six 27s have in common may that explain their demises at the same age (as well as the others who have died at the same age)...is this really the case? I commend Sounes for debunking any supernatural connotations that many others have tried to ascribe to this tragic coincidence of age, because as he rightly points out, nearly all of them led lives of high risk.  Whether it was drugs, drink, reckless behavior, or in some cases simply bad luck, it was inevitable that unless they changed their lifestyles, that probability that it would catch up with them was inordinately high.  However, at the same time, this makes it less than surprising that any of them died, and because of this I was somewhat skeptical going into the book; is it really shocking when someone abuses their bodies with substances, lives on the edge, and as a result dies at a premature age? Obviously it's not, but regardless of that fact, it is still curious that, of all of the ages between, say 21 and 30, an unusually high proportion of these deaths occur at 27. Indeed, when plotting over 3,000 prominent musician deaths over the past 100+ years, Sounes' chart shows an prominent spike at 27. And while he doesn't offer an explanation as to why this is so surprising, he does show that given how the 27 Club members lived and the various mental and behavioral issues they struggled with, it's not unsurprising.

Getting back to the subject of the book's over-emphasis on Amy Winehouse, it does at times seem that this is a book about her with small amounts of material about the others sprinkled throughout in order to make it more broadly about the 27 Club; in the afterword Sounes admits as such when he admits that his intention going into the book was always to spend the most amount of time and detail on Amy. As someone who is not really a fan of hers, I did feel that while her story was interesting and tragic, she perhaps didn't deserve this level of emphasis nor to be put on the same level as the other five main subjects.  I will say that I am also of the opinion that her musical output (while pretty good) does not stand up to that of the other five and her iconic status seems to be based almost solely on her wild behavior and death, and not any profound cultural impact the way the other five had. It did feel as though her inclusion was either shoehorned in, or that, as I said above, this was to be a biography on her within the greater framework of the 27 Club. That being said, the book was still enjoyable and a quick, easy, and fun read. The writing style was a bit stilted and simplistic, and I'm not sure if that's simply because of the subject matter or if that's just Sounes' style (I'll know for sure when I read his biography on Paul McCartney).

Overall, this is a book that is enjoyable and thought-provoking. It doesn't really offer all that much new information apart from the sections on Amy Winehouse, although it does draw on new research the author conducted, as well as previously available information in order to debunk many of the conspiracy theories that have arisen over the years as pertaining to the deaths of Jones, Hendrix, Morrison, and Cobain (the author does not think foul play was involved in any of them).  This isn't a groundbreaking or revelatory book, but any rock music fan will enjoy it, and looking at his list of 27 Club members at the end of the book will open your eyes to the fact that if there isn't something supernatural going on behind the scenes, it's still a might strange coincidence how many of them all expired at 27.

MY RATING: 7/10

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BOOK REVIEW: Jimi Hendrix: Setting the Record Straight

In 1995, I was a 15 year old obsessed with playing my guitar whenever I could and listening to my idols at all times. Perhaps more so than any other year of my life, that year I ate, slept, and breathed all things Clapton, Page, Townshend, and Hendrix. Any available scrap of film I could watch or print I could read about these guys was eagerly devoured (remember, this is in the pre-internet days where it was much harder to find anything...not like today where it's a click away on the web). While working at my summer job as a short-order cook, one of the older guys I worked with told me, "hey, man, if you want to read a good book about Jimi, Setting the Record Straight is the best one." I took his advice and promptly went to a local bookstore and bought a copy, reading it in a matter of days. I ended up reading it a few more times after, but it had been quite some time, at least a dozen years since I last picked it up, so the following write-up is based on my re-reading of it for the purposes of this review.

Published in 1992, Setting the Record Straight endeavors to tell the true story of Jimi Hendrix' remarkable and short life and career via thorough research and firsthand accounts from the people who were knew him. Frustrated by the image of Hendrix that had been built up since his death as a clueless, albeit supremely talented,  drug-addled fool who squandered everything and died of a drug overdose, longtime Hendrix historian John McDermott and Hendrix' engineer and friend Eddie Kramer set out to tell his true story: a talented and serious musician who only wanted to make the best music he could. In order to do this, the authors not only drew from primary sources such as articles, interviews, and other books, but also new testimony from people who were there and who knew and dealt with Jimi. These included co-manager Chas Chandler, associates of his late co-manager (and man of mystery) Michael Jeffrey, controversial producer Alan Douglas, bandmates Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchel, Billy Cox, and Buddy Miles, various record company executives and studio personnel who worked with him, and fellow musicians including Paul McCartney, as well as his wife Linda, who was friends with Jimi and took numerous photographs of him.

Unlike the interesting new book, Starting At Zero, which I've recently reviewed and which is pieced together from various Hendrix quotes in order to present as close to an autobiography as we'll ever have, Setting the Record Straight is a straightforward biography of the man, but one that focuses entirely on the years when he was famous, 1966-1970. There is a very brisk and brief summation of his birth, childhood, and early years on the southern chitlin' circuit where he cut his teeth as a musician before we find Jimmy (as he was then known) struggling and literally starving trying to make a go of it as a musician in New York City's Greenwich Village during 1965 and 1966. First noticed by Keith Richards' then-girlfriend Linda Keith, Jimmy was shopped around to various record company A&R men (including Dick Rowe of Decca Records, who famously turned down the Beatles in 1962 and did the same to Hendrix in 1966) before coming to the attention of Animals bassist Chas Chandler, who took Jimi to England and set about managing and producing his career. Eventually, the hard work paid off and the Experience, comprising Hendrix, Mitchell, and Redding became one of the most successful and acclaimed UK bands of the decade alongside the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Who, Kinks, Cream, and Traffic. However, after his phenomenal and meteoric success in 1967 and 1968, Hendrix began to get bogged down by a variety of factors, all of which the authors describe in objective detail: relentless touring, sycophantic hangers-on, succumbing to the trappings of fame (most notably, Hendrix' escalating drug use), and the ruthless management style of Michael Jeffrey. Jimi became unfocused, spending unbelievable amounts of time and money on studio sessions that produced very little finished music in the wake of his epic 1968 masterpiece, Electric Ladyland. The purchase and construction of his own recording studio in New York City, Electric Lady Studios, would take up the remainder of his short life and he would only get to utilize it, still in an unfinished state, for less than a year before his tragic and accidental death in September 1970. 

 

McDermott does an excellent job telling the story of Jimi Hendrix in an engaging, interesting, and exciting manner without sacrificing any detail or information. Even when the subject matter turns to the complicated machinations behind Jeffrey's schemes, from tax shelters to the myriad labyrinth of contracts he constructed to bind Hendrix to him, it's done in a way that is easy to follow; this gives the reader a better understanding of just how tied to his management Jimi (somewhat unwittingly) was. However, the point is made throughout the book that Jimi was far from the uninformed dupe who never saw it coming that he's been portrayed as since his death. In fact, it is revealed that he was far shrewder and aware of what was going on with his career than many knew. However, he also had a cavalier attitude toward certain business dealings that came back to haunt him and had very real professional and personal ramifications. A contract he signed as a sideman in 1965 with Ed Chalpin's PPX Records was invoked once he became an international star in 1967 and dogged him until he died. It is this contract and the shoddy product (where Hendrix is little more than a session player) that has resulted in innumerable releases, both during Jimi's life and since his death, where his name is prominently displayed on the cover only to trick consumers into purchasing a record that is not an Experience album at all. In fact, Hendrix' classic 1970 live album Band of Gypsys was conceived and released in order to satisfy the demands of the lawsuit that stipulated he owed Chalpin an album of new Hendrix originals. A final successful tour in the spring and summer of 1970 resulted in some of the most mature and accomplished concerts of Hendrix' career, but by the time he appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival in August 1970, he was tired, ragged, and depressed. A further week of shows in Europe was played before the tour halted. Jimi decamped to London to rest, refocus, and plan his next move. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be and he was found dead on September 18, 1970 at the London flat he shared with one of his girlfriends. The remainder of the book deals with the sordid way in which his life and music have been treated in the wake of his passing through to 1992, when the book was published.

Setting the Record Straight does an admirable job in presenting the facts about Jimi's life and career in as fair and even-handed a manner as possible, and the authors make a point of keeping their focus mainly on the music, which they rightfully contend is Jimi's true legacy. They don't, however, shy away from writing candidly and openly about some of the more unsavory aspects of his life, including his 1969 drug bust in Toronto, the various substances he abused (and his sometimes unseemly behavior while under the influence), and his cavalier and careless approach to spending money and honoring contracts he'd signed. However, through it all, the picture is painted of a man that was supremely talented musically who also happened to be quite shy, reserved, and who hated conflict of any kind. The tragedy of Jimi Hendrix is that, upon achieving the fame and success he'd wanted so long and for which he'd worked so hard, he found himself trapped on a treadmill of demands, deadlines, and matters outside of his control and he didn't know how to cope with it. Having scaled the heights of the music world in the wake of 1968's Electric Ladyland and finishing the decade as the highest paid rock act in the world, Jimi foolishly jettisoned Chandler and Redding, setting in motion a chain of events that saw his career and personal life spiral out of control and made him vulnerable enough that he fell ever deeper into the clutches of Michael Jeffrey. And what of Jeffrey? Much has been made about his management style, his paranoia, his ties to organized crime, and his desire for an iron-like grip on Hendrix' career and the vast financial rewards that resulted. To their credit, McDermott and Kramer treat him as fairly as possible and do counter many of the outrageous stories (such as the rumor that he intentionally dosed Hendrix, thereby ruining the Band of Gypsys' final concert in late January 1970) by pointing out much of the good that he did for Hendrix.  However, the fact of the matter remains that on balance, in the end he had a negative effect on Hendrix' life and career, and the authors manage to get this across without overtly slagging Jeffrey...they let the facts speak for themselves. Finally, the book has a section in the middle with numerous photos, many of them from Linda McCartney's excellent collection, and appendices at the back with blueprint drawings of Electric Lady Studios, as well as correspondence between Hendrix and his office discussing his precarious financial situation throughout 1969 and 1970 during studio construction.

The only downside with this book is that, having been published in 1992, it's a bit dated; not in terms of the information contained therein, but in terms of the fact that Hendrix' family subsequently regained control of his music in the mid-1990s and embarked upon a rebooting of his musical legacy (with author John McDermott as their resident Hendrix historian) that on balance has been good, but has also met with some criticism from fans. However, in a way it's good that the book is from 1992, as in subsequent years Redding, Mitchell, Miles, Douglas, and Chandler have all passed away and had the book come out later, none of them would have been able to offer their invaluable contributions. In closing, while there are many good books on Jimi Hendrix, as far as biographies go this is still, more than twenty years after its release, the definitive book on the man.

MY RATING: 9/10

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Family Records: A Vinyl History Tour of My Youth (Part 1 of 2)

I've made no secret of the fond memories I have of listening to all of the great music from my parents' era when I was growing up. It started when I was very little and just heard whatever they were listening to in the background, whether it was on the home stereo, in the car, or on the radio. Eventually I got old enough to be curious about who and what I was listening to and gravitated to certain bands and musicians, and eventually after that, I was old enough to start listening on my own. In a way, you could say that these formative musical experiences were my "gateway" to a lifetime of musical obsession, both as a listener and collector of music as well as a guitarist and songwriter.

Besides what was in the grooves, what enchanted me as much in the 1980s and 90s as it entranced music fans years before me was the complete package that a vinyl record offered.  The square foot of real estate offered by the sleeve gave rise to some truly spectacular cover artwork, both front and back. And if you had an album that had a gatefold and/or some special inserts, well, it was like exploring a book about the music while you were listening to the music. I remember spending many hours poring over the artwork and packaging as a kid, both while I had the records playing as well as at random times when I just wanted to look at them again. These moments were usually snatched when my dad was at work (since the records and stereo system were in his home office) or when my parents weren't home and I could really crank up the volume. A little later, I had a record player in my room as part of a component stereo system (does anyone under thirty know what I'm talking about here?) and could bring albums up to listen to. Beyond that, I made cassette copies of them to use in my Walkman (again, anyone under thirty?) when I was in the car on family trips and later on, school field trips or away baseball and basketball games. Eventually, of course, CDs came along and while I still buy physical releases by all of my favorites, there is something about the size and tactility of a vinyl record that, despite some great examples, CDs can't quite match.

This post isn't meant to sound like I'm some audiophile or hipster snob extolling the virtues of vinyl at the expense of every other format...rather it's a celebration and fond look back at the vinyl records I listened to as a kid and as a teenager, which is doubly cool (at least to me) since they're also the very same records my parents listened to when they were growing up. For a reference point, my parents were born in the early-to-mid 1950s, so they would have been anywhere from 13 to 30 when they were buying and listening to these (depending on which year they were released).

So here we go...

(and when you're ready, here's PART 2)

THE WHO:

Anyone who has read my site knows that I am a massive fan of The Who...simply, they're one of my top 5 bands of all time. As such, these albums were my introduction to this great, great band.

Tommy (released 1969)

One of the great albums of the 1960s and of all time, groundbreaking as the first full-blown "rock opera" and an album near and dear to my heart. This is not only because of the great music contained within the grooves, but because of the overall presentation. The cover is a striking work of art that folds out into a triptych, mysterious and fascinating. Why are The Who waving their hands inside the giant sphere? The flying birds and the starry-gloved fist bursting out of the cover, pointing at you...what does it all mean? These are the questions that I asked myself over and over when I would sit and listen to this record.

Front Cover

Rear Cover

One flap opened...

Even better, there was a triptych inside, and a libretto with additional pictures describing the story alongside the lyrics. This was (and still is) an album you can lose yourself in for hours, and lest we forget, musically it still sounds great.

The inner triptych

The libretto is at far right next to the second record

Live at Leeds (released 1970)

If Tommy was The Who beginning to become masters of the studio with dense, layered, and cerebral rock, then Live at Leeds was the other side of the band as a loud, hard rocking, take-no-prisoners live act that was rightly called the greatest live band of all time. As an answer to the elaborate packaging of Tommy, Live at Leeds instead came in a nondescript plain brown cover with the title stamped on the front like some random parcel sitting on a loading dock somewhere. (This juxtaposition of packaging between the previous album and this one echoes what the Beatles did with Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967 and the White Album in 1968; the same can be said for the change in sound from an ornate studio production to a stripped down, heavier approach). But even if the plain cover fooled you, what was on the record would shake your senses rather quickly, as this is some of the finest, heaviest, and greatest live music ever recorded. I can still remember how blown away I felt when I first heard this record, two songs in particular: Young Man Blues, which to this day has some of the heaviest riffing I've ever heard, and Substitute, which is pure power pop perfection and has "that drum fill" (any Who fan will know what I mean). Contained inside are numerous facsimile documents and photos, including a band photo from 1965 (which I remember sneaking to school so I could photocopy it in order to hang it in my high school locker), and a reproduction of the famous "Maximum R&B" poster (which I was able to find a copy of to hang in my college dorm room). The label on the record famously lets the listener know that the "crackling noises are OK!" and this is one album that, even now, needs to be played at nothing less than maximum volume. I spent a lot of time reading all of the inserts over and over, and later on I was able to play the entire album note-for-note on guitar...the band I had in high school and college (with my brother on bass) used to play the entire thing when we'd jam. What a record!

Front cover

Opened up: inserts on left, record on right

The poster included in the album

Who's Next (released 1971)

Tommy found the Who entering the peak phase of their career, both live and in the studio, and the absolute peak of their non-concept albums is Who's Next (ironically, it arose from the ashes of the aborted concept album Lifehouse that Pete Townshend had written for the band in 1970). This is a no-frills nine-track album that stands as one of the great records in rock history. The vibrant cover is one of the most famous of all time and looks great in the larger size afforded by vinyl. The back cover is a backstage shot with Keith Moon being his usual crazy self and it told me, even as a young kid, that the superb drummer was also quite the character (which I'd learn about in more detail years later!).

Front cover

Rear cover

Quadrophenia (released 1973)

Of all of the Who albums, this one has always been my favorite and to this day, it remains one of my top three favorite albums of all time. I am not exaggerating when I say that this album helped me out immensely when I was a teenager and saved my life (and my sanity) on more than one occasion. Absolutely everything about, from the great music to the incredible packaging, marks this as one of the masterpieces of the rock era and certainly the pinnacle of the Who's career (even Pete Townshend himself has been quoted as saying he'll never write anything better than this). I spent hours and days with this album, listening to it, memorizing every lyric and musical nuance, and studying the cover and the gorgeous libretto, to the point that it's in my DNA. The book allows you to follow the story of the album in real time as you listen to it, and the overall gray coloration of the entire package, plus its strong connection to ocean and water themes (which, as someone who has a deep love for the ocean, is yet another way in which it resonates with me on multiple levels) and this is probably THE perfect album for me and my life.  I remember buying this on CD in the early 1990s and being so disappointed at the packaging; I was thrilled when it was finally released in 1996 with the original libretto included...smaller, yes, but at least it was intact and it was THERE.

Front cover, complete with price tag of $4.99 in the upper righthand corner

Rear cover

Inner gatefold with story on the left, credits on the right

The libretto

Libretto

Who Are You (released 1978)

The final Who album with Keith Moon and, in my opinion, the final Who album, period. Another no-frills album with no elaborate packaging, but a great collection of songs. As a kid, I only knew the growling title-track from the radio and the rest of the album confused me until I was old enough to appreciate what Pete was doing with his writing by this stage in the band's career. I still think it's a great, underrated, and unique Who album. The artwork is great, with all of the tangled leads and cables and the vibrant colors. The band still look badass on the cover...weary and intense, but still great (Keith's weight gain notwithstanding). The eerie message on Keith's chair got to me even back then.

JOHNNY WINTER

As I've written about before, when my dad would listen to Johnny, I was enthralled with his playing and voice and thought he must be a really flamboyant black guy who had the blues in his DNA. Imagine my surprise a little bit later when I found that I was right in every way but one, and that not only was he white but that he was albino! Such things didn't matter then and they don't now, but I do remember my surprise when the image in my mind didn't match the guy on the album cover!

Johnny Winter And/Live (released 1970/71)

This is a weird one, as it's a two-record set that combines his 1970 studio album And with his 1971 live album And Live. Both are great, however...some weak tracks on the studio side but the live album is blistering!

Front cover

Rear cover

Captured Live! (released 1976)

This one is just incendiary. I remember this being one of the ones where the guitar playing just made my jaw drop when I first heard it and I really listened to it intently for many years. I still love cranking this one up. This one has a no-frills sleeve with a shot of the massive crowd on the back cover, but every song is just a tour-de-force of guitar, not to mention the great band Johnny had behind him.

JETHRO TULL

Tull is a band I've always been a big fan of, but only their earlier material...after their Thick as a Brick album from 1972, I don't care for their stuff. Luckily, the records my dad had of theirs were from their classic earlier period and the combination of their very British heavy-guitar sound with their more acoustic folk pieces, not to mention the bizarre addition of Ian Anderson on lead flute (which somehow worked!) was totally unique. I loved these guys and still do.

Benefit (released 1970)

Tull's third album and probably the one where their mix of English psychedelia, folk, and electric blues came together in its most perfect form. I spent a lot of time listening to this one and...

Aqualung (released 1971)

What a great album, and rightly considered one of the greatest of all time. The title track, "Cross Eyed Mary," and "Locomotive Breath" were favorites as a kid and I spent a lot of time trying to suss those out on guitar. The entire album is great from start to finish, though.

TRAFFIC

Traffic are another band that may not be as well known now as they should be, but they were/are a favorite of my dad's, and a band that I love as well. Led by the brilliant Steve Winwood, their blend of English psychedelia, folk, jazz, and R&B was really unique, and the sheer number of great songs and albums they had speak volumes about their place in rock history.

Best of Traffic (released 1969)

A compilation of their earlier hits and album tracks, there's some great stuff on here...mainly their 1960s non-album singles, which were especially difficult to get in the US as I believe most of them were only ever released in the UK.

John Barleycorn Must Die (released 1970)

One of my favorite albums and one of the band's best. The opening salvo of Glad/Freedom Rider is just fantastic and there isn't a duff track over the course of the entire album. Pretty minimalist packaging in terms of coloration but the burlap-sack texture on the sleeve and the woodcut image on the front totally fit with the theme of the album.

The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (released 1971)

Another great album, especially the long title track, and this one is interesting because the outer cardboard record sleeve has the corners cut off in order to create the 3D cube effect (although when the record and inner sleeve are inserted, the corners stick out.

SANTANA

Santana (released 1969, left) and Abraxas (released 1970, right)

Another great guitarist, although I'm only like the first three albums he and his band did. These are the first two, and have typically ornate and cool-looking late 1960s/early 1970s artwork. Even better, the original full-size poster that came with Abraxas is still in my dad's copy!

Poster included in Abraxas

LED ZEPPELIN

What can be said about the mighty Led Zep that hasn't already been said by so many others, including me? Yes, they "borrowed" heavily from their sources, but it can't be denied that they were incredibly talented and creative and remain one of the greatest bands in the history of rock. Jimmy Page was and still is one of my biggest guitar influences and their sonic assault, contrasted with their use of loud/soft dynamics and acoustic instrumentation knocked me out as a kid and still thrills with each listen.

Led Zeppelin II (released 1969)

I spent a LOT of time with this record, playing air guitar to Page's solo spot in "Whole Lotte Love" and later on, studying it and using it to learn how to play each and every one of its songs. It has a pretty cool gatefold (not shown) of a giant blimp flying through spotlights that my oldest daughter liked when I took the picture below.

Led Zeppelin IV (released 1971)

Along with 1975's Physical Graffiti, their high-water mark. Just a flawless album from start to finish. Add to that some truly cryptic artwork with nary a mention of the band's name anywhere on the outside, and the presence of those runes inside (as well as on the record label) and the air of mystery was palpable to a young boy. The gatefold picture of "The Hermit" and the ancient font used to write the lyrics to "Stairway to Heaven" on the inner sleeve only complete the whole package.

In Through the Out Door (released 1979)

The final album, a transitional one that sadly ended up being their last since John Bonham tragically died in late 1980. I've always liked this record, even though it's not their best and many Zeppelin fans loathe it. Besides the music, the packaging was great and a perfect example of vinyl's superiority over other formats. The front and back covers are different character's perspectives from within the photo and a total of *six* different sleeves ensured that there was a lot of variability as to what record you got when you bought this (mainly because it was shrink wrapped in a plain brown wrapper so you didn't know which one you got until you bought it!). The inner sleeve also has a secret...wet it with some water and a note in the ashtray appears with a message. Neither my dad nor I ever did that so the sleeve is intact, as seen below. Still, pretty cool!

Front of inner sleeve

Back of inner sleeve

JIMI HENDRIX

Again, nothing needs to be said about Jimi; quite simply, one of the greatest, most influential and groundbreaking guitarists of all time. My dad once told me that hearing Hendrix for the first time in late 1966/early 1967 was like hearing something from another planet...it was that unique. I will admit that Jimi is an influence on my playing in terms of my having learned to play many of his songs and using some of his riffs as jumping off points for my own playing, but to say I can even come close to approaching him would be ludicrous. I spent MANY hours listening to these records...it's just great music, and like most of the great frontmen, he had a top-notch band behind him.

Are You Experienced? (released 1967)

One of the greatest debut albums of all time and a real blast to listen to...this is, as I read years ago, "the blues by way of Venus." It blew minds in the 1960s and it blew my mind twenty years later. Pretty minimalist packaging, but a great fish-eye lens photo of the band (with a really groovy jacket Jimi has on...the eyes on his shoulders used to weird me out as a kid!).

Electric Ladyland (released 1968)

Jimi's magnum opus. I also think it's one of the greatest albums by anyone, any time, period. Four sides of incredible music running the gamut from hard rock, blues, jazz, psychedelia, R&B, and everything in between. No two songs sound the same on this album and the level of musicianship is awe-inspiring, although Jimi's perfectionism and attention to detail are what led Noel Redding to leave the band the following year. The packaging is befitting a work such as this, with the instantly recognizable cover, a great group shot on the rear, and loads of other pictures in the gatefold.

 

Band of Gypsys (released 1970)

The last album Jimi would released in his lifetime.  What was initially a way to get out of a lawsuit due to a bad pre-fame contract he'd signed ended up resulting in one of the great live albums and a wholly unique entry in his catalog. The nascent funk and soul beats found on this record would transcend rock music into the next decade and beyond, and the level of Jimi's playing on these new songs was absolutely staggering: one only has to listen to "Machine Gun" and "Power of Soul" to realize this was a guy who was on another level from any other great guitarist who's ever lived. The album cover is striking and one of my favorites.

The Cry of Love (released 1971)

Released a year after his death and compiled by his longtime engineer Eddie Kramer and his drummer Mitch Mitchell, this collected the most complete tracks intended for his fourth studio album at the time of his death. All of this material has been subsequently released by the Hendrix family on the excellent releases First Rays of the New Rising Sun and South Saturn Delta in the 1990s, but forty-five years ago, this was the only way to hear these new Hendrix songs. A great album cover, some interesting pictures in the gatefold (including Jimi leaning out of a window with a rifle!) and this was one that fascinated me once I dug deeper into it after absorbing the releases he put out when he was alive.

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL

Having just reviewed a biography on the band, I was reminded yet again about something pertaining to CCR that always had me shaking my head in awe: these guys put out a TON of great records and songs in such a short span of time! In three and a half years, they released seven studio albums (including three in 1969!) and a bunch of great singles. Forty-five years on and the music still sounds as fresh and vibrant as it did back then. I've always loved CCR and they were a great way to learn guitar...the songs sound fairly complicated and well-put together but are deceptively simple when you break them down. That's the hallmark of a great writer, which John Fogerty certainly was, but you can't overlook the fact that the band as a whole was what made these tunes so magical.

Creedence Gold (released 1972)

Oh man, do I love this record. Not only is it a great collection of songs, but the packaging is really neat. The front has die cut silhouettes of each band member, and when you turn each flap, there's a picture of them. The back cover has a great group shot, and the inner sleeve has photos of each of their album releases. I spent a lot time playing guitar along to these songs and it served as my springboard to discover the rest of their great music.

STEELY DAN

I've always been a big Steely Dan fan...it stemmed mainly from hearing their songs on the radio. I've always liked their catchy songs, Donald Fagen's really weird voice (but it works!) and their amalgam of rock, soul, and jazz. My parents had every album on vinyl except for their final (before their 1990s reunion) release, 1980's Gaucho. I spent a lot of time listening to these records and discovering the numerous deeper album cuts that you never hear on the radio.

THE BEATLES

Well, of course! Last but certainly not least, as you know, the Beatles are my favorite band of all time and their music has been with me as long as I can ever remember, from birth (and before, probably!). Growing up, I heard them all the time on the radio and on these records...it wasn't until later on in the late 1980s when the entire UK discography was released on CD that I absorbed everything they had ever released, but even so, I played, played, and played some more these two albums. They are of course...

The Red Album (1962-1966) and The Blue Album (1967-70) (both released 1973)

These are two examples of how great compilations can be if enough time, care, and attention to detail is taken when putting them together.  They contain a perfect mix of singles, B-sides, and album tracks and offer what's probably the best comprehensive cross-section of the band's entire career (although of course, I would direct EVERYONE to simply buy all of their albums...they're essential). I loved the striking contrast between what they looked like in 1963 on the cover of Red and what they looked like in 1969 on the cover of Blue...same pose, same building, but they looked so different and it blew my childhood mind that it was only a span of six years (it still boggles my mind when I think about it). The inner gatefold is a cool picture from the famous "Mad Day Out" photo session of July 1968, which is one of my favorite sets of photos of the band (one of my favorite posters I had when growing up is from that photo shoot). The A- and B-side Apple labels were always cool, and still are.  Just great, fond memories of these records as a kid.

That's it for Part 1! I hope you've enjoyed it, and feel free to share any of your memories of these records (or others) in the comments section below. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I'll go through the rest of the records that I grew up with!

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