I am 72 years old and it’s great to hear this music again from my era, I was 20 when this was released, but it’s just as good to read the comments of appreciation from you youngsters.
There must be some kind of way outta here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief
Business men, they drink my wine
Plowman dig my earth
None were level on the mind
Nobody up at his word
Hey, hey
No reason to get excited
The thief he kindly spoke
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But, uh, but you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us stop talkin' falsely now
The hour's getting late, hey
All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Barefoot servants, too
Outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl
I'd never understand the magic of this song. Hendrix was an absolute genius on guitar and also arrangement, his music was my alltime No.1 in teenage years and has always been a good soundtrack to my life, especially masterpieces like hey joe, voodoo chile, burning of the midnight lamp and this one. Tell me another avantgardistic and independend musician like him- there ist no one! Allegedly he was killed by his manager, who died some years later. But could he improve his perfomance anyway, if he'd live longer? Wonder, why this futuristic and visionary song barely is No.1 in hitlist, is that jealousy? Greetings from Germany, in this crazy times.
My Uncle Harry saw Jimi Hendrix in concert in Missouri. He used my Granddad’s army binoculars to see the show from cheap seats.
He said the light show was so strong that he didn’t know Jimi Hendrix was black until he bought his album.
That, and the acid probably didn’t help
"All Along the Watchtower" was first written and recorded by Bob Dylan. The song initially appeared on his 1967 album, John Wesley Harding. Then came Jimmy with the same song with a hard rock class by it self. I was 14 years old when I first heard Jimmy's song on a cheap plastic Phillips radio with hidden cigarettes in my pocket at my parents home. The best ride ever. The rest is history and I will never forget.
Eddie Kramer on making this: "I would say [1968's Bob Dylan cover] 'All Along the Watchtower' was probably one of the toughest. I remember there were others, but this one just stands out in my mind just because of the way it was put together.
"We were starting to record it, and it was, like, 10-15 takes in and, 'Oh, this is not happening...'
"I haven't heard Jimi yell at Mitch [Mitchell, drums], that was the first time. If you listen to the intro of 'All Along the Watchtower,' the time in the first four bars turns around, and Jimi loved that, but to get Mitch to do that, that was a trick because he messed it up a bit, to say the least.
"And then, of course, we got two acoustic guitars, Jimi's playing a six-string, Dave Mason's playing a 12-string, and who knows what people have been ingesting, I don't know, I didn't participate in those things... [Laughs]
"The intro, and then there were some timing issues, and Jimi was getting all pissed off about that, and finally we got the take together, we're rolling along, and it was just like, 'Oh, come on, we got to get this!'
"By take 27, we were there, but there was a battle, and Noel left the session because he couldn't take it anymore. He went to the pub, and then Jimi played the bass, which was that fabulous bass part."