Professional Documents
Culture Documents
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted
digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about
JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms
Cambridge University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Popular Music
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Popular Music (1990) Volume 9/1
SHEILA WHITELEY
But like, the blues is what we're supposed to dig . . sometimes the no
but it's a different scene between those notes. (Hendrix quoted in P
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
38 Sheila Whiteley
such provided a musical analogy for the counter-culture's search for alternative
cognitive and social modes beneath and outside the framework of the dominant
culture, the area of signification presents problems. In particular the level of
denotation seems lacking or at best unclear as there is very little sense of objective
reference to concepts and perceptions. On the other hand, it is possible to discuss
connotation, in that music was recognised, by the counter-culture, as a symbolic act
of self-liberation and self-realisation in which reality and musical experience were
fused. As such the sound-shape, together with the socio-cultural element
superimposed upon it, consolidate to form a distinct form of communication.
As the counter-culture was largely concerned with alternative modes of living
which involved, to a large extent, the use of drugs as a means towards exploring the
imagination and self-expression, Hendrix's music is analysed for psychedelic
coding. Focused by a reading of Joel Fort's The Pleasure Seekers: the Drugs Crisis, Youth
and Society (1969), this analysis explores the way in which progressive rock conveys a
musical equivalent of hallucinogenic experience through the manipulation of
timbres (blurred/bright/overlapping), upward movement (and its comparison with
psychedelic flight and the 'trip'), harmonies (oscillating/lurching), rhythms (regular/
irregular), relationships (foreground/background) and collages to provide a point of
comparison with the more conventionalised, 'normal' treatment inherent in rock.
At the same time, it is recognised that such associations quickly become
conventionalised. As Middleton and Muncie (1981, p. 87) point out,
psychedelic elements in musical style are typically interpreted as such by reference to a
sub-culture of drug usage; in other words they are defined in this way primarily because
hippies said they should be. A whole group of connotations, arising from our knowledge of
the drug culture, then settles on the music. But this culture has already been defined in this
way partially because of the existence in it of this particular kind of music. The meaning of
drug-usage is affected by the meaning of the associated music . . . The system is perfectly
structured internally . .. but has no necessary connection to anything outside itself; there is
no purchase on it from without.
While my analysis of Hendrix has been influenced to some extent by this awareness
of intra-cultural interpretations, I have tried to establish the meaning of psychedelic
elements through an examination of the musical codes involved and, more
important, their relationship to each other.
This article suggests a possible approach towards correlating cultural and
musical characteristics and, in particular, the correspondence in Jimi Hendrix's
music between its 'progressive rock' and its 'psychedelic' associations. In particular,
it explores how the emphasis on self-expression, improvisation and experimenta-
tion, implicit in progressive rock,1 related to the counter-culture's emphasis on the
immediacy of the experiential here and now of psychedelic experience.
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 39
the first band to give him a chance to play lead guitar. This broad-based experience in
the clubs made him equally conversant with jazz, saxophone swing, r&b, gospel and
soul.
Hendrix was brought to England by Chas Chandler who saw him playing at the
Cafe Wha in Greenich Village. Chandler took him back to London where they
auditioned a rhythm section which resulted in the engagement of Noel Redding
(bass) and Mitch Mitchell (drums). Calling the band the Jimi Hendrix Experience,
they played their first public engagement at Paris Olympia.
'Hey Joe', with flip side 'Stone Free', was the group's first single, and was
released on 16 December 1966. By this time Hendrix had spent four months playing
the London clubs: the Marquee, the Upper Cut, the Bag-O-Nails and the short -lived
71/2 Club. A review in Melody Maker's 'Caught in the Act' section focused on his
powerful psychedelic blues style, but the press generally wrote him off as so much
loud, useless noise, calling him 'The Wild Man from Borneo' or 'The Crazy Black
Man'. Rather than fight the image the group encouraged it, hoping it would increase
their following in the underground. 'Hey Joe', musically reinforced the image.
Mysterious, menacing and dynamically very well paced, the record in effect picked up on the
blues where the Rolling Stones had left the idiom after topping the British charts with 'Little
Red Rooster' in 1964, and 'Hey Joe' ... made the British top ten early in 1967. Just as Britain
was beginning to feel the reverberations of the drug culture of San Francisco, here was a
young black man from the West Coast with frizzy hair, outrageously colourful clothes, and no
inhibitions about using the guitar as a sexual symbol. (Brown and Pearce 1978, p. 13)
But, as Mike Clifford points out, Hendrix had everything going for him - he had a
supremely cool vocal drawl, dope-and-Dylan oriented lyrics, the acid dandyism of
his clothes and the stirring element of black sexual fantasy (Gillett 1970, p. 385).
'Hey Joe' is based on a simple repetitive harmonic structure (see Example la).
The introduction establishes the inherent menacing mood of the song with a moody,
blues-like riff (Example ib). The vocal is based on a heavily repetitive falling motif,
coloured by inflection and muttered comments: (Example ic). After a shouted 'I
Gave Her the Gun/I Shot Her/Yes, I Did./ I took the gun and I shot her' the second
verse leads into Hendrix's guitar solo. This is based on scale figures which move
around the principal chord structure: three bars on G Major, two bars on E Minor.
The effect of the simple repetitive harmonies is to free the melody line (the structure
is easily extended to create breaks of an irregular length) while the form itself is not
constrained by a set harmonic sequence (such as the twelve bar blues). At the same
time, the progressions provide harmonic motion under the strongly rhythmic
figures which are themselves punctuated by Hendrix comments. 'Shoot her one
more time baby' (Example 2).
Example la, b, c
b)
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
40 Sheila Whiteley
c)
Hey Joe where you goin' with that gun in your hand - I said
(--
Hey Joe where you goin' with that gun in your hand I'm go - in'
out and find my wo-man now- she's been run-nin' round with some oth-er man I said I'm
Example 2
Progressive elements
Hendrix had first heard 'Hey Joe' when jamming with Arthur Lee of the group Love,
but whereas Lee relied on a mixture of muttered vocals and a guitar line borrowed
from Jackie De Shannon's 'When You Walk In The Room', Hendrix shows more the
influence of two of his guitar heroes, John Lee Hooker and Albert King. The
introduction, for example, with its heavily accented G, the underpinning in the vocal
line with the long decay on the D over which Hendrix mutters 'I said', reflects the
moody and menacing style of Hooker, while the casual dexterity in the lead break is
more reminiscent of Albert King. The influence of B. B. King is also present in the
sensuous articulation in the break, the flurries of quick notes contrasting with the
sustained G and glissando fall in bar 7. The basic falling pattern which was
established in the vocal is also there, and is a typical r&b formula. However, as
Hendrix himself once replied to an interviewer who was comparing his style with
Clapton: 'but like, the blues is what we're supposed to dig ... Sometimes the notes
might sound like it, but it's a different scene between those notes' (quoted in Pidgeon
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 41
1976, p. 62). Thus, while there are blue notes, pitch inflection, 'vocalised' guitar tone,
triplet beats and off-beat accenting and a call-and-response relationship in Hendrix'
own commentary to his guitar solo and verse line, the way in which these elements
are pulled together is typically Hendrix. The sustain tone, which originated with
B.B. King, takes on an even more overt sexuality, which was particularly evident in
live performances by Hendrix where he would play the guitar with his teeth or with
strongly masturbatory connotations to feed both the rhythmic emphasis of the guitar
line and the words themselves: 'I caught her messin' with another man'.
In January, 1967 Nick Jones' article in Melody Maker (1967) 'Hendrix - On The
Crest Of A Fave Rave' provided a formative account of the basic ingredients for
progressive rock: 'The Hendrix sound is what England hasn't yet evolved - but
desperately needs. It's a weaving, kaleidoscope of tremor and vibration, discords
and progressions'.
The album Are You Experienced was released in September 1967. The single 'Hey
Joe' appeared on side one and two other tracks also became chart hits: 'And The
Wind Cries Mary' and 'Purple Haze'. The album focused on the psychedelic, with
the title pulling on drug connotations.
'Purple Haze', the name given to a particular brand of the drug LSD, is overtly
concerned with hallucinogenic experience:
Purple Haze was in my brain
Lately things don't seem the same
Actin' funny, don't know why
'scuse me while I kiss the sky
The energy, use of distortion, fuzz,2 wah wah and loudness coupled with precise
and sinuous scalic riffs are comparable to 'Hey Joe', but this time the sexual focus, the
betrayal of the male by the female and the violent consequences are shifted to pull on
a sense of timelessness:
'Purple Haze' begins with a bass pedal E under A? on bass and lead guitar, the t
bars creating an underlying beat, a common pulse, which works to establis
bonding between performer and audience (Example 3). The pulse-like bea
continues in the next two bars, but here the A# disappears as Hendrix moves into the
opening riff with its characteristic bending up of notes and dipping vibratos. Wh
this is basically a pentatonic blues riff, the extremes of distortion blur the act
pitching of the notes and the discordant partials make it.practically impossible
hear the pitch. However, given the blues logic of Hendrix's other songs it is proba
Example 3
Guitar I _
Bass a s s
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
42 Sheila Whiteley
that the underlying structure is based on the chords of E-G-A which support the
earlier vocal line (Example 4).
The riff has the typical feeling of muscle and crunch common to most Hendrix
numbers, and this comes through particularly in the tonal quality created by the
electronic distortion, the fuzz and the resultant discordant partials. The expectations
generated in the opening riff are also picked up in the main break which moves
towards an overt theatricality with its hammered and pulled-off notes, the jittered
bursts of broken words over the free-flowing improvisation with its wild yet
Example 4
bend up
Guitar P-2II
Bass I
etc.
etc.
Example 5
II14
W 1 I I' W An t J-l
-..
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 43
(1 (2 (3 (4
I r r I
Psychedelic coding
As an acid track, the torn sounds and muttered syllables work within the
shape of the lead guitar line which moves from top C# to B (Example
movement into the trip is accompanied by upward moving figures (Example
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
44 Sheila Whiteley
Example 6 a
into trip_ _
start of trip
w Un- MPF M ,-
nL Itt-" I1
) 1climax:
electronic manipulation and bending of notes:
bending of notes: tripping around notes out of trip - next verse
high excitement bars 6-7 bars 8-9
6 7 ~ 9
! , I............. . 0 ! '.
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 45
drums gradually moving from a highly active and syncopated rhythm into a fast but
even pulse in quavers (Example 6c). In the lead break, high notes, sliding
amplifications and the sheer volume of noise move against the continuous arterial
throb of the rhythm to juxtapose two realities- the throb of the continuous bass heart
beat against the exhilarated high of Hendrix's guitar solo, which is intensified by the
doubling at the octave effect.
For the listener, the sheer volume of noise works towards the drowning of
personal consciousness. The simultaneous underlying pulsating rhythm and the
heightened sensation of raw power rips through the distorted amplification of the
guitar sound with its sinuous tripping around the basic notes (Example 7).
Example 7
almost 7 in the time of 8 semiquavers
Example 8
Purple Haze was in my brain Lately things don't seem the same
A - -
Acti n funny, kiss the sky'
Act in' funny kiss the sky
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
46 Sheila Whiteley
Example 10
* (blue note)
The total effect of 'Purple Haze' is one of drifting and while the lead br
example, is fairly metrical with most of the bars being in eights or sixteen
ornaments, the deflection of accents from weak to strong beats in bars 3-5
feeling of being within a different time-scale (Example 11). The sensation of
is equally fed by phrasing and articulation. In the lead break the guitar me
an almost raga-like noodling around the notes, again suggestive of a state of
where a fixed idea/concept/point takes on a new reality. In conjunction w
feedback and distortion there is a feeling of incoherence. In particular th
registers are almost pure noise and as such resonate with the imagery of th
Purple haze was in my eyes
Don't know if it's day or night
You've got me blowing, blowing my mind,
Is it tomorrow or just the end of time?
Example 11
3) 4) 5)
Progressive
While 'Purple
vocal, the rep
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 47
the call-and-response between the vocal and guitar, there is overall a sensation of
anti-structure which comes through in the aural experience of the delivery, the
dense sound, the distorted slide notes, the muttered broken questions:
Tell me, tell me
Example 12
"* 8 r I
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
48 Sheila Whiteley
Example 13
Guitar
Bass ? i___
evocative, the words are spoken rather than sung out with an off-the-beat inflection,
against a gently moving melody which pulls on the mood of serenity and well-being
that can accompany shared 'smoke' (Example 14).
Example 14
A - after all the Jacks are in their box-es And the clowns have all gone to
bed you can hear happi-ness stag- g'rin'on down the sheet
The basic chord structure is simple, moving through a repetitive C:Bb:F until
the evocative:
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 49
Example 15
Lead
Guitar ,. -_1_l i
Rhythm
Guitar -
(Example 15). There is an ease in tension on the penultimate note, a sudden stillness
before the haunting lyrics of the last verse:
Will the wind ever remember
The names it has blown in the past
And with this crutch, its old age and its wisdom
It whispers, 'No, this will be the last'.
'And the wind cries Mary' is then picked up by the guitar motif which gently ben
the last note (Example 16).
Example 16
Example 17
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
50 Sheila Whiteley
natural inflection of the words with accents both on and off the beat (Example 18).
The rising and falling phrase-shapes and the muttered asides equally support the
underlying meaning of the words, rising on the word 'burns' and 'love', sinking on
'cold', circling 'round and round' and distanced on 'confusion' (Example 19). The
sense of confusion is intensified by Hendrix's guitar playing which appears to be
superimposed on the vocal. It is neither in dialogue with the voice, nor does it fill in
gaps as in the blues, but instead provides its own vocal line. The effect is of two
simultaneous melodies, both in the G minor pentatonic blues scale. At the same
time, the chromaticism in the bass line provides a certain 'dizziness' in effect, which
again feeds the connotations of confusion (Example 20).
Example 18
Is that the stars in the sky or is it rain - ing far from now
Example 19
i F" - " - : L
My heart burns - with
Example 20
Vocal "1 F I.
(Now) my heart burns with feel - in' but a..
Bass I
Splash 7 1
Drums Cymbals .
Bass
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 51
71: F ,i IF; I
grinding sound
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
52 Sheila Whiteley
Psychedelic coding
The words are strongly psychedelic in their associations of colour and confusion:
Must there be all these colours without names
without sounds
My heart burns with feelin' but
Oh! My mind is cold and reeling
Oh, my head is pounding, pounding,
going 'round and 'round and 'round and 'round
Must there always be these colours?
and in conjunction with the acute distortions of fuzz sound and the tripping aro
notes in the lead break, move towards a sensation of movement through time
space. The endless feedback and distortion move the listener into an equivalent s
of incoherence, the montage of sound effects, reverb, echo, tremelo and f
resonating with the vocal message 'pounding, pounding, going 'round and 'roun
and 'round and 'round'.
Hendrix's lead break with its bend-up notes and glissandi equally su
flight. It is here that the psychedelic fuses with space rock: the electr
distorted notes encoding both the unpredictability of hallucinogenic search,
of certainty of a good/bad trip with the unknown element in space travel.
Hendrix's exploration of space reads like a negative reaction to the main
rather than a positive move towards engaging in cultural quest. The use of di
and fuzz creates an unknown element which can connote a sense of uncert
This also comes through in the way in which he tuned his guitar. The top str
often tuned to D or Eb and the excessive bending and the use of the wah wa
served to obscure the actual notes played. At the same time, Hendrix's
conventional guitar, similar to that of Hank Marvin, but played upside down
read as a turning upside down the conventional world of such groups
Shadows. Clearly, Hendrix could have bought a left-handed guitar (as he hi
was left-handed), but his playing of the instrument upside down helped to c
his image of an inverter of norms.
At the same time, the extreme use of noise, in conjunction with the hy
nature of the Hendrix sound with its overwhelming sense of energy and d
created a means through which he could tune into the 'collective unconsciou
audience. This provoked the mass sexual ecstasy often associated with his c
which moved towards a corporeal sense of tribal unity. At this point, Hen
personal expansion of human consciousness would fuse with the colle
experience of the hallucinogenic in the exploration of the self through
expanding drugs:
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 53
depending on the interaction of the many important human and drug variables, hallucina-
tions. (Fort 1969, p. 182)
In conjunction with the overwhelming sense of energy and drive in his guitar
playing, allied to unusual sound effects (running his hand up and down the
fretboard, banging the guitar and feeding these sounds through fuzz) there is, then,
the implication of a new language of sound which equates with the sense of
hallucinogenic exploration implicit in the lyrics.
Progressive elements
While 'Love or Confusion' continues to draw on blues resources particularly in the
single note attack with long decay and glissando fall, the basic melodic falling pattern,
for example, 'Is this love, baby, or is it confusion' - is equally typical of r&b. The
forcefulness in Hendrix's guitar style can be traced back to his early experience in r&b
and rock 'n' roll, but generally structures and style are growth points rather than
working barriers.
In particular his use of effects works to support the sense of the unknown, the
'confusion' in the lyrics:
The overall effect is anarchic, a move against reality (with its emphasis on logic)
as such there is a fusion with the psychedelic, the unpredictability of hallucinoge
search, the juxtaposition of unknown colours with chaos and confusion.
'Hey Joe', 'Purple Haze', 'The Wind Cries Mary' and 'Love Or Confusion' we
constantly performed by Hendrix in concert and appeared on seven of his
including the live recording Woodstock. As such they would appear to
representative not only of his particular style of performance, but also of
particular focus on the psychedelic, space rock and sexuality. 'Foxy Lady', 'Fire
'Red House', 'Long Hot Summer Night', 'Gypsy Eyes' and 'Dolly Dagger' fo
example, show a comparable sensuality in vocal delivery and performing style
'Hey Joe'. There are the characteristic muttered asides (Example 21) to evoke an
erotic intimacy which is intensified by the pounding beat and sensuous guitar sty
'Gypsy Eyes', for example, has the characteristic sliding glissandos and bent-up n
in the guitar introduction (Example 22a) but the opening vocal has no supportin
chords, and as such the focus is on Hendrix's slow sensual delivery (Example 22
The overt sexuality of 'Dolly Dagger' is intensified by the pounding rock beat a
bass riff (Example 23). In particular, the repetitive blues-like delivery of the coda
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
54 Sheila Whiteley
b 'Foxy Lady'
,04
b<. , - P> - !J
a) no chords
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 55
Example 23
Here comes
Example 24
SI I , 1 F r
She ain't sat - is - fled 'til she gets what she's af - ter
She drinks her blood from a jag - ged edge
You'd bet - ter watch out, baby, here comes your master
The 'are you experienced', in particular, points to the need for guidance by a trained,
trusted person for the first-time user of LSD.
The underlying personality, mood, attitudes, expectations and setting in which the drug is
taken have proven to be far more important as determinants of an LSD experience than with
drugs such as alcohol, marijuana, barbiturates, or amphetamines... Because of the intensity
and complexity of the experience, it can ... be disorganizing and upsetting'. (Fort 1969, p.
181, 183)
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
56 Sheila Whiteley
Example 25
It's ver - y far a - way It takes a - bout half a day to get there
not in Spain But all the same you know it's a groovy name
With Hendrix as a 'trusted' and 'experienced' guide, (in the sense that he was both a
loved and respected performer) the experience is promised as beautiful: 'Have you
ever been experienced: Well, I have. Ah, let me prove it to you.'
Trumpets and violins I can hear in the distance.
I think they're calling our names.
Maybe now you can't hear them,
but you will if you just take hold of my hand.
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 57
And I came back to find the stars mis - placed _ and the smell of a
world that has burned the smell of a world that has burned
I can dig it
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
58 Sheila Whiteley
phrases are repetitive and memorable, but overall the effect is one of anti-structure
which is due to the aural experience of the delivery, the dense sound, the feedback
and distortion which move toward pure noise. 'Purple Haze' is also based on a
repetitive riff over a simple harmonic structure: E, G, A, but again the underlying
logic of the chord progressions is transformed by Hendrix to produce a feeling of
intuitive incoherence and lack of rationality through the use of fuzz tone which
distorts the hammered and pulled-off notes.
The blues, then, is a growth focal point rather than a working barrier and
Hendrix's guitar style, while reflecting the influence of B. B. King, John Lee Hooker
and Albert King, demonstrates his own physical feeling for sound, not only in the
virtuosity of technique but also in the use of electronic effects which enhance the
feeling of raw energy which characterises all his songs.
The muttered vocals which are common to all Hendrix songs, also demonstrate
a physical feeling for sound rather than melody and as such make their impact
musically rather than semantically. In 'Love or Confusion' for example, the musical
effect of 'or is it, or is it confusion' is to focus the confusion in the sound itself, the
fuzz tone, the low grinding sound of the bass guitar against the roll on the cymbal. In
'Long Hot Summer Night' the muttered 'I'm so glad that my baby's coming to rescue
me' again works as a sound source to effect a strongly sexual rhythmic focus before
the lines are repeated twice to an upward melodic line to suggest, in context, an
orgasmic high. 'Foxy Lady' again focuses on a repetitive rhythmic motif: preceded by
the highly charged 'give us some', the repeated 'foxy' symbolically moves to an
expression of the rhythm of the sexual act itself. The falling shape on 'Ah' in 'Are You
Experienced' followed by the muttered 'but you are experienced' is also rhythmic in
effect, the lack of melody moving towards an underlying intimacy and sense of
personal hallucinogenic knowledge which is finally focused by the spaced out
utterance: 'Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful.'
The muttered vocals show, then, a comparability with Hendrix's essentially
rhythmic guitar style. To quote Greil Marcus, the 'words are sounds we can feel
before they are statements to understand' (quoted in Frith 1978, p. 176). While it is
difficult to describe verbally the aural quality of the rhythmic delivery and the
sensuality in the vocal style, the overall effect is to give an underlying rhythmic
weight to the content of the words and as such there is a parallel with the blues where
repetitive lines are coloured by inflection to impart an underlying expressive
tension.
Like their close contemporaries, Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience show a
development of blues resources, and while both Clapton's and Hendrix's guitar
styles show the influence of B. B. King there is nevertheless a difference in delivery -
'where Clapton played with attack and tension, Hendrix tended to take his time and
stay relaxed' (Gillett 1983, p. 385) - relying more on electronic effects to create the
effect of raw energy. At the same time, contemporary reviews of the two guitarists
were curiously similar. 'Hendrix: Progressive and beautiful in his ideas': 'Clapton:
Progressing with ideas and techniques' (Melody Maker June 1967). As such it would
appear that the concept of progressiveness was strongly determined by the way in
which the two musicians could take on the basic resources of the blues and produce
new and unexpected developments. As Zappa said at the time: 'If you want to come
up with a singular, most important trend in this new music, I think it has to be
something like: it is original, composed by the people who perform it, created by
them.'
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Progressive rock, psychedelic coding and Jimi Hendrix 59
Acknowledgements
Grateful acknowledgement is made to Peter Winkler, State University of New York,
Stony Brook for his help in transcribing 'Purple Haze' and 'Love or Confusion'.
Endnotes
1 My own research, of which the analysis of what gives off the piercingly painful effect.
Hendrix constitutes only a small part, indicates
Natural guitar sounds at loud volume are not
that progressive rock was characterised by nearly
a so painful to listen to, and hence far less
aggressive.
sense of creative development from a base style
and involved an underlying sense of uncertainty
Hendrix took this use of fuzz much further by
and surprise through extensive improvisation;using amplifiers with a much higher gain. This
that performance (live and recorded on LPs)meant that most of the signal was clipped,
would demonstrate both originality and self-
leaving only the bass part (see Figure 2). This
expression.
2 The 'fuzz' effect, so important in Hendrix's
Figure 2
music, is effectively a severe distortion. The first
deliberate distortion of this type was produced
in the mid-1960s by damaging the speaker cones
of an amplifier system. This meant they could no
longer give a true response and thus introduced
some distortion. The first properly controlled
fuzz was produced in much the same way as it is
today, except that valves were used rather than
amplifiers transistors. The input signal from the
guitar is greatly amplified to exceed the signal
level above the supply voltage. As this is not greatly increased the effect by making the signal
possible, the signal becomes saturated at the much harsher. At times he also used extremely
supply voltage level. This has the effect of high-gain fuzz which left practically none of the
clipping the top of the wave form to produce the original signal and the output was similar to a
distortion (see Figure 1). square wave (Figure 3). It is probable that
Figure 1 Figure 3
This effect was used by rock musicians to Hendrix later used transistors in his fuzz box.
produce the 'aggressive' quality through the These have much higher gain than valves as they
introduction of many high frequency harmo- saturate faster, giving very square cut-offs as
nies. Naturally produced sound waves have opposed to valves whch tend to saturate more
only a few harmonies, but these 'clipped' waves slowly, thus giving a more rounded and softer
have many, especially at a high level and this is fuzz.
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
60 Sheila Whiteley
References
This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:28:30 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms