Jimi Hendrix - Machine Gun (Norman, OK, USA May 8, 1970) Part One

Incredible version of this song...the intro gives me shivers.

Song Analysis from justasktheaxis. c o m:
Jimi asks crowd to "...forget about the hogwash and bullshit..." and dedicates 'Machine Gun' to "...the soldiers fighting in Chicago, Berkeley...Kent State (meaning the street 'soldiers' no doubt), Oklahoma (the last two amid cheers)...". Jimi then plays an off-the-cuff 1:30 intro that is one of the most haunting things I have ever heard! All of Jimi's music reflects his genius, but sometimes everything just falls into an even deeper place, and this is one of those times for me (every Jimi fan has their own, of course). Somewhat silly to try and pick apart such organic flows of imagination, but just to describe it in general, he starts with some lines from his 'Bolero' piece, moves to some sliding intervals ala 'Castles Made of Sand', segues to some flamenco style lines, then finishes with an absolutely brilliant chord progression that mixes some *very* high-on-the-neck notes with open strings, every note ringing out perfectly and the tension setting things up for the release of the familiar 'Machine Gun' opening. Again, we can never know what Jimi was thinking but I've always thought of this unique piece as a chilling eulogy for the Kent State victims, perfectly conjuring the mood of the moment. After this one-of-a-kind intro, Billy pushes the groove over Mitch's military rolls as Jimi gets into about a minute of soloing before the vocals enter, including a very Spanish-sounding run at 2:40. The main solo starts at 5:00 with some long wailing notes, then Jimi lets his own bullets fly like rain with some intense faster playing. At 7:00 they do the secondary riff and Jimi sings of a mother weeping and crying for her son in the war. At 8:25 we get a mini feedback 'symphonette' then some more high speed soloing, leading to 'Taps' at 9:00. Billy's bass is especially resonant, the low E note acting as a sort of low tolling funeral bell. At 10:00 Jimi does the 'rat-a-tat', then does a bit of quieter playing with the 'wobbly' whammy vibrato, back to the rat-a-tats and trails off with a final tail of feedback, saying what sounds like "..right back to home.." at the end. A standout rendition.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Jimi
• Hendrix
• machine
• gun
• band
• of
• gypsys
• mitch
• mitchell
• billy
• cox
• woodstock
• peace
• love
• hippies
• hippie
• hippy

[RastafariPoet]

Jimi Hendrix using his Spanish Scales = Beyond Godly

[TheEarthBlues2]

@RastafariPoet Lol, that's sometimes my favorite from, Jimi. I wish he could have lived longer so he could have improved his guitar playing. Just think, that when he hit London in 1966 he had been playing guitar for only about 10 years! That's outstanding if you ask me.

[raceyboy]

where can i get that pic of jimi playing guitar in front of the stage and behind him looks like an insanely high wall?

[TheEarthBlues2]

What time signature is the picture at? 25 second mark?

[hardkace42]

the one who dislikes this should be put up a wall and machine gunned

[fridwoow]

what a performance.. beautfiul... nice to see all the articles in the newspapers.. he really seemed to have suprised the audience here

[JackKangaroo1]

@raceyboy I left Oklahoma in 1977 and didn't return until 25 years later in spring of 2002. The field house was still there but the university was on a massive building spree under the administration of David Boren---former governor of Oklahoma, former US Senator from OK and then president of OU---and it wouldn't surprise me if they tore it down by now and built something newer and bigger in its place. Back when I lived there a lot of rock concerts were held at the Field House.

[raceyboy]

Does anyone remember who opened for Jimi at this show?

[raceyboy]

@JackKangaroo1 Wish I could've been there. I'm not even sure whats in the old field house building nowadays, but I'm pretty sure it's still standing.

[JackKangaroo1]

@raceyboy I don't know where you can find a photo of it but I can tell you where it was. This was at the University of Oklahoma athletic field house in Norman, OK. I was there that night in May 1970 and Hendrix was amazing. Just four months later he was dead in London of an overdose of drugs. Glad I got to hear him live before he passed away.

[pfflam]

Note that he is wearing an arm band with the letter K on it - is that for Kent State remembrance?

[drjimiboy69]

@ramsypak In reality, JMH really was the hardest working man in show business, all due respects to the GOS JB. He packed more feeling, imagination, meaning, talent, and soulfulness into one song than most musicians produce in a career. His output was prolific. This guy lived through music and really became fused with his cultural productions. He has to be on the short list of the most original musicians of the modern age. Machine Gun is a crowning achievement. Somewhere btween G-d and man.

[ramsypak]

@TheEarthBlues2 I had never thought of it that way - he did about 100 years in 10.

[ccwalk5ege]

i was there and what little i remember through the fog of time and ____ was when he played the most incredibly soulful rendition of the national anthem -- can't believe it's over forty years ago....

[illbehaviour76nz]

@TheEarthBlues2 he got an acoustic guitar when he was a kid from his old man, when you are young years count for more, he was at the top of his game, creative expression to the fore, but I do agree, he could certainly have gone to new levels, a guiding light, a visionary, into the universal fabric he wnet, we all go, the universe moves on, his music moves with us, as does he, we all flow through to the beyond.