Classical Composer Reacts to Voodoo Child (Slight Return) by Jimi Hendrix | The Daily Doug (Ep. 526) 

Hendrix is like the messiah of rock music. It's Hendrix (BC) Before Hendrix and then, it's Hendrix (AD) after Hendrix. He is the center of it all.

What gets me about this track, every time, unlike any other track I've heard from anyone is that feels like somehow Jimi managed to encode his existence into the recording, and he is resurrected every time it is played. It might as well be a magic spell. This shit is like the pyramids, it is forever.

What a lot of people don't understand is that Hendrix was a pioneer in studio production. With his third and final album Electric Ladyland, he finally took control of every aspect of his music(with great help from producer Eddie Kramer). He created a soundscape unrivaled at that time.

It isn't about Jimi being "better" than any other musicians. He's the only one in his world, so there's no one to compare him to.

Hendrix’s rhythmic sensibility is still unrivaled.

Having Jimi and Mitch Mitchel happening to be in the same place at the same time, that’s more than simple coincidence those two took us to emotional places we’d never even dreamed of,that’s art

Electric Ladyland, from beginning to end, is still one of the greatest albums ever!

Hands down my favorite guitarist. There are many incredible players ... And then, there's Hendrix

The fantastic guitarist who changed the sound of the guitar forever.

Another competent voice on Hendrix: Nigel Kennedy, doctor of musicology who studied at the Juillard school of music, wrote on his album with Hendrix songs that he counts him among the great composers of the 20th century. I agree.

The dynamic of his guitar is unparallel. It's like you're using the guitar to control electricity itself. This is a masterpiece.

I was lucky enough to see Jimi once. Dear God he was so good.

Hendrix’s guitar was like a ferocious beast that he would let roar from time to time … what a genius guitar player and musician he was..

Everyone knows about Jimi's playing, different world, but Jimi was an amazing singer too.

Glad you appreciate jimi Hendrix greatest guitar riffs ever recorded jimi the goat

Jimi Hendrix music will forever be timeless.

Jimi was on a different level, a different plane of existence from the rest of us. He always has been the best in my book. He was here as a visitor and left us at a young age. Nobody will ever be as ground-breaking as Jimi.

I like how the guitar moves between left & right channels.

He changed the Guitar World forever

Jimi was the Godzilla of guitar players. 🎸

The sounds in this were so revolutionary at the time. No one had ever heard a guitar sound like this before. Great innovator.

The greatest studio guitar work of all time. A masterpiece in it's entirety.

Also Robin Trower -to keep the Hendrix vibe going -Bridge Of Sighs

I listened to this album so many times in high school I knew every note. A side of Hendrix most don’t know, and many who even heard this track didn’t quite register its genius is: “Rainy Day” -among the funkiest bluesiest funniest ever set to record 😉

jimi's music has an energy behind it that no other musician ive heard has, his music almost plays what you want to hear... if that makes sense lol

All world album side. "Still rainin...", "House burnin down", "Watchtower" and this one!

This is the hardest hitting, heaviest song ever recorded.

You're absolutely correct about his mastery of the instrument. Listening to his solos in this song, you hear moments when he shreds as well as anyone. But the way he changes speed and dynamics, and the entire feel of his playing that shows that there was something unique about him. That entire album is a joy to experience start-to-finish.

was released 55 years ago this last week and will be listened to forever

Thanks for appreciating Jimi's music.

I'm amazed that he could manipulate feedback, and create such soundscapes with the equipment of the day.

Jimi was able to paint a musical landscape that have never even been in someone's imagination and that's why he remains immortal and on a spiritual level.

Jimi had only been playing guitar for 10 years at this point. I had been playing for 20 years when I was finally able to play this song well enough to play it onstage without humiliating myself.

Hail Jimi- Trying to get a grip on what and why he was playing what he did is a herculean task. His notes often don't even register as being in diatonic harmonies. It was a sound from outter space travelling to another sound ......from outter space. What a guy ! LOL.

My first concert was Hendrix on May 10, 1969, Houston, TX...Noel Redding's band, Fat Mattress, and a new band, Chicago Transit Authority, were opening acts. Great way to start off my "concert going career"!

It's impressive that someone still are listening to his music so many year's later it will be interesting to se how long the pop music are standing so many years later.

My favorite Hendrix track and one of favorite of all the rock and roll era. How was he so damned good!

My all time favourite song by the greatest guitarist who ever graced our planet..

For contrast, I suggest you give "Little Wing" from the "Axis: Bold as Love" album a listen, I consider that piece to be one of the most melodic and beautiful songs to ever come from a guitar.

My sister gave me this album for Christmas that year and being as it was really before headphones were readily available, I remember my mom had a small Panasonic stereo on top of her baby grand piano and putting the speakers on the floor underneath and laying down in between them and listening to the whole album over and over. AND, I still have it! 🤠👍👍👍

One of the greatest guitar songs ever written, most guitar players are measured by how well they can execute this. Much in the same way as classical players are measured by how well they can execute certain pieces. A pretty vital work I would say.

What always blows my mind when I hear this is the quality of the recording and how close it makes me feel to being in the studio when I close my eyes. It's so raw and detailed. Especially at 06:49 when Jimi plays lightly you can almost "see" his guitar and you can hear how loud the amp must have been.

Once you experience Hendrix, one can never just listen. This song and his rendition of Star-Spangled Banner; quintessential Jimi. Cheers!

Man, that guitar. With Hendrix it wasn't the speed it was the tone and the POWER not to mention the touch and the tastiness of the intensity. The fact this still sounds so awesome now one has to remember this was released in 1968. Not to mention what a great song. What made Hendrix so great was like Bob Dylan not only was he an innovator he was also a great songwriter.

"Machine Gun" from the Band of Gypsies record, with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles, is both unique in Hendrix's catalog (at least in my view) and band composition. At 12 minutes, it may feel like a marathon to some.

Dr Doug is my favorite air drummer.

I remember when I first heard this on its release, like music from another planet.

Such an epic tune with so many fantastic live versions. Stevie Ray did a great version, but the Hendrix ones are my favorite.

Yup, that's right, a film crew did film all this live. ABC went to retrieve the film in 1973, only to find that it had been stolen, never to be seen again

I love the timing of JH and I think that is really where he shines. When he gets to the middle part of this song, while doing this percussion/staccato thing he makes you feel that he slows down. He makes max use of the liberty that music and rythm gives. And it is underestimated (if that could ever be). Bands today play on click tracks and they think that's the right way to play music. Never seen a philharmonic orchestra do this: they all look at the conductor expressing FEEL for the way it should be played. Great stuff. Thanks to Doug.

The one and only : Jimi . The solo of " Machine gun " would blow your mind !!!

It's great listening to this at 1/2 speed and watching the guy's faces.

That long-form jam never gets reviewed/reacted. I think it's terrific. Jack Casady on Bass, Steve Winwood on organ, Buddy Miles on drums. Killer!

It's so nice the Hendrix people have his music catalog on RU-vid.

I was mad stoned the first time I heard this. My head almost exploded. Sometimes I feel like I'm still inside that room with that girl and that weed. That's the power of Hendrix.

As a lifelong Jimi fan there was a lot of information I've never heard before, really great reaction

It's great hearing classical composers enthusing so much about Jimi! Voodoo Chile is an incredible piece of music and his guitar playing goes way beyond technical virtuoso ability and is just about expression. There are many technically superior guitarists, but none can capture the magic that Jimi achieved.

There are stories of when Jimi first appeared in a small London club. Word had spread, and the likes of Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood and George Harrison came to see him and stood amazed. One or two said they'd throw their guitars away! But yes, he was deeply influential on everyone who saw him.

Jimi is the guitar god hands down. Purple haze is my favorite song. “Excuse me while I kiss the sky.” He must be so high back then and that is my opinion.

I started playing guitar after seeing Jimi Hendrix live in 1966. I was 12. I have never put the guitar down since. This is the same story for many others. Still today seen as a guitar God.

FINALLY! Someone picks up on Jimi playing a right-handed guitar with his left hand! I can't believe that, so many people don't pick up on this! But I'm not surprised that it took a classical composer to pick up on this. Thank you, sir! 🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡

Gotta luv HENDRIX ...TOP NOTCH GUITARIST

This longer jam is one of the best J. H. songs!

The writing evolution of Hendrix from album to album is astounding. The man was always on a different level from everyone else. His album he was working at his death (New Rising Sun) was another leap forward. The man will always be on a different plane.

What really gets me about this track and a lot of what he did is the panning it’s unbelievable

Voodoo Child (slight return) studio version is exquisite, but my go-to favorite performance is his performance of it at Royal Albert Hall. That was one of his signature concerts, of course. The vibe he had on that...

One of Jimi's last ever gigs was Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 : Just after Jimi tries out a relatively new song, ‘Midnight Lightning’, as the song ends, Jimi immediately hits the long feedback note for the more familiar ‘Foxy Lady’ and announces “This is dedicated to Linda. To the cat right there with the silver face'' … The ''cat with silver face'' he was refering to was the mighty Nik Turner of Hawkwind, whom had come to the front of the audience with Tim Blake of Gong to enjoy Jimi's gig, while tripping on LSD and likely any other hallucinogenics he could get :) This was where Hawkwind's massive underground career, as being the ultimate people's band and soundtrack to the ongoing 'counter culture' , major inspiration for Punk and then Dance Rave music, kicked off . (They are also cited by many as being the original 'Space-rock' band) Hawkwind were not there to play the main stage, they instead built an alterante free festival outside the gates of the Isle Of Wight festival, they then took loads of LSD, and shared as much to the audience they could , and played for hours on end , blowing people's minds. Would love to hear Doug now review some Hawkwind classics and to discuss the career of the band and they (and all the offshoot bands they had over the years) have changed the course of history, both musically and in terms of positive alternate culture and solutions to the corporate distopia we all stiil have around us. A good place for Doug to start would be the likes of the whole of the first side of the 'Warrior On The Edge Of Time' album from 1975 (the last album Lemmy would play with them before forming Motorhead) ..this album gives just one taste of how diverse Hawkwind were / are. Their whole back catalogue from 1970 t0 mid 80's is full of 'gold'

My opinion, Jimi and the Experience's Greatest short Power shot, a smashing, crashing Hunk O' Rock! It still can make my hair stand up after 56 years! Thunder and lightning jumping off the vinyl then, I can smell the sulpher and ozone off the CD's today.

My desert island song...if there was just one song allowed, this wound be it ❤️ Note: Jimi played right-handed guitars but strung left-handed, so a strat looks upside down when flipped to left hand but its conventional lefty 👍 There is a story that Eric Clapton actually bought a left- handed strat for Jimi, but didn't get a chance to give it to him 😒

I just love when you say "Great!", he kicks off in a new awesome solo. Pure magic. This is just such a awesome and badass song. Jimi set the bar for literally every guitar solo player after this. You can just hear it. Listen!

Jimi Hendrix , Yngwie Malmsteen , Robin Trower , Tonino Baliardo . Excellent Music . Voodoo Child or Chile was about the New Orleans beliefs about Witch Craft . Red House , Hear My Train a Comin , In From The Storm / Live .

One of my all time favorite tracks. So Awesome....just screamin' !

A really informative and interesting take from someone in the classical genre. Thank you for respectfully playing the song all the way through - there are others from your domain who feel the need to react every ten seconds - essentially moving the focus from the artist to the video host.

I love the way you identify exact notes. Wish I had that perfect pitch like that

So great you got to put this back up!

This entire double l.p has the best majick of Halloween 🎃 ever!, i 🌖 have been playing it every single Halloween for as long as i can remember!

"He thought about the world and approached his music in a unique way, and remains powerful" That's some beautiful commentary! Rock on, Doug!

great intro background talk ! listening to this now in may 2023 ..still electrified me again , even through crummy computer speakers ...regarding what J Satriani says , All Along the Watchtower takes some beating as a guitarists manual and guide !

That was great! I didn’t know what to expect when I saw “Classical composer…” but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks. I would love to hear your review of the long, slow version.

Truly a greate and immortal song. Music is magic and seeing your videos is a very treasure. I think your channel still deserve a place for blues, like "Riviera paradise" from the great Stevie Ray Vaughan

Nice reaction. One of the advantages that Jimi had in playing a right handed guitar, left handed, was that the string lengths were reversed and this meant that the thinner strings, being shorter, would drop in pitch much sooner, making the higher pitched strings go lower than most people could do on nearly any guitar at that time. Also, Jimi used a particular type of Fender strings, which, probably just luck they were gauged this way, made certain whammy bends 'sound a little more in tune' with each other, but it was also Jimi that sort of mastered exactly how to exploit this, as he would also use his fingers, in subtle ways, in helping it sound this way too. And that's mostly from just playing all the time until it becomes instinctive, plus Jimi's great ear and imagination.

It never fails. I see the smile on your face, just as I have seen others smile when this song starts. Note please that Jimi owes a great deal of his style to T Bone Walker, but yes, he took the guitar to a transcendent level. Also of note; this was in a period where the engineer would 'sculpt' the sound, panning and moving the sound in and around the channels and space for listening, creating a surrounding effect for the listener. This is why it is so good on headphones, or with lots of speakers in the room, up at a high volume.

Jimi was connected to a spiritual realm which helped him play his guitar and create those sounds. He says it himself, quoted by one his girlfriends, on the Hendrix tapes, I think it's called.

Cool watching a Classical composer grooving to heavy Rock! Rock on, Doug!

Here’s a bizarre fact - Jimi was struggling to find the guitar sound that he heard in his dreams. His producer was chatting with George Martin the Beatles producer about it. George had also been a producer of comedy novelty records so knew how to achieve all sorts of sounds. George showed Jimi’s producer how to do phasing. He showed it to Jimi who spent hours playing with the effect - but it was in mono… with experimentation they got the stereo effect you hear here.

You should review 1983, a Merman I turn to be. It's the most complex piece of music Jimi ever composed. It's a stunning piece of work for 1968

Great animated reaction. Like very much that you didn't stop the music to give an opinion, both coming through loud and clear. I like too the Hemingway look.

I have some copies of his original notes he wrote for song ideas etc ,he was way ahead of his time a guitar genius.

Speaking of homage’s to Muddy Waters… the melody “I’m standing next to a mountain, chop it down with the edge of my hand.” Is the same as, “I'm goin' down to Louisiana and get me a mojo hand.” Which Muddy got from Lightning Hopkins…

the greatest opening riff in the history of music

I recently "re-examined" this song while on a cross-country drive in the middle of the night. Listening, alone in the dark, I am not sure that Jimi didn't try to conjure up demons with this song! Enjoy your videos. Thanks.

The greatest guitarist of all time...period!

Oh that last verse of Jimi's. We spend so much time on his playing but the playfullnes and humor and sadly propheticness he brought to his lyrics. I didn't mean to take up all of your sweet time. I'll give it right back to ya one of these days If I don't meet you no more in this world, I'll meet you all in the next world and don't be late what a lyric to close out one of the most important albums of all time.

You mention his sound, his touch... I've never heard anyone else use a wah-wah so well. An incredible artist!

Others have covered Voodoo Child but this is still the GOAT. Theres another version of it with Steve Winwood playing organ on Jimi's Blues album. Jimmy also played the guitar with his teeth & behind his back.

I take a few weeks off from youtube and I miss this. One of my favorite tunes since 1968 ! I always thought his guitar sounded like a living creature.

I went to a blues festival once, where every band played this song as their final song. Basically each band kept getting better and better while also playing this song better. Finally Kenny Wayne Shepherd was the headliner, and his set was definitely the best. Kenny Wayne has that west Texas blues style, and he was great. But his rendition of this song was probably 2nd best. Everybody was killing it, and the 2nd or 3rd to last was the best, for me. But what a night, especially hearing all these versions of this amazing song!

Jimi's powerful playing and tone are on full display here but I would love to hear your analysis of Little Wing. It is Jimi'sgreatest moment of introspection and while a simple repetitive chord cadence, it really shows the magic or embellishment and articulation and doe so without all of the typical fireworks. Subtly simple but so beautiful.

Thank you ,this is wonderful.

Great little segment. There is nothing that I can add other than this is my favorite Hendrix song and has been for more than 40 years. Loved your Zappa reviews. Have you one Texas Flood by SRV? If not your should.