During the Electric Ladyland recording sessions at the Record Plant, Hendrix and the band often explored the New York City club scene and frequently jammed with the performers. After one such jam at the nearby the Scene club, Hendrix brought a group of twenty or so back to the studio (his practice of inviting large groups to the studio led Noel Redding to storm out of the Record Plant earlier that evening and he was not present during the recording of Voodoo Chile). Organist Steve Winwood from Traffic, bassist Jack Casady from Jefferson Airplane, and jazz guitarist Larry Coryell were among those present. Although Coryell was invited to play, he declined and Hendrix proceeded to record Voodoo Chile with Mitchell, Winwood, and Casady. The remainder were on hand to provide the ambient crowd noise. Winwood recalled, There were no chord sheets, no nothing. He [Hendrix] just started playing. It was a one-take job, with him singing and playing at the same time. He just had such mastery of the instrument and he knew what he was and knew his abilities. Engineer Eddie Kramer saw it differently: The idea that these jam sessions were informal is something that I completely disagree with. They may have seemed casual to the outside observer, but Jimi plotted and planned out nearly all of them. Hed reason that if he had his songs together, if he really wanted to pull out what he heard in his head, he needed the right people ... and thats what he did. During the recording session, Hendrix is heard advising Winwood on his organ part. Recording began about 7:30 am and three takes were recorded, according to biographer John McDermott and Kramer. During the first take, Hendrix showed the others the song while the recording equipment was adjusted. During the second take, Hendrix broke a string (these two takes were later edited together and released as Voodoo Chile Blues on the posthumous Hendrix compilation album Blues). The third take provided the master that was used on Electric Ladyland. Music writer John Perry claims there were at least six takes recorded, but several were incomplete. Voodoo Chile opens with a series of hammer-on notes, similar to Albert Collins intro to his Collins Shuffle. Hendrix played through a Fender Bassman top, providing a very warm amp sound with his guitar tuned down a whole tone. Although Hendrixs vocal and guitar are featured, the other musicians make contributions, taking it beyond the blues. McDermott describes Winwoods mid-song organ part as a very English, hornpipe-like dance that was very Traffic-like. However, Perry calls it a modal, raga-like phrase, which Hendrix responds to by improvising a mixed blues/eastern scale. Mitchell anticipates changes in direction and Casady provides a pulsing, solid foundation. Hendrix wanted to create the atmosphere of an informal club jam, but the recording did not capture sufficient background noise. So the onlookers provided additional crowd sounds, which were recorded from 9:00 am to 9:45 am. Hendrix and Eddie Kramer later mixed the track, adding tape delay and other treatments. youtu.be/3Lcl2l0XXV8
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 12:07:21 +0000
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