Althouse: The era ended long ago, but...

November 12, 2008

The era ended long ago, but...

... the end of an era.

19 comments:

Bob W. said...: Sadly, we've seen the last of The Experience. However, and perhaps equally as sad, 2009 is shaping up to be a year of unfortunate comeback. I for one would prefer to skip the pending return of some of these old people and ideas that are making their way back into our collective consciousness, and instead see The Experience back on stage. . .; 11/12/08, 10:30 PM
Unknown said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/12/08, 10:56 PM
John Stodder said...: Good musician. It's not easy to be an accompanist. When you hear the album Hendrix made with the inferior Buddy Miles on drums, you can appreciate the kind of support and balance Mitchell gave him.

In both bands, Hendrix was obviously the show. But Mitchell could take the load off him once in a while with something attention-getting, something kind of Keith Moon-ish.; 11/12/08, 10:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Has there ever been an era for music so overrated as the Sixties? And does anyone represent that image better than Jimi Jendrix?

Don't believe in the 60s
the golden age of pop.
We glorify the past
when the future dries up; 11/12/08, 11:04 PM
Donn said...: Has there ever been an era for music so overrated as the Sixties?

It's hard to overrate the era that gave us rock and roll.; 11/12/08, 11:16 PM
Revenant said...: Has there ever been an era for music so overrated as the Sixties? And does anyone represent that image better than Jimi Jendrix?

Tastes may differ, but for my money there was more truly great rock music on the "Are You Experienced" album alone than the entire recording industry has produced thus far this century. So I have to disagree with you vehemently that Hendrix represents the overrated aspects of the 60s.

I agree with John Stodder, though, that Mitchell was an excellent drummer, and definitely the best Hendrix worked with. It is a shame he passed away so early.; 11/12/08, 11:17 PM
Palladian said...: Mitch Mitchell passed up an offer to be the drummer for Keith Emerson and Greg Lake's new band, but told Jimi about them, and Jimi was actually interested in performing with them. Just think, it could have been Emerson, Lake, Palmer and Hendrix! Brain Salad Surgery, indeed.

"Hendrix, tired of his band and wanting to try something different, expressed an interest in playing with the group. The British press, after hearing about this, speculated that such a supergroup would have been called HELP, or "Hendrix, Emerson, Lake & Palmer". Due to scheduling conflicts, such plans were not immediately realised, but the initial three planned a jam session with Hendrix after their second concert at the Isle of Wight Festival (their debut being in Plymouth Guildhall six days earlier), with the possibility of him joining. Hendrix died shortly thereafter, so the three pressed on as Emerson, Lake and Palmer." [Link]; 11/12/08, 11:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Ah, but musical pleasure exists only as a quantity, and can never be qualified. One unit of musical pleasure equals another, no matter how "great" the music is said to be or its purported "quality." What is "great" music? It's a fictitious category, like religious experiences or other subjective states, that cannot be taken into account in the calculus of musical pleasure.

Therefore, the total musical pleasure in the world engendered by other music is infinitely greater than the relatively miniscule amount of pleasure given that small percentage of people who have heard "Are You Experienced." Thus, any music that has had wider listenership than "Are You Experienced" is superior.

I am, of course, quoting the argument of a certain commenter regarding the superiority of Paul McCartney to JS Bach, and applying it to this case.; 11/13/08, 1:16 AM
chickelit said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/13/08, 1:21 AM
chickelit said...: RIP Mitch. I'm kind of in shock. I just learned this here. But thank you Ann for posting the news. :(

Earlier today, unaware of the news, I posted link here showing his American debut with Hendrix. There is an online tribute here (which I see needs to be updated) with some free mp3 downloads.

Mitchell was an inspiration to me as a teen. I spent endless hours, listening, drumming along with headphones on, driving my parents crazy, vainly hoping to pick-up just a bit of his style.

When you hear the album Hendrix made with the inferior Buddy Miles on drums

I love Band of Gypsies but yes. I have to agree. I always thought it interesting that Hendrix reformed the Experience with Mitchell, but kept the superior Billy Cox on bass. That final and short-lived trio of Hendrix, Mitchell, and Cox, was IMO the best incarnation of that era.; 11/13/08, 1:29 AM
John Stodder said...: Has there ever been an era for music so overrated as the Sixties?

Well, that wasn't the plan. In the sixties and early seventies, I was used to a bunch of worthy albums coming out every month. I didn't expect the pace of great pop music to fall off so much after about 1980. There are lots of reasons for it, but the main one is: Rock of that era was a secondary synthesis of much rawer forms like blues, rockabilly, gospel, R&B, country-western, folk, bebop, and many others. It kept adding new "influences." But then, a new generation emerged that didn't have a feel for those rawer forms. They didn't grow up like Mick and Keith, worshiping the blues. They grew up worshiping the Stones. Losing that thread deprived rock of its vitality.

That's one reason the most recent Bob Dylan is so vivid and amazing. He makes a point of staying very close to his roots in folk, blues, country, parlor songs, and other forms that existed at the dawn of the recording industry. Likewise, other sixties and seventies artists still active. Steely Dan's duo listens to Ray Charles and Charlie Parker to relax. Van Morrison listens to Mose Allison and John Lee Hooker. The raw stuff is still out there, and could still inspire new artists. In fact, it does. Listen to Jack White, for example.

All great periods of the arts are the result of a confluence of historical forces, combined with the lightening spark of genius. And they all end, eventually. You really can't say a period of such amazing innovation is overrated. Certain songs and albums are overplayed at the expense of the vast amount of great music produced then and not that well-known now.

That final and short-lived trio of Hendrix, Mitchell, and Cox, was IMO the best incarnation of that era.

Yep. And I like Band of Gypsies, too. But it sounds like Jimi's all alone out there on that album (even though I know Miles sings a couple of the songs), whereas the Experience albums sound like a band.; 11/13/08, 4:49 AM
Widmerpool said...: Hey, don't be so hard on Buddy Miles. "Them Changes" is a GREAT number.; 11/13/08, 7:44 AM
Widmerpool said...: I see Buddy died back in February, alas.; 11/13/08, 7:46 AM
TMink said...: Jimi Hendrix over rated? Wow. It is hard to wrap my head around that. Are you a guitar player Seven? The things Jimi did with the instrument, the places he took it, and us, are very difficult to over rate.

And man, you guys posting above me know your Hendrix! Let me recommend to you the releases of Jimi's work put out by the Hendrix Family Trust. The cds and records sound fantastic, and you get some gems like the mono version of Axis and Are You Experienced.

Mitch was my favorite other guy in the Experience. His drumming was intense and interesting, he was MUCH more than a timekeeper.

This indeed feels like the passing of an era.

Trey; 11/13/08, 8:29 AM
Jason said...: The best rock drummer who ever lived I think.

Here's my brief obit, with a neat vid of a Mitch Mitchell drum solo:

http://iraqnow.blogspot.com/2008/11/rip-mitch-mitchell.html; 11/13/08, 11:13 AM
paul a'barge said...: And that leaves one, right?

Thanks so much for the mastery, you guys. It was a kick to be alive at the same time as you.; 11/13/08, 1:58 PM
John Stodder said...: Hey, don't be so hard on Buddy Miles. "Them Changes" is a GREAT number.

Yeah, it's a great song. I also liked Electric Flag. When I say he was inferior to Mitchell, I mean that in a relative sense. Miles wasn't good enough to provide a counterpoint to a genius like Hendrix, and Mitchell was. Within his own R&B, funk and soul arena, Buddy was first-rate.; 11/13/08, 2:35 PM
Revenant said...: I am, of course, quoting the argument of a certain commenter regarding the superiority of Paul McCartney to JS Bach, and applying it to this case.

The obvious flaw in your feeble attempt to use my argument against me is that I was explicitly referring to my personal taste in music -- not, as you did, trying to argue that Bach is objectively superior to McCartney. :); 11/13/08, 7:24 PM
Orolo said...: living on; 11/14/08, 1:07 AM