Hey poeple of the fret,

This much can be said upfront:
I am a Jimi fan through and through. I had the big luck to meet Noel Redding as well as Mitch Mitchell and have spent some time with them to know what they had to say about Jimi. They said that you can not imagine how overwhelming he was. However, I'll try not to fall into the usual Jimi praise and old stories. I just thought about what a musician/guitarist has to do/reach to meet with Jimi's efforts (and also efforts of many other players out of Jimis era). Think about the fact that you only have 4 years to achieve what Jimi achieved.

-At the time you start playing the guitar there are no Steve Vais or Eddie van Halens. Your influences consist of some old blues guys that play the 12bar Blues up and down. Also some white boy Blues (Elvis).
- You start from zero. No youtube, no tabs, no records most of the time just radio
-Great musicians of all different genres call you a musical genius
-Being a lefty doesn't make things easier...knobs in your way...all the time.
-Going to a foreign country and revolutionizing the scene in that country. Imagine you make players like Beck, Clapton (called GOD at that time), Townshend and many others drop their jaws and those guys fear losing their jobs.
-You are under 27 years old…talking mental maturity...and you got the Blues down like no other...
-You are a very good singer
-You are a great lyricist and songwriter
-You have 4 years to record 4 Milestones that will change not only the guitar world forever
-You write at least 2 of the best guitar solos ever throughout your career
-You revolutionize recording technology (Flange, delay) listen to the Song Are You Experienced
- You revolutionize at least 4 technical devices Fuzz, Wah, Vibe, Guitar
-You foresee things like Drum & Bass beats (Gypsy Eyes)
-You will do something completely new and I mean completely new. Something that
has never been heard that way before and you are commercially very successful.

I am sure there are more points. Sure, Jimi managed to play some paralyzing lame and long solos, he had his uninspired moments, he was sloppy at times, but we have to set his achievements into the context of that time he was active. Sure a Steve Vai or Eric Johnson are way better guitar players technically, but Jimi really came with something new. Imagine being a young musiscian at that time (check the charts of 1966 or 1967...oh my god) and then comes this guy and you hear something new and beautiful for the first time.

Hendrix was the complete package. It wasn't only his guitar playing, but his vision of music, his relation to music. I still know only very very few poeple that are able to play Little Wing with that special touch. Think of the chordal stuff he did. Little wing, Castles Made Of Sand. This was so many lightyears ahead of what the rest did. If you have the chance to listen to studio bootlegs out of the time Jimi recorded Axis Bold As Love, you will hear rhythm play like also today almost no one can play with such attitude. He had the best tone, not only at that time - still today his tone is the most quested for guitar tone! Think of the guitar sound on the Band Of Gypsys album.

I think no other guitar player has been more influential than Jimi. Just listen to R&B music and how the guitars are played on modern records. It's all Jimi. The Hendrix chord, iconic looks, hey...how many Strats did Fender sell due to Jimi? Clapton and Beck switched to the Strat because of Jimi.

I think, and this is just my personal opinion, in 50 or 60 years, when nobody is talking about Steve Vai or other guitarists, Hendrix will still be there and his music will still be one of the big reference points in guitar related music and pop and rock culture.

So no matter what other poeple think, what the prog geeks say and so far and so on, Jimi Hendrix was a musical genius that in modern rock music has to be set as high leveled as some of the classical composers.

I salute players like Mark Knopfler, Scotty Moore, Rory Gallagher and many more, but Hendrix was so much more complex, deep, complete and innovative. I intentionally exclude SRV, but that's maybe a topic for another thread :-)

Thanks for reading. Feel free to share your opinion and experience with Jimi's music, or shall I say...let the beating begin (time for the big Bonamassa revenche *lol*)?