COVER CLASSIC STORY CORNER : BACKTRACK
on “ Are You Experienced .” Certainly “ Purple Haze ,” and most definitely “ Manic Depression ” and the cover of “ Hey Joe .” And the second side standouts “ Foxey Lady ” and “ The Wind Cries Mary .” My favorite of the traditional songs was “ I Don ’ t Live Today ,” but I know every lick of the almost seven minute journey known as “ Third Stone From The Sun .”
If you go to see the overrated Gary Clark , Jr ., he sometimes inserts the riff in his music . You tingle , you ’ re thrilled . And before you get your knickers in a twist , the reason I zinged Mr . Clark is because he can play but he cannot write . Writing is a skill , that you work on , and when done right , the song is forever . And Jimi Hendrix ’ s songs are forever , it ’ s just that most people don ’ t know them , or not his versions . Funny that his most famous number this far down the line is a Dylan cover , “ All Along The Watchtower ,” but most people don ’ t know Hendrix wrote “ Little Wing .”
Sting does a bang-up version of the song .
But the cover that broke through first was on “ Layla .”
I ’ m changing my story . It was “ Little Wing ” that hooked me first , that was the track that got me into “ Layla ,” listening now I realize that , I never did get to it last night , it ’ s that powerful riff , which blew out of Dave McCormick ’ s speakers and filled the room , squeezed out anything contrary , any thoughts that would bring me down . The band ’ s reworking of Jimi ’ s number was exquisite , who ’ da thunk to remake it as riff rock ? Still , my favorite number on “ Layla ” is “ Anyday .”
Now if you ’ re confused , and you ’ re probably not , no one EVER referred to the double LP as “ Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs ,” everyone just called it “ Layla ,” like the title track , which got some airplay but didn ’ t really break through for years . And if you ’ re pulling the project , it ’ s got many killers , “ Bell Bottom Blues ,” “ Keep On Growing ,” “ Nobody Knows You When You ’ re Down And Out ,” “ Key To The Highway ,”
“ Tell The Truth ,” “ Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad ,” the title track , the aforementioned “ Little Wing ” and ...
“ Anyday .”
It was right smack dab in the middle of side two . It started off on a tear , kinda like “ Little Wing ,” but faster , and then it got slower .
So I ’ m thinking about “ Little Wing ” and I pull up “ Axis : Bold As Love ” on Spotify , take a look at it and my mind starts to wander , I think back to the Derek and the Dominos cover , to Dave McCormick ’ s dorm room , and then I realized , I ’ VE GOT TO HEAR ANYDAY !
“ You were talking and I thought I heard you say ‘ Please leave me alone ’”
I had no idea those were the lyrics . There was no internet , there was no lyric sheet , but all of this has surfaced via modern technology , reading along was a peak experience decades on , but not as much as ...
Bobby Whitlock ’ s organ and Duane Allman ’ s slide guitar .
Yes , the vocal is intimate , especially with the dual guitars in the background .
And when everybody explodes in the pre-chorus it ’ s a revelation , no one throws in everything anymore , they extract elements from the kitchen sink and feature them , but here everybody ’ s wailing , like at a live show , and the end result is the record levitates any room it ’ s played in .
But that intimate interlude ...
“ Well , someday baby I know you ’ re gonna leave me When this old world has got you down ”
Now Bobby Whitlock , the cowriter , the keyboard player is singing , it ’ s these verses that bond you to the track , the riff is key , but it ’ s intimacy that puts it over the top .
26 GUITAR TRICKS INSIDER DIGITAL EDITION MARCH / APRIL