Usually Jimi-phites come in here and are incredibly fanatic about Hendrix on a whole. While I am sympathetic to liking an artist that much it's almost like people refuse to believe Jimi's influences on the guitar are prominently shown as well. And he shows them to you because he wants people to hear his inspirations directly off the record.


If it wasn't for guitarists like:
Albert Collins/Albert King/Buddy Guy/Lonnie Mack/T-Bone Walker/Wes Montgomery/Magic Slim/ and so forth.

I have witnessed this haphazard relationship with Jimi-phytes saying Prince emulating Hendrix. The truth is Hendrix and Prince are connisseurs of guitar stylists which makes them unique.
Whereas Hendrix..was influenced by the blues and jazz greats. Prince was influenced by the blues and jazz and funk and pop greats of his time.

People like George Benson/Joni/Bb king/Sugar foot of Ohio Players/Sly Stone/Jimi/Santana/
Vai etc ....
these people influenced Prince in several different phases in his music career.


Now when I hear things like Jimi was the greatest and Prince is a pretender"

I start to think and wonder if these Jimi heads even took a listen to blues records of their day... take away the feedback and you have essentially a guitarist who you can cite his influences from Robert Johnson/John Lee/Elmore James/Hubert Sumlin and the list goes on.

Basically what Im saying is Hendrix fans do get a little too carried away with the real message Jimi Had. Jimi's message was "don'tforget about the great ones. Don't herald me please give praise and attention to the forefathers of guitar that inspired and influenced and motivated me to keep going with what was my destiny"

But what we have here is poor history revisionism at it's finest in this century

Jimi would be disappointed how we have treated our guitar legends/greats of the past. We basically just want to focus on Jimi/Clapton/Eddie Van Halen.

Thats waht we have become of a society of hazy musicologists.
We do need to develop more of a focus on guitar greats...

Zappa was as great as Jimi on guitar
Rundgren was as great as Jimi on guitar


I know Jimiphytes are gonna bash me. But really? you need to read those Jimi interviews again and see the real truth on guitarists he wanted you to focus on than just him.

The truth hurts sometimes because it's a jagged pill to swallow. But the truth is Jimi didn't want to be a guitar god and people branded him that. While the rest of the Delta and Chicago Blues scene sank in obscurity. Most of the critics and fanzines did not listen to Jimi when he said check out so n so....

They just continued this fanatical greatest guitarist ever was....
There are different ways to be great on guitar. You don't just have to use a sea of feedback and a wah wah pedal to express your greatness. You know this right?

Michael Hedges was as great as Jimi was as a guitarist. But only a few people picked up on that.




As much as I like Jimi, I think his death clouded his listeners so much they didn't even pay attention to the other greats that Jimi wanted you to know.
Because he wasn't just a artist innovator he was also a audiophile of many different musicians. It's time to really look at yourself as a Jimi fan and see you are doing a disservice to his legacy by not giving anyone else time than just "Jimi " "Jimi"

Theres more to guitar than Hendrix.

Trickology said:

great post

IMHO I am a much better guitarist than Hendrix.....

you make alot of sense though

Does Ernie Isley ever get any love. I think he is an excellent guitarist, but I never see his name mentioned. I don't know if he influenced P or not though.

great post Trick. What makes me sick are Jimiphiles who accuse Princephiles of "worshipping" Prince when its clear to me that they're worshipping Hendrix. They'll never admit that though. Because "worship' is such a bad word, and its associated with being a pussy.

Good post.I think Jimi wasn't appreciated for his talents enough,during his lifetime.Only after his (very untimely) death , did people realize what they had lost. Jimi was a very humble man,and never claimed to be a guitar god.He always gave "props" to his influences.

As for the SILLY Prince vs. Jimi debates,I see no point in comparing them.They are two very different artists,from two very different periods.I will say that Prince was influenced by Jimi ,tho.Most great post-Jimi guitarists are. But Prince was also influenced by many other musicians before him ,so "guitar god" hardly aplies to him either.

Speaking as one of the people who has (repeatedly, unabashedly and gleefully) spoken of Hendrix's superiority as a comprehensive guitarist, I'm finding your post really thoughtful but a bit confusing.

You seem to be linking two unassociated topics: comparisons of the two guitar players versus loving Hendrix at the expense of other, seminal guitarists. One, to me, really has nothing to do with the other.

Comparing apples and oranges (as many of us agree those tiresome comparisons are) doesn't mean somebody doesn't enjoy the taste of pineapples or kiwis.

ThreadBare said:

This sums things up nicely. The original post is a splintered argument and why is everyone agreeing with it when it doesn't make a clear point either way?

VDubblin said:

Well , I thought the original post pointed out a few details that aren't usually brought up in these pointless comparison threads.Such as Jimi's acknowledgement of his influences, and the
fact that Prince has never been a Hendrix wannabe.

Great post, but you didn't say who was better...

...or am I missing the point?

I think you're saying Prince is just as good, right?

I hear ya...

the simple answer is don't compare,
we seem to do this with all greats (don't get me started on Ali/Frasier or Pele/Maradona debates) and after much deliberation it divides ideals, exhausts mental energy, and adds up to nothing...

just push play and enjoy the magic!

That's a great post, Trickology!

Charles Shaar Murray wrote an excellent book about Hendrix, his influences and the musicians he influenced. I forget the title. Something with Rainbow? Anyway, I agree with you that many so called hardcore Hendrix lovers seem to know very little about their hero. Watch four Hendrix live performances (Woodstock, Monterey, Gypsies, Berkely) and compare the guitar playing to four Prince performances (say Livesexy, SOTT, Rave and Alladin). You'll probably agree on the following:

1) Their styles vary greatly and only occasionally does Prince go into Hendrix territory.

2) Hendrix does more Buddy Guy and Albert King licks than Prince does Hendrix or Santana licks.

3) For every incredible note Hendrix played live, there were two instances of annoying "showmanship"(guitar on fire, humping guitar, running sleeve across fingerboard, pushing guitar against speakercabinet, smashing guitar, guitar between legs, playing with teeth, playing with mikestand, playing with one hand....), out-of-tune guitars, gratuitous feedback etc. Prince took one or two of Hendrix' poses (like he did with Little Richard and James Brown) but thankfully plays consistent solo's on stage.

4) They're both great but much more different than people make them out to be.

SquarePeg said:

True Jimiphiles have the act so rehearsed with the old song and dance its downright silly. Jim could crawl out of his grave and rip into a trademark solo on todays equipement and you would still hear em' with the back'n the day worship. Coulda Woulda Shoulda.....

Still Prince is out there on stage Live workin it. Getting better and better

great post, your right on point

A little OT, but the Vega Aftershow Soundboard 10/25/02 has some of the best guitar work I ever heard from Prince.I think the first song is a Hendrix tune Who Knows(Band of Gypsies)
[This message was edited Mon May 3 9:00:51 2004 by Darla]

ThreadBare said:

Supernova said:

I don't know what the issue is about Prince and Hendrix. Prince isn't the only brother who is post Hendrix. Prince aped Hendrix so hard during "Purple Haze" oops, sorry, I meant "Purple Rain" period that it's obvious Prince loved Hendrix. Besides that, it's stupid to compare them. Prince could never be a Hendrix and visa versa.

blackguitaristz said:

I so agree and I do enjoy Hendrix music, but I also ponder this: Had Jimi lived would anyone still care enough to be making a comparison? Or would he have faded into obscurity?

I'm a better AIR guitarist's! LOL...seriously though...this is a very good thread. I like Hendrix...took me years to get into him until I started really LISTENING. And because I tend to like alot of guitarists' music, Pat Metheny being one of them, I really focus on that instrument. Which is why I love to hear and see Prince play guitar!! When I was younger I hated blues music.....but by listening to Jimi...who always pointed out the forefathers in blues music on guitar....I was able to appreciate the cats that came before him. There's soooo many great guitarists out there. I myself don't play ...YET.....but real musicians know how to critique and appreciate guitarist past and present better.

Trickology said:

You can go back and forth all you want but the fact remains.Even guitar's greatest players all agree that Hendrix is the best they have ever seen.Your taking about names like Jimmy Page,
Carlos Santana,Mark Knopfler,Gary Moore,Jeff Beck,Stevie Ray Vaughan,Pete Townshend and Alex Lifeson.And the list continues.Nobody here knows better than these guys do they?Nope...

"Jimi-phites" as you call them are no different than Prince fans.Probably more realistic to be truthful.I'm a huge Jimi fan but I also dont think he's the one and only.Prince was greatly influenced by Jimi.You can see it and hear it.And in my opinion Jimi's better than Prince.And just as his death may have put blinders on many people.Prince's 80's era has done the exact same thing.And so goes for most hardcore fans of an artist.And the"disservice to his legacy" is bs."Theres more to guitar than Hendrix" I agree 100%,but Prince sure as hell aint it.

crazyhorse said:

- I have to agree. I think Prince is a damn great versatile guitar player, and does amazing work when he wants to (he is one of Clapton´s fave guitar players, Miles Davis said he was a kick ass guitar player and When doves cry was praised by Jef Beck). But he is not an innovator on the guitar in the same level of Jimi, Eddie, Beck, etc
I think he wants it that way. If he practiced more and challenged himself more on the instrument, I believe he probably would be. He has the talent to do masterpieces on the guitar, but I dont think he challenges himself too much. That´s why I always feel his playing has highs and lows.

in 2 words: Curtis Mayfield



after listening to a lot of Curtis' music lately, I came to believe that Jimi was listening too

that's not what trickology meant by that.

SquarePeg said:

Finally! Someone with a sense of humour.

So true. Jimi has had a FAR greater impact on guitar, guitar playing and rock than Prince ever will, but Prince's influence in songwriting is nothing to be sneered at. The problem is that so many on this site think more of Prince's guitar work than the rest of the world.

jackflash said:

Of course he was. The title track to Electric Ladyland even contains Jimi's Mayfieldesque vocal performance. Some of the sweetest wah wah guitar I've ever heard comes from Mayfield and Jimi.

`
[This message was edited Wed May 5 9:43:46 2004 by Supernova]

Prince doesn't play guitar like anybody else, except...Prince...and that is to say, he's DAMNED GOOD AT IT!!! the hall of fame show was proof of that. The world WOKE UP and realized just how much they had OVERLOOKED his skills on guitar....and honestly, I believe Prince is partly to blame for his skills being overlooked...because back in the day, he focused mainly on the SHOW, the ENTERTAINMENT aspect of his concerts, moreso than the musicianship (not to say that it suffered, cuz it didn't) but it seemed that when he stopped dancing, he realized well since I cant do splits and shake my ass anymore, I'd better show and prove, and that's what he did (it started at the ONA tour) and its been that way ever since.

I just want to add that I listened to "Ezy Rider" last week and was floored. I have heard it several times before, but I really HEARD it this time. Shows to go ya that Hendrix's impact was revolutionary. Nearly 4 decades later, no one has come along who could be spoken of in the same breath when it comes to rock.

But Prince is a category all his own.

You can go back and forth all you want but the fact remains.Even guitar's greatest players all agree that Hendrix is the best they have ever seen.Your taking about names like Jimmy Page,
Carlos Santana,Mark Knopfler,Gary Moore,Jeff Beck,Stevie Ray Vaughan,Pete Townshend and Alex Lifeson.And the list continues.Nobody here knows better than these guys do they?Nope...

"Jimi-phites" as you call them are no different than Prince fans.Probably more realistic to be truthful.I'm a huge Jimi fan but I also dont think he's the one and only.Prince was greatly influenced by Jimi.You can see it and hear it.And in my opinion Jimi's better than Prince.And just as his death may have put blinders on many people.Prince's 80's era has done the exact same thing.And so goes for most hardcore fans of an artist.And the"disservice to his legacy" is bs."Theres more to guitar than Hendrix" I agree 100%,but Prince sure as hell aint it.

.


This is what I mean. The reason people enamoured to Jimi as being the greatest because his death was tragic. There were others and its paying hommage to saying Jimi was the greatest. As for prince being influenced by Jimi, they want to think that Jimi came from the heavens.
The greatest does not equal a guy who can orchestrate feedback. There are many other guitarists who had their own techniques on stage as well.

Nobody knows more? Crazyhorse, Its an opinion. Anyone can state Jimi is the greatest and anybody can dispute it. Hind sight is 20/20. Of course great guitarists look at him as a idol he was in the spotlight. Most people will look at someone who was in the spotlight and cite him as a musician inspiration.



Jimi owes his styling to Albert King/Buddy Guy when it comes to the phrasing of notes.


It is a disservice to Jimi's legacy. He would not be one to be of just focus. This is what I mean. He even was quoted in interviews he did not want to be about him everywhere regarding guitar. It's really a example of pointless grandeur

And when you say Prince fans are no different? I will give you that.


I will tell you another reason I wrote this because this armchair critic was quick to write off every black guitarist after Jimi. Like they were just emulators in a magazine I read. He then made a article slamming Prince for the very guitar pryotechnics that Jimi delved in.



But you see this is the interesting thing LESS and Less I see Jimi's influences listed when they want to make him out to be "Neo" of guitar.

And this goes to a real theory....

How many white critics don't want to give credit and respect to another innovative black guitarist. This is another reason why Prince doesn't get his due.
It's really pointless to debate because music is subjective but what Im saying is....

Jimi and Prince will never be on the equal playing field.

And this journalist didn't even give Prince any due to his past albums.

Let's keep something in mind...

When Jimi died he was 27. He had 3 classic albums...

When Prince was 27....

He had Dirty Mind/1999/Purple Rain/Parade


Im pointing something out right now that Prince realizes there is only room for so many black guitar greats in these polls and in the record books


In the end, Jimi and Prince are 2 completely different artists....



People can say whatever they want to say but will see in the afterlife what Jimi thinks and I bet you he is gonna say that Prince was as good as him.

And I will tell you why.... cuz Jimi cared about the feel and sincerity in the playing...


The critics exhalted Jimi Hendrix to new levels completely forgetting blues greats

It's one thing to blast off at someones artistic merits. But to tell me "So n so said it"

Music goes more than just accolades and praises. Ir will be meaningful if there is a spirit even after all the analyzing and critiques.

People have it twisted. I believe there can't be a greatest guitarist it's far too subjective to begin to rate everything. Some great guitarists aren't even soloists.
John Lee Hooker is a great guitarist but he has no technical ability. It's all visceral and rudimentary vamping. So does that make Jimi better than John Lee Hooker? Thats some snob bullshit right there.


Alot of amazing guitarists never get that chance to shine. Jimi got fortunate because he found the perfect band and audience. I'm not saying anyone is wrong, what Im saying is the Jimi fan crusade is erasing a world of legendary guitarists who Hendrix was inspired/influenced by.

And the reason no one really talks about it has alot to do with the fact of making Jimi "NEO"

Jimi made it pretty clear he didnt want to be a guitar messiah for his legacy in his interviews.

In your references to Jimi's protests to not be turned into a "legend" or savior of the guitar, one sees your answer: Jimi was seen as such because of his staggering innovation on the guitar. Yes, he had influences. He didn't just appear on the music scene fully formed. Here's a cat who'd cut his teeth on the chitlin circuit.

But, Jimi stepped up his level of playing (oh gosh, I feel some sports cliches bubbling) to the degree that he was heads and shoulders above his prominent peers. This isn't to suggest that he was the best (even back during his heydey). But, he was the guitarist who was being followed around by other rock guitarists. he was the one who was leaving his peers dumbfounded and awestruck. No, he wasn't the NEO of the guitar, but you listen to that really good Hendrix tribute album and others like it, and you hear -- song after song -- guitarists whose styles are woefully close to Jimi's.

And, when you hear that, you realize that didn't just happen for the studio session. Jimi had such a real influence on the way electric blues were played that you can hear his style in everyone from Ernie Isley to Doyle Bramhall II to all the cats on those tribute discs.

Yes, Jimi was a student of those other artists. But, where are their tribute albums and biopics and documentaries? Hendrix has garnered these tributes for a reason.