Understanding All Along The Watchtower
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- What makes a great cover song? It's a hard question to answer, so let's take a look at the greatest cover song ever made and work back from there. All Along The Watchtower was already a good song when Bob Dylan recorded it, but it wouldn't become truly legendary until Jimi Hendrix took his shot. Hendrix transformed it from a bizarre, folky mystery into a transcendent commentary on the world around him. He made the song so thoroughly his own that even Dylan himself has conceded to it, and I want to talk about how he did that.
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Also, thanks to Jareth Arnold and Sofia Sangiorgio for proofreading the script to make sure this all makes sense hopefully!
Some additional thoughts/corrections:
1) When I talk about Hendrix entering for the first solo, I'm referring to him playing the electric guitar. He actually also played bass on this song, so he was present in the intro too, but that wasn't really relevant to the point I was making.
2) I should note that, in Dylan's harmonica solo, he does include some D#s as well, but they're not really emphasized. They're mostly bends up from C# for ornamentation, which is different from how Hendrix uses the 2nd degree in his solo.
3) In case you're wondering, I think the most likely explanation for the Gb in that one fill is that it's an accidental pull-off. Hendrix tunes his guitar down a half-step on most songs, so the fourth string would've been an open Gb. when he let go of the Bb he was fretting, he probably plucked the string a bit, letting a Gb ring out for a moment. It doesn't sound bad or anything, but given that he doesn't seem to play a tritone in any of the other licks, and it's in such a rhythmically unusual spot, my guess is he wasn't trying to play one here either, it just sort of happened and he left it in.
4) In the slide solo, I said the notes he starts on are all pretty simple, which isn't quite true: The very first thing he plays is an A major chord, which isn't in the key. Given the extremely long slide down, though, I kinda lose track of that. It _feels_ to me like a Bb chord going to Ab, he's just starting a little bit underneath, so the effect is of a diatonic chord even though as far as I can tell he doesn't actually quite play one. That's my take, anyway.
On point 3, do you mean the 3rd string? We usually count guitar strings from the highest to the lowest. Thanks for all the videos!
One more little thing, there were plenty of wah pedals and fuzz boxes back then, but no delay pedals yet. He probably used tape delay machines of some kind, no sure at all which. All I know is that the bucket brigade chip was developed in 1969 the first bucket brigade based footswitchable effects, like analog delays and choruses didn't hit the shelves until the mid 70's. I suck at parties.
Didn’t know he played bass on this one! Always loved the bass runs under the last guitar solo. So tasty.
Point Three-similar thing happens in the “Hey Joe” solo, when he plays an open D string when he almost certainly meant to hit the 12th fret D. Still sounded great, so he and the engineer (Chas Chandler, IIRC?) left it in the mix instead of trying to re-record an already epic solo.
Jimi's bass and the use of non roots etc was overlooked IHMO -- peace
As a guitarist for most of my years on this planet, I would just like to give mad respect for 12tone calling it a "wah pedal" and not a "wah-wah pedal". It's the little things, folks.
Proof that George Harrison was more powerful than the entire music industry?
IMHO Wah wah is is superior description because it's an onomatopoeia. "What does that do?" "It makes it go Wah Wah"
@@brianmiller1077 it’s a wah pedal. You don’t get your hairs cut. You got a hair cut.
@@adamlaxmusic brb getting my nail done.
@@Merugaf touché sir
“I just thought it sounded cool.” - Jimi Hendrix
🤣😁
"He played it exactly like I would have played it if I were Jimi Hendrix"...
Bob Dylan
@Hot Wings All the time!
Jimi's sound pictures to match Dylan's word pictures, and yeah, it sounds pretty cool.
Exactly! Jimi didn’t give a shit about all this analytical shit
I have always firmly believed that Hendrix is a far better singer than anyone tends to give him credit for. His guitar playing was just too good at hogging the spotlight that his singing, and songwriting for that matter, were just overshadowed all the time.
Interestingly, it worked the opposite way for Prince
@@dwc1964 Prince had some fantastic guitar parts, but they were more subtle. Jimi's guitar playing was like a freaking hurricane.
So true. His singing on little wing is beautiful but i always find myself only listening to the guitar
He had a certain wildness and floaty-ness while reamining fairly raw. Great voice
Very much agree. A fine, soulful, expressive singer. Sounds like no one else.
Hendrix: I made this
Dylan: You made this
Dylan may have _written_ All Along the Watchtower, but Hendrix made it, yea.
More like
Dylan: I made you this
@@GirishManjunathMusic Hendrix’s cover version is an excellent tune, but the original is better, as is true in nearly every case of ‘Original vs Cover’, including, but not limited to:
My Back Pages
Mr. Tambourine Man
If Not For You
And so on and so on and so on... and I’m not only talking about Dylan’s songs...
@@tuckercarlsonsmicropenis1283 maybe it's just because I heard the Hendrix version first, but I really didn't like the Dylan original as much.
@@tuckercarlsonsmicropenis1283 Cant beat a harmonica.
Finally: best JH quote ever "I don't play guitar, I play amplifier"
Absolutely correct!
I like that quote. I like it a lot. Thanks!
One of the great things about a tube amp.
I can't help but imagine that Jimi would love the depth of this analysis
Honestly, I doubt he would be that into it. Maybe he would listen and entertain the ideas, but I doubt he'd be like "yeah man that's what I was going for". I imagine he'd think of music as a more intangible thing rather than symbolic.
And Bob would hate it
I'm pretty sure he'd rsepond "Oh, just shut up, pick up your instrument and start jamming"
@John Verne DaVinci did the same exact thing with the Mona Lisa. I don't think he ever thought it was good enough.
I doubt it myself. Hendrix wasn't a theoretical musician, but an instinctive raw talent. He probably wouldn't even understand it fully as he didn't read music!
Limp Bizkit’s “Behind Blue Eyes.” Nearly choked on my pizza.
Yeah, how is that a good cover?
@@matthewgasparin7000 99.999% sure it was a joke.
It’s just the who version with worse vocals
@@badgasaurus4211 and cuts out the best part
Honestly I think it's far better than the original. And I do love me some Who.
"i think that sounds boring"
*draws the halo logo*
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AAAAAA
so glad someone else saw the same thing lmaooo
sick shade imo
WTF is with the drawing??
It's distracting for us non Hyrogllegic speakers
i swear if he’s calling the halo soundtracks boring imma have an aneurysm
1:35 The correct lyrics are: "All along the watchtower, *princes kept the view* "
Yep yep
I agree with you,, except: "Excuse me while I kiss [ insert interpretation here ]"
@@recklessroges THE SKY . The others are just humorous .
Yeah, especially cos it says straight after 'while all the women came in'
As a foodie, I always thought it was 'stew'. BTW, Jimi reportedly replaced Mason's track with his own version.
There was no delay pedals in 1968, I believe he was a using tape delay. electric lady was definitely a laboratory of sound.
Yep, came here to note that. Could have been an Echoplex, but whatever it was was a standalone unit, likely about the size of a small amp head. No delay pedals until the 70s.
@@Telorchid and Electric Lady did not exist until 1970.
@@ksteiger i think you meant to tag Get Bent Audio. I didn’t mention the studio.
I've heard it was an Echoplex
@@ksteiger you right
Always loved Hendrix and Dylan, but if you'd asked me 10 years ago, I'd have easily said Hendrix's version of this song is my favourite. Over the years I've shifted over more to Bob Dylan's original.. there's something more dreamy about his version, more loopy and surreal.
Agreed. Dylan’s (to me) has more tension, and perfectly matches the lyrics. Hendrix’s is clearly more profound musically, but I don’t find that it always matches the tone of the song.
Exactly!! That's what I've been saying since discovering the original version. Dylan's All Along The Watchtower has that mystique to it that Hendrix's doesn't.
And I think another TH-camr also pointed out that Dylan's closing lines, half a verse, join perfectly with the opening lines of the song, also half a verse, forming an endless loop.
The lines are obviously still in the Hendrix version, but Dylan's emphasises it.
Yeah, it's my favourite too. It's the harmonica for me.
@@littlelamb2112 Yes I come to Hendrix's version when I want to listen some wild music that makes me dance. I will go to Dylan's version when I want to hear the story
Jimi Hendrix's 'All Along The Watchtower.'
Or as I'd like to call: *WHERE THE F---- IS THE DOWNBEAT?!!*
Well, wasn't he playing a right handed guitar upside down?
FFS!!!
Like with Pyramid song by Radiohead. WHAT THE HELL IS IT
Right? I was so confused when 12tone said "three [attacks] before the barline and three after." Like, what? It's not two before and four after?
I always thought the song started on the "and" of 1, and the downbeat is the vibraslap. So a silent 1 AND TWO AND THREE AND FOUR. slap AND TWO AND THREE AND FOUR
You know what,@@Bastikovski99 might be on to something, I think it sounds like that to me because the strumming sounds like Jimi is up stroking the first note.
I'm so glad this exists. I have been watching a lot of 12 tome lately, and BSG, which resulted in a fever dream of me trying to analyze all along the watchtower 12 tone style, but with absolutely none of the musical skills required to do so. It was a frustrating night, and this resolved that.
This is surely a exemplary instance of how musical analysis should be - detailed, revelatory and above all putting the soul of the song and performance centre stage.
I see what you did there with the Battlestar paper. Well done, sir.
_"It's hard to imagine anyone else doing it differently."_
I wonder if that's why Bear McCreary went back to the Dylan version when he was asked to create a cover of this song for Battlestar Galactica.
Again...you don't have to like only the Hendrix version! He didn't mean that at all
@@joshmastiff1128 I didn't think he did. I'm very confused - did you mean that to be a reply to some other comment?
I came down to the comments to find out if anyone else thought of Bear McCreary's version. I wonder if we'll get a breakdown of that sometime.
Personally, I'm a fan of the Michael Hedges version. It combines the simplicity of the Dylan version with the aggression of Hendrix. Honestly, I haven't heard many versions that I don't like. It's just a good song.
Dylan in an interview said Hendrix took the song, made it his own, and he knew it would never be the same - no regrets. Awesome
As much as I love hendrix's, I gotta shout out Bear McCreary's version for the battlestar galactica season 3 finale, absolutely incredible.
Bear did such a great job at shifting and adapting Hendrix's version to the future/past
I was searching for a comment like this. The piano version is also beautiful imo
That version was the first I’d ever heard this incredible song. It definitely deserves an honorable mention
My favorite song of all time. I purposely avoid listening to it because I never want to wear it out. I want each time I hear it to be special.
I like how you think...keep it special, yeah! (Takes a little effort, some calculation -- worth the payout.)
I’m 62yrs and just fell hard in love with Hendricks - soulful genius! 👏🏻love how your doodles kept the story of the composition alive and held my attention to the very end. Thanks
10:14 is likely too accurate. Hendrix wasn't just thinking about notes, he was thinking about an elephant astronaut. Which he could clearly see, floating around in front of the stage.
Lol
YOU SEEN IT TOO! 😳
I’d love to hear more on your interpretation of the importance of the bass part; I always felt like the fills and bass tone added a lot to both the build up and sense of movement that the chords alone weren’t necessarily providing.
I’m a 70-year-old jazz rock drummer that’s been listening to this thing most of my life and I’ve loved it from the beginning to now …..and I’ve been waiting to hear someone discuss a lot of these nuances for a long, long time. Great job, buddy.
At age 14, in '69, I saw the Hendrix Experience at the helLA Forum... It completely changed my life.
Thanx much for explicating why Jimi was a transformative artist!
Years back I discovered a Robert Burns poem from around the 1790's that I believe is a mysterious, probably subconscious inspiration for Dylan's lyric...there are a few close references word-wise: the Tower itself, and howling winds, stars and animals, distant echoing... also, Burns was both a businessman (he collected taxes and sold poems and songs)and a plowmen (he once wrote an ode to a mouse killed by his Plow) he drank a lot, as Scots did in those days, and died young......The thief may be Dylan, as he borrowed the atmosphere of this perfectly, and the joker Hendrix, who dressed so colorfully and played the muse to so many. But in Burn's poem, which he called A Vision, a ghost arises from the garden, "attired as Minstrels wont to be" with Liberty written on his hat, and plays a "harp" loud enough to wake the dead, (Dylan plays the "harp" too of course) and then tells of a happy childhood and a sad ending..."a tale of woe, as ever met a Briton's ear!"in my mind it's a vision of Jimi , and the atmosphere of Dylan's poem perhaps enabled him to craft the wondrously haunted musical feeling. So I imagine Burns, Dylan, and Jimi all saw this same vision, perhaps in dreams...(perhaps the 2 riders in Dylan's song are Burns and Hendrix?)... and each drew their own lyrical and sonic picture of it as though the 200 years between didn't stop a meeting of great minds. Here is "A Vision" by Burns...what do you think?
As I stood by yon roofless tower, Where the wa'-flower scents the dewy air,
Where the howlet mourns in her ivy bower, and tells the midnight moon her care;
The winds were laid, the air was still, The stars they shot along the sky:
The fox was howling on the hill, And the distant-echoing glens reply;
The stream adown its hazelly path, Was rushing by the ruin'd wa's,
Hasting to join the sweeping Nith, Whose distant roaring swells and fa's;
The cauld blue north was streaming forth, Her lights, w' hissing eerie din,
Athort the lift they start and shift, Like fortune's favors, tint as win.
By heedless chance I turn'd mine eyes, And by the moon-beam, shook, to see,
A stern and stalwart ghaist arise, Attir'd as minstrels wont to be.
Had I a statue been o' stone, His daring look had daunted me;
And on his bonnet grav'd was plain, The sacred posy--Liberty!
And frae his harp sic strains did flow, Might roused the slumb'ring dead to hear;
But oh, it was a tale of woe, As ever met a Briton's ear! He sang wi' joy his former day,
He weeping wail'd his latter times; But what he said it was nae play,
I winna ventur't in my rhymes.
It would be great if someone could ask Bob if this poem was known to him or provided inspiration for his song. If not, it's an even greater wonder that these parallels exist.
I think you're on to something Robin! There is definitely too much similarity between the poem and the song to be a coincidence. Also, Dylan and Hendrix capture some of the feeling of wildness that Burns conveys. Even the cadence is similar, eg. "Businessmen they drink my wine, ploughman dig my earth....." and: " By heedless chance I turn'd mine eyes, and by the moon-beam, shook, to see..."
Thanks for your great analysis of this song. I've just jumped on to Spotify to listen to both versions. Thanks to you I see a deeper meaning in the words. I agree that JH's voice was underrated, generally being eclipsed by his guitar playing.
Bob Dylan does not play Hendrix's version live. That's a quite common misunderstanding. Yes, the original is acoustic (with bass and drums) and Dylan plays it live with electric guitars and full band, but the rhythm is quite clearly from his original version, not from Hendrix's version. Dylan's live versions are basically his studio version but with full band and guitar solos.
He often gets very close to Hendrix's interpretation, especially on 1973's Before the Flood live album with The Band.
@@musamusashi I disagree. How exactly is the Before The Flood version close to Hendrix's? The things that are similar about the two:
1. Guitar solos in both of them
2. Loud, electric bands in both of them
And different?
1. Bob's version is much faster
2. Flood version is in Am, Jimi's version is in C#m
3. The singing melodies are different
4. There's a synth solo in the Flood version (a minor point but still).
Given that Dylan played most of his originally acoustic songs with a loud band in live concerts (so Watchtower isn't special in that regard), I'd say that his version is fundamentally different from Hendrix's.
I would agree that Dylan's live versions are much more obviously taken as electric rock versions of his original arrangement. Hendrix's take is a whole new arrangement with the innovations you show greatly illustrate! Dylan has several times the Hendrix did the best version of the song.
I read years ago, Dylan liked Jimi's version more and when he Dylan plays it live he hears Jimi's version in his head. I'll try to find it somewhere but regardless, definitely true.
In the accompanying booklet to Dylan's album Biograph, he wrote:
"I liked Jimi Hendrix’s record of this and ever since he died I’ve been doing it that way. Funny though, his way of doing it and my way of doing it weren’t that dismissive… Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it’s a tribute to him in some kind of way."
I’m pretty sure the lyric is “princes kept their view”, not “princess kept her view”.
The lyric is "princes kept the view" according to Dylan's official site
It’s Princes for Dylan, Princess for Hendrix.
Hendrix never really learned the words to this song before playing it. Case in point: "none of them along the line know what any of it is worth" in the Dylan version mutates to "none will level on the line, nobody offered his word" in Hendrix.
You would be correct
Well excuse us while we kiss this guy
Wait a minute now. Of course it's true that Hendrix took this song and made it his own but he had a great admiration for Dylan and his music. It wasn't a statement of mocking braggadocio as much as it was respect and appreciation.
i don't think that's what they were saying - i read their words as more implying that hendrix made it clear to dylan and everyone else that his version is distinct and not trying to be dylan's. kind of a "this is mine now - im making a different song" kinda thing
Nobody implied any mokery: Dylan was Jimi's favorite songwriter and he had the deepest love and respect for him.
Decades on, the Hendrix version still creates that thump in the base of the spine. Fantastic analysis here - thank you 👏🏻
I also feel like this song demonstrate the chemistry between Hendrix and Mitch. Easily my favourite musical duo ever. This duo is not always talked about because of the other titanic duos from that era like Gilmour and Wright or McCartney and Lennon
I like when an artist is so struck by another arrangement that they adopt bits of it into their performances.
Iirc, the Rolling Stones didn't really have a good way to make Satisfaction work live until they heard Otis Redding's cover.
I've always believed Hendrix covered Watch Tower because in part, he felt it expressed his anger with manager, Michael Jeffrey, who had been literally robbing Jimi blind. You can hear and feel the anger in his remolding of Dylan's version.
Man, these videos blow my mind everytime. Idk how many times I've had to back up a few seconds, because I realized I wasn't really listening to what you were saying.. because I'm just lost wondering how you do these videos.
Like, do you write a script first and then decide what little pictures you want to draw to flesh out the concepts? And then you've gotta go back and isolate the parts of the tracks you want to talk about. It would take months I would think. But it's so unique and interesting.. I watch them even when you're talking about songs I don't like.
Magnificent work, man. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
So good; so clear. I've avoided a smart phone for decades now; waiting for one that would play and give presence to the first notes of Hendrix's "Watchtower" as my ring tone.
I think Alien Ant Farm's cover of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal has to be in the conversation of best covers of all time.
It is a really good cover, but most non-metal heads have never heard of it. I prefer it, but even I didn’t know about it until last year. It is the sole reason alien ant farm was a almost headliner band at some concerts (not sure what that is called), it’s just hard to compete with Micheal Jackson.
is this a joke? pls tell me it os
Thanks for bringing back the magical moments of my youth!! Hendrix was a explosion of creativity. Dylan was the poet. Watchtower was an anthem that linked so many of our experiences and longings!!
Surprised you didn't make more of the interesting rhythm of the intro. Guitar players have been misunderstanding it for decades. Still, awesome analysis. Love your work.
Good point! Could do an episode on common rhythmical misunderstandings like this one. Funny to me how people don't hear those first 3 notes as "pickup" notes before 1. It's just like Beethoven's 5th - the first three notes are pickups. Same with Stairway to Heaven in the middle power chord break section. It stays in 4/4 time but I've see analysis that tries to break this up into all sorts of little bits just to make the accents always land on a 1. Not a huge Beethoven fan, but he was also a master at hiding the 1 by accenting different beats.
My whole life is music and you consistently make me love it more, you ridiculous magnificent bastard.
Man I love both versions of this song it's impossible for me to choose.
When I first listened to All Along the Watchtower I was just drifting around songs from the era at random and added both versions to a playlist without realizing they were the same song. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to catch it because they just sound so different.
This simplifies the genius of Hendrix's innovative guitar playing. Jimi could really take a piece and ascend it to another planet.
As someone who overthinks literally everything in my life, my hats off to you bro. You take it to a whole new level. And I really appreciate that👍
When I saw Hendrix do this song in Seattle, it was a hit on the radio.
Never heard someone analyse a song like this. Wow!!!
Do you think the acoustic guitar at the beginning followed by the electric guitar is a reference to the controversy at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965? Going from acoustic to electric was a very divisive move for Dylan and this version highlights that change and amplifies it.
I doubt that's intentional, but thats a really cool way to read into it
Very interesting point
"you didn't click on this video to hear me talk about the verse"
me, a lyricist: well yes, that's why i'm here
I used to think of this as something like Mingus doing I left my Heart in San Francisco. Hendrix took this song over and made it his. That's because he was good at covers. He was just better at understanding how music moves It was like instinctive with him,
I love all of the videos on this channel that I have seen. But this one, this one I love the most. By far. Make it a whole series: Dylan and those who covered him (but spend a little more time on BD - very underrated and undercovered here on YT in theory channels). Great job!
Jimi was a huge Bob Dylan fan as was all four Beatles. Bob is amazing and so is his Heaven's Door whiskey :)
This video still amazes me. GREAT job.
GREAT ANALYSIS! Always amazed when watching your videos about how much I'm missing when I hear something I like. Please keep doing what you're doing.
My dad was a vet, and I grew up on military bases with kids of other vets… meaning most of my early friends were from poor white and black families.
This song always felt like what our fathers were silently feeling… from both perspectives. Both are talking about the same thing from much the same point of view, but Dylan’s was sad, morbid frustration, and Hendrix had the anger and rage because the life experiences before being sent off to war were so different.
In the end, they all ended up in the same place, just more broken promises and hopelessness.
Dude as a massive fan of this song and solo, music, guitar, and good ole James Marshall Hendee, I must say you delivered to us an epic analysis to the likes of being possibly your best work! I am a massive fanboy of Tosin Abasi and where he has pushed the instrument of guitar, seemingly picking up where Jimi left off, IMO. I would advise any guitar/music snob who thinks they are above Jimi and perhaps classify him/ his work as something they have surpassed because they can play G.O.A.T. perfectly, to watch this. It highlights why Jimi was an incredible composer, performer and innovator of the instrument. Thank you 12tone. Im currently switching over to Nebula to listen to your podcast with polyphonic. Great Stuff as always my dude!
P.S. this in no way is a dis to Polyphia, their fans, or anyone at all. Just an off example to reference to "that guy" we all know who may think there is nothing to be learned from Hendrix in 2021
Nice Prisonner reference!
1:05 If you're not aware, for many if not most Jimi Hendrix tunes his guitar was tuned in D# - or some sticklers call it Eb, sigh. That is simply why the chords are a fret lower. Or a half note, if you must.
Behind Blue Eyes by Limp Bizkit? Really? Like... really?
I was hoping that was a dry humor joke.
I didn't know that was a thing.
Much respect to you for this amazing lesson! I'm not a musician and I haven't studied music theory or composition. I just know what I like and what speaks to my soul. But I was able to follow your analysis w/o any difficulty, and it has given me an even greater appreciation for this beautiful masterpiece. So thank you, thank you, Thank You!!!
Hendrix's is brilliant, but Dylan's is just flat out scary.
Like any good folk musician; rooted in the true horror of the domain of power over a person's individuality
The acoustic/harmonica and Dylan’s deadpan singing style fit the lyrics better.
OMG, that video must've been so much work. Congratulations! You got a new subscriber.
Hendrix took the blues back from the spirit of Elvis
Now I want to know 12tone’s top 5 guitar solos
A few covers you didn't give props to who owned it at least as much as Jimi
Joe Cocker "With a LIttle Help from My Friends"
Ike & Tina Turner "Proud Mary"
Manfred Mann's Earth Band "Blinded by the Light"
The entire Led Zeppelin catalog - just kidding - sort of
Dazed and Confused definitely. Had no idea it was a cover.
Twist and Shout- the Beatles
The man who sold the world- nirvana (pretty good cover imo)
Knockin on Heaven's Door- Guns n Roses
Elton John did an excellent cover of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
@@forrcaho I agree, but structurally it's fairly similar to the original. I was trying to give examples that are uniquely different from the originals, as in Jimi's version "All Along the Watchtower".
Van Halen did a fantastic cover of "You Really Got Me", but it's structurally similar to the original with Van Halen embellishments. A cover of that song which is completely unique is the version by Oingo Boingo - not saying it's better, but they definitely did it their way.
Souixie and the banshees- Dear Prudence is better than original I think ?
Inside Looking Out - Grand Funk
"No you can't play with it, you'll enjoy it on as many levels as I do!....look at the colors children" - Professor Frink. I feel like this fits for some reason.
Speaking of holding notes in order to absorb emotional impact, one of the best examples of this, to me, is the first note of Hendrix's solo for "Machine Gun." That note just screams out like a bomb falling, or people being killed. There's so much emotion in just that single note, and the tension it creates just builds and builds, like an air raid siren, until you can't take anymore of it. It gives me chills.
I've always identified with the Dylan version myself, because it's the little bit of doomerism I allow myself to embrace. The Dylan and Hendrix versions always struck me as resigned and rebellious respectively.
James Marshall Hendricks was a United States air force radar technician. The Fender Stratocaster,
Leo Fenders' invention, was his idea of a stand-up steel guitar. It featured the first individual, two-way
adjustable bridges, one for each string, something no other instrument had in human history. Jimi realized
he could plug it into an oscilloscope, what TV repairmen used to tune TVs, and tune it scientifically, for the
first time getting perfect harmonics, what allowed over-dubs to work better. He paid an English electrical
inventor to translate radar technology into guitar effects, having the first phase shifter, flanger, octave divider
with deeper stereo width. That's what his liner notes on Are You Experienced refer to when he says he doesn't
necessarily have to take you higher, but make you wider. This is a very artistic and poetic analysis of this song,
and I'm wondering if he mentioned that Bob Dylan went back into the studio to re-record this song using the
same accent on the chords Hendrix used, the only time he did that. I bought a 1964 Stratocaster, sunburst,
and a Marshall amp in 1970, five months before Jimi passed away, seeing the Experience in Maple Leaf Gardens.
I've never seen or heard a description of his P.A. set-up, something you would have to hear about to learn about,
what he called his axis of sound. I've typed enough already, always ready to talk about Jimi Hendix.
By the end, I was thinking about Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things" - i.e. a complete reimagining of the original by unlocking the implied and magnifying it until it becomes the central. And in the process, creating an emotional impact that the original simply could not.
Thanks again 12tone! Another bit of brilliance and inspiration! Your stuff rewards multiple views!
The version I really like is on Jimi’s ‘live at The Isle of Wight’ album. It has a chilling, almost foreboding vibe about it… the slight echo in Jimi’s vocals adds to that end of days feeling. Jimi would be gone just over two weeks later.
That seemed like a labour of love. Thank you.
Dude... you certainly did that justice !! Good on you...
This is probably the most enigmatic song in the history of rock, and it is fitting that it belongs to the two most important musicians of the most important era in American popular music.
I know both versions by heart practically. I like them both for their own reasons. I really couldnt say one or the other is better.
Dylan recorded “Watchtower” in the key of C#m (C sharp minor), Hendrix in Cm (C minor). But because he tuned his guitar down 1/2 step, he’s playing it in the same position on the fret board as Dylan. Bob used a capo at fret 4. The sheet music (published lead sheet) for Dylan’s “Watchtower” is in Am (A minor).
13:09 "Here he cranks up his delay pedal..."
Well, as you've explained before, it was the time of compact effect pedals like wah and all sorts of drives, also the UniVibe.
But I'm pretty sure, that compact delay pedals weren't a thing back then. The BBD chip was invented afterwards (I think) and found in compact pedals not earlier than the mid seventies.
We're probably talking about a tape machine.
And yes, you mentioned that accidental pull-off and the Eb tuning in your pinned comment. That was my first thought, when you talked about that note in the video.
In an interview Dylan said the only artist who impressed him covering his music, was Elvis Presley (who hated Dylan's singing). He doesn't like people changing his lyrics.
Can we just agree Jimi was the best at all things musical
The little confused elephant acting as the symbol for the word Unresolved is the greatest thing ever lol
Great analysis, 12Tone! Helps to explain why I love Hendrix. RIP too soon.
Second
Fabulous analysis of what I consider to be the most important song ever created. I have never heard anyone breakdown a song in the way that you would do to a classical piece. All that aside, the triumph here is that Jimi, as he inevitably always does, creates non-musical images through music, which is what I consider to be the mark of a great composer. As much as the Vietnam war could possibly loom over the context of the lyric, it is hard not to draw biblical allusions; the joker and the thief the companions of Christ on Golgatha. Or as written:
"There is a foreboding sense of finality in the recitation of the Quaran, not unlike Jimi's version of All Along the Watchtower; a cry to right the ship of one's soul while there was still time"
Ergh. Limp Bizkit.
They left out the best part of that song.
this is the one I've always wanted … and I relisten on occasion. Jimi did a lot of great covers and really upcycled a bunch of Dylan tunes.
Man, I am really glad I discovered your channel. I've watched a couple of your videos and I really appreciate your extreme attention to detail and obvious love of music. The video is still playing so maybe you will still bring it up although it seems like you're done talking about Dave Mason's part, what I wanted to say is that I'm really surprised you didn't mention how he is playing the Ab chord. Most of the time he is playing it using the third as the root in the verses. This gives it a pretty unique sound especially at the end of each lyric stanza when he just plays one sustained strum. I don't remember if Dylan's does that, I have to go back and listen. But I've always thought that was really cool. Also, inverting chords is such a great composition tool that I don't think many guitar playing songwriters use much, me included. Anyway, I have always thought this is the greatest cover song ever and Jimi did what I feel every artist should do when they cover a song: make it your own but make it totally recognizable and also don't change any lyrics, musical structure, or radically change the arrangement. Sounds like a hard list when I write it down but Jimi's version fits that criteria. Also don't just take a full band song and play it with just one acoustic guitar or piano.. that's a cop out. And while I'm at it, 😂 (I doubt anyone is reading as this video is a little older now), while I'm at it, I'm all for bands covering anything at their gigs but I hate it when bands record a cover of a song that was already a big hit. It's so lame, of course the cover version does well because the hit song has already proven itself. Like I said, at live shows, anything goes but once you record and release a proven hit and make money and or increase your notoriety from it...that's lame.
Personally I like Dylan's version first but really that's just a matter of me not liking psychedelic rock.
Vanilla Fudge's version of 'You Keep Me Hanging On' is another one I like.
Jimi , Noel and John "Mitch" used to play All Along The Watch Tower repeatedly on Archies Juke Box it was their favorite tune and possibly the only thing they ever agreed on.
The first time I heard AATWT was in 1969 I had just read Kings in Darkness by Michael Moorcock, the song always reminds me of a sword and sorcery story.
Great lesson! I agree 100% with your statement about what make this a great cover song. Too many musicians want to replicate the original artist and resist any suggestions otherwise. When you detach yourself from the rules, you find freedom to be creative. It actually makes it easier because you aren't bound by what has already been done before.
The intro to this made me really wish for an I Will Always Love You video
This song is sheer genius. I have been playing it for 40 years in various bands. I am not THE Steve Morse by the way. Good point about trying to find a way out feeling trap. Nice analysis about the fills… what a pleasure to revel in analyzing great music when waking up. Thanks for taking the time to get into this song in such depth. The g and a minor sound essential to me and I think were done on purpose. For me the main thrust of the lyrics is anti materialism and cynicism about the degeneration of traditional values and the purity of a bygone era. Well done to get in a reference to nietschés brillant quote about the abyss staring back into you.
I like to think that Dylan's version represents the thief and how he has given up on trying to escape the kingdom in search for a better life, instead opting to take the easy way and, well, steal. This however only serves to increase his guilt and make him unable to live life peacefully, as seen by the ever lasting constant movement that the original version has.
Meanwhile the joker knows that there really isn't much left for them if they stay. As seen by his obsession with trying to get out. However he is after all a jester, a fool, an insignificant little loon that can easily be brushed off to the side for being a joke, as seen in the lines of "business men drink my wine" and all that. Suggesting that the joker may think he holds more power than he actually has. Moreover, I think is important to go back to what you said on the video: "Dylan's version (in this case, the thief) wants a way out, whereas Jimmy NEEDS one"
My interpretation is that the joker feels paranoid that something bad (maybe there's rumors of a war amongst the kingdom) is going to happen if they do not act, not considering their lack of power, and hence, lack of choice in the whole situation. This is why the princess "keeps her view" as she is just as worried about the whole situation as everyone else, but she doesn't wants to let her kingdom know as to not start a panic. None the less everyone is already figuring it out (hence why they're "all along the watchtower").
In Jimmy's version we actually get a taste of the joker's growing anxiety in the form of the fast paced rhythm of the song, however in both versions the thief dismisses him, thinking of him as nothing but foolish, and instead opting to stay on the kingdom that now servers as a jail. Notice how his version has an harmonica on it, almost as you would expect from a prisoner waiting for their sentence. But that is just my interpretation. Also sorry if I messed up; English is my second language.
So this song is heavily featured in later seasons of Battlestar Galactica. I always wondered why, and now i know. There is a motif in the show of repeating cycles, and this song's major motif is a repeating cycle in the background. Thank you for helping me understand that.
I like to think of the chord motion in this as a soldier patrolling his watch tower. Back and forth and back and forth and back and forth until the breaks.
Hendrix never wanted to say “ this song is mine now” nor did he ever flaunt that attitude. He admired Dylan and put his own touch on it, period, You’re making a mountain (or video) out of a molehill. It’s a great song played by 2 different musicians during a great time in music history,
Making mountains out of mole hills is what rock and roll is all about, but I agree that this guy thought more about the story and tactics than Jimi did while making it. I read they spent way more time on the mix than laying the tracks.
I always thought music theory was dry academic navel-gazing until I stumbled onto videos like these on TH-cam. Props for bringing this craft to life in a meaningful way.
I didn't even know about the other songs.
Thanks and outstanding analysis, these guys were geniuses.
Its not a delay pedal, but a maestro echoplex tape echo. And the acoustic 6 string is played by hendrix together with dave Mason playing the 12 string. It’s explained by audio engineer/producer eddie kramer on a youtube video.
Wow. Illuminates things I didn't even know needed light shed on them. Brilliant 3D multi-level musical, literary, and production analysis -- and entertaining as well.