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Listen to All Things Must Pass at 50 featuring interviews with Olivia Harrison, Michael Palin, Jools Holland and more on BBC Radio 4 today at 8pm GMT - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000pljn. The programme will also be available for streaming shortly after broadcast.

Join us this week for Episode #233 (a.k.a. Quarantine Series Segment 33) of Saturday Morning with HowieZowie! The Secret Word is: From Whence Our Rocks Came I...t's time for another space rock show - this time around we will be featuring intergalactic tuneage from Frank Zappa, Dweezil Zappa, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Max Webster, Thundermug, Voivod, David Bowie and The Amboy Dukes. Plus brand new music from Prism Tape Philosophy! We are dedicating this episode to longtime friend of the show David Aubin who tirelessly aids in harvesting of material for our show. Don't miss the excitement, thrills, spills, chills and other sundry shenanigans. Entertainment, Information and Irreverent Reverence are always guaranteed! Your Big Bowl of Saturday Morning Goodness broadcasts on 94.9 CHRW Radio Western in London, Ontario Saturdays 9:30am - 11:30am EST/streaming live @ radiowestern.ca Also: https://onlineradiobox.com/ca/chrw/ https://tunein.com/radio/CHRW-Radio-Western-s302058/

Prism Tape Philosophy - "Alien Species" debuting at #5! https://youtu.be/-lPrQQLHczI

ON THIS DATE (45 YEARS AGO) November 17, 1975 Tommy Bolin: Teaser is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4.5/5 # Allmusic 4.5/5... Teaser is the debut album from Tommy Bolin, released on November 17, 1975. It reached #96 on the Billboard 200 Top LP’s chart. It was released in conjunction with the album Come Taste the Band by Deep Purple, on which Bolin also played guitar. Upon its release on November 17, 1975, Teaser received considerable praise from critics. Unfortunately, due to Bolin’s obligations with Deep Purple he was unable to promote the album with a solo tour and sales were affected as a result. This album is cherished by fans for the broad range of styles in Bolin’s playing. The material spans hard rock, jazz, reggae, and Latin music, often blending these styles together within a single song. It is also considered by many to be some of Bolin’s greatest recordings in his short career. __________ THE STORY After leaving the James Gang at the end of August 1974 Tommy returned to Colorado to attempt forming a band which included Mike Finnigan on vocals and keyboards and Stanley Sheldon on bass. The project folded after three weeks. Tommy and Stanley then began to commute back and forth from Colorado to Los Angeles in search of opportunities. By the end of December they had both moved permanently to LA, played sessions with Dr. John (the Night Tripper), and Tommy had completed performances on the outstanding Mind Transplant album by famous jazz drummer Alphonse Mouzon During the first months of 1975, Tommy would jam and record demos at Philip Polimeni’s Glen Holly studio in LA (site of the October 6 rehearsal for Mind Transplant), with Stanley Sheldon on bass and Bobby Berge on drums, both of whom had played with Tommy in Energy. Among the other musicians who have been reported to play there with Tommy are Ricky Fataar (drums), Joey Carbone (keys) and Ronnie Barron (keys). Bobby Berge has also stated that the drum set at Glen Holly belonged to an English drummer named Pete, who would also sometimes play with Tommy. In 2002 the Tommy Bolin Archives released two CDs, Tommy Bolin: After Hours The Glen Holly Jams Vol. I and Tommy Bolin: Naked II, which compiled remastered versions of some of that material, including demos for The Grind and Lotus. Besides the work at Glen Holly, Tommy was also playing and recording at Brothers Studio in Santa Monica with Stanley Sheldon and Ricky Fataar. He also had become acquainted with the Beach Boys, who legend has it advised him to do the vocals himself and helped him with some vocal coaching. Stanley Sheldon has stated that Carl Wilson was there, but only as an observer. Atlantic offered him a solo album deal, which Tommy planned as having one side of vocal songs and one side instrumentals. The project was shelved when Atlantic demanded that they would choose the producer. Tommy then signed for personal management by M.F. Bullet, a Chuck Morris/Barry Fey collaboration. Morris and Fey had both known Tommy well during his time in Colorado as far back as American Standard. The demos Tommy had been working on paid off, and Nat Weiss, head of Nemporer Records and a friend of Fey, signed him to a contract in April 1975. Tommy’s initial idea was to do the album with Mike Finnigan on vocals, Jan Hammer on keyboards, Stanley Sheldon on bass and Lenny White on drums. Finnigan and White ended up not appearing on the album, instead, Tommy relied on Sheldon and Hammer for much of the album, and had an extensive lineup of friends join him on different tracks. Teaser was recorded at The Record Plant in Los Angeles, CA in July 1975 with additional recording at Electric Lady Studios in New York (September), and Trident Studios in London (October). It was engineered by Lee Kiefer with Davey Moore and Michael Bronstein and was mixed at Trident Studios in London by Dennis MacKay. Production credits went to Tommy Bolin and Lee Kiefer except for People People and Marching Powder, which were produced, Dennis MacKay. Those two tracks were done late to fill out the album out better and required Tommy and Dennis to travel back to Electric Lady to record the material. MacKay would go on to co-produce Private Eyes with Tommy in 1976. Bobby Berge, who played with Tommy in Zephyr as well as Energy, was on the sessions that produced Lotus, and states that he also played drums on The Grind, which was credited on the album cover to Jeff Porcaro. At the time Bobby was also playing on another project at The Record Plant, and relates, I was doing sessions with Buddy Miles at the same time that I was recording with Tommy for Teaser. I’d play a track or two in Studio B with Buddy and literally run down to Studio A and get going on some drum tracks for ‘The Grind’ and ‘Lotus.’ It was exciting and quite a surprise to also get to do an unexpected late night jam with a couple Bad Company guys and Robert Plant! Stanley Sheldon had joined Peter Frampton’s band around three months after he and Tommy moved to LA, and like Berge was working on two albums at once. Work on Teaser had moved from LA to Electric Lady Studios in New York where Sheldon was working on Frampton Comes Alive, and he would dash back and forth between that and sessions on Teaser. Keyboardist Jan Hammer played on the Teaser sessions in Electric Lady Studios, where he had previously played with Tommy in a Jeremy Steig session in 1971, and again on the sessions for Billy Cobham’s groundbreaking Spectrum in 1973. Hammer relates that he ended up playing drums on People, People because drummer Narada Michael Walden was stuck in traffic. Walden’s drums were set up with microphones and Jan wanted to play, so off they went with the tape rolling and got a great take. Tubes drummer Prairie Prince, who played on Savannah Woman and Wild Dogs, had first met Tommy in Phoenix when his band Red, White, and Blues opened a show for Zephyr and Jethro Tull. Prairie was very impressed with Zephyr and Tommy’s playing in particular and invited Tommy to a generator-powered jam in the desert where they played with wild enthusiasm through the rest of the night until sunrise. Genesis drummer Phil Collins played percussion on Savannah Woman after the sessions had moved to Trident Studios in London. David Foster played keyboards on The Grind, Homeward Strut and the gorgeous Dreamer. Foster is a huge talent in the music industry, working as producer, arranger, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and eventually a vice-president at Atlantic. Ace session drummer Jeff Porcaro, who would go on to form Toto in 1977, played on Homeward Strut, Dreamer and Teaser. He is also listed on the album cover as having played on The Grind, but Bobby Berge reports that he played drums on that track and the cover credits are incorrect. Work on the album was interrupted in June when Tommy was invited to join Deep Purple after the departure of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Though intending to put all of his efforts into a solo career, Tommy could not refuse a chance at playing with one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Tommy’s contract with Deep Purple allowed him to complete Teaser, which ended up coming out at the same time as Deep Purple’s Come Taste the Band. Teaser was released with a sticker on the cover highlighting that Tommy was the guitarist for Deep Purple. Upon its release in 1975, Teaser was hailed by critics as a great album. A number of tracks were getting played on FM radio, and Tommy’s name was getting even better known, but Tommy’s touring efforts for the next year were on behalf of Deep Purple, and Teaser’s sales numbers were affected. Tommy would have to make up ground with his solo career after Deep Purple broke up in March 1976. Deep Purple bassist Glen Hughes became close with Tommy quickly, and helped out on the album by singing the last part of Dreamer. Due to contractual obligations, Glen was never credited. It is also sometimes reported that Purple keyboardist Jon Lord also played on the album somewhere. To many Tommy fans, Teaser represents his greatest recording achievement. It still sounds fresh 30 years on, a remarkable feat. The material spanned hard rock, jazz, reggae and Latin music on one cohesive whole that provides an irresistible listen from end to end. Copyright 2005 John Herdt. (Tommy Bolin Archives) __________ INTERVIEW Tommy Bolin Is a Rock Guitar Hero At Age 24 By David Fricke The Drummer January 13, 1976 (The Drummer was a local underground weekly newspaper in Philadelphia) What 1976 needs is not another Bicentennial gimmick or, for that matter, the Bay City Rollers. What this year needs is something to get the music scene up off its complacent ass. Like a real gut-crazy, gen-you-wine rock ‘n’ roll guitar hero. Not one of those ’69 legends, mind you, like Alvin Lee or somebody already high atop some million dollar throne i.e. Jimmy Page. We’re talkin’ grass roots here somebody those doped-out stadium gangs can relate to by banging imaginary Stratocasters until they bleed feedback and simply wishing they could be up on that stage trading in fantasy for reality. A real guitar hero. And Tommy Bolin is as close and as talented as we’re going to get this year. All of 24 years old, he already sports a rock ‘n’ roll resume as long as your arm and twice as impressive. What’s more, he’s got the chops to back it up. Which is why Tommy Bolin is now burning up coliseum crowds as the new lead guitarist for Deep Purple (at the Spectrum, incidentally, this Sunday) After apprenticeship gigs with Zephyr, the finally deceased James Gang and a one album-only stint with jazzer Billy Cobham, the amazingly photogenic (cute might be a better word) guitarist has also been certified solo with a new LP entitled Teaser on Nat Weiss’ Nemperor label. But Bolin digs every minute of it. He’s as into his own phenomenon as the kids in the front row. I remember one time I played the Spectrum in Philadelphia with the James Gang, with Johnny Winter, I think. It’s like there’s 19,000 people out there and when you get in front of that many people, it’s just a great thrill. Especially if they like you. If they don’t, they go and throw things like sparklers. What’s a real drag is when they throw stuff just for something to do. I just came back from a Eurasian tour with Deep Purple and we played a show in Melbourne, Australia where this guy up front was getting off by throwing marbles at the stage He kept doing it and ducking back so we couldn’t see him. Finally, I saw the cat and just took my bottleneck and threw it at him. Hit him right in the head. You get really scared up there with that kind of thing. You’re always afraid some guy’s really gonna nail you. And you don’t know where it’s coming from. Battling it out on stage is one thing. Getting there is quite another. Bolin’s formal musical training goes back to the pubescent years when he was busy tackling drums, guitar, and keyboards before finally deciding on guitar and striking out with a long-defunct Denver outfit called Zephyr. Learning to play all those instruments was a big help for me in learning how to feel and phrase things musically. Playing the drums also showed me how important rhythm sections are to the sound. For me, if it doesn’t rock, it doesn’t motivate. With that kind of background, I can really appreciate how great it is to play with Ian Paice and Glenn Hughes (drummer and bass guitarist respectively with Deep Purple). Bolin’s first contact with Deep Purple was through a very simple phone call. About a year ago, the guitarist had split from the James Gang after two moderately successful albums and decided to just cool out awhile. He worked on putting together a band, did the Spectrum album with Billy Cobham (rave reviews on that one), and signed his solo contract. Previous to the call, Bolin had never even heard a Deep Purple album. The albums I buy are mainly jazz or Brazilian-type music. Not very much rock, really. When you play it all day, you want to come home and hear something different. Actually, what happened with Purple was that after Ritchie Blackmore left, they gave me a call. I had just signed with Nemperor a week before they called, so I told them about my solo thing, but they said it was okay, just come down and jam. At the time, I was very positive on my solo trip, but I went down anyway. And after the first couple of tunes, I thought these guys can play very funky. They’re very much behind the rhythm. They just blew me away. That was it. Funny thing was I didn’t want to be in an English band. Most of the ones I’d heard were very structured, some of them practically telling the same jokes on stage each night. But Deep Purple works around a skeleton structure, basically arrangement lines. You do the basic song and whatever happens during the solo, happens. One night is Australia, we even did Waltzing Matilda in the middle of one number. Incredible response, too. It’s a very comfortable situation. Before, I got the impression it was really Ritchie Blackmore’s band. Glenn Hughes wasn’t even allowed on his side of the stage. But now it feels more like a band. And I can go and get my cookies off whenever I want to. Bolin did exactly that with Teaser, an impressive solo debut which brings together a few of the kid’s playing friends as well as saxophonist Dave Sanborn, Tubes drummer Prairie Prince and ex-Mahavishnu keyboardist Jan Hammer. What makes Teaser so impressive even on first listening is Bolin’s firm and knowledgeable grasp of style. Three successive tracks (Dreamer, Savannah Woman and the title number) each go their own way from a slow ballad to a slightly Latinized jumper to a heavy-handed cooker. But they all retain a distinctive sound, well thought out and not overly produced. The things Bolin has left out are just as important to the final mix as what went in. And it shows favorably. On top of that, he submits way-above-average material, both on Teaser and the new Purple album Come Taste the Band. It seems Bolin had already written an overabundance of things for his solo trip, so when Purple called he just touched down with these extras and if they liked it, fine. If not, no love lost. I had all these tunes that were right for my album, but they needed a more raucous-type voice. Some of them were too difficult for me to sing. So I presented them to the group and we did the ones they liked. David Coverdale wrote the lyrics for most of them Good numbers, too. Deep Purple’s whole sound benefits from Bolin’s fresh musical blood and consequently Come Taste the Band easily stands up as the band’s best since Machine Head. You have signature rockers like Coming Home, something a bit funkier in Lady Luck and even score experimentally with Ode to G. ‘Ode to G’ I wrote as a kind of an ode to George Gershwin. I wanted to write an instrumental, something with a sleazy stripper feel. So I worked it out with Jon Lord and Glenn, who had written This Time Around. Turns out the two just naturally fit together and that’s how we did it on the album. Bolin admits to an over-enthusiasm when it comes to his stint with Purple. Recording and touring with a group credited with sales of well over 12 million units worldwide is quite some gig. But coming on as a rock ‘n’ roll hero isn’t quite as easy despite his reputation and the kid also admits to a lot of luck in that category. Sure, it’s a lot of luck. Especially when I find I can sit down and talk to some very heavy guitar players. I jam a lot with Larry Coryell and he teaches me a lot of stuff. When I was doing Teaser, John McLaughlin came down to listen. It’s really a good feeling to know that a couple of great guitarists care enough to come down and listen to what the hell I’m doing. And I can dig what the kids are into. I remember when I really wanted to be on stage, be one of the Hullabaloos, Gene Pitney, anybody. I wanted to be a rock star, too. But I don’t look at it that way now. My albums are doing very well, but I’m still in the process of learning like everybody else. Guitar hero? If I am, then it’s a real beautiful idea. But it’s only beautiful if somebody else thinks that I am. That’s something you can’t do all by yourself. 1976 and 2018 David Fricke. All rights reserved. __________ REVIEW by Rob Caldwell, allmusic After performing in a variety of bands since the late ’60s, Bolin finally released his first solo album in 1975. Teaser is an impressive display of the guitarist’s prowess and range and is a natural progression from the previous Bolin-dominated James Gang albums Bang and Miami and his work with drummer Billy Cobham. The album features heavy doses of jazz-rock fusion (furthered by guests Jan Hammer, Dave Sanborn, and Michael Walden) in the instrumentals Homeward Strut and Marching Powder, and straight-ahead rock in tracks like The Grind. Bolin was always equally adept at subtleties, and the ballad Dreamer and the exotic Savannah Woman (with percussion from Phil Collins) represent this stylistic range here. Overshadowed historically by his guitar dynamics, Bolin’s understated yet strong vocals are another selling point. Teaser is a stronger album than its one successor, the uneven Private Eyes, and survives as Bolin’s signature work. TRACKS: Side one The Grind (Bolin/Cook/Sheldon/Tesar) 3:29 Homeward Strut (Bolin) 3:57 Dreamer (Cook) 5:09 Savannah Woman (Bolin/Cook) 2:47 Teaser (Bolin/Cook) 4:26 Side two People, People (Bolin) 4:56 Marching Powder (Bolin) 4:14 Wild Dogs (Bolin/Tesar) 4:40 Lotus (Bolin/Tesar) 3:57 #TommyBolin

40 years ago today, on Nov. 17, 1980, John Lennon released his final album, "Double Fantasy" along with his wife Yoko Ono. It is the seventh and final studio al...bum released by Lennon in his lifetime. At first the LP was not received very well, but 3 weeks later, when John was murdered it became a worldwide commercial success, and went on to win the 1981 Album of the Year at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards. Happy Birthday to "Double Fantasy"!! RIP John. (PS. For the next few weeks The College of Rock and Roll Knowledge will be adding this on to all of our posts. With the Holiday season rapidly coming upon us, we would like to invite you to visit our 'store' where we have a number of different t-shirts, hoodies and kids (including babies) items for the perfect Holiday gift. Please click on the 'Shop Now' button on the right side of our home page. Thanks)

When the Ontario government allowed stores to reopen with mandatory mask requirements, our store insisted upon customers wearing gloves (which we provided for free, along with free masks). This was out of an abundance of caution, for the well-being of both customers and staff. It seemed a wise precaution. We have dropped that requirement, and now require only the use of hand sanitizer, which we supply. We wish to extend thanks to our customers for their willingness to abide by store policy, and for their continuing support for the store. Let's keep each other healthy.

ON THIS DATE (47 YEARS AGO) October 17, 1973 - Montrose: Montrose is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 5/5 (MUST-HAVE!) # Allmusic 4/5 stars # Rolling Stone (s...ee original review below) Montrose is the self-titled debut album by the band Montrose, released on October 17, 1973. It reached #133 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart. After having done sessions work for various musicians including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock and Edgar Winter, this was Ronnie Montrose's first record leading his own band. It featured then little known Sammy Hagar (then known as Sam Hagar) on vocals. While considered a classic by many hard rock fans, tracks from the album have received scant airplay on the radio with "Bad Motor Scooter" being the only possible exception. It has been said that Warner Bros. Records did not know how to market Montrose, the band or album and already had Deep Purple and the Doobie Brothers to cover the hard rock genre. Montrose eventually went under as a result. But the album has undergone a renaissance since then, eventually going platinum and some critics have gone as far as to label it the "first American heavy metal album". Van Halen (which Hagar would eventually join) had used this album as a blueprint for their own debut (which Templeman also produced) and there are some similarities in the sound of the Montrose album to early Van Halen. Ronnie Montrose mainly used a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Bandmaster and a Big Muff to record the Montrose album. Eddie Van Halen himself considered Ronnie Montrose to be an influence and "Make It Last" was covered by Van Halen in their early club concerts and is available on Van Halen bootlegs, and "Rock Candy" was rehearsed during the sessions for Van Halen's debut album. There are at least two, slightly different, versions of the Montrose album cover. Also, the tracks are in a different order on different copies, again with at least two versions. ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW Ex-Edgar Winter guitarist Ronnie Montrose's new power trio (plus singer) is a potentially scorching outfit. Montrose is the star and plays Jeff Beck-oriented music, with nods to other great leads. His performances have not yet reached the height of his sources, but he uses his talent to best possible advantage throughout. For example, "Rock the Nation" is a solid slice of Johnny Winter's style, done with Top Ten possibilities; "Space Station No. 5" combines Hendrix and the Led Zeppelin of "Communication Breakdown"; "Rock Candy" combines both Zeppelin and Beck's Beck-Ola style. And yet, for all its derivativeness, the band wraps the music up in a convincingly entertaining package. With Stray Dog and the fiery new Kiss, they prove there's no lack of rookie talent in this year's heavy-metal sweepstakes. ~ Gordon Fletcher (April 11, 1974) TRACKS: Side one "Rock the Nation" (Ronnie Montrose) - 3:03 "Bad Motor Scooter" (Sammy Hagar)- 3:41 "Space Station #5" (Hagar, Montrose) - 5:18 "I Don't Want It" (Hagar, Montrose)- 2:58 Side two "Good Rockin' Tonight" (Roy Brown) - 2:59 "Rock Candy" (Carmassi, Church, Hagar, Montrose)- 5:05 "One Thing on My Mind" (Hagar, Montrose, Sanchez) - 3:41 "Make It Last" (Hagar) - 5:31

The idiot bastard son: (THE FATHER'S A NAZI IN CONGRESS TODAY . . . THE MOTHER'S A HOOKER SOMEWHERE IN L.A.)

Half an Hour until Episode #229 (a.k.a. Quarantine Series Segment 29) of Saturday Morning with HowieZowie! The Secret Word is: "It's Alive! - A Tale of Two Fran...ks" As promised, we will be celebrating Zappa's favourite holiday by featuring highlights from the three recent Halloween boxsets. We start this week with Chicago '73 and will end up on Halloween proper (and Quarantine Series Segment 31) with the just released NYC '81. This week we will fulfill our Canadian content requirements by pairing one live Frank with another era-appropriate one - Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush. Don't miss the excitement, thrills, spills, chills and other sundry shenanigans. Entertainment, Information and Irreverent Reverence are always guaranteed! Your Big Bowl of Saturday Morning Goodness broadcasts on 94.9 CHRW Radio Western in London, Ontario Saturdays 9:30am - 11:30am EST/streaming live @ radiowestern.ca Also: https://onlineradiobox.com/ca/chrw/ https://tunein.com/radio/CHRW-Radio-Western-s302058/

ON THIS DATE (52 YEARS AGO) October 16, 1968 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 5/5 (MUST-HAVE!) # Allmusic ...5/5 stars # Rolling Stone (see original review below) Electric Ladyland is the third and final album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released on October 16, 1968 in the US (October 25 in the UK). It topped the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart for two weeks in November, 1968. __________ TRACK BY TRACK AND THE GODS MADE LOVE Jimi called 1967 the end of the beginning and he kept that phrase as a working title for Electric Ladyland during the eddy months of 1968. On June 28 he joined an all-star lineup in New York for the Martin Luther King Memorial Fund Soul Together benefit concert. The next day at the Record Plant Jimi recorded something that was different to what we’ve ever done before. He named it At Last The Beginning and explained, It’s like when the Gods made love, typifying what happens when the Gods make love, or whatever they spend their time on. Soon he changed the name of his creation to And The Gods Made Love and told the press, You’re really going to be disappointed when you hear our first track on our new LP, because it starts with a 90-second sound painting of the heavens. I know it’s the thing people will jump on to criticize so we’re putting it right at the beginning to get it over with. And The Gods Made Love is to Electric Ladyland what EXP is to Axis, but much more refined. If the half-speed, backward vocal track is reversed and sped up, Jimi is heard saying OK, one more time. I love different sounds as long as they’re related to what we’re trying to say, he said, or if they touch me in any way. I don’t like them to be gimmicky or different just for the sake of being different. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN (To Electric Ladyland) In 1967 Jimi said, I just wish I could sing really nice, I know I can’t sing. I just feel the words out. I try all night to hit a pretty note, but it’s hard. I’m more of an entertainer and performer than a singer. A year later The Experience performed their only 1968 British TV gig (The Dusty Springfield Show) as Robert Kennedy was gunned down in America. Jimi returned to New York on June 7. Later that week Mitch and Noel flew to Majorca for a vacation while Jimi and Jeff Beck made a benefit appearance to raise funds for New York’s Reality House Rehabilitation Center. The next day, Flagday June 14, Jimi recorded Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland), a song he’d sketched out during the Axis sessions eight months earlier. Noel flew back to New York and added some bass lines, but as he later recalled, I think Hendrix took it off and put the bass on himself. We weren’t really working well together at that point. Kramer added phasing to Mitch’s drum track, but when Jimi heard this song played back he declared, I can sing! I can sing! Eye magazine called it the most memorable song on the album a beautiful and haunting ballad reminiscent of The Impressions. It’s the best singing Jimi has ever done. CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC The final Experience tour of Britain ended on December 5. Only one more gig was scheduled for 1967, the Dec. 22 Christmas On Earth show in London. On Dec. 19 Jimi was filmed playing Hear My Train A Comin’ on a 12-string acoustic. Then on Dec. 20 he joined Mitch and Noel at Olympic to begin Crosstown Traffic. The next day, after an interview with Linda Eastman, Jimi returned to work on Crosstown until the Christmas On Earth spectacular intervened. Crosstown Traffic’s basic tracks were produced by Chas and engineered by Eddie. Later in New York, when Jimi became the LP producer, Gary Kellgren engineered overdubs and mixes for Crosstown. I was playin’ piano on it, added Jimi (Eddie showed him the chords), and then we sang the background. Dave Mason sang backing vocals with me and Mitch, recalls Noel. Jimi harmonized his guitar with a kazoo and sang through a Pulteo filter. While Electric Ladyland topped the American charts in November 1968, Crosstown Traffic was released as a single b/w Gypsy Eyes. Both songs were studio creations never documented at a Hendrix concert. The single spent 8 weeks on the charts, reaching #52. In April ‘69 it came out in Britain and reached #37. You’ll have a whole planned-out LP, complained Jimi, and all of a sudden they’ll make Crosstown Traffic a single, and that’s coming out of a whole other set. See, that LP was in certain ways of thinking; planned in order for certain reasons. And then it’s almost like a sin for them to take out something in the middle and make it a single because they think they’ll get more money. They always take out the wrong ones. You find yourself almost running away. People, they don’t give me inspiration except bad inspiration, to write songs like Crosstown Traffic, ‘cause that’s the way they put themselves in front of me, the way they present themselves. VOODOO CHILE In the April 4 issue of Rolling Stone Jim Miller called Axis the finest Voodoo album that any rock group has produced. It was around the time of Miller’s review that Jimi transformed Catfish Blues into Voodoo Chile. Noel remembers, I came in the studio and there’s like 30 people in the booth when we’re trying to work, and I said, ‘Can I sit down? I’m just the bass player.’ You couldn’t even move, it was a party, not a session. On May 2 I took it out on Jimi, letting him know what I thought of the scene. I told him to get all the people out. He just said, ‘Relax man.’ I had a big go at him and I walked out in front of all those people (laughs). Out in the corridor were all these musicians waiting to be given a chance to play, recalls Steve Winwood. Jimi came out and said, ‘Hi, come in.’ We just walked in and hung out, said Jack Casady. I had no idea that I would end up on record. I heard that there was a little problem with Noel, things were a little cold Noel was sitting in an adjacent vocal booth with a few other friends on the floor, hanging out. There was a Hammond B3 organ. I had my Guild Star bass. Jimi suggested we play a blues. There were no chord sheets, no nothing, said Winwood. He just started playing. It was a one-take job, with him singing and playing at the same time. I watched him work, said Larry Coryell, he was working on vocal and guitar overdubs for House Burning Down, and that same night he also jammed with Traffic’s Steve Winwood, with Steve at the organ. The result was that long blues thing called Voodoo Chile. The stream of energy just went back and forth between them. I wanted to get in there and play with Jimi, but he was saying it all, another guitarist would have been in his way. It’s satisfying, working this way, explained Jimi. I’d start with just a few notes scribbled on some paper and then we get to the studio and a melody is worked out and lots of guys all kick in little sounds of their own. Maybe, if you listen real close, you’ll recognize some of the guys working behind. If you do, you’d better keep quiet about it because they’re contracted to other companies. We all got to play with as many different kinds of musicians as possible, noted Mitch, it was always encouraged. The usual thing was that late in the evening we’d go down to the Scene and then go ‘round to the studio, which was only a couple of blocks away. We block-booked the studio through the night and Hendrix would turn up with endless streams of people. We don’t know what we’re going to do at the studio half the time, laughed Jimi, it’s just contact between the people sometimes, we just play by feeling. The second take of Voodoo Chile may have gone on the album if Jimi didn’t break a string. But then the final take was supernatural. We finished around 8 in the morning and left, recalls Casady. No one had any idea it was gonna end up on the album We did the crowd noises later about 20 people Jimi said that this was a great live take we sat around the mike and made comments, as if it was a party. We just opened the studio up and all our friends came down, explained Jimi, like from after jam sessions. We wanted to jam somewhere, so we just went to the studio, the best place to jam (laughs), and brought about fifty of our friends along. The crowd soundtrack was likely added on May 8, but as Mitch points out, People like to make out that we were all playing together in the Scene, and it was, ‘Hey, let’s take this down to the studio’. It wasn’t really like that. Nice story though. The final mix was finished on June 10. Jimi’s Voodoo blues masterpiece was set to define his legend more than any other single Hendrix recording. Around the southern United States they have scenes goin’ on workin’ roots, said Jimi, like there’s different things they can do, they can put something in your food, or put some little hair in your shoe. Voodoo stuff. I saw it. If I see it happen or if I feel it happen then I believe it, not necessarily if I just hear it talked about. You think that sort of thing is rubbish ‘till it happens to you, then it’s scary. Things like witchcraft, which is a form of exploration and imagination, have been banned by the establishment and called evil. It’s because people are frightened to find out the full power of the mind. When Electric Ladyland came out Disc & Music Echo named Jimi World Top Musician and pointed out he is the first major rock musician to put the idea of the all-star jam session into concrete form on record. Eye called Voodoo Chile One of the strongest blues efforts to date This boy has got the goods. LITTLE MISS STRANGE Noel has a beginning track on one of the sides, said Jimi, a song called Little Miss Strange, this English rock type thing, a good song. Him and Mitch are singing. I wrote it in New York, reports Noel. I’ve still got the bit of paper it’s on from some hotel called the Lincoln Center Inn. The band's massive 63-shows-in-66-days American tour ended in White Plains on April 6. Jimi hung out in New York until the first Record Plant session began on April 18. The next day recording was interrupted by a stray Friday night gig upstate in Troy. The band was due to resume taping on Saturday, but Jimi didn’t show. No one was there, explains Noel. ‘Where’s Hendrix? Don't know’. Lay around, sit about. I used to take those opportunities to lay down my stuff. When Jimi finally showed up Little Miss Strange was well underway. I was basically producing, claims Noel. I put the whole lot down with Mitchell. I used a little black Gibson with two knobs, it’s an acoustic electric, which I bought in New York. Three more days were spent finishing the basic tracks. Overdubs and mixes were done on April 25 and 26, and continued on April 28 and 29. Hendrix came in and played guitar, recalls Noel. He was very nice about it, making sure I was there when he overdubbed and checking that I approved of his contribution. I did, and I was very pleased with the results. Finally on May 5 Noel recorded another bass track and finished the mix. Everyone said it was nice and everyone enjoyed it, he concluded, so therefore it went on the album. LONG HOT SUMMER NIGHT Jimi’s second American tour ended in early April 1968 just two days after Martin Luther King died. On April 7 Jimi was filmed jamming at a tribute to King in the Village at the Generation club. He returned to that club several times in April to jam with players like B.B. King, Paul Butterfield, Roy Buchanan and Al Kooper. I met him in the Village when he was going by the name of Jimmy James, said Kooper. I’d see him from time to time in neighbourhood bars, and then we started playing together a lot in jam sessions at clubs like the Generation, which Jimi later bought and turned into Electric Lady Studios. It was mostly for fun. In an interview with Life on April 17 Jimi said, Black people probably talk about us like dogs, until we play, I see some of them on the street, they say, ‘I see you got those two white boys with you.’ I try to explain to them about all this new music. I play them some records. I might play them some of what we do. Sometimes they still think we’re crazy. A day later Long Hot Summer Night was recorded during the first Experience session at the Record Plant. Jimi had sketched out the tune months earlier in London, but Gary Kellgren was the engineer for the 7 p.m. session on April 18. Jimi invited Al Kooper, the keyboardist on Dylan’s hit single Like A Rolling Stone. I got to the studio early, recalls Kooper. He had a bunch of guitars on stands all lined up, all strung lefty. I picked one up. I’d never played a lefty guitar before. So Jimi comes by while I’m fooling around with this black Strat. He sees me playing and says, ‘What do you think of that guitar?’ And I say, ‘I dunno, it’s great.’ And he says, ‘You want that guitar?’ And I say, ‘Give me a break.’ He laughs and says, ‘Hey, man, I want you to have that guitar.’ And I say, ‘No way. Forget it. I’m not gonna take away your ax.’ I think Long Hot Summer Night is one which Hendrix overdubbed bass on, Noel recalls. That’s probably one of the times when I was walking in and getting uptight and leaving (laughs). So we did the session, continues Kooper. It was always great fun to jam with Jimi. I’d switch off, play some guitar, some keyboard. He was a great rhythm player, a very unselfish accompanist in a jam situation, aside from being an amazing soloist. And the next day that black guitar arrives at my house by messenger! I mean, that’s how the cat was. Very generous. Besides being God on guitar, he really was a nice person. On May 8 Jimi recorded more tracks for Summer Night, but the tune wasn’t finished until summer. Returning from a trip to Majorca on July 25, Jimi ran into Jerry Lee Lewis at JFK airport. Lewis refused to shake Jimi’s non-white hand. The next day Long Hot Summer Night was mixed once more. Asked if he’d jammed with Al Kooper, Jimi replied, He’s going to be on one of our songs, but his piano is almost drowned out. It just happened that way so the piano is there to be felt and not to be heard. Long Hot Summer Night was paired with All Along the Watchtower and released as a British single on Oct. 18, at which time Jimi said, I don’t even know what’s the B-side to All Along The Watchtower! COME ON Speaking of Jimi, Larry Coryell said, Both of us had our roots in music that was provincial and local to the Seattle area in the late 50s and early 60s. I remember I suggested that Jimi play Come On by Earl King, because I thought it would fit him, though I'm certainly not trying to take credit for his using it. On Monday, August 26 five days of anti-Vietnam riots kicked off at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. That night in Bridgeport Chas was thrown in jail for asking a stadium manager to dim the lights. The next day Jimi went to the Record Plant and sang Let The Good Times Roll over a dozen times. It was Tuesday August 27. Linda Eastman brought her recently snapped Experience shots to the studio so Jimi could make selections for the album. He was in the middle of conducting its final session. The band was recorded live as they carved out one amazing take of Come On after another to cover New Orleans bluesman Earl King’s only hit record. Come On was among the earliest songs in Jimi’s repertoire from way back in Seattle, but as Noel recalls, He said ‘it’s in E’ and we just recorded it. We worked from a format of knowing the basic chords, get a rough tempo, and agree on the break positions. After that we would run through a couple of times to get the feel and get our individual contributions sorted out. But each take they tried had some minor stumble or under-formed passage that forced Jimi to try again. Along the way he picked up snatches of ideas from one version and developed them within the next. Without the luxury of overdubs, all three musicians had to walk perfectly across the tightrope until one collective take rose in perfection above the rest. It happened on take #11. Eleven! gasped Noel. If you’re professional, if you rehearse before you go into the studio, you get it in the second or third take. When Hendrix decided to fiddle about, I started leaving the sessions, because recording is boring, very tedious. Of the 11 takes of Come On, only 5 are of full-blown length. Jimi picked #11 for the album. A critic called the R&B results a most invigorating specimen in the hybrid of progressive rock. GYPSY EYES Gypsy Eyes is to Electric Ladyland what Wait Until Tomorrow was to Axis, namely, the one stickler that Jimi labored to perfect more than the rest. Gypsy Eyes began as a demo in London, then basic tracks were made at the Record Plant on April 24. Five days later Jimi tried Gypsy Eyes during the session for Little Miss Strange, and then again on May 1 during a session for House Burning Down. Prior to leaving for the Miami Pop Festival on May 17 he devoted another session to Gypsy, only to come back one month later and continue. With 12 tracks, wrote Noel, Jimi and Chas got carried away. Jimi was entranced by new electronic effects as well as complicated overdubbing, and the lovely simplicity of our earlier recordings got lost. Chas told the press, Jimi will go through a number 1000 times to make sure each note is dead on, that it holds as long as necessary to get the full impact. Jimi’s self-indulgence of re-recording endless basic takes, conceded Mitch, Chas couldn’t handle it, and neither could Noel. Probably more than any other single effort, frustration over Gypsy Eyes was a last straw. I’d say ‘Done! Take three, that’s it,’ said Chas, but he’d want to go on to take 50. It just drove me mad. I said, ‘I’ve had it, I’m off!’ He threw in the towel and left Jimi to produce the album himself. Soon thereafter Chas sold off his interest in The Experience. But the images in Gypsy Eyes concern Jimi’s mother, Lucille, who’d passed away a decade earlier after years of marital woes with Jimi’s dad. Possibly Jimi’s trouble getting an acceptable take of the song was based in old wounds that Gypsy Eyes opened. Then finally on August 27 he returned to it once more. After the band got through a marathon Come On session, they recessed to a Chinese restaurant at 1 a.m. and then returned to the studio. Speeding and coked up, wrote Noel, we worked from the early evening until ten the next morning. We blew the next day as a result. Gypsy Eyes became the last track to be readied for the album. Asked if he played the bass, Noel replied, No. I told Jimi he was being silly to try to do so much at once writer, producer, singer, guitarist, arranger but he took no notice. Some dreams I had when I was real little, Jimi once described, like my mother was being carried away on these camels she’s sayin’, ‘Well, I won’t be seein’ you too much any more’ I said, ‘Where’re you going?’ about two years after that she died. I always will remember that. I walk down this road searchin’ for your love and my soul too. When I find ya I ain’t gonna let go On Nov. 18, 1968, while Electric Ladyland was the #1 album in the U.S., Gypsy Eyes came out as an American single on the flip-side of Crosstown Traffic. Six months later the single was released in England. I see nothing but Gypsy people on the road, Jimi said. You say, ‘Why do you call yourself that? Why don’t you get a strong name?’ You have to give ‘em a name that they know, we have to relate. Gypsy is America today, the new and the live America. BURNING OF THE MIDNIGHT LAMP I really don’t care what our records do as far as chart-wise, stated Jimi. We had this one that only made #11, it’s named Burning Of The Midnight Lamp, which everybody around here hated, they said that was the worst record. But to me that was the best one we ever made. Not as far as recording, ‘cause the recording technique was really bad, you couldn’t hear the words so good, probably that’s what it was. Maybe it’s a little murky in there, a bit smoky, but it’s the kind of disc you put down and go back to. I like it, claims Noel. I like the different chords and the bass lines. Chas was producing so he obviously liked it. Gary Kellgren was the engineer. On August 19, 1967, Burning Of The Midnight Lamp b/w Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice was issued in Britain. The single reached only #18 in the national charts. The charts, continues Jimi, that’s a bad scene. A lot of nice records get abused through the charts. They throw them up to the top and then they come right back straight down. It might have been a nice record and nobody will remember it two weeks from now. That was the song I liked the best of all we did. I’m glad it didn’t get big and get thrown around. It’s a different record. Like I do one thing and they say ‘That’s great!’ I say, ‘Well how ‘bout this then?’ and they say, ‘Yeah, that’s a number one!’ So I do something else I guess something has to come apart somewhere. I think it’s a very groovy record and if you don’t like it, then turn it over. That’s a very nice ditty on the other side. The Beatles had pioneered the use of harpsichord in rock music when they recorded Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds at the end of February 1967. Jimi had become acquainted with The Beatles by this time. His inspiration to create his own harpsichord opus may have come from John Lennon’s studio experiments with Lucy. I can’t play no piano or harpsichord, Jimi said, but anyway, I just picked out these different little notes and just started from there. It just came to me. Like we was recordin’ and every time we had intermission, a rest or something like that, then I’d play this little tune on the harpsichord. Electric harpsichord, adds Noel. So we decided to record it after about six months (laughs) of messin’ around with it. Recording for Midnight Lamp began in July, about ‘six months’ after Jimi would have known about Lennon’s work with harpsichord. Jimi may have begun his own keyboard experiments that winter during JHE intermissions, but the lyrics for Midnight Lamp were composed on July 3 when he left the West Coast following Monterey. I wrote part of the song on a plane between LA and New York and finished it in the studio,' he said. I was feeling kind of down, right then when I wrote Midnight Lamp. On July 5 The Experience appeared before 18,000 people in Central Park. The next day, while waiting to begin their tour as support group for The Monkees, Jimi, Mitch, and Noel went into Mayfair Studios from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and laid down basic tracks for Burning Of The Midnight Lamp. On July 7 Jimi went to see The Mothers Of Invention in the Village. I think I was one of the first people to use the wah-wah pedal, recalls Frank Zappa. Jimi came over and sat in with us at the Garrick Theater that night and was using all the stuff we had on stage. Jimi returned to Mayfair Studios that day for more recording, possibly overdubbing his harpsichord theme with the new wah-wah effect. It starts off very quite until we get into it, he told one journalist. When asked about his lyric loneliness is such a drag, Jimi replied, That’s what it is really sometimes, and he described the wah-wah as that loneliness and that frustration and the yearning. Like something is reaching out. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp was his first release to feature wah-wah. When The Experience quit The Monkees’ tour they returned to New York and recorded the single’s B-side. Mixing and final touches for Midnight Lamp were done on July 20, including the harmony vocals by The Sweet Inspirations, Aretha Franklin’s backing singers. They put that on afterwards, recalls Noel. I’d done me bass bit, I layed down and went to sleep in the studio. One of the Beach Boys noted the tune’s interesting Wagnarian climax. I’d like to do another version of Burning Of The Midnight Lamp, Jimi said when his tune came out as a single. I like that song but I don’t think people really understood it. Maybe they will when we do it on the LP. There are some very personal things in there. You don’t mean for the lyrics to be personal all the time, but it is. You go into different moods and when you write your mood comes through. So you can go back and listen to your records and know how you were feeling then and how your moods change at different times. Our songs are like a personal diary. But I think everyone can understand the feeling when you’re traveling that no matter what your address there is no place you can call home, the feeling of a man in a little old house in the middle of a desert where he’s burning the midnight lamp. RAINY DAY, DREAM AWAY Rainy Day, Dream Away was written in Miami, remembers Eddie. The bloody show was rained out, it was a torrential rainstorm. I was in the back of the car, we were pulling away from Gulf Stream Park and I remember in the back of the car he started to write it right there. The JHE were on their way to Italy and Zurich before a TV show in Britain. The band flew back to New York on June 7. The next night at the Fillmore East Jimi sat in with Buddy Miles and The Electric Flag. Buddy Miles is someone I like talking music with, he said. What you can do in America, especially in New York, is meet up with guys and just go out and jam somewhere. The club scene is so informal, you just go in, wait your turn, and get up there and blow. After the Saturday night Fillmore jam, Jimi invited Buddy to a Monday June 10 session at the Record Plant. He introduced Buddy to Eddie Kramer. I watched those two guys work, recalls Buddy. Jimi really felt he had an ally in Eddie, because he would always listen to his ideas. Nothing was more important to Jimi than his music and Eddie was always pushing him. You can’t just get stock up on the guitar, Jimi said, you have to use a little bit of imagination and break away. There’s millions of other kinds of instruments. There’s horns, guitars, everything. Music is getting better and better, music has to go places. We’ll squeeze as much as we really feel out of a three-piece group, but things happen naturally. I had a R&B band called The Serfs, with Larry Faucette and Freddie Smith, said Mike Finnigan. We lived in Kansas. We’d been playing every night for years and we were making an album in the Record Plant. Tom Wilson was producing the record and Jimi happened to come by. Tom introduced us. Jimi listened for a while and said, ‘This is perfect, these guys will understand what I’m trying to do with this tune.’ He had the germ of an idea, but didn’t sing any lyrics when we recorded. We just jammed a little bit and started rolling tape. Linda Eastman was there, just hanging around with a camera. The atmosphere was very serious and cool. The only instruction Jimi gave was, ‘We’re just gonna shuffle in D, real mellow with one change, very laid back.’ That’s what Buddy Miles was good at, way back on the beat. He was the perfect drummer for that track. Buddy was like raw power when he played, he could drive you out of the room! Rainy Day was created on the spot. I played organ bass, foot pedals, a Jimmy Smith shuffle approach. Jimi said, ‘You be like Jimmy Smith and I’ll be Kenny Burrell {laughs), that’s what I’m looking for.’ He used this small 30-watt Fender Showman amp. A couple of ideas happened while we were just jamming, like the ending, we were just looking at each other. The stops and breaks were cued by him. It wasn’t something that was discussed.. We played maybe an hour tops, I think the third take was the take that made the record. Jimi’s wah-wah stuff wasn’t done when we cut the track, that was overdubbed. I was surprised at how spontaneous he was. You might be by yourself writing something, Jimi said, and come across some words and just lay back and dig the words, see how that makes you feel. And you might take it to rehearsal and get it together with music, see how the music feels. Or sometimes the group is jamming and you might run across something nice. You keep runnin’ across that, then you start shoutin’ out anything that comes to your mind, whatever the music turns you on to. If it’s heavy music, you start singin’ things. Jimi sang about a Rainy Day as the deluge submerges beneath an aqua fantasy. 1983 (A MERMAN I SHOULD TURN TO BE) When Hendrix missed his recording session following a Friday night gig in Troy, Noel zipped into the Plant to do Little Miss Strange. Jimi got there to record 1983 and found Noel’s new song in progress. They finished Little Miss that weekend and on Tuesday April 23 work began on 1983. When we cut this track, recalls Eddie, it was a magical time, a culminating point in Jimi’s musical career. One interesting thing about it, the seagull effects are not really seagulls, it’s Jimi with his earphones feeding back into the microphone. He just cupped them over the mike and got this squeal and said, ‘Boy that sounds nice.’ I put some delay on it and wha-la! Seagulls! He had a fantastic mind for color and space and timing, his timing was immaculate.' In 1983 he uses what he called the ‘Martian dinner-bell effect, Paul Caruso said of Jimi’s African flexotone. It’s a bent strip of metal and a ball, and it strikes itself. The whooping crescendos of Jimi’s sigh-in-the-sky floral and fauna fantasy expand the sound painting concept heard earlier on Third Stone and If 6 Was 9. But 1983 has more in common with 19th Century progamatic music, where orchestral effects mimic the sounds of nature. Now and then I like to break away and do a bit of classical blues, Jimi said. I’d like to get into more symphonic things, so kids can respect the old music, traditional, like classics. I’d like to mix that in with so-called rock today. I want to get into what you’d call ‘pieces,’ behind each other to make movements. 1983 is his classically composed piece, confirming as it does to the structural requirements of a sonata-rondo, 1983’s A B A C A B A code layout is a textbook example of the seven-part rondo. And the reconciliation between the B and A sections, with returning G-harmony and Bolero rhythms, allows for a sonata form interpretation as well. Jimi played the intricate bass lines for 1983. There were some things where it was faster to work just Jimi and myself, explains Mitch. Some were cut guitar and drums, some just bass and drums. Jimi and I mixed that entire side of the record in one go, states Kramer, the whole thing as a concept, all the way through with no stops for about 14 hours. All the panning, the phase, the special effects, we rehearsed numerous times, but we didn’t want to make any edits in it, it was a flow of ideas, like a performance, and we mixed it together. He would grab his vocals and some of his guitar effects and I would do the drums and his other guitar effects and generally hold on to the whole thing so it didn’t fall apart. And we’d be flying around the board like lost flies, it was wonderful, it was a creation of a piece of music in addition to what had already been recorded. A unique experience. A lot of songs are fantasy type songs, Jimi said, so people think you don’t know what you’re talking about, but it all depends on what the track before and after might have been. You might tell them something kinda hard but you don’t want to be a completely hard character in their minds ‘cause there’s other sides of you that sometimes leak on records too, that’s when the fantasy songs come in. Like for instance 1983, that’s not necessarily completely hiding away from it like some people might do, with certain drugs and so forth. MOON, TURN THE TIDES (Gently Gently Away) The marathon mixing session for 1983, including his Moon Turn The Tides coda, began on June 10 following the Rainy Day session. I used to watch him create the lyrics in the studio, said Eddie. He had stacks of papers and books and backs of envelopes and napkins that he’d keep in a huge folder and then when it would come time to put the vocal on he’d blend four or five different ideas together and write them out there and then and go in the studio and sing. The machine that we built would never save us, that’s what they say In Electric Gypsy Harry Shapiro likened the lyrics to Noah scorned by onlookers as he prepares for Armageddon. Jimi’s writings are rife with sin & atonement scenes of mythic catastrophe: The second stone from our star has been busy getting ready for the time to communicate with Earth to try and warn the people of Earth of potential self destruction which is completely against the will and grace of living we must prepare for the amazement in how the truth shall be presented. Nature shows more than anything and it does get pretty amazing. What’s sometimes more amazing is how people miss the warnings of tidal waves, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc. I know inside they pretend to miss the message STILL RAINING, STILL DREAMING The fadeout of Rainy Day, Dream Away returns with Jimi’s talking solo overdub on Still Raining, Still Dreaming. The wah-wah pedal is taken to irrational lengths, concluded Melody Maker. The Rainy Day session produced the first Hendrix LP cut with no Mitchell/Redding involvement. Noel reacted badly to the idea of guest musicians, observed Mitch, whereas we loved it. Sometimes I get to meet other musicians and we kinda exchange notes, admitted Jimi. It’s going to get like the jazz scene where you see an album by Barney Kesell & his friends. These cats are trying to produce real music. They are jamming together and to hell with the imagery thing. It’s like making love to one another musically, like painting a picture together. No hang-ups. This has been happening in the jazz scene for years now. A star, a soloist, gathers some guys around and they groove together. Maybe the group only exists for that one album, maybe they go on for a year or so together, but they don’t stretch it out once it’s started losing the sheer exuberance of jamming together. You change your style and it’s only natural that you should get some new jamming guys round you. I wouldn’t want to play with anyone too long. HOUSE BURNING DOWN I watched him work on vocal and guitar overdubs for House Burning Down, said Larry Coryell. The basic tracks were already down. It was amazing to watch him work, he had a couple of Marshalls stacked up. I remember on that cut Jimi used his Strat and his wah-wah. He practiced with his wah-wah, he was the first guy who got serious with it, it wasn’t a gimmick. House Burning Down was another song that was sketched out in London after the Axis sessions. On May 1 Jimi cut the basic tracks at the Record Plant. We rehearsed it, recalls Noel, but I didn’t play bass on that one. More overdubs were recorded on May 3 and May 5, including the lengthy phasing process for Jimi’s guitar. On some records you hear all this clash and bang and fanciness, he said, but all we’re doing is laying down the guitar tracks and then we echo here and there, but we’re not adding false electronic things. We use the same thing anyone else would, but we use it with imagination and common sense. Like House Burning Down, we made the guitar sound like it was on fire, it’s constantly changing dimensions, and up on top that lead guitar is cutting through everything. The JHE resumed their American tour on July 30. They reached New York for a climatic appearance at the Singer Bowl on Aug. 23 as news of a Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia swept the headlines. That night Jimi and Eddie returned to the studio and finished mixing the most political Hendrix song to date. I want to release a special out for the R&B stations, said Jimi. I want to release House Burning Down. ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER During a verbal exchange between Noel and gay fans, Jimi lost his temper in a Swedish hotel on Jan. 4, 1968. While smashing furniture he gashed his fretting hand and required stitches. When the tour ended, Jimi and Chas remained in Sweden to appear in court and pay fines. They returned to London on Jan. 17. Two days later Jimi, Kathy Etchingham and Brian Jones joined The Beatles in their Apple office party for a group called Grapefruit. There Jimi was invited to participate the next day in a session being produced by Paul McCartney for his brother Mike McGear. It was either during the McGear session, or at a party which followed with Dave Mason and Viv Prince, that Jimi heard Dylan’s new John Wesley Harding album for the first time. As All Along The Watchtower played, Jimi declared, We gotta record that! I gotta do that! Bob Dylan was his greatest inspiration, explains Kathy. He held him in awe, and I persuaded him to do Watchtower. I talked him into it. He wanted to do I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine, which is on the same album, but he felt that it was just too personal, that it was Dylan’s own song and that he couldn’t encroach on it. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate Dylan should read the words of his songs, advised Jimi, they’re poetry, full of the joys and tragedies of life. I’m like Bob Dylan. Neither of us sings in the accepted sense. We just be ourselves. Sometimes I do a Dylan song and it seems to fit me so right that I figure maybe I wrote it. I felt like Watchtower was something I’d written but could never get together. I often feel like that about Dylan. I could never write the kinds of words he does, but he’s helped me out in trying to write ‘cause I’ve got a thousand songs that will never be finished; I just lay around and write about two or three words, but now I have a little more confidence in trying to finish one. On Sunday, Jan. 21, Kathy, Brian Jones, and Linda Keith accompanied The Experience to Olympic for their mission. Chas produced the session. I didn’t play bass, confirms Noel, I left again. I told Hendrix to fuck off. The fracas in Sweden worsened their souring relationship, and Jimi’s gashed hand still hadn’t healed. While I’m playing I don’t think about it, he said, I forget everything, even the pain. Noel had got pissed off and was across the road in the pub, recalls Mitch, but the track didn’t suffer. Dave Mason filled in for Noel and added guitar as well. Dave played acoustic guitar on it, said Eddie, which was kind of unusual. Jimi kept screaming at him, ‘Get it right’, because he couldn’t remember the changes. And it took a while to cut the track, but it was never finished in England, it was taken to the States and then we overdubbed. It started as a four-track and then ended up in the States as a twelve-track tape, after being transferred, so by the time it actually got finished it went through quite a few stages. At one point a clumsy piano track was even tried. When Watchtower was transferred at the Record Plant that spring Jimi overdubbed Mason’s bass tracks with his own. Jimi was a fine bass player, noted Mitch, one of the best, very Motown-style. He was a very busy bass player All Along The Watchtower is a classic example of Hendrix’s bass-playing he just had that touch. We mixed from an Ampex MM1000 sixteen-track down to a two-track Scully machine running at 15 ips, remembers Toni Bongiovi. In the transfer process, the tape got lost and we ended up doing more than 15 different mixes. Hendrix would stop the tape and start re-overdubbing stuff. Recording these new ideas meant that he would have to erase something. In the weeks prior to the mixing he would overdub the bass and guitar parts until he was satisfied. He’d say ‘I think I hear it a bit differently.’ Eddie describes how during recording Jimi would pop his head around the corner and say, ‘Was that alright? Are you sure?’ I’d say, ‘Yeah Jimi, that’s great’. He’d say, ‘Well I’m gonna do another one,’ and we’d keep doing tracks and each one would be better than the next one and he would never think that what he did was good enough and you’re sitting there with six or seven masterful guitar tracks, five or six great vocal tracks. I mean it’s very hard to pick for that guy. He was very stimulating to work with. Watchtower, mused Bob Dylan, it probably came to me during a thunder and lightning storm. I’m sure it did. I liked Jimi Hendrix’s record of this and ever since he died I’ve been doing it the same way. The meaning of the song didn’t change like when some artists do other artist’s songs. Strange though how when I sing it I always feel like it’s a tribute to him in some kind of way. In All Along The Watchtower Dylan said it so groovy, reciprocated Jimi. I like to get into really good lyrics. After recording Watchtower and listening to it then you hear, only through somebody else’s words, what you wanted to say. It’s our own arrangement though; we just used this solo guitar as different types of sounds. Like we used it as slide and then a wah-wah and then it’d be out straight. Jimi set the Strat across his lap and ran the back of his lighter across the strings to get the slide effect. So he did Watchtower, continues Kathy, and he didn’t do anything with it for ages while he was thinking about it. He didn’t dare release it, because it was a ‘Bob Dylan’ song. But I played it to everybody and it used to drive him mad. George Harrison told me to turn it off, because it was great, it’s one of the best things Jimi ever did as far as being himself was concerned. He came right out of himself when he did Watchtower and he enjoyed it. Jimi was in Denver writing his Letter To The Room Full Of Mirrors on Sept. 2 when All Along The Watchtower was released b/w Burning Of The Midnight Lamp. The single entered American charts on Sept. 21 at #66. It spent 9 weeks on the charts, reaching only #20. Watchtower scored the highest chart position of any Hendrix single in America. A month later on Oct. 18 it came out in England b/w Long Hot Summer Night. British fans pushed it up to #5 when one critic described Watchtower as orgasmic, spluttering, aching, as if the entire fabric of the world is being tom apart. It’s a good feeling to know that someone is digging you everywhere you go, Jimi said. So many people have dug the one thing you’ve just laid down and it’s being played everywhere. But I never know what’s going to be released. My record company just takes something off an album and issues it. We’ve never really based ourselves on singles. Watchtower was the first single I had as a hit in America and yet we were pulling huge audiences before it. VOODOO CHILD (Slight Return) With Voodoo Child (Slight Return), explains Jimi, somebody was filming when we started doing that. We did that about three times because they wanted to film us in the studio. ‘Make like you’re recording, boys’, so, ‘OK, let’s play this in E, a-one a-two and a-three’ and then we went into Voodoo Child. For 16 days in May ‘68 an ABC-TV film crew followed The Experience to stage and studio. Shooting began at the Record Plant on May 3. I’d left the session, Noel said of his May 2 confrontation with Jimi over loads of spectators. I returned the next day because the session was being filmed. I remember we were working and all these people turned up. We’d started and they arrived and were saying, ‘We’re gonna start filming’ and we just ignored them anyway (laughs). They were probably there for about an hour and we played away and they recorded it. The footage begins with scenes of a groupie sketching Jimi as he records Voodoo Child. The scene cuts to the control room where Eddie tells an interviewer, Jimi’s music is here to stay. Jimi is easy to work with, imaginative and quick. He appeals to 12-16 age teeny-boppers and the 20 and up older age group as well. Michael Jeffery and Chas were also interviewed while Jimi was filmed writing lyrics for his song. We played the same number all day, claims Noel, it’s in my diary, ‘Played the same song all day’ (laughs). Voodoo-thing, it’s only in E anyway and there’s a C somewhere, so like you don’t even have to think about the music. Recorded live in the studio The Experience plowed through 13 takes, with only 5 getting as far as the solo. Jimi sculpts and tailors the song-form on the spot while the tape rolls. For the 7th take he switches on the wah-wah for the first time and begins to strum. Each version sprouts new ideas and effects, the best of which Jimi snowballs into the next attempt, like a surfer in search of that one ecstatic wave. Music is in a spiritual thing of its own, he observed, it’s like the waves of the ocean. You can’t just cut out the perfect wave and take it home with you. It’s constantly moving all the time. Voodoo Child came in waves, and when the perfect one washed up with the eighth take, Jimi cut it out for his fans to take home. A week later the JHE played the Fillmore East. The ABC crew then traveled with them to their Miami Pop concerts on May 18. Filming ended the next day with more interviews. Five years later all of the footage was stolen from ABC archives. After the marathon mixing of Rainy Day and 1983 on June 10, Jimi and Eddie added some maracas to Voodoo Child and mixed in some final effects. I added on maybe two more things, said Jimi, sometimes we pan the echo, what you call pan the echo. That’s when you need twelve tracks; you can put the echo on a track on its own, and then for little different effects. You don’t always use up twelve tracks, which will make it sound bigger if you don’t, quite naturally. But Mitch remembers how on the night they recorded Voodoo Child a call comes through from Joe Tex asking Jimi to come down and play at the Town Hall Jimi says to me, ‘Hey, come on have a play with Joe Tex!’ What he hadn’t told me or maybe didn’t know was that it was some kind of Black Power benefit. I’m the only white person there out of about 4,000 people. Jimi’s chortling away sort of, ‘Ho-ho, got the sucker now’ The drums were set up out front, it was like, ‘OK sonny, let’s see what you can do!’ I did the best I could and it was OK. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. They may have done (Slight Return) that night, but the earliest known stage tape comes from a May ‘68 show in Zurich. Voodoo Child is the new American Anthem, Jimi used to say, the self-assurance song, not coming from us to you, but coming from the next world too. A song about a cat singin’ he’s gonna chop down a mountain with the sides of the hand, just building himself up, there’s nothin’ wrong with that at all. It’s a very straight rock type thing, very simple, very funky, our own little funk theme, dedicated to all the people who can actually feel and think for themselves, and feel free for themselves, and dedicated to our friends from West Africa. __________ COVER Hendrix had written to Reprise describing what he wanted for the cover art, but was mostly ignored. He expressly asked for a color photo by Linda Eastman of the group sitting with children on a sculpture from Alice in Wonderland in Central Park, and drew a picture of it for reference. The company instead used a blurred red and yellow photo of his head, taken by Karl Ferris. Track Records used its art department, which produced a cover image by photographer David Montgomery, who also shot the inside cover portrait of Hendrix, depicting nineteen nude women lounging in front of a black background. Hendrix expressed displeasure and embarrassment with this "naked lady" cover, much as he was displeased with the Axis: Bold As Love cover which he found disrespectful. __________ ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW Being a bit fed up with music as "reactive noise" ("God man, the world's a drag, let's play loud and drown it out"), I was sort of set not to dig this LP, but I had to. Hendrix is a good musician and his science fiction concepts surmount noise. There isn't really a concept (no Sgt. Pepper trips here)instead there's a unity, an energy flow. The LP opens with an electronic track using tape loops and phasing (think of "Itchy Coo Park" by the Small Faces for an example of phasing) called "And the Gods Made Love." Hendrix said in an interview, "We knew this was the track that most people will jump on to criticize, so I put it first to get it over with." The "I" in that sentence is trueHendrix produced and directed these sides himself. Following is "Electric Ladyland," a fairytale trip that serves as introduction to the rest on the LP; "I want to show you the angels spread their wings." Next is "Crosstown Traffic," a stomp under with a heavy beat. "90 miles an hour is the speed I drive, girl," sings Hendrix as he compares the woman with a traffic jam"It's so hard to get through you." Then a live cut, which sounds as though it was recorded late at night in a small club, at one of the jamming sessions Hendrix is known for. It features Stevie Winwood on organ and Jack Casady on bass, and is called "Voodoo Chile." It begins with a very John Lee Hooker-like guitar intro, and keeps a blues feeling all the way through, although Hendrix's lyrics ("My arrows are made of desire/From as far away as Jupiter's sulphur mines") are a far cry from "Rolling Stone" (the Muddy Waters song that's an ancestor to this track, as well as a lot of other things). After some feedback screech, a listener says "Turn that damn guitar down!" and the track ends with Hendrix and a chick discovering that the bar in the club is closed. "The bar is closed?" she says unbelievingly. But yes it is. Side B opens with a song by bassist Noel Redding, "Little Miss Strange," probably the most commercial of the numbers included. Basically hard rock, the best thing about it is some nice unison guitar lines, probably an overdub, unless Hendrix has grown another couple of arms. "Long Hot Summer Night" is next, a song set in the "Visions Of Johanna" scene, although Hendrix has a way out"my baby's coming to rescue me." An Earl King number, "Come On," follows. Mostly rock/soul, the guitar break in the middle is one of the nicest things Hendrix has done. "Gypsy Eyes" begins with a drum thumping, a simple bass line and a compelling guitar line, it's a light groovy tune that really sticks to your synapses. (If it was possible to hum or whistle Hendrix, this would be the tune you'd most likely do.) The side ends with "Burning of the Midnight Lamp," which was Hendrix's last single in England, released a year ago this summer. It's a freaky ballad, with particularly nothing lyrics and on the whole a drag ... it goes nowhere. Side C is the sea or water side. It opens with "Rainy Day, Dream Away," using a small group that includes Buddy Miles from the Flag on drums. In it Hendrix does a lot to restore the grooviness of rainy days, previously much maligned in many songs. This fades to "1983: A Merman I Should Be" (a merman is a mermaid's mate, of course). Hendrix's vision of the future shows a world torn by war, on the verge of destruction as he and his lady go for a walk by the sea, and dream of living in the water. With tape loops, melancholy guitar and the flute of Chris Wood (also from Traffic) Hendrix structures a beautiful undersea mood only to destroy it with some heavy handed guitar. My first reaction was, why did he have to do that? Then I thought that he created a beautiful thing, but lost faith it , and so destroyed it before anybody else couldin several ways, a bummer. Another electronic track, "Moon Turn the Tides Gently Gently Away," heals some of the rent in your head, and the side ends peacefully. Side D opens with a continuation of "Still Raining, Still Dreaming," only heavier and funkiermaybe just a bit too much so (iron raindrops hurt, man.) "House Burning Down" could be taken as Hendrix's first socially conscious statement, but it ends in typical Hendrix fashion; "an eerie man from space ... come down and take the dead away." Then comes the new single, Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower"in many ways one of the most interesting cuts here. On Hendrix's original numbers, it's sometimes hard to see the structure at first; the rhythm starts and stops, the changes are a bit hard to follow sometimes. But here, if you listen to the rhythm guitar track, and keep the original song in your mind, you can see the way Hendrix overlays his beautifully freaky sound on the already established framework of the song. He is true to its mood and really illustrates the line "the wind began to howl." Last is "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," done this time with his usual backup men in a studio cut, heavier and more driving. In other words, an extended look into Hendrix's head, and mostly it seems to have some pretty good things in it (who among us is totally free of mental garbage?) A few random thoughts to sum up; Hendrix is the Robert Johnson of the Sixties, and really the first cat to ever totally play electric guitar. Remember, he used the wah-wah pedal before "Brave Ulysses," and he's still the boss. And it's nice to see that he is confident enough so he can play some blues againI'd like to hear more. Hendrix, psychedelic superspade??? Or just a damn good musician/producer? Depends on whether you want to believe the image or your ears. (And if you wanna flow, dig this on earphones, and watch the guitar swoop back and forth through your head.) Hendrix is amazing, and I hope he gets to the moon first. If he keeps up the way he's going here, he will. ~ Tony Glover (November 9, 1968) TRACKS: All songs written by Jimi Hendrix except where noted. Side one 1. "...And the Gods Made Love" - 1:21 2. "Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)" - 2:11 3. "Crosstown Traffic" - 2:25 4. "Voodoo Chile" - 15:00 Side two 1. "Little Miss Strange" (Noel Redding) - 2:52 2. "Long Hot Summer Night" - 3:27 3. "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" (Earl King) - 4:09 4. "Gypsy Eyes" - 3:43 5. "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" - 3:39 Side three 1. "Rainy Day, Dream Away" - 3:42 2. "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" - 13:39 3. "Moon, Turn the Tides...Gently Gently Away" (instr.) - 1:02 Side four 1. "Still Raining, Still Dreaming" - 4:25 2. "House Burning Down" - 4:33 3. "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan) - 4:01 4. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" - 5:12

OCTOBER 1965 (55 YEARS AGO) The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 5/5 # Allmusic 5/5 stars... The Paul Butterfield Blues Band is the debut album by Paul Butterfield, released in October, 1965. It reached #123 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's chart. In 2003, the album was ranked #476 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and #11 on Down Beat magazine's list of the top 50 blues albums. The '60s Blues Revival begins here. Calling this album influential is an understatement akin to calling the Grand Canyon a rut; suffice to say that an entire generation of musicians (mostly young and white) heard this and had their lives changed forever. In fact, for at least a year after the album's release in 1965, it was impossible to walk down the hall of any college dorm in America without hearing one of the songs here echoing from somebody's room. With a style honed in the gritty blues bars of Chicago's south side, the Butterfield Blues Band was instrumental in bringing the sound of authentic Chicago blues to a young white audience in the mid-'60s, and although the band wasn't a particularly huge commercial success, its influence has been enduring and pervasive. The band was formed when singer and harmonica player Paul Butterfield met guitarist and fellow University of Chicago student Elvin Bishop in the early '60s. Bonding over a love of the blues, the pair managed to hijack Howlin' Wolf's rhythm section (bassist Jerome Arnold and drummer Sam Lay) and began gigging in the city's blues houses, where they were spotted in 1964 by producer Paul Rothchild, who quickly had them signed to Elektra Records. Guitar whiz Mike Bloomfield joined the band just before they entered the studio to record their debut album (and in time to be on-stage with the group when they backed up Bob Dylan at his infamous electric set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival). Organist and pianist Mark Naftalin also came on board during the sessions for the self-titled The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. In late 1964, a friend of Elektra house producer Paul Rothchild told him that the "best band in the world was on stage at a blues bar in Chicago." Rothchild took a plane to Chicago to see the Butterfield quartet, and later the same night went to a different club and saw guitarist Mike Bloomfield with a different band. According to Rothchild, it was at his impetus that Paul Butterfield hired Bloomfield as his second guitar alongside Elvin Bishop. The Butterfield rhythm section of Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay had been hired away from Howlin' Wolf. Sessions were arranged for December, 1964, but these were abandoned for live recordings from the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City after the band's appearance at the Newport Folk Festival. Upon hearing the live tapes, Rothchild still remained dissatisfied, and the band went into the studio in September of 1965 in an attempt to record the album for the third time. The guitar solos were all played by Bloomfield, Bishop relegated to rhythm guitar. Keyboardist Mark Naftalin was drafted in at the September sessions and asked to join the band by Butterfield, expanding it to a sextet. Heard today, the thing still packs a wallop. Butterfield's harmonica and vocals are utterly idiomatic, without a hint of minstrelsy. Michael Bloomfield's lead guitar is stinging and eloquent, and the rhythm section, on loan from Howling Wolf, swings like mad. The only fly in the ointment is the fairly primitive production, which often makes Mark Naftalin's keyboards sound like a horde of angry bees, but that's a small criticism in the face of blues playing as passionate and accomplished as this. A genuine classic. REVIEW by Mike DeGagne, allmusic Even after his death, Paul Butterfield's music didn't receive the accolades that were so deserved. Outputting styles adopted from Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters among other blues greats, Butterfield became one of the first white singers to rekindle blues music through the course of the mid-'60s. His debut album, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, saw him teaming up with guitarists Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield, with Jerome Arnold on bass, Sam Lay on drums, and Mark Naftalin playing organ. The result was a wonderfully messy and boisterous display of American-styled blues, with intensity and pure passion derived from every bent note. In front of all these instruments is Butterfield's harmonica, beautifully dictating a mood and a genuine feel that is no longer existent, even in today's blues music. Each song captures the essence of Chicago blues in a different way, from the back-alley feel of "Born in Chicago" to the melting ease of Willie Dixon's "Mellow Down Easy" to the authentic devotion that emanates from Bishop and Butterfield's "Our Love Is Drifting." "Shake Your Money Maker," "Blues With a Feeling," and "I Got My Mojo Working" (with Lay on vocals) are all equally moving pieces performed with a raw adoration for blues music. Best of all, the music that pours from this album is unfiltered...blared, clamored, and let loose, like blues music is supposed to be released. A year later, 1966's East West carried on with the same type of brash blues sound partnered with a jazzier feel, giving greater to attention to Bishop's and Bloomfield's instrumental talents. TRACKS: Side one 1 Born in Chicago (Nick Gravenites) - 2:55 2 Shake Your Moneymaker (Elmore James) - 2:27 3 Blues with a Feeling (Walter Jacobs) - 4:20 4 Thank You Mr. Poobah (Bloomfield, Butterfield, Naftalin)-4:05 5 Got My Mojo Working (Muddy Waters) - 3:30 6 Mellow Down Easy (Willie Dixon) - 2:48 Side two 1 Screamin' (Mike Bloomfield) - 4:30 2 Our Love Is Drifting (Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop) - 3:25 3 Mystery Train (Junior Parker, Sam Phillips) - 2:45 4 Last Night (Walter Jacobs) - 4:15 5 Look Over Yonders Wall (James Clark) - 2:23

51 years ago today In The Court Of The Crimson King was released. You can read all about the making of the album and its legacy here... https://www.dgmlive.com//51%20years%20old%20today%20In%20T

"Hot Rats" released #OnThisDay in 1969. The album is Frank Zappa's second solo album (after Lumpy Gravy) and his first recording project after the dissolution o...f the original Mothers of Invention. In his original sleeve notes Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears". This was the first Frank Zappa album recorded on 16-track equipment and one of the first albums to use this technology. The woman pictured on the cover emerging from an empty swimming pool on Errol Flynn's former estate in the Hollywood Hills, is the late Christine Frka, aka Miss Christine of The GTOs. This is Official FZ Release #8. What's your favorite track from Hot Rats? http://bit.ly/2yWcxug Tracklisting: 1. Peaches En Regalia 3:39 2. Willie The Pimp 9:23 3. Son Of Mr. Green Genes 8:57 4. Little Umbrellas 3:09 5. The Gumbo Variation 12:54 6. It Must Be A Camel 5:17

Half an hour until Episode #228 (a.k.a. Quarantine Series Segment 28) of Saturday Morning with HowieZowie! Due to a snafu at the station, last week's show didn'...t air - so we will be replaying it this week... The Secret Word is: "Your Canadian Passport Back in Tyme (Part One)" Set the WABAC machine to the 60s and have your your papers ready, it was happening up north just like south of the border and I will be your conductor as we roll along the same tracks as the Festival Express into the 70s with a soundtrack of Canadian artists from far and wide (including London's very own Nihilist Spasm Band and Grant Smith & the Power). Don't miss the excitement, thrills, spills, chills and other sundry shenanigans. Entertainment, Information and Irreverent Reverence are always guaranteed! Your Big Bowl of Saturday Morning Goodness broadcasts on 94.9 CHRW Radio Western in London, Ontario Saturdays 9:30am - 11:30am EST/streaming live @ radiowestern.ca Also: https://onlineradiobox.com/ca/chrw/ https://tunein.com/radio/CHRW-Radio-Western-s302058/