YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 74 (Cream vs. The Experience)
(Originally finalized on May 5, 2024)
Preface: The last song from the last theme gave us a little foreshadowing for this week's theme, which is a question that has been stewing in my mind ever since I watched The Dreamers - a Bertolucci film from 2003, about an American student boarding with a brother and sister living together in Paris in 1968, during a period of civil unrest. In one scene, two characters debate the artistic merits of Clapton vs. Hendrix. The European recites the mantra, "Clapton is God", to which the American replies, "I don't believe in God, but if I did, he would be a black, left-handed guitarist." I'm inclined to agree, but let's give them a fair fight, shall we?
One argument I've heard in defense of Clapton (who I like, but do find to be overrated), is that, due to Hendrix's untimely death, our perception of Clapton's accomplishments has been watered down by a lifetime of ups and downs. I don't find this argument to be very convincing - more time means more opportunities to excel, and how amazing was Hendrix that he recorded so much brilliance in just a few short years? But I'll accept that match-up - pitting Clapton's peak material (which many consider to be his work with the band Cream), against Hendrix's output with the Experience. They were both blues-based acid rock power trios from the late '60s, so it seems appropriate. I'll even waive my usual reluctance to repeat songs that have been featured on previous (or future?) themes, so that both bands can be presented at their best.
Monday: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe [originally released as a single, 1966]
Comments: Later included on the US edition of The Jimi Hendrix Experience's debut album, this was the band's first single, and a song that Jimi liked to play even before his fateful trip to London. A cover of a song with a splintered past (official credits usually go to Billy Roberts), many bands were offering their interpretation of it, including David Crosby with The Byrds, who played it at the Monterey Pop Festival where Jimi Hendrix debuted in America. Upon consideration, the lyrics are indeed problematic, but Jimi's rendition of the melody is positively hypnotic.
Tuesday: Cream - I Feel Free [Fresh Cream, 1966]
Comments: Itself an early single that only made it to an album on the US edition of the band's debut (apparently, picking track listings was a bit like playing musical chairs in the 1960s...), I Feel Free is a song that marches out of the gate, announcing the band's arrival with a bumping rhythm that makes you want to get up and move. Ironically (given that the band was British), it seems perfectly suited to the vast expanses of the American landscape - while listening to it, I can imagine speeding down the highway with the windows open.
Wednesday: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Foxy Lady [Are You Experienced, 1967]
Comments: The aforementioned US edition of the Experience's debut album opened with the hit Purple Haze, but despite its smash success, I actually prefer the song the initial UK version of the album opened with - Foxy Lady. Kicking off with extended feedback, it's an appropriate distillation of Hendrix's revolutionary off-the-wall approach to playing guitar. And though the subject (boy meets girl) is beyond cliche, this is one of those songs that I feel really captures the earth-shattering feeling of being gobsmacked by the sight of a pretty girl.
Thursday: Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love [Disraeli Gears, 1967]
Comments: We're out of the preliminaries and into the thick of it now! From Cream's sophomore album, Disraeli Gears, comes what is arguably their best and most well-known song - Sunshine Of Your Love. Like Purple Haze, it's an anthem for the psychedelic sixties, with one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in rock history. As we've already heard last week, Jimi Hendrix has covered it, but did you know that Jack Bruce devised the initial bass riff after being inspired by watching Jimi Hendrix perform? Moves and counter moves!
Friday: Cream - White Room [Wheels of Fire, 1968]
Comments: We're doubling up with a track from Cream's third album - another smash hit, and one that I might actually like more than Sunshine Of Your Love. It's a little bit harder, and a little bit meaner, and every bit as iconic. And it features one of the best applications of the wah pedal in - once again - rock history. From the ominous opening chord chant, to the final guitar breakdown, it's a thrilling ride that never lets up.
Saturday: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - All Along The Watchtower [Electric Ladyland, 1968]
Comments: Cream's looking pretty good at the moment, but for Jimi Hendrix's finale, we jump to the one-two punch that closes out the Experience's third and final album, Electric Ladyland. First up is an electrified version of a Bob Dylan tune that is consistently rated as one of the best covers ever recorded. It took folk band The Primatives to get me to truly appreciate the meaning of the lyrics, but musically, Jimi Hendrix's version is a sonic tour de force.
Sunday: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child (Slight Return) [Electric Ladyland, 1968]
Comments: If All Along The Watchtower is a tour de force, Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is a straight-up powerhouse. Loosely based on the song that gave The Rolling Stones their name, by Muddy Waters who once quipped, "the blues had a baby and they called it rock 'n' roll" (I covered this in a previous theme) - this song was born from the blues, but Jimi turns the dial up to 11 to craft one of the hardest rockers to come out of the '60s. To say that it features another one of the greatest applications of the wah pedal of all time is almost an afterthought at this point.
Final Round: Cream - Crossroads (Live) [Wheels of Fire, 1968] vs. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Red House [Are You Experienced, 1967]
Comments: I gotta say, I think Jimi's got the upper hand. But let's close out the theme with one last match-up. And for this, I'm gonna focus on songs that put the guitar at the forefront. In Cream's corner, it's none other than Clapton's phenomenal reinterpretation of Robert Johnson's Cross Road Blues, from the live portion of the Wheels of Fire album. The main riff is among the first phrases I ever learned to play on guitar. And in Hendrix's corner, it's the original blues Red House, which features an unwavering guitar lead throughout. It took listening to songs like this one, instead of some of the softer radio hits like Fire and The Wind Cries Mary, for me to realize the full extent of Jimi's talent. So, what do you think? Is Clapton God? Or did Hendrix reach an even higher ground?