Hear My Train A Comin’; The Songs Of Jimi Hendrix; Le Gendre

Kevin Le Gendre [+–]

Journalist and Broadcaster

Kevin Le Gendre is a journalist and broadcaster with a special interest in black music, literature and culture. Since the 1990s he has written about soul, funk, jazz and hip-hop, as well as African and Caribbean authors, for many publications including Echoes, Jazzwise, The Independent On Sunday, Qwest TV (France) and Times Literary Supplement Online. He contributes to BBC Radio 4’s Front Row and also presents Radio 3’s J To Z. He is the author of Don’t Stop The Carnival: Black Music in Britain Vol.1 (Peepal Tree Press, 2018) and Soul Unsung: Reflections on the Band in Black Popular Music (Equinox Publishing, 2012).

Nominated for the 2021 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research

Hear My Train A Comin’ investigates the immense creativity of Jimi Hendrix, and his intriguing relationship with the art of song, a platform he used for a multitude of ideas and improvisation.

Although his activity as a recording artist spanned a period of just three years (1967–70) Jimi Hendrix created a body of work that has exerted a significant influence on artists in the twentieth century and beyond. A headline-grabbing, explosive performer, he is widely recognized as an innovative guitarist who broadened the vocabulary of his instrument through his technique and daring use of technology. For several generations of critics and audiences, he remains the archetypal rock star who framed his immeasurable talent with lifestyle excesses inherent to his profession.

Hear My Train A Comin’ appraises Hendrix’s legacy in different terms. His ability as a soloist is undeniable, but it is not necessarily the defining aspect of his genius. This book focuses on Hendrix the songwriter, a superlative storyteller who was able to combine melody, lyric and arrangement to create pieces that take pride of place in the pantheon of post-war popular music. Anthems such as ‘Crosstown Traffic’, ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’, ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘Foxy Lady’ alchemize word and sound, and still affect us today, a half-century after they were written. Hendrix crafted compositions in the most complete sense of the term, making judicious decisions with regard to mood, texture, contrast and overall orchestral richness, looking at his basic resource, the guitar-bass-drums set up, as a unit to be enhanced by a range of other instruments and studio production.

Deeply rooted in black music — above all the blues, yet drawn to anything and everything that caught his ear — Jimi Hendrix was a unique talent and his songs, produced in a flurry of activity, his glorious legacy. Hear My Train A Comin’ puts these audacious statements under the microscope to pinpoint the verve and attention to detail with which they were were made and why they have stood the test of time.

Series: Popular Music History

Introduction

Introduction [+–] 1-7

A relatively short statement on the artist Jimi Hendrix in order to pinpoint the pivotal importance he has in modern music and popular culture. The text is not a cradle to grave biography, but instead aims to highlight the innovative nature of his oeuvre.

Part 1

The Song and Jimi Hendrix [+–] 9-37

Brief backstory of the artist and context of the rich musical culture into which he was born and that he would subsequently develop. Overview of Hendrix’s formative years with major R&B stars and his deep immersion in the world of both song and dance.

Part 2

The Songs of Jimi Hendrix [+–] 39-186

Examination of the artist’s output. Rather than look at one recording after another I identify and comment on crucial aspects of his material – song introductions; stylistic eclecticism; narrative structure and arrangements; use of guitar, voice and technology; lyrics – in order to explain why his music still exerts a fascination on new audiences.

Part 3

The Songs from Jimi Hendrix [+–] 187-214

Discussion of the artist’s legacy. Hendrix had a huge impact on musicians across many genres, from rock to soul to funk to jazz, and many of them went on to reflect his influence. I look at their work, speculate on what Hendrix may have done had he lived, and summarize his status as a timeless artist who was of and beyond the blues.

End Matter

Notes [+–] 215-218

Although his activity as a recording artist spanned a period of just three years, from 1967, the year of his arrival in England from America to 1970, the year of his death, Jimi Hendrix created a body of work that has exerted a significant influence on a number of artists in the 20th century and beyond. A headline-grabbing, explosive performer, he is widely recognized as an innovative guitarist who broadened the vocabulary of his instrument through both his technique and daring use of technology. For several generations of critics and audiences, he remains the archetypal rock star who framed his immeasurable talent with lifestyle excesses inherent to his profession. Hear My Train A Comin’ seeks to appraise Hendrix’s legacy in different terms. His ability as a soloist is undeniable, but it is not necessarily the defining aspect of his genius. This book focuses on Hendrix the songwriter, a superlative storyteller who was able to combine melody, lyric and arrangement in order to create pieces that take pride of place in the pantheon of post-war popular music. Why do anthems such as Crosstown Traffic, The Wind Cries Mary, Little Wing, Voodoo Child [Slight Return] Purple Haze or Foxy Lady still affect us today? They alchemize word and sound. These are just a few examples of Hendrix crafting a composition in the most complete sense of the term, making judicious decisions with regard to mood, texture, contrast and overall orchestral richness, looking at his basic resource, the guitar-bass-drums set up as a unit to be enhanced by a range of other instruments and studio production. This book investigates the artist’s immense creativity, and the intriguing relationship he had with the art of song, a platform for a multitude of ideas and improvisation.

Bibliography [+–] 219

Index [+–] 220-230

Reviews

Le Gendre's depth of knowledge and understanding as a highly-regarded jazz and back music writer is vital as he forensically examines many of [Hendrix's] most acclaimed compositions in the kind of ultra-detailed depth not found in other Hendrix books.
Jazzwise

For author Kevin Le Gendre—one of the UK's leading jazz journalists and black music historians—Hendrix' renown as a guitarist has tended to overshadow his considerable attributes as a songwriter. With forensic fervour Le Gendre addresses this historical imbalance, song by song, analysing the craftsmanship, influences and innovations behind the music.
As such, this is not a biography of Jimi Hendrix—plenty are the books that have delved into Hendrix' life already—but rather, a musical appreciation. That said, Le Gendre gleans a remarkable amount about Hendrix' psychological make-up by placing his songs under the microscope, revealing in the process just how open-minded Hendrix was in matters of music. To call Hendrix a rock musician, the author suggests, is to sell him short.
As enlightening as it is provocative, this original study positions Hendrix firmly within black music traditions, yet resolutely outside any categories other than avant-garde. Engagingly written and authoritative, Le Gendre's Hear My Train A Comin' should take its place alongside Charles Shaar Murray's Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix And Post-War Pop (Faber and Faber Ltd, 1989) and John McDermott's Jimi Hendrix Sessions: The Complete Studio Recording Sessions 1963-70 (Little, Brown and Company, 1995) as one of the essential guides to Jimi Hendrix.
All About Jazz

A fascinating, meticulous study of Hendrix the composer.
Mojo

This book is particularly useful for understanding Hendrix’s life in Britain. Rich with detail and insight, it succeeds in opening up new ways of looking at his career and interpreting his revolutionary musical creativity.
Paul Gilroy, Professor of the Humanities and Founding Director, Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation, Institute of Advanced Studies, University College London

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Hear My Train A Comin’

The Songs of Jimi Hendrix

Kevin Le Gendre [+–]

Journalist and Broadcaster

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