SUPERIOR COVERS: I Refuse to Believe He Did Any Acid

If the finale to Superior Covers Week is an obvious choice, it's because some records are so good they're destined to be buried in praise. Jimi Hendrix's performance of "All Along the Watchtower" has been used in basically every stock 60s montage ever made, as The Simpsons hilariously pointed out. It's easily Hendrix's best single, containing some of his most inventive guitar work and his most passionate singing. I can't get enough of it.

For a long time, though, I was partial to Dylan's original version. Sparse and quiet, it has a spooky power unique to even Dylan's work. As with most of the tracks on Dylan's John Wesley Harding, it's full of vaguely Biblical language and a palpable feeling of dread, with howling wind, wildcats, and mysterious riders approaching. It's one of Dylan's better performances, and if you're not familiar with it, it's worth a listen for its low-volume intensity.

But nobody did intensity better than Hendrix. Hendrix's cover, recorded a mere two months after John Wesley Harding's release, is all electric rage and wah-wah theatrics. (Connection to yesterday's post: Dave Mason played on it). Hendrix re-worked the song without obscuring it, which is tricky. Dylan's recording is a creepy old black and white movie; Hendrix's is a technicolor nightmare. It's a shame we'll never see what was happening in Jimi's head. Luckily, we can hear it.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "All Along the Watchtower" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience
AVAILABLE ON: Electric Ladyland; iTunes