 Electric Ladyland (1969) [ larger cover art ] |
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Musicbrainz DBThere must be some kind of way out of here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody offered his word, hey!
No reason to get excited
The thief, he kindly spoke
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke, but, uh
But you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now
The hour's getting late, hey!
Hey
All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Barefoot servants too
Well, uh, outside in the cold distance
A wild cat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl, hey!
All along the watchtower
All along the watchtower
| unclehud (now 50 feet above the planet in Boston) | Posted: May 04, 2013 - 20:57 Quick! Name one Vietnam movie that does NOT include this tune... |
| ritingon | Posted: Apr 03, 2013 - 17:23 Seriously, Bill? I have places to be. Keep up a set like this and I'll never be able to leave. |
| Hasan | Posted: Mar 03, 2013 - 10:13 Biscobret wrote: I so totally agree! I don't need to hear this song EVER again even if it is "perfect" and amazing, which it certainly is. I could turn on any classic rock station and be sure to hear this in an hour - so WHY here? Could it be you don't appreciate the magic of what Bill does? Starting in the 1980s, NASA had the service of Bob Farquar; "Farquhar is a genius with celestial pinball," says a colleague who's known him for 30 years, "and he'd be the first to admit it." He specialized in the arcane mathematical art of using planets and moons as slingshots to accelerate and decelerate probes to get them to their target in the shortest time . . . but he had a knack for showmanship that had him make the positioning of probes at critical junctures coincide with important family dates; sort of, "Today's your 29th birthday - so to celebrate I had probe XYZ use Titan to cut it's velocity by 29% today." I exaggerate, to give you the idea, but his habit of planning such "coincidences" years in advance drove his colleagues nuts when they learned why things happened when they did. It drove them even more nuts to try to find more "sensible" trajectories — and never could. Safely landing the NEAR probe on the asteroid Eros, is as wildly brilliant as anything I can think of. Why am I telling you this? Well you can look at the solar system and get bored to death if you focus on the major planets, ignoring the pirouettes playing around them. When I hear Bill play a musical Jupiter like Hendrix, I salivate with anticipation at the segue slingshot he's preparing. Today he used All Along the Watchtower to slingshot towards us a little duo that I had liked but would never have expected to be able to follow Hendrix without coming across as pallid as a comet trail. Previously, I'd ranked First Aid Kit's "Wolf" at 6, but immediately boosted it to 8 today, so well did it stand up. I'd call Bill a genius with musical pinball. |
| Mystery Guest (somewhere else) | Posted: Mar 03, 2013 - 06:08 thais wrote: TRIPLE 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     The best by the best !!!!!!!!!!! |
| midreaming | Posted: Dec 30, 2012 - 14:23 phlattop wrote: Dylan himslef loves this version and acknowledged in Biograph that for years (and maybe still) he modeled his live performances of Watchtower after Jimi's version. ..still. i see bobby every chance i get. most if not everything played in his sets is unrecognizable.. except watchtower. there's added color here and there but mostly it's jimi's version. 'hellava nod from a living legend |
| pi31415 | Posted: Dec 30, 2012 - 14:18 Still get goosebumps every time I hear it! |
| flight750 (Long Beach, CA) | Posted: Oct 28, 2012 - 21:15 Biscobret wrote: I so totally agree! I don't need to hear this song EVER again even if it is "perfect" and amazing, which it certainly is. I could turn on any classic rock station and be sure to hear this in an hour - so WHY here? I just don't see it this way - if you walked through the Louvre every day, would you stop looking at the Mona Lisa? You are right in that it is perfect and amazing - and probably once a theme song for countless of (now) middle aged folk; I hear it and am reminded of what a talent Jimi was and sometimes ponder what the music scene might be if he was still alive... so, "Why here?" you say? Because it's here and that's what's here - I for one celebrate that, even though I too have heard it so many times. |
| joelbb | Posted: Oct 28, 2012 - 20:57 Speaking of God-like!! It don't git no better'n this. Except maybe "Voodoo Child". That's an 11. |
| shellbella (so california) | Posted: Sep 27, 2012 - 09:36 Nice... Pearl Jam and now JH..  |
| phlattop | Posted: Aug 26, 2012 - 21:14 Pharlap wrote: lots of people had "hits" covering Dylan , and some people actually liked them better because of Dylan's "voice issues". Almost none of them could hold a candle to his originals though, This one certainly does Dylan himslef loves this version and acknowledged in Biograph that for years (and maybe still) he modeled his live performances of Watchtower after Jimi's version. |
| volarlacometa | Posted: Jul 26, 2012 - 11:30 oh, what a song. from the best you can never get enough. Play it again, right now! Yes. |
| Biscobret (Vashon, WA) | Posted: Jul 26, 2012 - 11:26 sirdroseph wrote: I wonder if there were any quantative analysis to figure out the most played songs in history. This one would surely come in the top 10. I will be most pleased to never hear this song again and have done quite well to avoid it seeing how I do not listen to commercial radio and the few times I actually listen to this station, I make sure and run to the mute when this is played. It has kept me safe; eternal vigilance is the price of non repetition. Is the song good? I guess so, I just don't know anymore. I so totally agree! I don't need to hear this song EVER again even if it is "perfect" and amazing, which it certainly is. I could turn on any classic rock station and be sure to hear this in an hour - so WHY here? |
| Biscobret (Vashon, WA) | Posted: Jul 26, 2012 - 11:23 Obviously deserves a 9 or 10 - BUT I can't rate it, 'cause I just don't need to hear this anymore - come on now, really? This can be heard 10 times a day on just about every commercial radio station - how about some Jimi that's not so so so bloody overdone! |
| rlr511 (Philadelphia) | Posted: Jul 26, 2012 - 11:23 one of my faves for Jimi. the end guitar riff is wonderful |
| kurtster (Back in Ohiya, for now ...) | Posted: Apr 22, 2012 - 11:28 onelittlemoose wrote: Wow, nice mix. Following Arcade Fire Sprawl II. Totally works in a really strange way. Yes it does ! |
| onelittlemoose (Mooseville, Canada) | Posted: Mar 21, 2012 - 18:52 Wow, nice mix. Following Arcade Fire Sprawl II. Totally works in a really strange way. |
| mistabird (frei republik allgäu) | Posted: Jan 27, 2012 - 00:33 Yeahh !! the B E  S T  |
| thais | Posted: Jan 18, 2012 - 07:03 10² !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The best by the best !!!!!!!!!!! The most impressive/incredible/astonishing and beautiful guitar solo on entire pop music history!!!!!!  |
| Pharlap (Bahama, NC) | Posted: Jan 05, 2012 - 14:00 lots of people had "hits" covering Dylan , and some people actually liked them better because of Dylan's "voice issues". Almost none of them could hold a candle to his originals though, This one certainly does |
| oldsinger (Wexford, PA) | Posted: Jan 05, 2012 - 13:59 But then, I still love it ... sirdroseph wrote: I wonder if there were any quantative analysis to figure out the most played songs in history. This one would surely come in the top 10. I will be most pleased to never hear this song again and have done quite well to avoid it seeing how I do not listen to commercial radio and the few times I actually listen to this station, I make sure and run to the mute when this is played. It has kept me safe; eternal vigilance is the price of non repetition. Is the song good? I guess so, I just don't know anymore. |
| sirdroseph (Yes) | Posted: Dec 27, 2011 - 08:39 I wonder if there were any quantative analysis to figure out the most played songs in history. This one would surely come in the top 10. I will be most pleased to never hear this song again and have done quite well to avoid it seeing how I do not listen to commercial radio and the few times I actually listen to this station, I make sure and run to the mute when this is played. It has kept me safe; eternal vigilance is the price of non repetition. Is the song good? I guess so, I just don't know anymore. |
| cosmiclint (Vancouver BC) | Posted: Dec 27, 2011 - 08:34 No matter how many times I hear this song, as soon as it starts I stop whatever I'm doing and begin air-drumming. Or playing the acoustic riff, or even the bass. Some times I'll drop to my knees and do the intro lead with my back arched and my eyes closed. Wives hate it when you do stuff like that. |
| hollirg1 | Posted: Dec 27, 2011 - 08:30 Sorry, I guess you have to be a Dave Matthews fan, I'm not. His Watchtower pales to Jimi's version. |
| mistabird (frei republik allgäu) | Posted: Dec 27, 2011 - 08:27 dieser Held spielt die gitarren mit der seele  Best 10 |
| hollirg1 | Posted: Dec 27, 2011 - 08:25 The absolute best... |
| thais | Posted: Dec 26, 2011 - 06:34 TRIPLE 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The best by the best !!!!!!!!!!! |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Dec 17, 2011 - 14:06 Everybody in my hotel room loves this cover... |
| Jsmithb | Posted: Nov 24, 2011 - 13:20 Always a fav. Nice to hear it mixed in with the unfamiliar tunes! |
| tamang3 (just around the corner) | Posted: Nov 14, 2011 - 08:58 Thank you for posting this link for Dave Matthews version. really outstanding. I would not choose one version (any of the 3) over the other — I love them all — but I hope we're able to catch Matthews' version on RP in the future... calypsus_1 wrote: Dave Matthews Band - Dylan´s All Along The Watchtower, Live: |
| stevesaw (Northern VA USA) | Posted: Oct 13, 2011 - 17:07 martinc wrote: Another massive album released in 1969. At 16 I was spending all my money from part time jobs on music. I think albums were 4.99 then. Still have them all. $3.00 each at Sam Goody's in Philadelphia; $6.00 for doubles (so this was a $6 one). I was cheap though, and bought a reel-to-reel and did massive borrowing of albums from friends. I eventually ended buying then anyway years later. |
| ferwoman | Posted: Oct 13, 2011 - 17:03 westslope wrote: One of the best covers ever. Yes! I heard this one first, thought it was Jimmi's song, and only decades later did I realize Bob had written it. This version/cover/rendition is "out the roof" good. |
| aaronm (Eugene, Oregon) | Posted: Oct 02, 2011 - 14:55 Great song. /taps feet /bobs head Holy crap, I'm a Cylon! |
| Proclivities (Carrboro, NC) | Posted: Sep 23, 2011 - 08:38 pinto wrote: Very much overplayed I still like hearing this tune - though I do hear it often elsewhere. It was played here about 24 hours ago as well. |
| finoufk (Bordeaux - france) | Posted: Sep 22, 2011 - 07:02 I usually don't appreciate much JH, but this is masterpiece !  |
| calypsus_1 | Posted: Sep 02, 2011 - 20:52 Dave Matthews Band - Dylan´s All Along The Watchtower, Live |
| polymath (Virtual Paradise) | Posted: Sep 01, 2011 - 05:36 GDMF plowman.... |
| dsd (PDX) | Posted: Sep 01, 2011 - 05:35 favorite piece of the entire era. |
| pinto (west meade) | Posted: Aug 13, 2011 - 09:33 Very much overplayed |
| SmileOnADog (Arizona) | Posted: Aug 13, 2011 - 09:31 coloradojohn wrote: Yup, it's all here, in this monumental rock-jam...soaring unmatched guitar, killer sinister bass, driving drums, and with those twisted, gnarly vocals, suitably spooky, quirkily bent and deliciously obscure BD lyrics, well, it's a MASTERPIECE. Like Jimmy himself said, "Once you're dead, you're made for life, man!" and this baby is a heck of a legacy to leave behind...THANKS! Can't argue with that. Absolutely smoking tune with great 60's stereo mind-bender mix. It's nice to fantasize about Jimi headlining at a Crossroads show or playing at Bonaroo, we'll never know what might have been. |
| bleubs (Poitiers France) | Posted: Aug 13, 2011 - 09:29 godlike ! |
| jktravl (Virginia) | Posted: Aug 11, 2011 - 19:42 martinc wrote: Another massive album released in 1969. At 16 I was spending all my money from part time jobs on music. I think albums were 4.99 then. Still have them all. good for you! my ex wife sold em all for .50 at a yard sale when I was out of town. bitch |
| Byronape (Snorkeling in the River Styx) | Posted: Aug 11, 2011 - 19:40 nagsheadlocal wrote: OK, how many people can remember sitting between the speakers (perhaps at a party, perhaps after a hit or two) and saying "woooo!" or some equivalent when the guitar parts swirl between the channels? Raise your hands. Man, sure is crowded in here! Yep, being in high school in the early 70s was a lot of fun . . . I was in high school in the early 90's and did the same thing. |
| martinc (Ottawa Canada) | Posted: Jul 21, 2011 - 13:31 Another massive album released in 1969. At 16 I was spending all my money from part time jobs on music. I think albums were 4.99 then. Still have them all. |
| SuperWeh (8°41'36.49, 115° 9'34.58) | Posted: Jul 21, 2011 - 13:27 the solos in this song are incredible, not because they're well played (they're a bit sloppy) but because they're so incredibly inspired, unreal, the man was a true musical genius, a force of nature. |
| nagsheadlocal (North Carolina, the new New Jersey) | Posted: Jul 21, 2011 - 13:25 OK, how many people can remember sitting between the speakers (perhaps at a party, perhaps after a hit or two) and saying "woooo!" or some equivalent when the guitar parts swirl between the channels? Raise your hands. Man, sure is crowded in here! Yep, being in high school in the early 70s was a lot of fun . . . |
| thefoodoflove (Sydney) | Posted: Jul 11, 2011 - 11:00 Best use of this song in a film by far, " Withnail and I" produced by George Harrison just to totally make sure of iconic status!! |
| coloradojohn (Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan -- 15 min. west of Shinjuku, center of the freaking Universe) | Posted: Jun 11, 2011 - 09:05 Yup, it's all here, in this monumental rock-jam...soaring unmatched guitar, killer sinister bass, driving drums, and with those twisted, gnarly vocals, suitably spooky, quirkily bent and deliciously obscure BD lyrics, well, it's a MASTERPIECE. Like Jimmy himself said, "Once you're dead, you're made for life, man!" and this baby is a heck of a legacy to leave behind...THANKS! |
| Decoy (Milliway's, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe) | Posted: May 20, 2011 - 07:49 It doesn't get much better my friends. |
| Poacher (Brighton, UK) | Posted: May 20, 2011 - 07:47 Hannio wrote: Doesn't look good for Justin Bieber. . . . and with a name like mine. . . *takes gun off rack and puts hat on* |
| unclehud (300 feet above the planet) | Posted: Apr 11, 2011 - 16:26 Hannio wrote: Doesn't look good for Justin Bieber. HAHAHAHAHA! (Who's Justin Bieber?) |
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