Redding anchors the section with a three-note bass ostinato while Mitchell provides rhythmic improvisation. Music critic Richie Unterberger described it as an 'instrumental freak-out jam' and 'a tour de force of psychedelic guitar'. Īround 2:30, Hendrix abruptly changes direction with a vibrato arm swoop, which sets the stage for the second section and his feedback-laden guitar improvisations.

They have their own musical identity.' Midway, Hendrix adds a bluesy guitar improvisation part with Mitchell and Redding switching to a more standard rock rhythm backing, before returning to the guitar melody. However, Shadwick points out that 'at no point does the band sound merely like a group of musicians imitating other styles. Several writers have noted the jazz influences in the first section. It is one of Hendrix's most recognizable guitar figures and is notated in common or 4/4 time in the key of E:

After several bars of the intro, Hendrix moves to a Wes Montgomery-style octave guitar melody line. arpeggiated chords and Coltranoid mock-orientalisms' with Mitch Mitchell's Elvin Jones-influenced drumming. The first section opens with guitar chording, which Murray notes as 'sliding major ninth . Hendrix biographer Keith Shadwick describes 'Third Stone from the Sun' as 'a structured group performance' composed of several identifiable passages or sections with further subdivisions. Jordan's song was one of the biggest hits of 1946 and was popular with rhythm and blues bands in Seattle, where Hendrix grew up and first performed. Music journalist Charles Shaar Murray associates it with the 'hazy cosmic jive straight out of the Sun Ra science fiction textbook.' Hendrix chronicler Harry Shapiro suggests that his reference of a hen may have been inspired by ' Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens', a jump blues song by Louis Jordan. That where 'Third Stone from the Sun' and ' Up from the Skies' came from. It wasn't a Flash Gordon type, it's an end-of-the-world, new beginning, disaster-type story. The first one Jimi read was Earth Abides. I had dozens of science fiction books at home . The two shared an interest in science fiction writing, including that of American author Philip Jose Farmer. He continued to develop it after moving to England with new manager Chas Chandler. While performing with his group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames at the Cafe Wha?, Hendrix played elements or early versions of 'Third Stone from the Sun'. There he explored a rock sound outside of the musical confines of the Harlem rhythm and blues scene. In the summer of 1966, Hendrix relocated to New York City's Greenwich Village. Several artists have recorded renditions and others have adapted the guitar melody line for other songs. The Experience recorded versions as early as December 1966, and, in 1967, it was included on their debut album Are You Experienced. Hendrix developed elements of the piece prior to forming his group, the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The title reflects Hendrix's interest in science fiction and is a reference to Earth in its position as the third planet away from the sun in the solar system. It incorporates several musical approaches, including jazz and psychedelic rock, with brief spoken passages. ' Third Stone from the Sun' (or ' 3rd Stone from the Sun') is a mostly instrumental composition by American musician Jimi Hendrix. Mostly instrumental composition recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1967

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