Watch Part 2: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/friVf8Jky6nae30.html Neil Shukla interviews legendary music producer and recording engineer Eddie Kramer at the Cosmo MusicFEST & EXPO. In Part 2, he discusses how mistakes led to the iconic psychedelic section on Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love".

I was lucky enough to meet Hendrix in a London nightclub in 1968. He was on his way out the door and I just kind of followed him and blurted out ..."Excuse me Jimi..." and he turned around....I said..."I just wanted to ask you how you keep your guitar in tune when you are doing the stuff you do..." And he smiled and said "Oh man, you just gotta tune while you play man, just tune while you play" and laughed. I thanked him and said "Have a good night " went out the door of the club....

Eddie Kramer should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the greatest engineers in history.

A man who changed the course of history with just three albums.

As someone famous in the music biz once said about guitarists: "There's Jimi Hendrix and then everyone else." Jack Bruce said later, after Hendrix had played on stage with Cream after he'd arrived in London and asked if he could jam with them, "Eric was a guitar player. Jimi was some sort of force of nature." Clapton said to Chas Chandler backstage after Hendrix's performance of Killin' Floor jamming with Cream: "You never told me that he was THAT f#cking good!"

Eddie is always much better than any interviewer. He'll answer questions nobody even thought to ask but we all needed answered.

Jimi had already made so much and changed so much in just the three/four years that he was prominent in the music industry. I’m 24 and to think that he was changing music forever at the age I am now is insane to think about!! Band Of Gypsies would’ve blazed across the 70’s like a comet had Jimi lived longer. Thank you Jimi Hendrix and all those good folks that helped him create what he did. The world of guitar playing is beholden to you for eternity 🤟🤟🤟

When Mr. Kramer is asked about Hendrix, his brain must flood with a tidal wave of memories.

Hendrix is the GOAT. No one was making sounds like voodoo child or Machine Gun. He could make the guitar laught sing cry, moan, scream. The King of Feedback. The God of Rock n Roll He really was a gift from god straight from the cosmos. Wow now it Makes me think of a simpler time in my life when i only smoked weed and listened to hendrix and thought the world was heaven. Oh my, how sad that makes me feel how much life has changed. Remembering the times as a teen. Im still young but feel so tired. Music is the greatest gift a d therapy. Hendrix will always be my favorite artists of all time. Coolest guy to touch the earth If i dont see you in this world I'll see you in the next one dont be late.

"Pali Gap" on the old vinyl "Rainbow Bridge" LP is a lost classic and sounds great with headphones. Thank you Eddie for that gem and the others you gave us after Jimi left us.

It makes me so happy when I go on KZfaq and see so many Hendrix fans! I used to feel like I was the only one. But it turns out that some people are even bigger fanatics than I am! I almost feel like he's appreciated more now than he was back in the day.

We can only speculate as to how Jimi's music would have evolved but I think almost everyone would agree he would have continued to expand the musical universe beyond anyone's wildest imagination. He was so much more than just a great guitar player. He was the complete package. Until we meet again Jimi.

The great, great Eddie Kramer.

A major part of America died with Jimi.He was that powerful and gifted beyond belief.Just hearing stories about this magical guitar player was really too much for most Americans and then the realization that the stories of this superhuman musician were true and beyond anything anyone could have imagined.The nightly news came on the last day of Woodstock and that sound in the background of the broadcast was so mesmerizing it was truly scary in 69.The next day the entire east coast was talking about what had happened.A vast majority of young people were extremely proud to say this is the guy that speaks for us with his music.It was that heavy.This was not just a guitar player but perhaps one of the greatest musicians the world had ever witnessed bar none.

I understand why Jimi like Eddie and of course Eddie like Jimi. They had the taste of music. Eddie could sence what Jimi wanted, he knew the sound what Jimi liked.

Awesome. I love hearing Eddie's stories- greatest producer ever. I don't understand how anyone can give something like this a thumbs down.

I was blessed to grow up in the 60s and 70s and I think it was and still is the greatist period of devopement and progression of music. The amount of talent in that era at one time would be almost an impossibility to happen again. But we can only hope.

What nobody seems to grasp......Hendrix was born in 1942 but one month short of 1943. He started to play guitar at 15, so that would have been in 1958. 3 years later he enlisted in the army and spent a year in.....and thus discharged in 1962 where he eventually moved to Tennessee which could have been going in to 1963 depending on the date timeline. So starting out playing in the professional sense at around 20 years old......with at best 4 years of beginner practice and improvement mastering playing the instrument.....to have enough confidence to step out to attempt to play professionally to try to make a living as an entry level player in the sea of competition. By late 1966, essentially after 3 years experience playing as a professional and cutting his teeth beyond being an entry level player......he moved to England and became "discovered". Got recorded quickly and 6 to 7 months later is back in the USA to play the Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of 1967...…...and dead by September of 1970 at 27 years old. So at 24 years old, 9 years after starting to play guitar......he is an ICON of history. He rode a wave for 3 years on his own after 3 years professional entry level playing skill......based on 4 years of beginner practice to learn to play. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>when I see pictures and video of Hendrix.....I see the image of a guy that looks 30 to 40 years old with considerable experience...…..when the reality is that he is really a mid 20's kid who some by age alone would have him green behind the ears.

As much as I Love Jimi, as a Great Guitar Player...which cannot be measured! My heart weeps for him,and his tragic life! Even more so He was taken advantage of.his innocence,and trust of others were his down fall....shame shame shame on All of those blood suckers...thats what killed this gentle giant!

What an amazing guy. Very gracious of Mr. Kramer to share these stories and insights with everyone.

Nice to see Eddie Kramer agreeing to an interview a few minutes after assembling his desk.

Whoever was able to help facilitate Jimi in the recording of All along the Watchtower deserves maximum praise.

I could listen to Eddie talk about Jimi all day. Thanks for posting!

Eddie is golden.

I am so glad that Eddie shares his memories in such a down to earth, very coherent way, with a lot of attentention to the ambiance. When he talks about Jimi, I feel an aura of brotherly love for Jimi.

One part of Jimi that is often overlooked or forgotten: Jimi was a geek in a sense, he was obsessive with the tech side of music, he dabbled and tinkered with effects pedals, amps etc and in the studio he was always trying to elicit new sounds or sounds he heard in his head - he was a scifi fan and tried to recreate some of the sound effects he'd heard in scifi movies or imagined he'd hear in a scifi setting, different techniques - he had a backward track on one of his songs - and using the studio as an instrument. He changed the way the guitar was played, but he also influenced the way music was recorded in the studio.

Extremely disappointed that Kramer had to spend several minutes simply explaining to the interviewer that Band of Gypsies was only to be a live album. Also, First Rays was fairly complete, so it makes me wonder how much of a fan that guy really is. Kramer graciously answered the question we all wished was asked: "what was the next thing he would record that wasn't First Rays?". Thank you Eddie!

There is nothing like the great Jimi Hendrix, I mean nothing, he's the key

eddie kramer made a dream with jimi ...

Good post but let's face it.... What can you say about Hendrix that hasn't already been said? People will listen to his music 100 years from now.... He was a singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer. He changed rock guitar...

I always have found it odd that the radio stations rarely play the best parts of Jimi's music.

Always thought Prince ‘s musical style was a progression of Jimi’s style with a 1980s flavour. Both were brilliant.

Hendrix released his first album in 1967 and died almost 4 years later. Let that sink in. He became popular in 67’ and after 3 years and some change, he died, eventually taking the title of the greatest guitarist of all time.

This guy is really interesting. Hendrix was one in a million or maybe a billion. I have heard a lot of guitar players in the last 50 years and nobody has even come close, maybe Jimmy Page in some respects like his fretwork. Maybe it's because he played left-handed and played the strings backwards. Maybe that had something to do with the way he was able to stretch notes and such. IDK. I do know if you get a little high and lay down on your couch with the lights off and candles burning and put on Electric Ladyland, you will get an experience that can't be beat. The music just swirls around you in waves. Jimi is living on somewhere else but I hope I run into him again. That would be some trip. Oh, and it's even better if you have headphones on and be sure to turn it up!

Linda Kieth discovered Jimi. Then she called Chas and said get down to the club. Chas then decided to manage Jimi.

People Always say, well there's someone out there better than someone else. Well someone has to be the Best, so others can be compared. Jimi Is still the Best and he's been gone for years. No denying that....

i love this guy.he brought so much joy in my life.

Thank you Mr. Kramer!

The man is a legend but he also knows how to transport knowledge in a small interview thats valuable to any musician. check out all his interviews if you want to learn stuff about mixing. Eddie "THE MAN" Kramer.

Class act. Eddie Kramer literally captured the sound of the musical rock titans!

Nobody knows what Hendrix would have played because he would have invented new genres and would have had such an influence on other musicians that the whole music realm would be different. We just don't have the words to name what he would do.

Solid analysis of a master musician. Historical record worthy.

The guy has produced and photographed every rock star under the sun and he has an empty picture frame on his desk.

Loved hearing him describe the initial period where Hendrix embraced what Eddie was doing in terms of interpreting his sound and winning him over.

For me, Jimi was much more than a guitarist. His best music was based on a vision or image. I think Cry of Love is musically excellent in terms of guitar but the songs lack those compelling "visionary themes" that Jimi needed for peak performance. The 1960s peace & love ended abruptly (probably contributing to Jimi's unhappiness in his final days). I think if Jimi lived, he needed to find new inspiration (because the era that produced his best later songs, such as Gypsy Boy or Straight Ahead, had ended). The song "Drifting" is brilliant but sounds unfinished and had lots more potential. I sense jazz, fusion, etc, was not Jimi's direction because Jimi needed very emotional & pictorial themes. While I don't know all music, I think two albums that would have inspired Jimi are John McLaughlin's "Apocalypse" and Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" (although I think Jimi surpassed Dark Side of the Moon with most of Electric Ladyland; if some of the shorter less cohesive songs are deleted). Since I personally cannot relate to Miles Davis and since Gil Evans versions of Jimi's songs are terrible; I struggle to picture how those collaborations would have worked. I recently bought "In A Silent Way" by Miles and said: "Why did I waste my money?". For most artists, there is a peak of creativity and I think Jimi's "creativity" (but not guitar ability) was in decline. Since most of Electric Ladyland has not been surpassed by another artist; this was surely Jimi's peak of creativity that no one has bettered. Yet I think being a mere guitar technician would not have been the Jimi we know. For me, this is why Jimi is the greatest. I have heard no other guitarist that can perfectly capture lyrics with their guitar playing. Jimi was not a mere guitar technician, like Clapton, Page or Van Halen. Jimi had visions (such as Purple Haze, Little Wing, 1983, House Burning Down, Machine Gun and most of his songs) and manifested those visions via guitar. Even though I did not know him personally, I wish I could meet him today and wish he was still alive to thank & hug him with awe. Jimi was amazing. So from his heart.

Always love hearing admiration for Billy Cox and Buddy Miles

What about the story that if he had returned to NYC he was suppose to do an album with Miles Davis and Gil Evans producer?

Eddie was exactly the right engineer for Jimi , really liked the way he engineered and mixed in a very musical way letting things breathe !

What a great interview I really enjoyed that....very cool.

Thank you so much for sharing this.

Imagine being able to work with somebody that could make you sound better and you're already great

I always loved the studio album Electric Lady Land. I thought it was a master piece. My ears perked up when I heard Eddie Kramer say that he thought Jimi, had he lived, would've gotten into orchestral stuff with his music. I have always said that there are a number of Jimi's songs that just cry out for symphonic or orchestral back up or arrangement. Two of these would be Third Stone From the Sun and 1983 A Merman To Be. I wish the interviewer would've asked Eddie about Third Stone From The Sun and how he got all those "subliminal," voices onto that track. I know how it was done. But I would've loved to hear it from Eddie himself, because I'm sure there's a story or stories behind it all.

Great interview.

I love listening to whatever Eddie Kramer has to say, and especially love listening to Eddie sharing anything about Jimi Hendrix! Not only did Eddie work closely with him during Hendrix's finest period, Eddie really seems to have shared a sympatico relationship with Jimi's creative side. Eddie also has a credibility and insightfulness to him, that keeps you rapt, as he articulates!

Producer Allen Douglas had approached Hendrix & jazz arranger Gil Evans about a possible collaboration - Hendrix's guitar against Evans' jazz orchestra. Both were enthusiastic about the project, and had arranged to meet to set things in motion. Hendrix died about a week before that was to happen. Evans went on to record an album of Hendrix tunes, with studio fusion guitarists standing in for Jimi - notably John Abercrombie & Ryo Kawasaki - and frequently included at least one Hendrix composition on his future albums If only, if only......

Very good interview, very insightful, respectful, true interest.

First time I heard Voodoo Child. Oh my God!

Jimi I floated on your sounds since 1978

If only Jimi would have lived...I would have loved to hear his evolution. Imagine Hendrix joining Clapton in making love songs? Lol would have been great! Also he would have loved Prince...just like Miles Davis did.

I wish that I could tell Mr. Kramer how much of a fan I am of him. My father saw Zeppelin, Hendrix and others at least once, some more than once. Naturally I have been hearing the music that he helped create since I was en-utero. In my opinion he has done as much as anyone else to influence and create Rock-n- Roll as anyone. I also think that Band of Gypsys is amazing and was a transitional time for Jimi. It would have been wonderful to watch him grow as a musician as the years passed and he matured.

Such a legendary genius

I love to hear E Kramrr speak .. Hendrix, Zep, Kiss. Etc Fantastic interview

Amazing interview... Congratulations... Rock Mythology

You can define Jimi Hendrix by the reaction of those who met him. Not one person interviewed isn't energized in the telling of their story about Hendrix. Hendrix effected people so profoundly that they show throughout that they will keep Hendrix as a pivitol highlight of their lives till their dying day. Hendrix was to artist and fellow musicians as The illumination of the very first light bulbs was to those present to see it happen. He is held in such a high regard that the fact he was a black man is not even mentioned nor an issue whatsoever. Hendrix transcended the notion of race. For once, whites saw a young black man with clear eyes unbiased, and because of it, they fully took in what Hendrix had to offer, and the result was a glimmer of everlasting joy in their lives.

I saw a video where Jimi was talking to Chicago in the late 60’s about recording a album with Chicago but that never happened because Jimi died

Amazing

i think jimmy was gonna do a country and western rekkid ...i may be wrong .

Hendrix would have been today a great great heavy bluesman !

Axis Bold As Love is a master piece. Jimi show's such a wide range of sound's and texture's.A truly innovative album in every sense of the word.A brilliant illustration of Jimi abilities of pop song craft, also showing a very gentle side. Everything didn't have to turned up to 11. One Rainy Wish ..... case in point Peace Out

Billy Cox did an interview on "Musicians Hall of Fame" (MHOF) which underscores their super-tight friendship. They spent a decade jamming in bands and apartments, and then later in Band of Gypsies. Some of their old band newspaper ads-playing the various clubs in (Knoxsville?) TN-are even shown. I forget the details, but an excellent history none the less.

The funk that was coming out of the sessions that were on Cry of Love and the tunes on Rainbow Bridge were hinting at some awesome music coming up....

Thank you Cosmos #eddiekramer 😎

Some of us may not have gotten up close and personal with the Man but we have followed his career closely, bought as much albums as was available-irrespective of who produced it, bought the biographies, tablature books, saved media clippings and now watch and listen to as many posts as possible here on YT. So, I've read from numerous sources how funny, how humble, shy, quiet he was, how much drugs he took and now how he constructed his music. Krammer doesn't have a humble bone in his body and I'll never want to see him naked.

His production was incredible the bass drums and everything sound like they could have been recorded today

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was a band. Bring up Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell

PLEASE Eddie, remix the first four albums. We all need this.

I love Jimi…

In Miles Davis' biography it says, upon Jimi's return to NY, he was to collaborate for an album/session directed by Gil Evans.

Jimi would have continued to explore whatever possibilities that presented themselves. For sure he would have released the songs he was working on at Electric Lady, most of those songs are available in some form to hear today, and then who knows really. But i bet it would have been interesting.

He was heading into more strings & horns. When meeting Terry Kath (Chicago) he said he would like to trade places & play w/horns; Kath saying he wanted to play more w/out horns which would have shown more the guitar talents of Kath. We will never know.

Great story.

The Music Man

The roadie bringing in the Marshal amps was Lemmy Killmister who later formed Motoerhead

At 3:00 massive Roadie. Lemmy? Lemmy Klimister was a Jimi Roadie.

I would have asked about some said would have happened if he had lived, is an album with Miles and Gil Evans.

Great interview. I like the Experience but in my opinion the Band Of Gypsys with Cox and Miles featured two musicians that were playing on his level.

I always thought it would have been interesting to see how synths would have influenced Jimi, as they were just coming out in the seventies..

Can you imagine a newer rendition of "Nine To The Universe"?! I mean it's gold already but I KNOW Hendrix would have loved to critique the song to be even more amazing 😭🤘🏽, even expand the album too

The solo Jimi played on I Don't Live Today. Listen to how the tone changes, almost like phasing. That was Eddie Kramer twiddling the board EQ. Hendrix didn't use effect pedals until after Are You Experienced. EK was the right guy for Jimi for sure.

Hearing kramer talk about band o gypsies era is giving me chills

An interesting insight from Mr. Kramer. Jimi was about to get together with Miles.....IMAGINE!!!

Jimi was about the sound and pushing the depth of sound. I personally believe he would have become a DJ and made trippy music.....

Actually at Woodstock Jimi said “Gypsy Sun and Rainbows”

Hendrix, made classic albums, right off the bat like, Are You Experienced & Electric Ladyland, while it took The Beatles four to five years in the game to come up with Revolver & St Pepper & The Stones, 6 to 9 years in the game to come up with, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street, yet his albums stand toe to toe with those albums & any other classic rock albums.

Ya, there's a whole other album after Band of Gypsys. Check it out, it is all awesome stuff. You have probably heard some of it.

Eddie Kramer and Martin Burch both changed the face of rock 💪💪

well said david

Thanks Eddy for doing bang up job with the Hendrix catalog . I think there is no more studio material left worth releasing without further damage to Jimi's reputation . There are still a few good multi track concerts left . I don't think berkeley 1st show is out . The estate needs to get a hold of the 2 royal albert shows . I think some of the maui concerts can also be marketed .

Nice chat, but you never specifically asked him the title of the video, which is what would that 4th album have sounded like? I would like to know what his opinion is on the songs selected for his first posthumous albums.

I wonder what Eddies take was on Hendrix's Rainbow Bridge stuff (Pali Gap, Hey Baby, Room Full of Mirrors, etc) ( I loved it all)