Hell yes, I say.
Also, Redding sounds great on the Live at Winterland CD. So I don't know what people are talking about saying he's not good.
Great point. I'd like to repeat it: for anyone saying Noel Redding couldn't play, then what about the Winterland concert? He sounds pretty good there, actually. As someone has pointed out on another thread, sometimes it's hard to find good Hendrix concerts, but Winterland is a good one. It's a 4CD set. There's a lot to listen to. What I'm thinking, though, is that some of the people saying Noel couldn't play may not have even heard Winterland. It does cost $40, so it's understandable if it might not be found in too many homes. But it was well worth the 40 bucks to me.
Noel did have experience before he auditioned for Hendrix and Chas Chandler. He had played for years in various parts of Europe. He had honed his skills on stage just like any musician has to do to get any good. Of course, he was totally unknown, but that's not the point. The point is he wasn't just a rank amateur who had walked off the street.
So, when Noel did audition, Jimi saw his hair and that settled it. That was 1966. They played concerts all over the world from that point until mid-1969. And Hendrix kept Noel as bassist during all that time because he liked Noel's hair so much? That doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe there were some other factors besides the hair.
Chas Chandler had asked Noel if he could play bass at the audition. Obviously, he had gone there because there was an opening for guitarist for the "New" Animals. But that position got filled. Chas and Jimi wanted him to try playing bass. Noel told them he couldn't play bass, but that he would give it a go, as he put it.
As someone has already pointed out on this thread, Jimi Hendrix wasn't bothered by the fact that Noel Redding played guitar. In fact, as Sean Egan points out in "Jimi Hendrix and the Making of Are You Experienced," that actually worked out well. All Jimi had to do was show or tell Noel the chords to a song. He usually learned that very quickly, then played the song on bass. Jimi Hendrix didn't have an anti-guitar attitude. He also told Noel he liked it when he played chords on bass. In many of the live performances, you'll hear Noel doing this kind of thing from time to time. Once again, Egan's book is a good source for this kind of thing, although there are other good sources, too.
Speaking of sources, using Mitch Mitchell as a source can be problematic. He did say some positive things about Noel, like the statement about Noel being the timekeeper of the band. He made statements about Noel being a competent guitarist and bassist. But as the years progressed, the relationship between Noel and Mitch was not very good. In fact, Mitch didn't get along with quite a lot of people during the last part of his life. Nevertheless, things like this are pretty common with bands, so I see no need to make an issue of it. I love Mitch Mitchell's drumming, though.
Another thing which often gets overlooked is that Noel would likely have played with Jimi again if Jimi hadn't died. Billy Cox had had a bad drug experience in Europe and had already flown back to America. Noel was called to ask if he could finish the tour. (Noel was actually in the U.S. at that time.) He agreed. But before he could make the travel plans, Jimi Hendrix died.
I'm getting more interested in the People, Hell, and Angels album which is about to come out. It will be soon. On that one, it will just be Billy Cox playing (as far as I know.) Happy listening to anyone who thinks you might be interested in this CD.
