Page 33 - the NOISE May 2015

Robert wyatt; Jimi hendrix, circa 1967 musiC Bloodline / wikimedia / maRk Johansen aRChives
had no guitarist, but Jimi dug soft Machine and proclaimed them very groovy indeed. since they shared management, the Jimi Hendrix experience started opening for soft Machine. within six months, it was the other way round. The softs’ friendship with the experience helped them land a two album contract with ABC’s jazz label Probe.
The two bands had a definite influence on each other. Hendrix’s wild showmanship clued Ayers and Ratledge in to the impor- tance of stage presence (wyatt needed no such help). The softs’ use of free jazz and min- imalism gave Hendrix the courage to take his music into more abstract areas. Hendrix was also self-conscious about his voice, but after seeing wyatt flailing away at his drums and then bursting into song, Jimi loosened up.
The Jimi Hendrix experience and soft Ma- chine toured the U.s. in 1968 (During this time, a guitarist named Andy summers was added to the softs’ lineup. Ten years later, summers would bleach his hair and join The Police). Robert, noel, and Mitch managed to get wasted every night. wyatt and co. took a break midway through to record their first album in new york.
Although the group was in turmoil, ev- erything congealed in the studio. Producer Tom wilson sanded down the band’s rough edges while allowing the three men’s per- sonalities to meld into a seamless whole without losing the power of their live shows. The soft Machine was an impressive debut which, despite the presence of no hit singles, sold fairly well in the U.s., thanks in part to the Hendrix tour. The innovative packaging was one of the first die-cut album covers.
They rejoined Jimi and co. on the west Coast, and then it all fell apart. Ayers had at least two albums of songs that he wanted to release under his own name. He left for the Mediterranean. Ratledge went back to england and told wyatt to ring him up in a few weeks. wyatt had no real home, just a series of girlfriends he stayed with. The last place he wanted to be was back in england
By tony Ballz
with no band and his tail between his legs. The experience were staying in Los Angeles for a little break and their management had rented them large houses by the beach. Jimi invited Robert to hang with him.
Jimi Hendrix and Robert wyatt hit the town together. They saw amazing bands nearly every night. when it came to the women, L.A. was untouched ground for Robert and he dived right in. More important, Hendrix introduced him around and wyatt made some valuable connections in the indus- try. Mostly the two men spent lots of time just lying around the beach house getting stoned and making music. sometimes wy- att would play guitar and Hendrix would play drums and they would create a righteous din. sometimes they would talk, sometimes they wouldn’t. They unplugged the phone. The girls knew where to find them.
One lazy afternoon, Robert was perched in a corner of the living room working out a song on an acoustic guitar, which he only knew how to play rudimentarily. He was used to composing on piano but playing an unfamiliar instrument could unlock some wild ideas. Jimi sat on the couch reading a magazine.
“Let’s have a reefer then, eh?” grunted Robert.
Jimi rolled another. They had both wo- ken up around noon, and this was already joint number ... three? Four? sod it, who’s counting. Jimi lit up and toked. He walked to where Robert was diligently plunking away and stuck the joint in his mouth. Jimi stared at Robert’s hands. The sounds com- ing out of the acoustic were painful to hear.
Jimi exhaled.
“Hey man ... if you’re using those two
chords, it’s better to put your fingers there and there ... and then move them here ...”
He pointed at the frets.
“Unless, you know ... you want it to sound
like that.”
Robert was deeply concentrated on get-
ting the song out. Through a cloud of mari-
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