Right after Christmas, I found myself in Tower Records, returning a CD that I received twice. Wandering around the magazine section, I found the last copy of the December issue of Mojo magazine, featuring a cover article on Jimi Hendrix, an extensive interview with the ellusive Kate Bush, something about “Sex and Drugs” with Debbie Harry, and an article on the paintings of Billy Childish.
The cover article on Jimi Hendrix by Charles R. Cross and accompanying CD was the deal-breaker when it came time for me to pull out the wallet. Last month, I had a chance to browse through Charles Cross’s book on Jimi (Room Full of Mirrors), and was fairly impressed with what I read. According my friend Mary Willix, author of Jimi Hendrix: Voices from Home, Charles definitely did his homework on this one. This particular Mojo article is probably an excerpt from the book, adding a few color photographs that didn’t make it into the original publication.
As a LOUIE LOUIE archivist, I spotted the LOUIE-specific comments in this article by guitarist Larry Coryell, and Rocking Kings drummer Lester Exkano, who played LOUIE with Jimi many years ago. The accompanying CD, “The Roots of Hendrix” is a collection of tracks that directly inspired Jimi Hendrix, including songs by Howling Wolf, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Little Richard, T-Bone Walker, and the Tacoma band and that made their magical mark at the Spanish Castle, The Fabulous Wailers.
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Like most issues of Mojo, this issue features great writing and a lot high-quality photos. I’ve been informed that the next issue of Mojo will have a rather interesting interview with Bruce Springsteen about the nature of politicians and fairy tales, which should provide some very entertaining reading…