SHRED WEEK: Machine Gun by Jimi Hendrix - When people hear the word shred in reference to guitar, most folks imagine Eddie Van Halen or Joe Satriani. But well before they ever came on the scene, folks like Jimi Hendrix were the original guitar gods of rock that not only came with massive chops, but could make the guitar sing the most soulful notes ever to emerge from an instrument. Most shredders got obsessed with speed and funny sounds, but Jimi came at the craft with heart and soul.
There were so many killer solos Jimi cut in his too short career. Listen to what he does on songs like Red House or Axis Bold As Love or the penultimate guitar god tune Voodoo Child. But Machine Gun is an exploration of sound what is simply transcendent. He does not shred with speed, he shreds by wringing an unimaginable amount of human suffering and pain and raw emotion out of an inanimate object. The guitar is alive in his hands, which is about the greatest achievement any guitarist could achieve.
