It’s the most famous cover in history. Period. When you hear that opening acoustic strum—those three sharp, descending chords—you don't think of a folk singer from Minnesota. You think of a man in a feathered hat, eyes closed, turning a guitar into a weather system. Honestly, it’s rare for a cover to completely erase the original from the public consciousness, but that’s exactly what happened here.
Most people think of all along the watchtower jimi hendrix as just another great 60s rock song. It isn't. It’s actually a masterpiece of obsessive-compulsive studio craft that nearly broke his band and sent his producer packing.
The Day the Studio Almost Exploded
The session started on January 21, 1968, at Olympic Studios in London. Jimi had a copy of Bob Dylan’s John Wesley Harding before it even hit the shelves. He was obsessed. He told his friends that Dylan’s lyrics were so close to his own feelings, he felt like he wrote them himself.
But the recording was a nightmare.
Jimi wasn't just "playing" the song; he was building a world. He brought in Dave Mason from the band Traffic to play 12-string acoustic guitar. He had Brian Jones from the Rolling Stones there, too. Brian was apparently quite drunk and kept trying to play piano. It was a mess. Jimi eventually had to ask him to leave the keys and just play percussion—that’s Brian you hear on the "vibraslap," that rattling sound that punctuates the track.
Noel Redding, the Experience’s bassist, couldn't handle it. Jimi was demanding perfection, shouting out chord changes, and doing take after take. Take 27 was the "keeper," but by then, Noel had walked out to go to the pub.
He just left.
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So, what did Jimi do? He picked up the bass himself. Most of the bass lines you hear on the final version of all along the watchtower jimi hendrix are Jimi’s own playing. He was a phenomenal bassist, often playing with a fluid, melodic style that Noel—who was originally a guitarist—couldn't quite capture.
Turning 4 Tracks into 16
The song started on a 4-track recorder in London. That’s tiny. To get the massive, swirling sound we know today, Jimi took the tapes to the Record Plant in New York. This is where things got really "Hendrix."
He spent months overdubbing.
Jimi’s producer, Chas Chandler, who had basically discovered him, actually quit during these sessions. He was fed up with Jimi’s habit of inviting dozens of people into the studio and recording the same guitar part 50 times. To Chas, it was a waste of money. To Jimi, it was the only way to hear what was in his head.
The guitar solos are a masterclass in structure. If you listen closely, there are four distinct solo sections:
- The straight-up melodic lead that echoes the vocal melody.
- The slide guitar section—which Jimi famously played using a cigarette lighter because he didn't have a slide handy.
- The wah-wah pedal section that sounds like the guitar is breathing.
- The rhythmic, chord-based solo that leads into the final verse.
Engineers like Eddie Kramer had to move the recordings from 4-track to 12-track, and eventually 16-track, just to fit all of Jimi’s ideas. They were "bouncing" tracks, a process where you mix multiple instruments down to one track to free up space. It was risky. If you messed up the mix during a bounce, you lost the original performance forever.
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What the Lyrics Actually Mean (According to the Vibes)
Dylan wrote the lyrics after a near-fatal motorcycle accident. They’re based on the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 21, verses 5-9. It’s all very apocalyptic. You’ve got the Joker and the Thief—figures who don't fit into the "businessmen" and "plowmen" world—talking about how life is a joke, but they aren't laughing.
Jimi’s version changed the vibe.
While Dylan’s original is sparse and haunting, Jimi’s version feels like the actual storm is hitting. The way the drums (played by Mitch Mitchell) kick in after the intro feels like a call to arms. In the late 60s, this song became the unofficial anthem for soldiers in Vietnam. The "wildcat" growling and the "wind" howling weren't just metaphors anymore; they sounded like the jungle and the helicopters.
Bob Dylan’s Shocking Reaction
Usually, when a rock star covers a folk legend, the legend is... let's say "protective." Not Bob.
Dylan was floored.
He once said that hearing Jimi’s version "overwhelmed" him. He admitted that Jimi found things in the song that he never even knew were there. In fact, Dylan liked it so much that he started playing it Jimi’s way during his live shows.
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If you go to a Bob Dylan concert today (he’s still touring in 2026, believe it or not), he still plays the Hendrix arrangement. He basically ceded ownership of the song. "I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day," Dylan said. That is the ultimate badge of honor.
Why It Still Sounds Like the Future
You can listen to all along the watchtower jimi hendrix on a high-end stereo in 2026 and it still sounds better than most modern tracks. Why? Because it’s not "clean."
It’s full of tape saturation. The delays on the vocals were created by physically running tape between two machines. The "panning" (where the sound moves from your left ear to your right) was done by hand on a mixing board, not a computer.
There’s a section in the outro where the guitar and vocals start swapping places in the stereo field. It’s disorienting. It’s supposed to be. Jimi wanted the listener to feel like they were inside the watchtower while the world was ending outside.
Actionable Takeaways for Music Nerds
If you want to truly appreciate the depth of this track, try these three things next time you listen:
- Focus on the Bass: Forget the guitar for a minute. Listen to the bass line Jimi played. It’s incredibly melodic and carries the song's momentum more than the drums do.
- The 2:15 Mark: This is where the "psychedelia" kicks in. Listen for the "vibraslap" and the way the wah-wah pedal starts to mimic a human voice.
- Acoustic Layering: Even under all that heavy electric distortion, the 12-string acoustic guitar is still there, panned to the side. It’s the "glue" that keeps the song from sounding like pure noise.
Jimi Hendrix didn't just cover a song; he performed an exorcism on it. He took a folk tune and turned it into a three-minute and fifty-eight-second epic that defined an entire generation. Whether you're a guitar player or just a casual listener, the layers in this recording offer something new every single time. It's a reminder that sometimes, the "wrong" way to record—too many takes, too many people, too much volume—is exactly what's needed to create something eternal.
To dig deeper, look for the "stems" or isolated tracks of the recording sessions online. Hearing Jimi’s isolated guitar tracks without the drums is a haunting experience that reveals the sheer precision behind his "wild" sound. You can also compare the mono vs. stereo mixes to see how the sense of space changes the song’s impact.