One Rainy Wish
Encyclopedia
"One Rainy Wish" is a song by English/American psychedelic rock
band The Jimi Hendrix Experience
, featured on their 1967 second album Axis: Bold as Love
. The song was written by lead vocalist and guitarist Jimi Hendrix
based on a dream that he had in which "the sky was filled with a thousand stars [...] and eleven moons played across the rainbows," according to the song's lyrics. Shortly after the release of Axis: Bold as Love, "One Rainy Wish" was featured as the B-side to "Up from the Skies
", released in February 1968.
and Wes Montgomery
, according to fellow guitarist Mike Stern
, who said the following about the song:
In the Hendrix biography Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy, the song is described as "creak[ing] with radical harmonies and rhythmic concepts, not least the fact that the verse is in 3/4
time while the chorus is in 4/4
." "One Rainy Wish" was recorded sometime midway through the Axis: Bold as Love sessions, in October 1967, at Olympic Sound Studios
with producer Chas Chandler
and engineer Eddie Kramer
.
, critic Chris Jones noted the song as one of the album's examples of Hendrix's "loveliest lyrics," while allmusic reviewer Cub Koda described the song as a "beautiful, wistful ballad."
Additional personnel
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
band The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
, featured on their 1967 second album Axis: Bold as Love
Axis: Bold as Love
Axis: Bold as Love is the second studio album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Under pressure from their record company to follow-up the successful debut of their May 1967 album Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love was released on Track Records in the UK in December 1967...
. The song was written by lead vocalist and guitarist Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
based on a dream that he had in which "the sky was filled with a thousand stars [...] and eleven moons played across the rainbows," according to the song's lyrics. Shortly after the release of Axis: Bold as Love, "One Rainy Wish" was featured as the B-side to "Up from the Skies
Up from the Skies
"Up from the Skies" is a song by English/American psychedelic rock band The Jimi Hendrix Experience, featured on their 1967 second album Axis: Bold as Love. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, the song details the experience of a specimen of extraterrestrial life returning to Earth...
", released in February 1968.
Background and style
"One Rainy Wish" was "one of Jimi [Hendrix]'s many songs born out of a dream". The style of guitar playing displayed by Hendrix is said to be reminiscent of that of American jazz guitarists Jim HallJim Hall (musician)
James Stanley Hall is an American jazz guitarist.-Biography:Educated at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Hall moved to Los Angeles where he began to attract national, and then international, attention in the late 1950s...
and Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
, according to fellow guitarist Mike Stern
Mike Stern
Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing for a few years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he landed a gig with Billy Cobham and then broke through with Miles Davis' comeback band from 1981 to 1983, and again in 1985. Since then, he launched a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums...
, who said the following about the song:
In the Hendrix biography Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy, the song is described as "creak[ing] with radical harmonies and rhythmic concepts, not least the fact that the verse is in 3/4
Triple metre
Triple metre is a musical metre characterized by a primary division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 or 9 in the upper figure of the time signature, with 3/4, 3/2, and 3/8 being the most common examples...
time while the chorus is in 4/4
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
." "One Rainy Wish" was recorded sometime midway through the Axis: Bold as Love sessions, in October 1967, at Olympic Sound Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
with producer Chas Chandler
Chas Chandler
Bryan James "Chas" Chandler was an English musician, record producer and manager of several successful music acts....
and engineer Eddie Kramer
Eddie Kramer
Edwin H. Kramer is an audio engineer and producer who has worked with, among others, Led Zeppelin, Triumph, Kiss , Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Spooky Tooth, Peter Frampton, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, Anthrax, Carly Simon, Loudness, and Robin Trower.-1960s:Eddie...
.
Reception
In reviews of Axis: Bold as Love, "One Rainy Wish" has generally been positively regarded. In a review for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, critic Chris Jones noted the song as one of the album's examples of Hendrix's "loveliest lyrics," while allmusic reviewer Cub Koda described the song as a "beautiful, wistful ballad."
Personnel
Musicians- Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - Noel ReddingNoel ReddingNoel Redding was an English rock and roll guitarist best known as the bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Biography:...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Mitch MitchellMitch MitchellJohn Ronald "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer, best known for his work in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Early life and the Jimi Hendrix Experience:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional personnel
- Chas ChandlerChas ChandlerBryan James "Chas" Chandler was an English musician, record producer and manager of several successful music acts....
– productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Eddie KramerEddie KramerEdwin H. Kramer is an audio engineer and producer who has worked with, among others, Led Zeppelin, Triumph, Kiss , Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Spooky Tooth, Peter Frampton, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, Anthrax, Carly Simon, Loudness, and Robin Trower.-1960s:Eddie...
– engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...