#3: Jimi Hendrix — All Along the Watchtower
Bob Dylan’s original recording was an understated, acoustic folk tale that sounded like an apocalyptic ballad sung around a campfire. Jimi Hendrix heard the track’s latent epic scale and rebuilt it using massive layers of distorted electric guitars and thunderous drums. His soaring, urgent vocal delivery turned Dylan’s quiet, enigmatic warning into a turbulent, electric anthem for the Vietnam War generation.
