Creativity Quote by Noel Redding

Credit is a form of power in a band, and Noel Redding’s offhand line about “Ain’t No Telling” is really a claim-stake driven into Hendrix mythology. The phrasing matters: “I came up with the bass solo” isn’t poetic, it’s plainspoken and a little defensive, like someone clearing the record straight after years of being treated as a supporting character in someone else’s legend.

Context does a lot of the work here. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was marketed as a singular genius with two sidemen, even though the records are full of arrangements that only land because the rhythm section is thinking compositionally. “Ain’t No Telling” is one of those compact, high-velocity tracks where the bass isn’t just keeping time; it’s a hook, a counter-melody, a structural device. Calling it a “solo” reframes Redding’s role from accompanist to co-author of the song’s electricity.

There’s subtext in the choice of song, too. This isn’t “Purple Haze” or a stadium anthem; it’s deep-catalog proof, the kind musicians cite when they’re talking to other musicians, not the general public. Redding is signaling: listen closely and you’ll hear the architecture, not just the fireworks.

The intent, then, is less ego than recalibration. In a culture that loves the lone genius narrative, he’s reminding you that sound is built by hands, and history often only remembers the loudest guitar.