JIMI HENDRIX

There are problems when trying to accurately dissect Hendrix's legacy and discuss the relevant merits. You see, Jimi Hendrix is a legend. Indeed, he practically is the definition for "legend". It is easy to see the iconic images, the gushing eulogies, the shock-value stunts (such as burning his guitar) and dismiss him as someone whose reputation does not so much precede him as devour him. Whereas you might possibly envisage yourself having a civil chat with Paul McCartney or bumming a fag from David Bowie (Carry On pun intended) to have been in the presence of Jimi Hendrix is an all together different proposition. I've always held that the way he plays his guitar implies he might not even have been human and the subsequent iconic status that has developed around him only reinforces such a ludicrous suggestion. Of course, the poor lad was just some simple soul who loved music but, as with so many others, his premature death and startling ability has seen him escalated to ridiculous levels of adulation that can only serve to put off many prospective fans. It also does not help, of course, that Hendrix was one of the first black men to really impose himself on the consciousness of white popular music (obviously Chuck Berry had laid the foundations and the likes of James Brown, Otis Redding and even Miles Davis were equally cool icons in their respective fields). The fact that the Experience as a whole were one of the first mixed race bands was also very revolutionary in terms of racial standards but, quite frankly, I'd rather gloss over the fact that it did seem so unusual less than forty years ago. Hendrix was not actually marvellously interested in the racial implications of his success (and credit to him) but given that being at the fore-front of a burgeoning counter-culture scene was pretty cool in itself to be so and to be black put his iconic status through the roof. A few years on, of course, and he had choked on his vomit in his sleep (not even a particularly excessive rock'n'roll death - mere ill-fortune, really) and his legend was assured - to the detriment of anyone who likes to assess music's quality independent of its place in fashion and cultural idolatry.

So if you do strip away the image and just try to examine Hendrix's recorded output what are you left with? Well, from what I can discern, you are left with a musical genius. Instantly feathers are going to be ruffled as surely, despite my previous precaution, I am just following the hype. Surely Hendrix wasn't a real genius? His songwriting ability was rudimentary at best, he sure was no revolutionary lyricist and, when it comes down to it, he was just some working-class kid with an average at best IQ who couldn't even read music. And I'm referring to him in terms usually reserved for Beethoven or Bach! What nonsense! In my defence, my reasoning is very simple. It is clear from even a mere cursory listen to Hendrix's music, either the studio stuff or live performances, that no-one was playing the guitar like that before. Indeed, despite the infinite impersonations, no-one has quite achieved in playing like that since. Even ignoring the fact his sheer ability was unfathomable, it was not the physical aspect of his playing that necessarily impresses most (after all, people like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani could probably play quicker with a greater accuracy than Jimi) but it is the way he envisaged how the guitar was to be played that was so important. Eric Clapton got a great tone out of his guitar in the mid-sixties, which was definitely a pre-cursor for proper rock music and an influence on Jimi himself, but Hendrix just took it that all important stage further. Without Hendrix rock music would simply not exist. And not just hard rock but almost every type of rock imaginable. Anything that relies on distortion and feedback owes a debt to Hendrix (or at least until the Velvet Underground became retrospectively popular) and the same can be said for riff-based rock music (including heavy metal). In short, rock music in all its forms originates to some degree from the influence of Jimi Hendrix's musical revolution. To conceive of music in that way, the use of a guitar in more than just the note-playing sense, was utterly revolutionary and just as pioneering in a way as Dylan foreseeing the scope for lyrical word-play in popular music. I realise other musicians were hot on his heels (as well as Clapton you could argue Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck were critical figures in the development of rock music) but no-one did it quite like Hendrix. His ability and his vision is what makes him a musical genius.

It also was not just that he was technically impressive, Jimi put his heart and his soul into everything he played. In that way, he was a natural successor to the blues legends of yore. I guess that is part of what constitutes his genius in that when you hear him play you don't imagine him thinking in his mind about what note would sound best in which pentatonic scale - he's feeling the music just as keenly as any "emotional" artist you care to mention. Listening to Hendrix at his best is to be transported into another dimension, to transcend the rigidity of traditional songwriting, and be immersed in something far beyond mere self-indulgent guitar wanking. Listen to the power and the glory of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" or "Machine Gun" are then try and claim Eddie Van Halen was a better guitarist because he could play faster. Indeed, due to the economy and power of his playing Hendrix is closer to a jazz musician like John Coltrane than the barrel-load of guitar noodlers that he inspired. Furthermore, I don't want to give the impression that Hendrix might as well have been a fusion player, like John McLaughlin. Hendrix WAS a good songwriter and it is not just his awesome guitar playing that gives the songs their power. Furthermore, the Experience (drummer Mitch Mitchell, whose parents were obviously very witty people, and bassist Noel Redding) were perfect foils for Jimi, Mitch(ell) in particular, who combined to mark the Experience out and beyond other rock combos like Cream and chums. In short, even if you forget all that revolutionary guff about Hendrix's ability, we are still left with one of the best and most influential rock bands of their era.

From: Robert

Liked your Hendrix reveiws alot.I could not agree more with your opinions. I have a killer stereo, could of bought a car instead, anyway Hendrix sound utterly fantastic on a powerful quality system, it's like you have never heard the music before if you have not heard it on a pro system. Records, 250 watts of tube power, 500 pounds of speakers heaven E.S.P. concert grands.
Well my two cents is a vote of 10+ for the Isle of Wright concert. I just love the album, best track is the best version ever of "New Rising Sun" and I have heard them all I think. Hard album to find with "New Rising Sun" cut on it, full album not reissued yet. The DVD movie does not have "New Rising Sun" on it, someone is brain dead for sure.

Jimi had spent the mid-sixties working as an obviously-too-talented-for-his-employers side-man but he was eventually picked up as a solo star in his own right by ex-Animal Chas Chandler (who presumably subsequently employed Mitch Mitchell out of name-based sympathy). For an animal Chandler was a rather canny businessman so he realised Jimi would cause something of a splash back in Lahndahn and, as a result, got him nicely set up both with a beneficial backing band and a general buzz with the "in" people of the scene. You might imagine, therefore, that Hendrix's debut has become an antiquity, a period-piece but nothing more, but you'd be waaaaaay wrong. Despite the slightly dodgy production (Chandler was inexperienced in such matters) and the occasional hippyish overtones Jimi's phenomenal talent shines through loud and clear throughout the album. Indeed, one could convincingly argue that at the point in time at which it was released this album was the best debut ever. Whereas most of the bands making it big at the time - the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who, etc. - had started somewhat slowly Hendrix just burst onto the scene with all guns blazing. Even thirty-five years hence one would be struggling to name more than a handful of superior debut offerings. And if this sounds so impressive now can you even imagine what it must have sounded like at the time? You could stick on Cream's debut and enjoy its blues-based heaviness and general psychedelia but when you came to flip this on the turn-table you'd be instantly blown away by the hard rock grooves of "Foxy Lady", "Manic Depression", and "Fire" and the other-worldly psychedelia of "I Don't Live Today", "Third Stone from the Sun" and the remarkable title track. In the case of the latter efforts, the only album coming close to matching such far-out escapades is probably Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Sure, a couple of the more pop-based efforts, "May This Be Love" and "Remember", are the not the strongest compositions ever but, fuckin' hell, everything else on this album is nothing short of astonishing. Listen to that guitar solo in "Manic Depression". What the hell is he even doing? I've listened to that song countless times over the years and it STILL sounds fresh, exciting and even dangerous every further time I hear it. And if Hendrix wasn't a good songwriter how did he come up with something as melodically infectious as "Foxy Lady" or "Fire" set within such an astonishing hard-rock framework? As has been already expressed, the diversity within the set is also wonderfully commendable. Even when he sticks to traditional blues, the self-penned "Red House", he is able to outstrip all his competitors with scorching guitar playing. He also plays with his sci-fi persona on the out-of-this-world seven-minute instrumental "Third Rock from the Sun" which features a great riff, a scorching solo and all manner of special effects that only the clinically insane Syd Barrett could match. The original album ends with the startling "Are You Experienced?" which out-experiments the Beatles with its hypnotic backwards guitar (although I've been told it is actually played normally - Jimi was just so amazing he could make it sound backwards) and its crushing psychedelic chorus. Hendrix's estate was finally won over by his family in the late nineties and his half-sister has given all the albums an excellent remastering job, with this album benefiting from a generous six bonus tracks. (I'm not that keen on the over-zealous eulogising in the sleeve-notes, though, given Jimi only ever met his half-sister once.) Anyhow, the bonus tracks are made up of the A- and B-sides of the three singles released with the album so we get the trademark cover of "Hey Joe" (which first made him a star), the timeless "Purple Haze" and the touch-overrated ballad "The Wind Cries Mary". Of the B-sides the best is probably the funky, auto-biographical "Highway Chile". Although I personally think Hendrix reached an even higher pinnacle in his career later on I can see how people do rank this as his finest hour. Not only is it one of the greatest debut albums ever, it also almost single-handedly invented rock music. Not bad for a day's work.

There seems to be little point in regurgitating what I'm told in the sleeve-notes but, in brief, 1967 was a pretty groovy year for the Experience. They (or at least Hendrix) had become instant stars, all the other bands of the time looked up to them, Noel Redding hadn't started moaning, Hendrix hadn't cottoned on to Chandler and co. ripping him off, and, most importantly, they were making great music. Hendrix's mind was burning up with oodles of great ideas and so, as was the norm in the sixties, instead of spending two years endlessly promoting their debut and touring Japan the band went right back into the studio and cut album no. 2 in the latter months of 1967. As you might be able to tell by the cover the psychedelic influence is at its strongest with most of the lyrics being the usual counter-culture tosh of the time. However, Chandler was insistent that the Experience were to be a pop band (plus ca change) and therefore forced Jimi to reign in his self-indulgent/experimental tendencies and produce an album featuring 11 out of 13 songs that were under 3 minutes in length. Still, what that does prove is that Jimi had no real trouble writing three minute pop/rock songs even if he'd rather be embarking on 15 minute jams with Stevie Winwood. Again, as with Are You Experienced?, some of the out-and-out pop songs are a little trite and miss out on Hendrix's scorching lead but there is still plenty of stuff on here that further illustrates just how far ahead of his rock competitors Jimi really was. Whereas Cream's finest hour (Disraeli Gears) only just reaches this standard this album is actually Jimi's weakest. And, it goes without saying, to have this as your weakest studio album is indicative of some not inconsiderate talent. The hard-edged rockers all feature melodies that far surpass the subsequent hard rock legends (Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc.) with the likes of "Spanish Castle Magic", "Ain't No Telling" and "Little Miss Lover" all continuing in the vein of the likes of "Fire" and "Purple Haze" from the debut. Indeed, rather like the debut, one might consider the ballads the weaker moments on the album. "Castles Made of Sand" is nice enough but "One Rainy Wish" is something of a four-minute drag (and a pointless re-run of "May This Be Love"). On the other hand, I'd be nothing short of certifiably insane to call the classic "Little Wing" a disappointment. The glockenspiel is an inspired touch, the guitar playing and vocals authentically emotional and the solo typically beautiful. Hell, even the lyrics are impressive. The only aspect of it that could possibly be called disappointing is that it is too short - calling it quits at a premature two and a half minutes. It is noticeable, though, that of all the covers (from Eric Clapton to Sting and Gil Evans) not one matches the original. Another famous track from this album is undoubtedly "If 6 Was 9" which was put to brilliant use in the seminal Easy Rider. It is one of the period's counter-cultural ravings that actually seems cool (no, not one of yours, Dave Crosby) and the crawling blues riffing practically gave the likes of Steppenwolf and Free a career. The most diverse this album gets is probably the first actual song on the album - "Up From the Skies" - which is an enjoyably jazzy flying-saucer themed romp. Unfortunately it is pre-cursed by Jimi pretending to be an alien interviewed by a posh radio presenter (Mitchell). Of all of Jimi's experimenting nothing else comes close to being as embarrassingly dated as that particular mis-hap. Noel Redding gets to write and sing a song but it is the rather generic "She's So Fine". One suspects, for all his bitching, Redding wasn't the most talented individual in the group. The album ends with the near-title track "Bold as Love" which features poor Dylan-imitation lyrics but a nice enough melody and a quite frankly cracking coda with all manner of astonishing guitar pyrotechnics. Of the Experience's albums this is marginally less important than the two it is sandwiched between but that does not make it anywhere near disposable. It is hard to say Chandler was right to push Hendrix into being a conformist pop star but, in attempting to do so, he did bring out a side to Jimi's songwriting that he often is not given credit for. Everything this man touched turned to gold.

From: Jon

Am I the only one who thinks that of the three studio albums Jimi did that Axis: Bold as Love is the best and most listenable?

The greatest rock album ever. Not content with a ground-breaking and awe-inspiring debut and an iron-clad follow-up Jimi was looking for something even more special. He didn't want to be no pop star (famously, Chandler once tried to get him to support the Monkees) and he was not happy with being financially fleeced by his management. Therefore Chandler was given the chop and the Experience were coming close to disbanding with the grumpy Redding having only sporadic impact on proceedings (apparently spending the rest of the time in the pub in a strop). Therefore, Hendrix brought in some showbiz buddies (well, Steve Winwood and Al Kooper) and "produced and directed" a double set of stupendous proportions. There are obviously people who dismiss this album as overblown, over-long and overrated and prefer the more concise Are You Experienced? instead but, for me, this album encapsulates everything that was great about the late Jimi Hendrix. Sure, he is self-indulgent but, come on, if the greatest guitar player the world has ever seen can't be a bit indulgent now and again who can? And it is not as if he is just showing off for the sake of it. Like I said in the intro, Hendrix was not just some posturing show-off - he felt the music as keenly as anyone. Quite frankly, if John Lee Hooker had released the fifteen minute blues epic "Voodoo Chile" (concentrating on a duel with Winwood's organ) most people would be going nuts over it. Just 'cause this black blues player happens to be a bit younger does not mean we should suddenly start damning him for it. I'm not overly fascinated with the blues but I don't see any reason why "Voodoo Chile" is less worthy than any other song of the genre. And is this album really any more indulgent than John Coltrane's universally-acclaimed (and rightly so) A Love Supreme or even Bitches Brew? Arguably just like Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Stones Jimi's greatest moment was a sprawling, expansive set that never ceases to amaze from start to finish. The day I first got this album I knew I was on to something special and never has that belief for once wavered. Of all the albums that have passed through my affections (although I like to regard myself as pretty loyal in that respect) this one has had a special pantheon put aside for it. Some of Jimi's best known tunes are contained on here including the ridiculously infectious "Crosstown Traffic" (with the world's best kazoo hook), "Burning of the Midnight Lamp", and the unsurpassable double-bill (and the world's greatest album finale) of "All Along the Watchtower" and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)". The former is, naturally, superior to Dylan's admittedly superb original and contains what is rightly regarded as one of the greatest guitar solos ever. "Voodoo Child" is simply out of this world. Its brilliance is unaccountable. It begins with possibly the most distinctive intro and riff ever before escalating into a rocker of such brutal, awesome power that has never been reproduced since. Any other musician could over-dub hundreds of guitars and still not come close to matching the power Hendrix generates with just one. To mirror the quarter-of-an-hour blues jam the second piece of vinyl features a lengthy epic of its own - "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)". It is not as impressive as "Voodoo" as one might argue the meandering middle-section is over long (indeed, I might even argue that) but it creates a nice feeling of space on the album and the actual song part of it is a-OK. You gotta love the lyrical premise too - that humanity will be living under the sea by 1983. It is sandwiched by the jazz-flavoured "Rainy Day, Dream Away" and its reprise "Still Raining, Still Dreaming". As CapnMarvel points out (my conscience wouldn't allow me to pass off the interpretation as my own) it seems the general idea is that Jimi falls asleep on a rainy day and dreams the whole 1983 thing. That would also explain why the latter "Rainy Day" track opens with the same snippet that closes the first - namely the most incredible guitar effect ever, in which Jimi actually makes his guitar sound like two people talking to each other. To just do something like that, off the cuff, can only reinforce his genius status. Obviously, being a double album, there are plenty of songs involved and, in between the two epics, Jimi throws in what some might call filler and what I call loads more great songs. "Long Hot Summer Night", "Gypsy Eyes" and the brilliant blues cover "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" are all melodic rock songs up to the standards set on previous albums. They only receive less coverage because they are surrounded by such a wealth of musical magic. If you've come fishing for filler you've come to the wrong place although I might suggest Noel Redding's sole effort, "Little Miss Strange", sounds suspiciously like his previous one and is only enlivened by some cheeky overdubs by Hendrix; which, unsurprisingly, had Redding fuming. As an aside, one of the most vivid dreams I've ever had was when I once rang up Noel Redding drunk and tried to converse with him. I later found out that my dad used to know him. How's that for a coincidence! Well, sort of. Anyhow, there is no doubt, really, that this breath-taking work of art is mainly down to one man. As I've said, the Experience really were one of the best bands of the sixties but, when it comes down to it, there is only one member you could truly call a musical genius and this album captures everything that was so special about him. If aliens come to earth and want to know what rock music is I'll be directing them to a copy of this album. I'd advise you to do the same.

From: BackroomOtto@aol.com 

You think Electric Ladyland is better than Are You Experienced?...AYE is full of hits, not a single bad song.  EL should've been a single album (by taking out all the songs that are dull).

From: Mart K. Kuhn

"Voodoo Chile". The rest of Electric Ladyland is, for the most part, absolutely phenomenal, but this song is nothing but an ambling, rambling, steaming turd. There's a rather clear distinction for me between very long songs that go somewhere or accomplish something (e.g. Jethro Tull's "Thick As A Brick" or Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", both of which are outstanding) and very long songs that have no use for their length ("Voodoo Chile" or, God forbid, Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", both of which are insufferable). Those in the latter category may be radical departures from the norm or whatever the inordinately-long-song-apologists might want to call it, but in this case the norm has a valid case: songs are generally made concise and to the point because, dammit, that's what makes them good songs. Why do you think early Beatles songs rarely went past the 2:30 mark?

From: Lawrence Impey

I should say that on one small matter I disagree with you and everyone else on the planet, which is that Jimi's version of "Watchtower" is not superior to the original. Why not? Because the simplicity and atmosphere of the original are just perfect - you can almost feel the wind whistling around the watchtower (as it does through Bob's harmonica). Haunting is the word.

Generally speaking I tend to review recent post-humous compilations in the order in which they came out, rather than the time of the material contained within. However, for this page, I've tried to separate out somewhat Jimi's post-Experience career (which was understandably rather brief) from his days with Mitch and Noel. Given that this CD concentrates only on Hendrix's career whilst in the Experience it seems a sound enough idea to review it now and therefore tidy up the loose ends. As it happens, most of this material was recorded during their first year together in 1967 so we'll have to temporarily forget the schism underlying Electric Ladyland and recall a time when Hendrix and Redding still got on and Chas Chandler was still trying to market the Experience as a pop band. As I'm sure you are all aware, the BBC Sessions compilations are usually rather fun and none more so than in this case. You see, during the mid- to late-sixties people actually listened to the radio and the DJs actually had a say in what was played. Furthermore, radio stations were limited in the amount of time they could play pop singles and, therefore, to get round this often got the bands in to record a quasi-live set which they could then broadcast. Multi-track recording wasn't really an option (remember even Sgt. Pepper had to be recorded on a four-track) but the engineers could usually stretch to two components of the recording. Therefore, the backing track would usually be recorded by the rhythm men and then the lead musicians would have to over-dub their contribution in one take. Therefore, although most of the tracks aren't actually recorded absolutely live the songs certainly have a live feel to them, being stripped-down from their studio counterparts and, of course, still open to improvisation and re-working. That said, the fact that the BBC wanted this material in place of the studio singles means they were hardly that keen on Jimi (or anyone else for that matter) going wild with radically different interpretations. Furthermore, as is something of a pertinent point on here, the BBC bosses also wanted the hits to be played. Therefore, as with other BBC Sessions, we get multiple versions of the artist's classics, in this case two versions of "Foxy Lady", three performances of the instrumental "Driving South" and, famously, three versions of "Hey Joe". This package also retains an authentic feel by leaving in the cheesy DJ introductions and banal interviews. The 2CD compilation is arranged roughly chronologically although due to the fact it mainly concentrates only on 1967 performances there isn't a huge amount of development to be charted over the course of the two hours listening time. The most interesting theme to note, though, is the legacy of "Hey Joe" which, it will be remembered, was the single that first brought Hendrix to national prominence. The first performance of it on the first CD is simply blistering. It is slowed down a touch but played with infinitely more power than the studio original which turns it into the beast of a rock song it always should have been. The second performance is prefaced by a brief discussion with Jimi by one of the DJs about Jimi's "Brand New Sound". Jimi tries to enthuse about the new directions he is taking etc. etc., the response to which, to his utter disappointment and disdain, is just to run-through "Hey Joe" again. Of course, it is a common occurrence that artists have radical and often brilliant material shot down because the "fans" want to hear the classics but the little snippet on here perfectly encapsulates such frustration. Finally, at the end of the compilation, Jimi understandably snaps. Appearing on the Lulu show, jumping forward to 1969, Jimi is again asked to play "Hey Joe" (he'd been playing it non-stop for three years by now) on a crappy TV show by someone who sounds like the least professional presenter ever (God bless her). As has since been much imitated (I like the way those MTV hacks never fail to forget to mention it when referring to Cobain's infamous "Rape Me" stunt) Hendrix starts off playing some screaming feedback. Just as the suits' panic attacks are starting he does, after all, launch into an obviously bored rendition of "Hey Joe". A minute in, however - and this is where he went further than Cobain dared - he abruptly announces he wants to play a tribute to Cream instead and launches into an instrumental version of "Sunshine of Your Love". It might seem cliched these days (hell, it is used as a manufactured stunt enough times) but at the time it must have been pretty fucking rock'n'roll. Anyway, the Experience hits are all played well enough with the likes of a sped-up "Foxy Lady" and "Stone Free" and a grinding "Love or Confusion" being highlights on disc 1 and "Wait Until Tomorrow", "Manic Depression" (bizarrely from a high-brow arts discussion programme) and "Voodoo Child" (also from the Lulu show) being the highlights of disco numero duo. The covers he plays are not particularly surprising. The blues standards "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Catfish Blues" and "Killing Floor" are understandably good and he gives excellent renditions of his peers' "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window" (Bob Dylan) and "Day Tripper". The latter is so manic it arguably out-rocks the original. "Hound Dog" is a little too goofy, though, and I don't know where he got the instrumental "Driving South" from but all three versions are excellent (the second probably being the best). The first CD also ends with his own blues song that never made it to an album - "Hear My Train A Comin'" - which is nothing too risky in the songwriting stakes but the performance is feisty and the lyrics are a reassuringly personal account of his situation, obviously showing up his love of traditional blues stereotypes. The final thing worth mentioning, I guess, is that a couple of the tracks are from an impromptu jam with none other than Stevie Wonder on drums. There isn't actually much to say about them (given they were recorded on the spot by two people who'd probably hardly met each other before, let alone played together) but I guess it is a pretty cool thing for the BBC people to include. As it happens, it is little things like that that make this such a superb compilation. The majority of the material is, of course, fantastic but the antiquated snippets of dialogue and off-the-cuff inclusions (including Jimi's Radio One jingle) are equally as fascinating. This compilation is also the closest one gets to seeing the Experience as an actual band, rather than one rock legend and a couple of blokes with big hair.

If we may jump back to 1969, then, we are confronted with Jimi H at a musical crossroads of a sort. The Experience finally disintegrated over realisations that no-one (Jimi included) was getting much of a fair deal from such fantastic music and Jimi headed back to the States to get his mind in gear. Unfortunately his legal situation was further complicated by a previous record contract he'd signed before he'd been picked up by Chandler in the mid-sixties. In short, Hendrix had breached this initial contract through his work with the Experience and in the end the dispute was solved by Hendrix agreeing to release his next album through this old label. Unfortunately, his mind was a bit messed up (not helped by the filth pinning some ultimately unsustainable drugs charges on him) and the abandonment of the Experience meant he was left short-handed when trying to record his fourth studio album (more of which later). In the end, he hooked up with his old army buddies Buddy Miles (drums) and Billy Cox (bass). Rechristened the Band of Gypsys they ran through some quick rehearsals and then performed a short series of gigs at the Fillmore East over the 1969/70 New Year mainly involving new material that Hendrix was working on. A more complete document of those gigs was released (which I've yet to acquire) but for the benefit of Jimi's wronged record label six numbers of all new material were compiled and released as Band of Gypsys (or eponymously, if you like) in 1970. Firstly, as has been pointed out by every man and his dog, Cox and Miles are no match for Redding and Mitchell. Hendrix might have personally fallen out with Redding but it certainly can't have come as much of a surprise when he did later hook up again with Mitchell before his death. Indeed, the preference of Miles over Mitchell does lend credence to the suggestions that Hendrix was more tuned into the black rights movement than before (given it wasn't much of an issue in Britain) and therefore wanted to recruit an all-black band. To be honest, it probably was just a matter of convenience - Mitchell was back home in London, Hendrix and Miles were together in the States - but the new direction that Hendrix appears to be taking with this material definitely does strongly suggest a willingness to embrace black music of the time, as opposed to the non-more-whiteness of rock. In the late sixties, of course, black artists were successfully crossing over to the mainstream and there's no doubt Hendrix admired the likes of Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, George Clinton, Otis Redding and so on. Therefore, from a generous point of view this album is often hailed as a daring and massively influential crossover of white rock music into the realms of funk, soul and jazz. On the other hand, though, it can often be dismissed as Jimi at a loose end and not writing very good songs. Personally, I think there is a little truth in both views. This album probably did prove influential in promoting the use of rock-based guitar in soul and funk music (cf. Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain") but it is hard to believe anything was radically changed by this release. Sure there are some clever ideas and Hendrix's guitar playing is noticeably stylistically altered but I find it hard to believe anyone was completely blown away by this stuff when they first heard it. You see, bar one exception, none of the songs are particularly amazing. Obviously I've given this a high rating because it is by Hendrix and listening to him play guitar for forty minutes is ALWAYS a treat but I'm certainly not giving out medals for the songwriting on here. The soul numbers are uniformly generic in their melodies and Jimi's obvious lack of confidence in his singing voice suggest a move into pure fusion (a la Jeff Beck or John McLaughlin) might well have been his next move had he not passed into the ether on a dose of sleeping pills and red wine. Furthermore, Hendrix rather generously let Buddy Miles perform a couple of his songs in the set. I don't want to be too harsh on some bloke I know next to nothing about but, put it this way, if there is a list of great songwriters I somehow doubt Buddy Miles is on there. To be honest, he's an amateur who got lucky. Actually, the first line to "Changes" is OK but the song all-too-quickly loses direction and momentum. Secondly, as a show-closer, "We Gotta Live Together" is disappointingly limp. Furthermore, for whatever reason, Hendrix doesn't even rip through his lead playing with quite the same abandon as he does on the other numbers. It is worth mentioning that there was plenty of new material that Hendrix did play in these shows that he didn't want including on this album because he wanted them to go on his proposed future studio album. Thankfully we do get treated to the twelve and a half minute "Machine Gun" which easily stands its ground with the Experience material. The song itself is ominous without being stupendous but when Hendrix starts getting all war-like on us with his guitar playing brilliantly recreating the noise and atmosphere of battle one cannot fail to be massively impressed. It is an obvious compliment to pay but it speaks volumes about the quality of the song that, even after 12 minutes, one is always left wanting more. The album opens with the muddled but enjoyable "Who Knows". The vocal melody is as strong as it gets on this album and Jimi's playing is obviously absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, our buddy Miles decides what it really, really needs is an extended improvised scat in the middle. You don't need me to tell you few other people agree with him. "Power of Love" and "Message to Love" are more generic soul-based numbers rescued by Jimi's scintillating and unique guitar playing. The melodies might not be up to the Experience standards (although the latter is pretty good) but the obvious fusion of rock and soul is at least original and interesting. In short, you might sum up the whole album in the same vein. It is obviously pretty interesting and an intriguing signpost to a career path that obviously failed to materialise but the actual material is hardly vintage ("Machine Gun" apart) and Hendrix was hardly in an energised state of mind. Still, that boy plays a mean guitar and for albums like this that is what matters most.

Again we are forced to jump around the chronology a bit. After Hendrix's untimely death in September of 1970 no less than three post-humous albums were released in quick succession. I've not heard any of them (I only got into Hendrix after the family estate remasters) but I gather they mostly collect together the material compiled on here but with no real structure and theme and, indeed, apparently involve some rather tasteless barrel-scraping with the inclusion of unfinished demos and the like. Therefore, upon winning control of his legacy, Jimi's estate gathered together the most complete material that he'd recorded in his custom built Electric Lady studio (which wasn't even finished until after he died) in the summer of 1970 and assembled together as best they could the album that they thought would be most like the one Jimi had originally intended to release. Apparently Hendrix wanted to release another double album and that wish is represented in the form of 17 tracks and a gluttonous 70 minutes running time. Whilst they do manage to squeeze out a healthy helping of reasonably polished studio songs this CD does start to run into more obviously sketchy and unfinished numbers that surely would not have ended up on Jimi's intended album in anything but a radically different form. In short, in order to match the double album running time this album is evidently padded out with some unfinished filler-ish material. On the other hand, I agree with most commentators that there isn't really anything on here that matches his work with the Experience anyway. Unsurprisingly the feel of the songs is quite close to his aesthetics on Band of Gypsys with most being an attempted crossover of rock music with funk and soul. Despite his obvious mercurial talent with the ol' six-string this particular direction of Hendrix's hardly blows his competitors out of the water (Sly and the Family Stone, Parliament/Funkadelic, etc.) and is nowhere near as impressive or as brilliant as his first three albums. Personally I don't think that means Jimi was irrevocably finished as a creative force but there is little doubting, particularly when listening to the later numbers on here, that Jimi was a little rudderless in the run-up to his death. That said, the soul-rock numbers are noticeably more melodic than the Band of Gypsys efforts and I believe the likes of "Angel", "Izabella", and "Dolly Dagger" are regarded as greatest hits of sorts. Certainly I would not say any of them are poor or even mediocre songs. "Freedom" is a superb driving rocker, "Night Bird Flying" features addictive airy guitar hooks and "Dolly Dagger" is arguably his greatest achievement in the soul/rock crossover thing. Indeed, the first seven or eight tracks are all up to a perfectly acceptable standard and, whilst representing something of a let-down from Electric Ladyland (as essentially anything would), would have still formed the basis of another strong album. Certainly the songs give the impression of being the finished articles even if they did benefit from the rather tragic scenario of Hendrix's band-mates finishing their overdubs a few weeks after his death. Speaking of whom, you'll all be glad to learn that Mitch Mitchell rejoined the ranks for these sessions and, as a natural result, the drumming sounds excellent throughout. Unsurprisingly, Redding did not get a call-back (not that he would have accepted it anyway) and therefore the competent Billy Cox remained on bass duties (I don't know what Hendrix called this composite band, though). Anyhow, the first half of this album is fine and, whilst not utterly ground-breaking, still a fair old crack. The second half, though, is a somewhat more patchy affair. "Beginnings", for instance, is just an instrumental track, relying mainly on a riff Hendrix obviously hadn't worked into a proper song yet. Similarly, I'd like to think the jokey "Astro Man" and "Belly Button Window" (the latter a rather cute number inspired by Mitch's new born child) would not have made the final cut. Also, rather bizarrely, the Electric Ladyland out-take "My Friend" is included on here. Not that there is anything drastically wrong with it but you do wonder why it has found its way onto this compilation, given South Saturn Delta is a collection of similar loose ends and every other number on here comes from the 1970 sessions. That said, the highlight of the second half (and, indeed, the CD as a whole) is the obviously embryonic run-through of "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)". The extended instrumental introduction is superb and when Jimi finally gets to the actual song (prefaced by him asking if the microphone is on) one is no less disappointed. In short, it is a shame it didn't get finished with the earlier material as it obviously would have made an excellent centre-piece to the album. Personally, I'd speculate that at the time of his death Hendrix only had about half an album's worth of satisfactory material ready. I've read that he was having problems with quality control without Chandler around but I cannot really believe the second half of this CD would have been used much on the proposed finished article. Indeed, given the sadly unimpressive nature of some of these tracks it appears a double album was probably too ambitious in the first place. Of course Hendrix's death has robbed us of the chance to see how his career would have panned out and I certainly don't believe he would have faded completely but this material does suggest he was hardly going to continue setting the world alight indefinitely. Obviously it is a massive shame he popped it but it is an album like this that serves to remind us just how much great stuff he'd already given us.

Apparently, before Janie Hendrix had properly recovered from the grief of losing a half-brother she'd barely ever met, Jimi's catalogue was owned by some dude by the name of Alan Douglas. I don't know much about him but I do know whenever I see his name mentioned it is usually prefaced by words such as "vile", "crooked", "satanic" and so on. Therefore, I've been led to believe he didn't really do a very good job (or, at least, honest job) of releasing Hendrix products onto the market. Apparently all kinds of shitty rip-off compilations were released, the majority of which have thankfully slipped out of print. This one, though, was obviously deemed worthy enough by the family estate and was therefore re-released under the new Experience Hendrix label. To put it simply, if this was a can of varnish, one would probably be claiming it does exactly what it says on the tin. As I've intimated, sometimes explicitly, Jimi liked the blues and, despite the flashiness, was obviously something of a proponent of the genre. Therefore, this compilation rather pointlessly serves to exhibit solely that side of Jimi's repertoire. On the other hand, it is fair enough to point out that, despite certain live performances, Jimi didn't actually put much pure blues onto his albums. "Red House" is, of course, a self-penned classic of the genre and is included on here although using the exact same version from Are You Experienced? seems pretty cheeky to me. The similarly self-penned "Voodoo Chile" jam is also included on here but they are at least decent enough to use an alternate (slightly shorter) take. Everything else, lords and ladies, I guess can reasonably be called "exclusive" to some kinda degree. Most of the recordings are post-Experience and therefore include Billy Cox on bass and alternate between Miles and Mitchell on drum duties depending, of course, on when the versions were performed. Similarly, the tracks tend to alternate between live performances and studio rehearsals. Thankfully, there is no sound quality issues but there is certainly an arguable dearth of material. The Experience performance of "Catfish Blues" (a different version of which also appeared on the BBC Sessions) is sound enough and I ain't saying no to an extended version of "Red House" ("Electric Church Red House" - which is recorded in a studio but has a live feel to it). I also dig the Band of Gypsys rehearsal run-through of "Mannish Boy" which is a cute little blues number, even if Hendrix's vocals don't give it the macho swagger for which it was originally intended. It often surprises me that perfectly good vocalists like Jimi should be so shy of their ability but there you go. As it happens, a lot of this album, due probably to the barrel-scraping nature of assembling the recordings, is predominantly instrumental. Clearly when Hendrix fancied a jam he'd mainly just concentrate on his guitar playing skills and therefore the likes of "Born Under a Bad Sign" and "Jelly 292" are all just riffs and solos whilst other numbers only feature a minimal vocal investment. Obviously it is always a pleasure to hear Jimi play guitar but over seventy minutes without much variation in the pace or tone can get to be something of a drag. I trust it won't surprise you to learn that I listen to this CD least out of Hendrix's catalogue. I dunno why I even bought it, to tell the truth. Still, it finishes on a high with a twelve minute "Hear My Train a Comin'" which is, of course, a glorious Hendrix-approved wankfest. I guess you might like to think of it as the definitive version of that particular number although the acoustic only version that opens this compilation is also pretty damn neat. Still, though, there's only a few numbers on here that are worth hearing (particularly given you can get "Red House" and "Voodoo Chile" elsewhere) and not really enough to warrant a full-blown compilation. Sure Hendrix was a great blues player but, at the end of the day, we all kinda knew that already.

Finally Jimi's overall portfolio can come to a close with this excellent compilation, drawing together various loose-ends into an enjoyable and intriguing overview of the backstreets of his career. Released contemporaneously with First Rays of the New Rising Sun in 1997 this CD serves much as the companion piece as it collects together the odds and ends spread over Douglas' spurious compilations into one nice package. It also serves as some kind of "secret history" as it contains several alternate versions of Jimi's classics, Experience b-sides and studio recordings that never made it out of the box before this album. As the sleeve-notes point out, Jimi was a greedy record label's dream as he liked to record everything he experimented with. During the writing of a song he'd record plenty of embryonic versions as well as just recording his jamming for the sake of it (most of which seemed to end up on Blues). Therefore this compilation features proto-type run-throughs of "Little Wing" as an intriguing instrumental, "All Along the Watchtower" with Brian Jones on percussion and a rough-around-the-edges "Angel". We are also treated to finished takes of the non-album Experience rockers "Look Over Yonder", "Here He Comes [Lover Man]", and "The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice" all of which reinforce the image of the Experience as one of the sixties' best bands and feature some fantastic searing guitar playing from Jimi (the latter two in particular). We are also treated to studio renditions of "Power of Love" (called "Power of Soul" on here) and "Message to Love" ("Message to the Universe") performed, of course, by the Band of Gypsys. It has to be said, though, that both sound rather unextraordinary on here and although that is no doubt due to less energetic performances it also must result from appearing in an unfavourable light when surrounded by Experience material. I know I've defended Hendrix's post-Experience career quite a bit so far but it really fails to match up to his work with Redding and Mitchell - arguably a band surpassed only by the Beatles during the period they were in cahoots. Although there are actually more instrumentals on here than Blues they are all more interesting and more to the point. The title track is an intriguing early attempt at fusing Hendrix's lead with brass accompaniment. Although it is often referred to as evidence of Jimi's enthusiasm to experiment with jazz musicians (Miles Davis noticeably) it actually comes out sounding more like vintage Stax to these ears. "Tax Free" is even more impressive as Jimi puts his guitar through an organ speaker to achieve an amazing, funky rhythmic backing to support his obviously superb lead soloing. Arguably the best instrumental, though, is the ominous, foreboding "Pali Gap" which was one of the many songs on here that has been rescued from the purgatory of being tucked away on one of those shitty seventies compilations. Similarly we are also treated to another stab at covering Dylan (from John Wesley Harding no less) in the form of a raucous run-through of "Drifter's Escape". As I've made clear elsewhere I do find JWH to be a touch overrated and although I do marvel at Hendrix's love of it I ain't complaining about him reappropriating some of the tunes for his own use. One imagines the sparsity of the original arrangements is what appeals to him most. It is not like you could just knock off a quick cover of "Visions of Johanna" for a laugh. Apparently Hendrix wanted to include "Drifter's Escape" on First Rays of the New Rising Sun so one wonders why it found its way onto here. Still, if you buy both compilations together you get the full picture anyway. Indeed, of all the post-humous Hendrix compilations available (either the family ones or the old Douglas releases) this must be close to being the best. As with all short-lived artists I hardly think a Greatest Hits package is necessary and, therefore, this acts as the perfect companion piece to the officially released albums. We may have prematurely lost one of the twentieth century's great artists but at least we had him for a short while in the first place.

From: Mark Clark

Found your reviews on line, and thought I'd share my take on Hendrix's recorded output with you. Hope you don't mind...
Are You Experienced? - A definite 10. If you don't love this album, you don't love Jimi Hendrix.
Axis: Bold as Love - Also a 10 in my book. Actually, this is an album every diehard Hendrix fan I know adores. I'm surprised you don't, too. Although, clearly you like it a lot.
BBC Sessions - 9. Obviously, not as polished or coherent as the Experience studio LPs. But still, it's great to hear these early live versions of tracks like "Hey Joe," plus unreleased gems like "Drivin' South."
Electric Ladyland - 9 1/2. Would be a 10 if it wasn't for that damned Noel Redding song. The second album (or final seven tracks, on CD) are absolute perfection.
Band of Gypsies - 7. Here's where we begin to part ways, however. I really love Jimi's post-experience work, and find it endlessly fascinating. More than anything else, it reminds me of Miles Davis' albums from the early 70s, especially Bitches Brew and Tribute to Jack Johnson. Forget about tight songwriting; these recordings were about extended, funky jams. I love this approach, although clearly Jimi was in transition at this stage. I find the Live at Fillmore East album a more interesting artifact from this period.
First Rays of the New Rising Sun - 9. Despite a couple of clinkers, I think you've underestimated this great album. "Angel," "Freedom," "Night Bird Flying" and "Dolly Dagger" stack up with the best of the Experience catalog. In my opinion, this is the finest of all the posthumous Hendrix releases.
South Saturn Delta - 7. An extremely uneven collection. It's a jumble of material from various eras with various approaches and varying lineups, and (sadly) varying degrees of quality. Although it's a must-have for diehards, for "Pali Gap" alone.
Blues - 7. An altogether enjoyable collection of Jimi's blues recordings. But the idea itself is sort of pointless, since it reflects only one aspect of Jimi's musical inclinations.

[With regards to the other releases you mentioned, I haven't reviewed them because I don't own them. A student loan only goes so far. - JF]

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