Curtis Knight albums released in Jimi's Lifetime
This subject merits attention and I spend time on it to sort out all the terrible confusion that it has created over the decades. It must be said right away that the music here is sub-standard and bears no relation to the main body of Jimi's work.
During his pre-Experience days in and around New York, Hendrix recorded a number of songs with Curtis Knight & The Squires (see Before Fame section). Jimi had left Knght around the summer of 1966 to form his own band, Jimmy James & The Blue Flames. He was discovered by Chas Chandler and taken to England to become a huge star.
In the summer of 1967, after Monterey and
just as America were discovering The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jimi
renewed contact with his old band leader Curtis Knight and decided
to help him out by playing on a few tracks he was in the process
of recording and helped touch up some older recordings that they
had done together.
Incredibly, at that time, Jimi was in fact still technically under
contract with PPX Enterprises as a member of Knight's backing band
The Squires (Chas Chandler was unaware of this when he had signed
him to Track Records). Even more incredible was the fact that Ed
Chalpin had already filed a lawsuit against Yameta (the publishing
company who owned the rights to Jimi's music). Out of guilt, we
presume, Jimi felt that he owed his old workmates something and
perhaps felt, rather naïvely, that the sessions might calm
the legal battle. Bootleg releases have revealed that at the
beginning of one session, Jimi calls out to Chalpin "Don't use
my name on this, OK ?". You can hear Chalpin simply reply
"Don't worry about it", which wasn't really a "no"
answer.
Jimi, Curtis Knight and
an unknown bassist, presumabmly at the first Studio 76 session of
July 1967. Jimi is playing an 8 string Hagstrom bass.
In the control booth are Dick ("turned down The Beatles") Rowe of
Decca Records and Ed Chalpin of PPX Enterprises.
Jimi attended two sessions at Studio 76
in New York. At the first he only played fuzz bass on a couple of
jams that became "Day Tripper/Future Trip/Flashing","Odd
Ball", and "Get That Feeling". There is another bassist
on the recordings and Jimi plays his 8 strings Hagstrom bass
through a fuzz tone right up front and sometimes in a lead bass
style.
Jimi also helped re-record one of his own songs titled "I'
Ain't Takin' Care Of No Business" (called "No Business"
here). Again he only played some fuzz bass. Interestingly, a few
months later, Jimi recorded his very own version of the song with
The Experience as "Taking Care Of No Business" which
finally appeared on the 2000 MCA box set.
Another photo from the same session showing Jimi this time with a Corvette guitar which is very similar to the Hagstrom bass.
At the second session, Jimi brought along
his new wah-wah pedal. It has been said that he had discovered
Frank Zappa using the gadget first and soon adopted it himself.
However Noel said in his book that it was he who discovered the
Vox Cry Baby in the London Vox shop and promptly encouraged Jimi
to check it out. "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" had been
his first use of it and ultimately, the wah-wah pedal was destined
to be forever associated with Hendrix.
With Knight, it would seem that he mostly jammed with the
musicians present. Ed Chalpin then edited the taped sections to
construct "songs", exploiting the little he had to the full. Then
Knight added some light vocals over the top. They apparently
squeezed six songs out of two jams ! So one jam (sounding a bit
like the basic drive of "Stars That Play..."was used to
create "Hush Now" /"Love Love"/"Happy
Birthday" and the other for "Day Tripper "/ "Future Trip" /
"Flashing". Jimi also helped touch up a couple of older
recordings, "Gloomy Monday" and "My Best Friend"
(also called "Ballad Of Jimmy" which became "Ballad Of
Jimi").
There is some relatively interesting wah wah playing from Jimi in
there at times. Curiously, his beginning to what became "Love
Love" slightly resembles the intro guitar of
"1983".
Even though Jimi had asked Chalpin not to use his name, PPX put Jimi's name in huge letters on the cover on the cover of the album "Get That Feeling" with a (superb) photo of him performing at Monterey. Jimi's management tried to stop the album but lost and were ordered hand over rights to a new Hendrix album (which eventually turned out to be "Band Of Gypsys" in 1970 ) as a payment for his breaching of contract. PPX however were expecting a Jimi Hendrix Experience album and were soon filing another lawsuit. All of this greatly troubled Jimi.
According to www.earlyhendrix.com Jimi is credited as songwriter for Future Trip / Flashing, Get That Feeling, Happy Birthday, Hush Now, Love Love
SUMMARY
SESSION 1 (17 July
1967)
Jimi plays bass only on what became:
Get That Feeling
No Business
Odd Ball (instr.)
Day Tripper/Future Trip/Flashing
SESSION 2 (8 August
1967)
Jimi plays guitar on what became:
Gloomy Monday
Love (instr.)
Hush Now (instr.)
Ballad of Jimi (vocals added later)
+
Hush Now (vocal overdub)
Love Love (the same as "Love "with a vocal overdub)
Happy Birthday - part of the "Love" jam with a different vocal
overdub
Level (instr.) - a short edit of the "Hush Now" jam
Curtis Knight albums released in Jimi's lifetime
GET THAT
FEELING
Released December1967 (Capitol)
How Would You Feel, Simon Says, Get That
Feeling, Hush Now, Welcome Home, Gotta Have a
New Dress, No Business, Strange
Things
Only three tracks here are from the
summer 1967 sessions; Hush Now", "Get That Feeling" (bass
only) and "No Business" (bass only), the rest are old 1965
Curtis Knight & The Squires recordings. All of this bears no
relation to the main body of Jimi's work and is best ignored, even
if this particular album is of some grotesque historical interest.
I must admit that I quite like "Welcome Home".
"No Business" is an embryonic version of what Jimi later
recorded as "Taking Care of No Business".
One can imagine the deception of record
buyers at the time and all the buyers that have been duped by this
type thing right up to the present day. Even Jimi got a shock when
he found this album in a record shop !
THE
COVER
A lousy album, but a superb
cover. Great photo of Jimi in action at Monterey
- 9/10
FLASHING
Released October1968 (Capitol)
Gloomy Monday, Hornet Nest (Hendrix/Simon), Fool For You Baby,
Happy Birthday, Flashing, Day Tripper (Lennon/McCartney), Odd
Ball, Love Love, Don't Accuse Me
Unperturbed by Jimi's management's attempts to stop them, PPX
proceeded to issue another collection of old and new recordings.
Like "How Would You Feel" on the previous album, the second
track here, "Hornets Nest", was originally released as a
single in1966. An instrumental single, it had been the first ever
Hendrix penned release.
The songs from the 1967 sessions are "Gloomy Monday", "Love
Love ", "Happy Birthday", "Odd Ball", "Day Tripper" and
"Flashing". Those last two are the same jam split into two
songs and Jimi only plays bass (on "Odd Ball"
also).
THE
COVER
"Jimi Hendrix plays, Curtis
Knight sings". At least this one was more honestly worded
and the
illustration low key, like Jimi's participation.
-
5/10
STRANGE
THINGS
Released 1968 (London)
Get That Feeling, Strange Things, Odd ball, Love Love, Simon
Says, Gloomy Monday, Welcome Home
A UK collection of Curtis Knight material, using the same
sleeve art as "Flashing".
> See also "Before Fame" section for more about Curtis Knight.
