"I float in liquid gardens from as far away as Jupiter sulpher mines" R 

PART 3

 

Released 2010 onwards

So in early 2010 it was goodbye MCA/Universal and a new era of Hendrix releases on Sony.
Details about the Sony deal were announced on the official site and at Reuters and in a Guitarist interview.
Here also is an interesting recent interview with Janie Hendrix about the situation with Sony and a little history.
Not all that was promised has yet made it into the shops however.

 


Valleys Of Neptune/Cat Talkin' To Me - 7" vinyl single
Release date: February 2010 (Sony) - USA only
Valleys Of Neptune/ Peace In Mississippi - CD single (exclusive to Walmart.com)
Release date: February 2010 (Sony) - USA only
After a listen to this (on the album), "Valleys Of Neptune" comes as a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting something more acheived but it turns out to be a combination of two demos that Jimi recorded in September 1969 and May 1970. There was an excerpt of the demo with the vocal on the "Lifelines" radio show CD back in 1989. The track is certainly not worthy of being the showpiece (single and album title track) to hail in the new era of releases on Sony. It would have worked fine on a Dagger collection of demos/jams in its original form for example.
The other track on this vinyl single is"Cat Talkin' To Me". This features a pretty lousy vocal from Mitch Mitchell that was added in 1987 when Chas Chandler summoned The Experience rhythm section to perform overdubs on outtakes that had been found at Olympic studios. Mitch half talks his lines really as he portrays alien observing Earth. The superior instrumental version would soon follow on the 2010 box set (see below).
 
Track two of the CD single (a Walmart exclusive) is a "previously unreleased alternate recording" of "Peace In Mississippi". The instrumental was previously available officially on "Voodoo Soup" in 1993 and on "Crash Landing" back in 1975. The new version is much better, with cleaner sound and it lasts longer.
This Wallmart single also offers a free MP3 download of the"Red House" from Clark University. All of this is obviously aimed at a younger audience which hasn't yet built up a knowledge of the history of Hendrix releases.

THE COVER
A watercolour of a Neptune landscape by Jimi himself (in fact there is no land on Neptune as it is a gaseous planet!)
Now that is perfect record cover design, illustrated by the artist himself. - 10/10
 

---

 


Bleeding Heart/Peace In Mississippi- 7" vinyl single
Release date: March 2010 (Sony) - UK only
Rather bizarre this. The UK market gets the new version of "Bleeding Heart" as the A-side. It's a great demo/jam recording but hardly worthy of being presented as a single. Like with "Valleys Of Neptune" a very lavish video has been put together to promote this single (you can view the videos on the official site). In the video for this, we see a footage of Jimi at Isle Of Wight made to look like he is performing "Bleeding Heart" at a modern day Glastontonbury festival! It is expertly put together but how ridiculous and distasteful to go to such lengths to promote what is a rather rough studio jam. The "War Heroes"/"South Saturn Delta" version is infinately superior.


Bleeding Heart/Jam 292- 7" vinyl single
Release date: 2010 (Sony) - US only

Same A-side as the UK vinyl but with a different flip side, "Jam 292"  from the album "Hear My Music" (and "Loose Ends" before that).

---

 

VALLEYS OF NEPTUNE
Release date: March 2010 (Sony)

Stone Free, Valleys Of Neptune, Bleeding Heart, Hear My Train A Comin', Mr. Bad Luck, Sunshine Of Your Love, Lover Man, Ships Passing Through The Night, Fire, Red House, Lullaby For The Summer, Crying Blue Rain

Apart from the excellent studio material released on Dagger Records, it had been a long time since we've saw a new official Hendrix studio album actually in the shops. 10 years in fact, since the MCA 2000 box set and 12 years since the last studio CD "South Saturn Delta"! This put an end to the MCA/Universal era, as Experience Hendrix signed a deal with Sony for a multitude of new releases.

It must be made clear right away that this album certainly does not feature "fully realised" recordings as the 2009 promotional talk stated. This collection is in the same spirit as "South Saturn Delta" and "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" 2000 box set in that it brings together more outtakes, demos and rehearsals, but this time, like on "Hear My Music" (Dagger Records), it concentrates on the early 1969 period as 9 of the 12 tracks date from that period. On those tracks, The Experience are heard feeling around new material aswell as running through the more familiar songs in preparation for concert performances. So this gives us some good live-in-studio recordings alongside quite sketchy multi-track demos and jams but in all honesty there is very little here that is up the standard of the previous studio albums (including the Dagger releases). Just follow my star ratings for the correct order in which to buy Hendrix albums.
The sound here however is absolutely top notch, as if it was recorded last week. So full marks to Eddie Kramer and his team for the successful mastering. I did find the sound it a little too harsh on my first listen (I immediately turned down the treble and jacked up the bass). So here is a look through the tracks, starting with the "newer" songs:

The title track "Valleys Of Neptune" is a skillful combination of separate takes put together by Eddie Kramer and it works very well (though it still sounds like a rough demo and is not strong enough as a title track or a single release in my opinion). One of the demos used was on the radio documentary album "Lifelines" back in the early 90s. The song showed promise and would surely have developped into something as strong as say "Earth Blues" or "Straight Ahead" if Jimi had had the opportunity to record it properly, after the ill fated 1970 European tour.
"Lullaby For The Summer" has circulated for years on bootlegs (though with inferior sound) and it is an instrumental that had begun life as a Redding/Mitchell composition called "Dance" (complete with a vocal from Mitch!). Here the band develop the riff as a funky, multilayered jam with Jimi throwing in all he had. Jimi later adapted the riff as the basic drive of "Ezy Ryder".
The song"Ships Passing Through The Night" is another Kramer composite of seperate studio outtakes again, with The Experience going through an embryonic version of "Night Bird Flying" (this is not the jam that is on various bootlegs with Jimi and some unknown musicians, including a trumpet player). At this stage of its conception, the song has a lovely jazzy groove to it. Jimi just raps a rough guide vocal and the whole thing is very tatty but he does put in some gorgeous guitar playing.
"Crying Blue Rain" (also referred to as "Gypsy Blood" on some bootlegs) begins as a haunting slow blues, with echoes of "Catfish Blues"/"Voodoo Chile" and "Hear My Train A Comin". Jimi simply improvises some "Yeah, yeahs,…" as a guide vocal for what is just an informal studio jam. About halfway through, he speeds up the tempo with a proto "Stepping Stone" riff, before loosely improvising around other rhythmic structures.

Now for the more familiar songs."Fire" and "Red House" are from the band's rehearsals at Olympic Studios for the February 1969 Royal Albert Hall concerts (two other songs from these rehearsals were on the MCA 2000 box, namely"Hear My Train A Comin" and "Spanish Castle Magic"). Both tracks here are impeccable, with great vocals and simply awesome guitar. "Red House" fades out towards the song's conclusion (you can just hear Jimi stop and say "That's alright…").
The Record Plant recording of "Hear My Train A Comin" is also a killer. Jimi's vocals are quite rugged but his guitar takes off to Neptune once again. Brilliant. This is in fact the original recording that Alan Douglas had fiddled with and ruined for his controversial "Midnight Lightning" album of 1975.

Back to Olympic for yet another studio tryout of "Lover Man" here. There was already a version on "South Saturn Delta" and two on the box set! This one has a slower chugging rhythm and Jimi's playing is just terrific. It's a great track but surely another song would have added more variety to the successive studio releases. This track has already been in the shops on the unofficial "Studio Outtakes Volume 2" from Radiactive Records in 2004.
From the same day at Olympic we have the band going through "Sunshine Of Your Love" which is great but features a rather tedious bass solo from Noel (which he would repeat during live performances of the song around that time).

"Stone Free" is thankfully not exactly the same as the version that appeared on the MCA 2000 box set. The basic structure dates from May 17, 1969 and it features Billy Cox on bass this time (this was while Noel was still part of The Experience!). It's interesting as Jimi twists the usual riff into something a little different giving a new angle to the song. Jimi's vocal and the backing vocals (Andy Fairweather Low and Roger Chapman) are in fact the same as those on the box set version.
Billy Cox is also on bass for "Bleeding Heart" and this jam is built on Jimi's funkier adaptation of the Elmore James song (like the much more finished version of "War Heroes "/"South Saturn Delta"). Mitch is absent here as it is Rocky Isaac on drums plus two percussionnists). Again, Jimi's vocals aren't very assured as he feels his way around this new adaptation which he would later turn into "Come Down Hard On Me Baby". Thankfully, some fantastic guitar solos save the proceedings.

The real odd one out here is "Mr. Bad Luck". It's the 1967 proto version of "Look Over Yonder" which had already appeared (though in its original mono form) on "Lifelines". It's a great little demo and was included here as it has a very crisp sound thanks to some 1987 overdubs from Mitch and Noel! This comes from sessions which were organised by Chas Chandler after some tapes had been found during an Olympic Studios clearout. Note that "Crying Blue Rain" and "Lover Man" on this CD are also from the same Chandler tapes with Experience rhythm section overdubs (they were collected together on the classic bootleg "Studio Haze").

Apart from the few exceptions, this album could almost have been titled "The 1969 sessions" and it should really have been put out on Dagger Records for experienced collectors (no pun intended). Still, younger fans will find this interesting and realise that even in more relaxed situations, Jimi could really put some hot music down on tape. For older fans it is also very rewarding with a few genuine new tracks for the collection, though some criticise the rather uneven compiling, the use of the 1987 Chandler overdubs and the more recent cutting and pasting by Kramer. I think he did a good job overall, though I would have sequenced the album differently.

I thought that by this stage Experience Hendrix would have got round to releasing some of the long overdue tracks such as "Easy Blues","Calling All Devil's Children", or "Peace In Mississippi" (that song is being used as single "b-side" but I would have preferred to see it on this album, in place of "Lover Man" for example). So there is still some interesting material to come out  on the Sony label in the years to come.
 

Here are the tracks in their chronolgically recorded order:

Mr. Bad Luck - May 5, 1967 (+ 1987 overdubs)

Lover Man - February 16, 1969 (+ 1987 overdubs)
Crying Blue Rain - February 16, 1969 (+ 1987 overdubs)
Sunshine Of Your Love - February 16, 1969.
Fire - February 17, 1969
Red House - February 17, 1969

Lullaby For The Summer - April 7, 1969
Hear My Train A Comin' - April 7, 1969
Stone Free -  April 7, 9, 14, May 17,1969
Ships Passing Through The Night - April 14, 1969 - 2009 composite)
Bleeding Heart - April 24, 1969

Valleys Of Neptune - September 23, 1969 (+May 15, 1970) - 2009 composite

> Like just about everything that is released these days, these new releases are available on 180g vinyl with superb giant size booklets (from Music On Vinyl).

> A "Deluxe" version of the album has also been issued in the United States (exclusive to Target) with two bonus tracks : "Trashman" and "Slow Version" (both previously on Dagger's "Hear My Music").

THE COVER
Quite a nice dreamy montage of a Linda Eastman (McCartney) photo of Jimi filtered over his very own illustration of a Neptune landscape! - 7/10

 

---

 

The Legacy Recordings editions (Sony Legacy 2010)

The release of "Valleys Of Neptune" is accompanied by the following reissues. All CD titles feature new 6-panel digipaks and 36 page booklets (well perhaps just the first four listed here).

• Are You Experienced - remastered CD + 1 DVD - UK and US versions
• Axis: Bold As Love - remastered CD + 1 DVD
• Electric Ladyland 1 CD + 1 DVD
• First Rays Of The New Rising Sun 1 CD + 1 DVD
• BBC Sessions 2 CD + DVD

+ simple repackaged reissues of:

• Smash Hits
• Band Of Gypsys
• Blues
• Live At Woodstock
• Experience Hendrix - The Best Of Jimi Hendrix
• Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year
• South Saturn Delta
• Power Of Soul (Various artists)

The previous Experience Hendrix MCA/Universal editions had suffered from "clipping" (a process which gives a "louder" sound at the expense of definition). Because of that, many fans have prefered the older Alan Douglas CD versions of 1993 (with the George Mankowitz photo covers) or even the 1980s Japanese or German Polydor CDs. Experience Hendrix had made a point of saying that "Are You Experienced" and "Axis: Bold As Love" had been "remastered from the original two-track mixdown master tapes" but the first reports from fans and experts reveal that these CDs sound EXACTLY the same as the previous editions! What a rip off after all the media fuss.
Yet again, the beautiful concision of the "Are You Experienced" UK and US albums is blurred by the inclusion of all the singles and b-sides. I wish they had just come back to the original UK and US albums and put the singles and B-sides etc on an expanded "Smash Hits" for example.
Note that the US version of "Are You Experienced" features the alternate "Red House" that was originally on the US "Smash Hits" album.

More bad news is that there are no bonus tracks (which had been promised in the initial press releases of 2009) and the DVDs feature only tiny interview compilations (with Kramer, Mitchell, Redding, Cox, Chandler, etc) and they only run from between 12 and 17 minutes! It's always interesting to hear Kramer's comments about the various recordings but not something that one would want to view more than once every 5 years.
So the DVD accompanying "Electric Ladyland" is therefore not the same as the excellent movie length "At Last The Beginning…" which was part of MCA/Universal's 40th Anniversary edition of the album in 2008.

"BBC Sessions" also features a DVD (a short history of Jimi's BBC sessions) and it has an extra track, "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" from Top Of The Pops (live vocal over the single's backing track).
The "Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year" maxi-single gets a new sleeve which reproduces the original graphics of the 70s music industry gift.

It's a great shame that these releases didn't live up to everyone's expectations. Janie Hendrix mentioned last year that a definitive box set of the "core catalogue" was to be released. However, the latest news is that it will be another collection of rarities and unreleased recordings (like the 2000 box). So this at least is good news. Also announced are the much awaited Royal Albert Hall 69 and Miami Pop Festival 68 on CD and DVD. Can't wait.

THE NEW VINYL EDITIONS
The albums are also available on luxury 180g vinyl, with superior sound to the CDs by all accounts and perhaps superior to the previous series of MCA vinyls.
Whether the new vinyls  equal the original vinyls is open for debate.

> Note also that vinyl editions of Hendrix albums are also available from Music On Vinyl and Back To Black (see Links > Labels).

One interesting re-release (April 2011) is the "Band Of Gypsys - Live At The Fillmore East" DVD which has  5.1 surround sound mixes and some new bonus features:

- "Foxey Lady", "Power Of Soul," "Stepping Stone" and "Who Knows"
- extra black & white video footage

 

---

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED (Music On Vinyl 2010)

Side 1: Foxy Lady, Manic Depression, Red House, Can You See Me, Love Or Confusion, I Don't Live Today
Side 2: May This Be Love, Fire, Third Stone From The Sun, Remember, Are You Experienced?

Side 3: Hey Joe, Stone Free, Purple Haze
Side 4: 51st Anniversary, The Wind Cries Mary, Highway Chile

This is quite historic. The Music On Vinyl label has released the European version of "Are You Experienced" as a double vinyl. I think this is the first time that the original album has been available since the 80s, in any format !  This doesn't really work as a "double album" however as the six original singles tracks hardly fill up two vinyl sides. Still, this is a very tempting release for purist collectors.

---

WEST COAST SEATTLE BOY - THE JIMI HENDRIX ANTHOLOGY - 4CD/1DVD
Release date: November 2010 (Sony)

Disc: 1 1. The Isley Brothers: Testify 2. Don Covay: Mercy, Mercy 3. Don Covay: Can t Stay Away 4. Rosa Lee Brooks: My Diary 5. Rosa Lee Brooks: Utee 6. Little Richard: I Don t Know What You Got But It s Got Me 7. Little Richard: Dancing All Around The World 8. Frank Howard & The Commanders: I m So Glad 9. The Isley Brothers: Move Over And Let Me Dance 10. The Isley Brothers: Have You Ever Been Disappointed 11. Ray Sharpe: Help Me (Get The Feeling) Part One 12. The Icemen: (My Girl) She s A Fox 13. Jimmy Norman: That Little Old Groove Maker 14. Billy Lamont: Sweet Thang 15. King Curtis: Instant Groove

Disc: 3 1. Hear My Freedom* 2. Room Full Of Mirrors* 3. Shame, Shame, Shame* 4. Messenger* 5. Hound Dog Blues* 6. Untitled Basic Track * 7. Star Spangled Banner (live - original mix)*** 8. Purple Haze (live - original mix)*** 9. Young/Hendrix** 10. Mastermind * 11. Message To Love*** 12. Fire (live)* 13. Foxy Lady (live)*

Disc: 2 1. Fire*** 2. Are You Experienced?* 3. May This Be Love** 4. Can You See Me (mono) 5. The Wind Cries Mary 6. Love Or Confusion** 7. Little One* 8. Mr. Bad Luck *** 9. Cat Talking To Me** 10. Castles Made Of Sand* 11. Tears Of Rage* 12. Hear My Train A Comin* 13. 1983 (A Merman I Shall Turn To Be)* 14. Long Hot Summer Night * 15. My Friend* 16. Angel 17. Calling All The Devil s Children* 18. New Rising Sun**

Disc: 4 1. Stone Free (live)* 2. Burning Desire* 3.Lonely Avenue* 4. Everlasting First** 5. Freedom* 6. Peter Gunn/Catastrophe** 7. In From The Storm** 8. All Gods Children* 9. Red House (Live) 10. Play That Riff (Thank You)* 11. Bolero* 12. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)*** 13. Suddenly November Morning*

*Previously unreleased
** Alternate version
*** Alternate mix

DVD:
"Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child



In 2009, Experience Hendrix announced plans to release a definitive box set of the "core catalogue", an ultimate "best of" collection, which is something that has never been done. However, it was later announced that they were planning another rarities collection along the lines of the 2000 MCA box "The Jimi Hendrix Experience". Is this a treasure trove? Read on.

Disc 1 presents a collection of pre-Experience recordings featuring a young Hendrix as a sideman (see my Before Fame section for details).
The Isley Brothers tracks are not the original single versions but an early 70s remixes of the songs. That's a shame but at least Jimi's guitar comes over clearer I suppose.
Note also that "Instant Groove" is in fact King Cutis' 1969 reworking of the single which he had put out three years earlier with Ray Sharpe - "Help Me get That feeling (Part 1&2)".
Because of copyright complications there are no Lonnie Youngblood or Curtis Knight tracks here. That is unfortunate as it rules out  "Hornets Nest"/ "Knock Yourself Out" which are of historical importance as they were both Hendrix instrumentals and his first compositions ever to be released on record.  I would have prefered to see these recordings, which really are only second rate R&B tracks, on a seperate CD release rather than have them fill up all that valuable space on this anthology collection of rarities.

Disc 2:
1. “Fire” - The original four track recording of each instrument (before the four-track to four-track mix reductions) with Mitch's drums in stereo. In fact it is a superb remix of the track we all know from "Are You Experienced". The two guitar tracks have been seperated to left and right, the bass is less dominant, the backing vocals are away from the left (which is plain daft on the original stereo mix) and we get the actual ending of the song, rather than the albums slow fade out. It sounds fantastic and I'd love to hear all of "AYE" remixed in this way (can you hear me Eddie ?).
2. “Are You Experienced?” - A raw instrumental outtake with some lovely improvisation from Jimi. A rough diamond.
3. “May This Be Love” - This differs from the original with its double tracked vocal and slight extra guitar overdubs (and the awesomely beautiful solo is more up-front in the mix - fantastic).
4. “Can You See Me” - Apparently the mono mix. Can't really see the point of putting this here and it sounds a bit "clothy".
5. “The Wind Cries Mary” - Same as the version on "Stages 67" (Radiohuset, Stockholm, 5 September 1967).
6. “Love Or Confusion” - Already previewed on a two track CD, it's an alternate version with only slight differences (alternante vocal and guitar parts). Like with "Fire", the mix here is far superior to the original stereo version (which was practically mono with Jimi's voice stuck on the left - bonkers).
7. “Little One” - An excerpt of this instrumental had appeared on "Lifelines" and this is well know to collectors from a multitude of bootlegs. The debate is still on as to whether it is Dave Mason or Brian Jones on sitar. Apparently Noel had said that it was Jones and "Jam with Brian Jones" was written on the tape box!  In 1988 Noel added his own lyrics and vocals to this and it surfaced in 2003 on the official compilation "Noel Redding - The Experience Sessions". This was also released on Purple Haze Record's "Axis Outtakes". Nice to hear it here with very good sound reproduction.
8. “Mr. Bad Luck” - As opposed to the version with 1988 overdubs that appeared recently on the "Valleys Of Neptune" album, this is the original stereo recording (it was in hissy mono on the "Lifelines" radio documentary). This should have been on "Valleys Of Neptune" for chrissakes!!!
9. “Cat Talking To Me” - This is the original recording of the song rather than the one with the Mitch Mitchell 1988 vocal that was released recently as a B-side on a US vinyl single (see above). I love this instrumental bash.
10. “Castles Made Of Sand” - A fascinating raw instrumental demo.
11. “Tears Of Rage” - This great little home demo features Jimi on electric guitar recording the Bob Dylan/Richard Manuel song, accompanied by his old Greenwich Village friend Paul Caruso. Jimi learned the song from listening to a privately circulated copy of Bob Dylan and the Band’s unreleased ‘Basement Tapes’ as the song had not yet officially appeared on disc by either Dylan or the Band at the time of this recording. An edited demonstration version of this has circulated on the bootleg "Happy Birthday Jimi". This brings the number of Jimi's Dylan covers to five songs!
12. “Hear My Train A Comin’” - A great new track for us from the much talked about Paul Caruso tape. Jimi on electric guitar with Caruso on harmonica.
13. “1983 (A Merman I Shall Turn To Be)” - Also from the Caruso tape (but without his accompanyment this time. Similar of course to the (better) version that had appeared on "Jimi By Himself" back in 1995.
14. “Long Hot Summer Night” - An rare acoustic demo from Jimi's personnal tape recorder, already known with poor sound quality on the bootleg "Acoustic Jams" for example (which in reality featured very few acoustic tracks).
15. “My Friend” - Known to collectors as a sample tape, this is a nice solo acoustic demo of the song. Great vocal.
16. “Angel” - From the 1968 New York hotel room demo and already seen on CD "Jimi By Himself" (which was included in the graphic novel "Voodoo Child - The Illustrated Legend Of Jimi Hendrix").
17. “Calling All The Devil’s Children” - This has also already circulated and it's one of Jimi's strangest recordings. It opens with a monster Link Wray type riff and continues with a brooding indian feel then finishes with Jimi shouting like he's at a political rally adressing a crowd with his manifesto! Infuriatingly, it fades out before the "drug bust" ending which is on the much circulated bootleg version. Experience Hendrix censorship!
18. “New Rising Sun” - This much circulated instrumental features Jimi playing all instruments as he evokes the feel of his later composition "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)". It was also on the Alan Douglas compilation "Voodoo Soup" in an edited form. It is charming but ambles on a little too long. It was only a personnal demo it must be remembered.


Disc 3:
1. “Hear My Freedom” - I know this jam from the "Ball & Chain" bootleg. It mainly features an organist (thought to be Lee Michaels) backed by Buddy Miles' funky drumming. Jimi only puts in brief solo burst and a short raggedy rap vocal.
2. “Room Full Of Mirrors”/
3. “Shame, Shame, Shame" - A rather drab jam from early 1969 with Rocky Dzidzournu on congas. This is known from the "Studio Haze" bootleg with the 1988 overdubs from Mitch and Noel, which are unfortunately present here also.
4. “Messenger” - This is known from the "Ball & Chain" bootleg. It's just a sketch of a song from Jimi as he hammers away on a repetitive ascending riff, which doesn't really go anywhere. The piano parts are played by Jimi (and not Lee Michaels as the bootleg evoked).
5. “Hound Dog Blues” - An nice 1969 jam with Chris Wood on sax and film maker Jerry Goldstein (who filmed the 1969 Royal Albert Hall concerts) on piano!
6. “Untitled Basic Track”- A great instrumental piece recorded by the Experience in October 1968!
7. “Star Spangled Banner”/
8. “Purple Haze” - Los Angeles Forum, April 26, 1969 and previously seen in the Alan Douglas assembled "Lifelines" box but presented here with the original mix.
9. “Young/Hendrix"  - A edit of this was previously on the legendary Alan Douglas compilation of jams "Nine To The Universe". This version is 21 minutes long!!.
10. “Mastermind” - A studio run through of the song that Larry Lee sang at Woodstock (that live version has never been officially released). It's a nice little romantic R&B song penned by Lee himself and is very similar to the old single "(My Girl) She's A Fox)"  by The Icemen (see CD1) on which Jimi played some similar licks. It was generous of Jimi to let Larry do his thing here (and at Woodstock) and curious how it it brought him right back to where he had come from. It is a bit amateurish but Jimi puts in some lovely guitar backing.
11. “Message To Love” - The original full length master and Jimi's last work on the song. It's interesting to hear this even if it is not as rich as the version that is on the purple box (and should really have been on "South Saturn Delta damnit!).
12. “Fire" - A Band Of Gypsys live at The Fillmore East on New Years Eve 1969. An extract of this was featured in the Band Of Gypsys DVD and it's a very bizarre and disjointed version of the classic Experience song thnaks to Buddy Miles' backing vocals and staccato drumming. Jimi goes into quite a long instrumental passage with Miles trying unsuccessfully to make something of it.
13. “Foxy Lady” - This is a killer. Same date as the previous track with Jimi putting in some simply awesome guitar here. It then goes into quite a long chugging jam until Jimi half decides to segue into "Purple Haze" but unfortunately lets it drop before it can get under way.

Disc 4:
1. “Stone Free” - Another track from the same concert and interestingly the riff here echoes what Jimi did with the song during the 1969 studio re-recording. Buddy Miles again puts in some of his characteristic soulful backing vocal and awkward drumming.
2. “Burning Desire” - A January 16, 1970 session for one of my least favourite Hendrix compositions. Some nice passages but this brings back depressing memories of the awful "Loose Ends"/"Baggy's Rehearsals" version.
3. “Lonely Avenue” - An interesting November 1969 jam with Buddy Miles on an old Ray Charles number! In Jimi's hands, the song becomes an erratic funky rap.
4. “Everlasting First” - An alternate and unedited version of the song which turned up on Love's "False Start" album. Jimi guested on lead guitar.
5. “Freedom” - An interesting live-in-studio instrumental demo of the song.
6. “Peter Gunn/Catastrophe” - This light hearted studio jam was on "War Heroes" back in the early 70s. This version is a little longer and has different mix.
7. “In From The Storm” - Alternate studio recording. It sounds very similar to the "Cry Of Love"/"First Rays" version.
8. “All God’s Children” - An unknown and uncirculated recording from a June 1970 session. Great stuff.
9. “Red House” - Berkeley Community Theater,  May 30, 1970 (previously seen on a CD in 1991 which was free with the Jimi Plays Berkeley videocassette (it was also in the shops on Radioactive Records in 2005).
10. “Play That Riff” - This is the short sequence of Eddie Kramer asking Jimi to play his little riff that he integrated into "Midnight Lightning" (known from the "Freak Out Jam" bootleg).
11. “Bolero” - Known to collectors from many a bootleg this long and mainly rhythmic exploration was intended by Jimi to be the introduction to "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)", which is repectfully the following song here…
12. “Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)” - This is just a slightly different (not as good) mix of the studio version we already have and is only here to demonstrate the link with "Bolero".
13. “Suddenly November Morning” - At long last, an extract from Jimi's long "lost" home demo tape "The Black Gold Suite". It is just Jimi alone on acoustic guitar going through an early sketch of this previously unheard of song. This leaves us all in utter anticipation of the entire tape of the "suite". However this perhaps reveals that Experience Hendrix do not have the hotel room tape on which Jimi performed a few overdubs (with the help of Alan Douglas). Where the hell is it?

So there you have it. A strictly "collectors only" box set with some fascinating pieces of the Hendrix puzzle. Again, it's a shame that all of CD1 has been filled up with pre-Experience recordings and although some moments are interesting, it's obvious that Experience Hendrix really are scraping the bottom of the barrel here and filling in the gaps with alternate mixes of material that fans have already. I would have prefered to have seen the rarities here collected together on Dagger releases but this set is obviously more potent from a marketing point of view and creates a bigger media buzz. At least it gets Jimi talked about all over the planet.

The DVD is titled "Voodoo Chile" and has already been aired in some countries (either complete or as a truncated 75 minute version). It is quite nicely done as it presents Jimi's life story in his own words. In addition, letters, post cards and personnal notes are read by Bootsy Collins. There are some tantilizing rare bits of footage to be seen. At one point it makes you think that some footage of Paris Olympia 1966 is included but this seems to be just a clever montage of some Saville Theatre footage.

> Extracts are now on line at Amazon.com and full songs on Deezer and Spotify!




> Note that this anthology will also be released as a hefty eight vinyl set (without the DVD).


Free song
For those who sign up for the newsletter on the French version of the official site (www.jimihendrix.com/fr),
the complete track "Hear My Freedom" is available as a free download!

THE COVER
A patchwork montage that nicely conveys the concept of an life spanning anthology  - 8/10

---

WEST COAST SEATTLE BOY - THE JIMI HENDRIX ANTHOLOGY - 1CD
Release date: November 2010 (Sony)


Fire, Love Or Confusion, Room Full Of Mirrors, Shame, Shame, Shame, Mr. Bad Luck, May This Be Love, Are You Experienced?, Tears Of Rage, Hear My Freedom, Hound Dog Blues, Lonely Avenue, Burning Desire, In From The Storm, Bolero, Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)

This single CD of extracts from the box set is released as the same time. It is also available as a pack with the DVD. Looking over the tracklist, it does seem to present a more "listenable" experience, mainly concentrating on vocal tracks, making a quite a nice little album.

> There is also a single CD + DVD version.

---

NEW!

Fire / Touch You / Cat Talkin' Yo Me
Release date: April 2011 (Sony)

This is being released to coincide with Record Day. "Fire" is the fantastic mix from "West Coast Seattle Boy" and the version of "Cat Talkin' To Me" is the one with the 1987 Mitchell vocal overdub (already released on the flip-side of the US "Valleys Of Neptune" vinyl single.
The previously unreleased track "Touch You" was recorded at London's Olympic Studios on December 20, 1967 and it is simply an instrumental run-through of the riff that became "Dance" (complete with a Mitchell vocal recorded in 1967 - unreleased officially). The band kept the riif in their minds for some time and came back to it in 1969 when they had another instrumental bash at it, titling it "Lullaby For The Summer" (released last year on the "Vallays Of Neptune" album). The riff was finally recycled by Jimi as the opening riff of "Ezy Ryder".

> This is also being released as a 7" vinyl without "Cat Talkin' To Me".

---

RADIO TYMES - British Pop on TV & Radio - Lost and Found 1967-1969 (Various Artists)
2011 (Top Sounds/BBC)

DEEP PURPLE – The Painter, YARDBIRDS – Think About It, THE MOVE - So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star, TOMORROW FEATURING KEITH WEST - My White Bicycle, LOVE SCULPTURE - Do I Still Figure In Your Life, YARDBIRDS - White Summer, THE MOVE - Cherry Blossom Clinic, BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST - Night, THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - Burning Of The Midnight Lamp, LOVE SCULPTURE - The Inner Light, DEEP PURPLE - Hush, YARDBIRDS - Dazed And Confused, LOVE SCULPTURE - Sabre Dance

Just out is this superb little compilation of rare TV and radio recordings from UK's Top Sounds Records which features The Jimi Hendrix Experience on the BBC TV show "Dee Time" in 1967! Like the "Top Of The Pops" recording that appeared on the Sony re-release of "BBC Sessions" (also found by researcher Nigel Lees), this features "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" again with a strong live vocal from Jimi over the single's backing track. The taper recorded this from a direct feed into the back of his television set!
Other highlights are the Jimmy Page era Yardbirds playing "Dazed And Confused" and "White Summer", Deep Purple (mark 1) playing"Hush" and "The Painter", The Move covering "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star", Tomorrow doing "My White Bicycle", Barclay James Harvest,  and three great songs from Dave Edmond's Love Sculpture including "Sabre Dance" and their version of George Harrison's "The Inner Light". It's a fascinating journey into 60's psychedelia and puts The Experience right within the context of their epoch.
The 28 page CD booklet (16 page for the vinyl) is lavishly illustrated with presse clippings, magazine/record covers, posters and press advertisements. A must!

Order details here

> SUMMARY OF STUDIO MATERIAL <

 

Unreleased studio outtakes
Check out a few here


 
  SEE ALSO > UNOFFICIAL RELEASES
 




BACK TO INDEX