A seemingly endless supply of unreleased Hendrix material apparently exists, though, of course, some is considerably better than others and none was completed to Jimi’s satisfaction and ready for release. But engineer Eddie Kramer has been involved in these new releases and has done his best to come up with quality material and items of interest. These really are just for fans as the “official” releases are still Hendrix’s finest moments.
That said, this CD gives another look into the mind of this guitar genius and shows some early takes on classics and previous versions of songs that changed dramatically before being “finished”.
“Look Over Yonder” was originally included on the Rainbow Bridge soundtrack and is a powerful piece with a lot of intricate guitar interplay. The early demo titled “Little Wing” actually has far more in common with the later release, “Angel” and very little to do with the lovely song from Axis, but shows the amount of changes that can go into a tune before it is molded into its final shape.
“Here He Comes (Lover Man)” is well known from live shows but this fine studio version was never released until now. The title track is unique and interesting in the inclusion of a 4 piece horn section – something that was never done on any official release. Unfortunately, this sounds like a fairly loose jam and was certainly never meant to be a finished piece.
After being featured on the live Band of Gypsys album, the studio “Power of Soul” was relegated to the tape vaults, except for an abbreviated cut on the Crash Landing LP, that had some new studio additions. This is the entire, original tune. Another Band of Gypsys tune is “Message to the Universe (Message to Love)”, though this take is with the expanded Gypsy Sun and Rainbows group and has some noticeable and enjoyable differences, including a ravin’ guitar crescendo.
An instrumental cover by an obscure Swedish group, “Tax Free” has never really hit home with me as a memorable track. Of course, Jimi’s playing is terrific and interesting, but regardless of its time changes and arrangement, it sounds like a jam. Not bad, just not up to par with Hendrix’s own compositions. An early mix of “All Along the Watchtower” has most of the components of the final release but with enough variation to again make it interesting in the comparison. “Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice” (STP/LSD) was a big reason that I wanted this release, as this tune has previously only been available on the UK version of the Smash Hits album, so I wanted a CD take. This is the original version of this fun and eclectic and wonderfully noisy, outer space song.
“Midnight” (aka “Midnight Lightning”) was an Experience tune proposed for their never-to-be-released fourth album and was eventually added to the War Heroes album. Another instrumental, this original composition seems to have more substance to it than, say, “Tax Free” and it would have been fascinating to see how Jimi would have fleshed it out (if at all). A four track demo of “Sweet Angel” featuring just Hendrix is more complete and sounds better than many bands finished products! This shows the song in practically its finished state and is a superb document. Unfortunately, the only surviving master tape is damaged at the beginning, so the track begins with the song already in progress.
Mitchell and Cox back up the man for another original take on the blues, “Bleeding Heart” which is followed by another Rainbow Bridge soundtrack instrumental, “Pali Gap”. This began as a jam but was augmented with extra guitar(s) but never officially titled by Jimi, but given this name as a connection to Hawaii, the locale of the Rainbow Bridge movie. This is a surprisingly strong composition, given its origin.
There are a number of Dylan compositions that were uniquely interpreted by these bands and “Drifter’s Escape” becomes a terrific guitar jam – quite different from anything Dylan has ever done! The finale is one of my favorites of this set – Jimi alone with his guitar creating a Delta blues version of “Midnight Lighting”, once again showing this man’s extreme, supreme talent and the fullness he could provide all on his own. A true master.
Hendrix can really do no wrong in my book, so my vision may be skewed, but once again, Kramer has put together a wonderful compilation of highly listenable, educational and entertaining tracks. Again, not for the casual listener but definitely for fans!
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