Axis Outtakes

Reviews

JIMI HENDRIX
Digitally remastered, limited edition.
As any fan of rock legend Jimi Hendrix knows, "Axis Bold As Love", the guitarist’s second studio album, was released in the UK on the 1st of December 1967, and many of the tracks on this, the first LP of this two-record set, enable the listener to consider how "Axis Bold As Love" might have sounded if different production decisions had been made by Chas Chandler and Hendrix when the final mixes were being selected.

These alternatives shine a spotlight on the creative process and highlight just how different two takes of the same song can be. Spanish Castle Magic, for instance, utilises a piano, which was not the most common instrument to be heard on rock albums circa 1967, while this version of Little Wing is a very early take which demonstrates just how the track developed over time. You’ve Got Me Floating is another early mix in which the engineering team experiments with different instrument panning. On the other hand, She’s So Fine features a completely different Noel Redding vocal take on one of very few of his compositions ever to make it onto an Experience release. The version of Little Miss Lover presented here is the "wolf-whistle" take much preferred by those Hendrix fans who have been fortunate enough to hear it.

Bold As Love is heard here in a purer, simpler form, free of overdubs and with a completely different vocal take. The two versions of Takin' Care Of No Business, an improvised piece of fun that Hendrix had revisited many times over the years, show how overdubs using different instruments can create completely different moods. Although South Saturn Delta was recorded during the Axis sessions, it is easy to see why it wasn’t included on the album, as its general vibe was more akin to the mood that prevailed on Electric Ladyland than that of Axis. Cat Talkin' To Me is a fun workout which afforded Mitch Mitchell the rare opportunity to take centre stage as lead vocalist. For reasons that are all-too apparent, he was rarely offered the chance again! Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice is a track that uses stereo effects to the full, and is presented here in a completely different mix, with Hendrix’s somewhat hesitant comments included at the end.

The tracks Dream and Dance, which owe far more to ‘60s pop than they ever do to psychedelia, have never sounded better than they do here. Originally pressed on a small number of acetates in 1967, these Redding/Mitchell compositions show just where the two were rooted while their illustrious colleague relentlessly pushed back the boundaries of the possible with a growing array of new sound effects and techniques.
On the other hand, while clearly not a psychedelic track still shows it '60s roots with the inclusion of a sitar (allegedly played by Brian Jones), and the two versions included here bring us what are clearly some of Hendrix’s better-recorded jams.
Axis Out-Takes allows the modern listener the opportunity to listen and enjoy these recordings, possibly history as it might have been, works in progress or as a vision of the future. Regardless of your perspective, you will not be disappointed by the Experience.
Titel: Axis Outtakes Vol. 1
Label: Radioactive
Stil: Rock
Typ: Picture Disc
Preis: 39.- CHF
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JIMI HENDRIX
The collection of fairly loose tracks presented here sheds light on the gradual shift away from the three-minute pop tunes that Hendrix was finding so restricting and into more loosely-structured numbers which allowed room for improvisation and self-expression, and as importantly, requiring a higher standard of musicianship able to carry the less-structured, free-flowing jams which were to become a major part of the guitarist’s live performances.

The set kicks off with Driving South, an Albert Collins composition that Hendrix adapted early in his career and to which he would return with regularity. Jazz Jimi Jazz, recorded in January 1968, shows the jazzinfluenced direction in which Hendrix was now heading. During the Experience’s frequent visits to Sweden, Hendrix encountered the Swedish duo of Bo Hansson (later to find international fame with the keyboard heavy rock albums Magician’s Hat and Lord Of The Rings) and drummer Rune Carlsson. Hendrix was so taken with the pair’s composition Tax Free that it became a staple feature of the Experience’s live shows, and the version presented here, with its heavy use of percussion, will be unfamiliar to Hendrix fans.

The tracks Somewhere and Cherokee Mist illustrate the new side of Hendrix’s musical direction, and the set’s closing number, a fun workout based around the nursery rhyme Three Little Bears, and the improvisations which ensue, show just who blinkered the compilers of the War Heroes album where when they included a severely edited version of the track. Listen and enjoy these recordings, possibly as history as it might have been, works in progress or as a vision of the future. Regardless of your perspective, you will not be disappointed by the Experience.
Titel: Axis Outtakes Vol. 2
Label: Radioactive
Stil: Rock
Typ: Picture Disc
Preis: 39.- CHF
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Tracks
Title Composer Time
1 Spanish Castle Magic Hendrix, Mitchell, Redding 3:11
2 Little Wing Hendrix 3:24
3 You've Got Me Floating Hendrix 2:42
4 She's So Fine Hendrix 2:39
5 Little Miss Lover Hendrix 2:20
6 Bold as Love Hendrix 3:18
7 Takin' Care of No Business Hendrix 4:05
8 South Saturn Delta Hendrix 4:54
9 Cat Talkin' to Me Hendrix 2:36
10 The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice Hendrix 4:10
11 Takin' Care of No Business Hendrix 3:58
12 Dream Redding 2:04
13 Dance Mitchell, Redding 1:55
14 Little One [Take 1] Hendrix 3:26
15 Little One [Take 2] Hendrix 3:29
16 Driving South Collins 6:07
17 Jazz Jimi Jazz Hendrix 12:10
18 Tax Free Hansson, Karlsson 4:57
19 Somewhere Hendrix 3:50
20 Cherokee Mist Hendrix 5:08
21 Three Little Bears Hendrix 12:37