Ref.: Sony 88765 41898 2
Date: 2013
Musicians: Billy Cox, Buddy Miles, Stephen Stills, Lonnie Youngblood, Larry Lee, Mitch Mitchell, Rocky Isaac, Albert & Arthur Allen
(1)
flac
Date: 2013
Musicians: Billy Cox, Buddy Miles, Stephen Stills, Lonnie Youngblood, Larry Lee, Mitch Mitchell, Rocky Isaac, Albert & Arthur Allen
(1)
flac
Notes
Previously Unreleased Completed Studio Recordings from 1968-70 Reveal Post-Experience Experimental Dimensions of Legendary Guitarist
Apply Coupon Code “HENDRIXJ” to receive $2.00 off your pre-order price on Amazon.com. The $2.00 Coupon Offer expires on Monday March 4. Pre-order the CD and Pre-order the Vinyl at Amazon.
Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, proudly announce the release of People, Hell & Angels, an essential new album premiering twelve previously unreleased studio recordings completed by guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
People, Hell & Angels, showcases the legendary guitarist working outside of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience trio. Beginning in 1968, Jimi Hendrix grew restless, eager to develop new material with old friends and new ensembles. Outside the view of a massive audience that had established the Experience as rock's largest grossing concert act and simultaneously placed two of his albums in the US Top 10 sales chart, Jimi was busy working behind the scenes to craft his next musical statement.
These twelve recordings encompass a variety of unique sounds and styles incorporating many of the elements—horns, keyboards, percussion and second guitar—Jimi wanted to incorporate within his new music. People, Hell & Angels, presents some of the finest Jimi Hendrix guitar work ever issued and provides a compelling window into his growth as a songwriter, musician and producer.
People, Hell & Angels, will be available Tuesday, March 5, 2013.
With an album title coined by Jimi Hendrix, People, Hell & Angels, reveals some of Hendrix's post-Experience ambitions and directions as he worked with new musicians--including the Buffalo Springfield's Stephen Stills, drummer Buddy Miles, Billy Cox (with whom Hendrix had served in the 101st US Army Airborne and later played on the famed R & B 'chitlin circuit' together) and others--creating fresh and exciting sounds for the next chapter in his extraordinary career.
People, Hell & Angels, is co-produced by Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer and John McDermott. Kramer first met Hendrix at Olympic Studios in London in January 1967. Hendrix, who would have turned 70 on November 27 this year, developed a unique rapport with Kramer. As a result, Kramer engineered every album issued by the guitarist in his lifetime and recorded such famous Hendrix concerts as the Woodstock festival in August 1969. Since 1997, Kramer has teamed with
Janie Hendrix and John McDermott to oversee the release of each Jimi Hendrix album issued by Experience Hendrix.
The dozen previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix performances premiering on People, Hell & Angels, include "Earth Blues," "Somewhere," "Hear My Train A Comin'," "Bleeding Heart," "Baby Let Me Move You," "Izabella," "Easy Blues," "Crash Landing," "Inside Out," "Hey Gypsy Boy," "Mojo Man" and "Villanova Junction Blues."
A musical companion piece and successor to 2010's Valleys Of Neptune, the critically acclaimed album showcasing the artist's final recordings with the original Jimi Hendrix Experience, People, Hell & Angels, offers tantalizing new clues as to the direction Hendrix was considering for First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, his planned double album sequel to 1968's groundbreaking Electric Ladyland.
Unlike contemporaries such as the Beatles or Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix owned his songs and master recordings. He did not have to record his music at recording studios owned and operated by his record company. Hendrix spent countless hours recording his new music at new, independent music studios such as New York's Record Plant and the Hit Factory. Hendrix was so focused on recording his music that, concurrent with nearly all of the sessions featured as part of People, Hell & Angels,, he was underwriting the construction of his own recording facility--the state of the art Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village.
Janie L. Hendrix, President/CEO of Experience Hendrix LLC, commented, "We're thrilled to be able to release People, Hell & Angels, during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of my brother's birth. The brilliance of the album serves to underscore what we've known all along: that there has never been and never will be a musical force equal to his and that we cherish and take inspiration of what he left us both now and for many generations to come...simply eternity."
People, Hell & Angels, provides us with further insight into the genius of Jimi Hendrix," said Adam Block, President, Legacy Recordings. "Working with new rhythm sections and instrumentation, Jimi Hendrix was opening up the horizons of his music, creating new sounds filled with endless possibilities."
People, Hell & Angels, - Track by Track
Earth Blues:
Totally unlike the version first issued as part of Rainbow Bridge in 1971, this December 19, 1969 master take features just Hendrix, Billy Cox and Buddy Miles--stripped down funk at its very origin.
Somewhere:
This newly discovered gem was recorded in March 1968 and features Buddy Miles on drums and Stephen Stills on bass. Entirely different from any previous version fans have ever heard.
Hear My Train A Comin':
This superb recording was drawn from Jimi's first ever recording session with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles--the powerhouse rhythm section with whom he would later record the groundbreaking album Band Of Gypsys.
Jimi shared a deep love for the blues with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. Both musicians understood Jimi's desire to create what he described as a 'new type of blues'. Jimi's menacing lead guitar is the centerpiece of this dramatic addition to his remarkable legacy.
Bleeding Heart:
This Elmore James masterwork had long been a favorite of Jimi's. He had performed the song earlier that year with the Experience in concert at the Royal Albert Hall and had attempted to capture the song in New York studio sessions during the weeks that followed.
Recorded at the same May 1969 session as "Hear My Train A Coming," the track conveys Jimi's firm understanding of the arrangement and tempo he desired. Before they began, Jimi instructed Cox and Miles that he wanted to establish a totally different beat than the standard arrangement. He then kicked off this amazing rendition that was nothing like any other he had ever attempted.
Let Me Move You:
In March 1969, Jimi reached back to another old friend, saxophonist Lonnie Youngblood. Before he was discovered by Chas Chandler in the summer of 1966, Jimi had contributed guitar as a nondescript studio sideman for Youngblood and such infectious rhythm and blues styled singles such as "Soul Food".
This March 1969 session features Hendrix and Youngblood trading licks throughout this never before heard, high velocity rock and soul classic.
Izabella:
In the aftermath of the Woodstock festival, Jimi gathered his new ensemble, Gypsy Sun & Rainbows, at the Hit Factory in August 1969 with engineer Eddie Kramer. "Izabella" had been one of the new songs the guitarist introduced at the Woodstock festival and Jimi was eager to perfect a studio version. This new version is markedly different from the Band Of Gypsys 45 rpm single master issued by Reprise Records in 1970 and features Larry Lee, Jimi's old friend from the famed rhythm & blues 'chitin' circuit', on rhythm guitar.
Easy Blues:
An edited extract of this gorgeous, free flowing instrumental was briefly issued as part of the long-out-of-print 1981 album Nine To The Universe. Now nearly twice as long, the track offers fans the opporutnity to enjoy the dramatic interplay between Jimi, second guitarist Larry Lee, Billy Cox and drummer Mitch Mitchell.
Crash Landing:
Perhaps known as the title song for the controversial 1975 album that featured Hendrix master recordings posthumously overdubbed by session musicians, this April 1969 original recording has never been heard before. Jimi is joined here by Billy Cox and drummer Rocky Isaac of the Cherry People to record this thinly veiled warning to his girlfriend Devon Wilson.
Inside Out:
Jimi was fascinated by the rhythm pattern that would ultimately take form as "Ezy Ryder". Joined here by Mitch Mitchell, Jimi recorded all of the bass and guitar parts for this fascinating song--including a dramatic lead guitar part amplified through a Leslie organ speaker.
Hey Gypsy Boy:
The roots of Jimi's majestic "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" trace themselves to this March 1969 recording. Unlike the posthumously overdubbed version briefly issued as part of Midnight Lightning in 1975, this is original recording that features Jimi joined by Buddy Miles.
Mojo Man:
Jimi would lend a hand to Albert & Arthur Allen, the vocalists known as the Ghetto Fighters, whom he had befriended in Harlem long before he achieved fame with the Experience. When the two recorded this inspired, previously unreleased master at the legendary Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama they took it back to Hendrix at Electric Lady Studios. Jimi knew just what to do to elevate the recording beyond contemporary R & B to the new hybrid of rock, rhythm and blues he was celebrated for.
Villanova Junction Blues:
Long before his famous performance of this song at Woodstock, Jimi recorded this studio version with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles at the same May 1969 session which yielded "Hear My Train A Comin'" and "Bleeding Heart" also featured on this album. Never fully finished, the song stands as an example of the fertile ideas he hoped to harness and bring to fruition.
---
...
People, Hell and Angels (Experience Hendrix / Legacy / Sony 88765 41898 2 / USA / 2013 / 1CD) ftbfs:
People, Hell and Angels (Experience Hendrix / Legacy / Sony 88765 41902 1 / USA / 2013 / 2LP / Limited Numbered Edition) (nr. - ) (gatefold sleeve) [sealed] ftbfs:
People, Hell and Angels (Experience Hendrix / Legacy / Sony 88765 41902 1 / USA / 2013 / 2LP / Limited Numbered Edition) (nr.14.964) (gatefold sleeve) [sealed] ftbfs:
(Previously unreleased studio recordings 1968-70; Refer to the tracklist for details.)
Tracklist: "Earth Blues" ( ) [Outtake 19.12.69] / "Somewhere" ( ) [Composite version; Instrumental outtake ( ) 13.03.68 with vocals from alternate take ( )] / "Hear My Train A-Comin'" ( ) [Composite version; Outtake 21.05.69] / "Bleeding Heart" ( ) [Outtake 21.05.69] / "Baby Let Me Move You" (1) [Outtake 18.03.69 with Lonnie Youngblood] / "Izabella" ( ) [Outtake 28.08.69] / "Easy Blues" ( ) [Outtake 28.08.69] / "Crash Landing" ( ) [Composite version; Outtake 24.04.69] / "Inside Out" ( ) [Outtake 11.06.68] / "Hey Gypsy Boy" ( ) [Outtake 24.04.69] / "Mojo Man ( ) [Outtake june/aug 1970 with The Ghetto Fighters] / "Villanova Junction" ( ) [Outtake 21.05.69]
...
People, Hell and Angels - Special Edition (Experience Hendrix / Legacy / Sony 88765 46232 2 / USA / 2013 / 1CD) ftbfs:
(Previously unreleased studio recordings 1968-70; Refer to the tracklist for details.)
Tracklist: Tracks 1-12 are identical to those on the standard version of the album, but this version also includes 2 Bonus tracks: "Ezy Rider" (40) > Jam > "Cherokee Mist" (16) [listed as "Ezy Rider" / "MLK Jam (Captain Coconut)"] [Outtake 23.01.70; From the Dagger Records release "Burning Desire", 2006]
notes:
- Special Edition available exclusively through the US Target chain.
...
---
Apply Coupon Code “HENDRIXJ” to receive $2.00 off your pre-order price on Amazon.com. The $2.00 Coupon Offer expires on Monday March 4. Pre-order the CD and Pre-order the Vinyl at Amazon.
Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, proudly announce the release of People, Hell & Angels, an essential new album premiering twelve previously unreleased studio recordings completed by guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
People, Hell & Angels, showcases the legendary guitarist working outside of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience trio. Beginning in 1968, Jimi Hendrix grew restless, eager to develop new material with old friends and new ensembles. Outside the view of a massive audience that had established the Experience as rock's largest grossing concert act and simultaneously placed two of his albums in the US Top 10 sales chart, Jimi was busy working behind the scenes to craft his next musical statement.
These twelve recordings encompass a variety of unique sounds and styles incorporating many of the elements—horns, keyboards, percussion and second guitar—Jimi wanted to incorporate within his new music. People, Hell & Angels, presents some of the finest Jimi Hendrix guitar work ever issued and provides a compelling window into his growth as a songwriter, musician and producer.
People, Hell & Angels, will be available Tuesday, March 5, 2013.
With an album title coined by Jimi Hendrix, People, Hell & Angels, reveals some of Hendrix's post-Experience ambitions and directions as he worked with new musicians--including the Buffalo Springfield's Stephen Stills, drummer Buddy Miles, Billy Cox (with whom Hendrix had served in the 101st US Army Airborne and later played on the famed R & B 'chitlin circuit' together) and others--creating fresh and exciting sounds for the next chapter in his extraordinary career.
People, Hell & Angels, is co-produced by Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer and John McDermott. Kramer first met Hendrix at Olympic Studios in London in January 1967. Hendrix, who would have turned 70 on November 27 this year, developed a unique rapport with Kramer. As a result, Kramer engineered every album issued by the guitarist in his lifetime and recorded such famous Hendrix concerts as the Woodstock festival in August 1969. Since 1997, Kramer has teamed with
Janie Hendrix and John McDermott to oversee the release of each Jimi Hendrix album issued by Experience Hendrix.
The dozen previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix performances premiering on People, Hell & Angels, include "Earth Blues," "Somewhere," "Hear My Train A Comin'," "Bleeding Heart," "Baby Let Me Move You," "Izabella," "Easy Blues," "Crash Landing," "Inside Out," "Hey Gypsy Boy," "Mojo Man" and "Villanova Junction Blues."
A musical companion piece and successor to 2010's Valleys Of Neptune, the critically acclaimed album showcasing the artist's final recordings with the original Jimi Hendrix Experience, People, Hell & Angels, offers tantalizing new clues as to the direction Hendrix was considering for First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, his planned double album sequel to 1968's groundbreaking Electric Ladyland.
Unlike contemporaries such as the Beatles or Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix owned his songs and master recordings. He did not have to record his music at recording studios owned and operated by his record company. Hendrix spent countless hours recording his new music at new, independent music studios such as New York's Record Plant and the Hit Factory. Hendrix was so focused on recording his music that, concurrent with nearly all of the sessions featured as part of People, Hell & Angels,, he was underwriting the construction of his own recording facility--the state of the art Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village.
Janie L. Hendrix, President/CEO of Experience Hendrix LLC, commented, "We're thrilled to be able to release People, Hell & Angels, during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of my brother's birth. The brilliance of the album serves to underscore what we've known all along: that there has never been and never will be a musical force equal to his and that we cherish and take inspiration of what he left us both now and for many generations to come...simply eternity."
People, Hell & Angels, provides us with further insight into the genius of Jimi Hendrix," said Adam Block, President, Legacy Recordings. "Working with new rhythm sections and instrumentation, Jimi Hendrix was opening up the horizons of his music, creating new sounds filled with endless possibilities."
People, Hell & Angels, - Track by Track
Earth Blues:
Totally unlike the version first issued as part of Rainbow Bridge in 1971, this December 19, 1969 master take features just Hendrix, Billy Cox and Buddy Miles--stripped down funk at its very origin.
Somewhere:
This newly discovered gem was recorded in March 1968 and features Buddy Miles on drums and Stephen Stills on bass. Entirely different from any previous version fans have ever heard.
Hear My Train A Comin':
This superb recording was drawn from Jimi's first ever recording session with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles--the powerhouse rhythm section with whom he would later record the groundbreaking album Band Of Gypsys.
Jimi shared a deep love for the blues with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. Both musicians understood Jimi's desire to create what he described as a 'new type of blues'. Jimi's menacing lead guitar is the centerpiece of this dramatic addition to his remarkable legacy.
Bleeding Heart:
This Elmore James masterwork had long been a favorite of Jimi's. He had performed the song earlier that year with the Experience in concert at the Royal Albert Hall and had attempted to capture the song in New York studio sessions during the weeks that followed.
Recorded at the same May 1969 session as "Hear My Train A Coming," the track conveys Jimi's firm understanding of the arrangement and tempo he desired. Before they began, Jimi instructed Cox and Miles that he wanted to establish a totally different beat than the standard arrangement. He then kicked off this amazing rendition that was nothing like any other he had ever attempted.
Let Me Move You:
In March 1969, Jimi reached back to another old friend, saxophonist Lonnie Youngblood. Before he was discovered by Chas Chandler in the summer of 1966, Jimi had contributed guitar as a nondescript studio sideman for Youngblood and such infectious rhythm and blues styled singles such as "Soul Food".
This March 1969 session features Hendrix and Youngblood trading licks throughout this never before heard, high velocity rock and soul classic.
Izabella:
In the aftermath of the Woodstock festival, Jimi gathered his new ensemble, Gypsy Sun & Rainbows, at the Hit Factory in August 1969 with engineer Eddie Kramer. "Izabella" had been one of the new songs the guitarist introduced at the Woodstock festival and Jimi was eager to perfect a studio version. This new version is markedly different from the Band Of Gypsys 45 rpm single master issued by Reprise Records in 1970 and features Larry Lee, Jimi's old friend from the famed rhythm & blues 'chitin' circuit', on rhythm guitar.
Easy Blues:
An edited extract of this gorgeous, free flowing instrumental was briefly issued as part of the long-out-of-print 1981 album Nine To The Universe. Now nearly twice as long, the track offers fans the opporutnity to enjoy the dramatic interplay between Jimi, second guitarist Larry Lee, Billy Cox and drummer Mitch Mitchell.
Crash Landing:
Perhaps known as the title song for the controversial 1975 album that featured Hendrix master recordings posthumously overdubbed by session musicians, this April 1969 original recording has never been heard before. Jimi is joined here by Billy Cox and drummer Rocky Isaac of the Cherry People to record this thinly veiled warning to his girlfriend Devon Wilson.
Inside Out:
Jimi was fascinated by the rhythm pattern that would ultimately take form as "Ezy Ryder". Joined here by Mitch Mitchell, Jimi recorded all of the bass and guitar parts for this fascinating song--including a dramatic lead guitar part amplified through a Leslie organ speaker.
Hey Gypsy Boy:
The roots of Jimi's majestic "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" trace themselves to this March 1969 recording. Unlike the posthumously overdubbed version briefly issued as part of Midnight Lightning in 1975, this is original recording that features Jimi joined by Buddy Miles.
Mojo Man:
Jimi would lend a hand to Albert & Arthur Allen, the vocalists known as the Ghetto Fighters, whom he had befriended in Harlem long before he achieved fame with the Experience. When the two recorded this inspired, previously unreleased master at the legendary Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama they took it back to Hendrix at Electric Lady Studios. Jimi knew just what to do to elevate the recording beyond contemporary R & B to the new hybrid of rock, rhythm and blues he was celebrated for.
Villanova Junction Blues:
Long before his famous performance of this song at Woodstock, Jimi recorded this studio version with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles at the same May 1969 session which yielded "Hear My Train A Comin'" and "Bleeding Heart" also featured on this album. Never fully finished, the song stands as an example of the fertile ideas he hoped to harness and bring to fruition.
---
...
People, Hell and Angels (Experience Hendrix / Legacy / Sony 88765 41898 2 / USA / 2013 / 1CD) ftbfs:
People, Hell and Angels (Experience Hendrix / Legacy / Sony 88765 41902 1 / USA / 2013 / 2LP / Limited Numbered Edition) (nr. - ) (gatefold sleeve) [sealed] ftbfs:
People, Hell and Angels (Experience Hendrix / Legacy / Sony 88765 41902 1 / USA / 2013 / 2LP / Limited Numbered Edition) (nr.14.964) (gatefold sleeve) [sealed] ftbfs:
(Previously unreleased studio recordings 1968-70; Refer to the tracklist for details.)
Tracklist: "Earth Blues" ( ) [Outtake 19.12.69] / "Somewhere" ( ) [Composite version; Instrumental outtake ( ) 13.03.68 with vocals from alternate take ( )] / "Hear My Train A-Comin'" ( ) [Composite version; Outtake 21.05.69] / "Bleeding Heart" ( ) [Outtake 21.05.69] / "Baby Let Me Move You" (1) [Outtake 18.03.69 with Lonnie Youngblood] / "Izabella" ( ) [Outtake 28.08.69] / "Easy Blues" ( ) [Outtake 28.08.69] / "Crash Landing" ( ) [Composite version; Outtake 24.04.69] / "Inside Out" ( ) [Outtake 11.06.68] / "Hey Gypsy Boy" ( ) [Outtake 24.04.69] / "Mojo Man ( ) [Outtake june/aug 1970 with The Ghetto Fighters] / "Villanova Junction" ( ) [Outtake 21.05.69]
...
People, Hell and Angels - Special Edition (Experience Hendrix / Legacy / Sony 88765 46232 2 / USA / 2013 / 1CD) ftbfs:
(Previously unreleased studio recordings 1968-70; Refer to the tracklist for details.)
Tracklist: Tracks 1-12 are identical to those on the standard version of the album, but this version also includes 2 Bonus tracks: "Ezy Rider" (40) > Jam > "Cherokee Mist" (16) [listed as "Ezy Rider" / "MLK Jam (Captain Coconut)"] [Outtake 23.01.70; From the Dagger Records release "Burning Desire", 2006]
notes:
- Special Edition available exclusively through the US Target chain.
...
---
Reviews
Jimi Hendrix ‘People, Hell and Angels’ | Legacy RecordingsContinuing with our coverage on the new Jimi Hendrix posthumous LP People, Hell and Angels, we are presenting the link for NPR’s innovative First Listen project where they provide music fans all over the world a chance to hear unreleased music before it hits CD shelves along with our full review of the contents. If you have been following the works of Jimi over the years, these songs will not be as revelatory as they are to those who are not seasoned fans. Regardless though, it’s phenomenal to hear these tracks given the full mixing and mastering treatment and presented in the type of collection they are along with the music that has never been heard in any shape or form outside of those who helped record it and present this new collection.
With the first single “Somewhere” already making top charting lists this year, it’s mind blowing to see how relevant Hendrix has stayed since his death in 1970. One of the first pieces on the album that really shines some new light on material I have never heard and am absolutely mystified by is the electric burning blues piece “Hear My Train A Comin’”. There are multiple versions committed to tape with this one coming from a May 1969 session Hendrix completed with visionary percussionist Juma Sultan, long time friend Billy Cox and eclectic soul and funk drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles. The tempo is set to a higher pace then most live versions and has a blistering tone from Hendrix in every solo passage. You can hear him climbing mountains and knocking them down in his path, truly magnetic and full of heart break and pain. It’s the only studio version I have heard that reaches the intensity of the live versions the group was achieving in the 70's with the reformed Jimi Hendrix Experience and has that raw flavor of Hendrix in transition.
“Bleeding Heart” from Elmore James is another electric based blues piece on the album that is a phenomenal addition to the collection and comes from the same recording date and personnel as the May 21, 1969 Record Plant Recording session in New York. More subdued in energy than “Hear My Train”, the tone Hendrix conveys is spell binding and I can’t get over how good his voice sounds with this number. As a musician who was notoriously shy about his vocal abilities, this is one of the songs that nobody could even come close to recreating with this much passion and raw power. Singular bends feel like they can move you 20 feet in one direction. The most nostalgic piece on the album in terms of Hendrix’s past before he was on the world touring scene comes with a studio jam he did with former band-mate Lonnie Youngblood on sax and Buddy Miles on drums called “Let Me Move You”. Rooted in R&B and soul, this is a really easy going track that you can dance to all night. Recorded in May of 1969 and a few days before the blues pieces mentioned before, Hendrix was in high spirits with other colleagues in the other music scenes at this time and was moving away from the British influence sound of his first two Experience albums with music like this. He was moving back to his roots and forward into the form of fusion at the same time and this track is a nice reminder of how Hendrix was making multi-directional voyages into sound.
“Izabella” from the 1969 Woodstock Gypsy, Sun and Rainbows band is also a personal favorite of mine from the collection. The loose and organic flow of the band gave the the whole of the sums an edge that Hendrix was never afforded: an endless field of textures and rhythms to flow off of. The version presented at Woodstock is very close to this studio track with the ending mantra like statements that close out the song so well preserved in this studio recording unlike others after it. “Easy Blues” comes from the Woodstock band and was also recorded in August 1969. It’s one of the few tracks I have heard countless amounts of times but am very happy to hear in this mastered and pristine form. The engineer can’t be heard cuing the band in that was present in bootleg versions and you can really hear the beautiful interaction between guitarists Larry Lee and Jimi Hendrix on this one. Really lovely jazz and blues based number that was a perfect vehicle for this type of band. The chords Hendrix plays during the ending bars are some of the best I have ever heard him play. Angelic and full of every bright moment you’d could ever think of.
An April 1969 recording that is one of the most unique experimentation’s for Hendrix is the track “Inside Out” featuring Mitch Mitchell on drums. Hendrix and his trusted sound engineers retooled the material extensively, adding in organ and other sound tones over Hendrix’s guitar tracking. It’s a really wild track by the end that goes into some very deep tonal explorations and rhythms. Hendrix also adds bass to the mix, something he started to do extensively in 1968. This is the material that I have really been waiting to hear from this era of Hendrix’s musical studio growth.
With “Somewhere” being one of the only two tracks recorded in the spring of 1968 when Hendrix was creating Electric Ladyland, the other track comes in the elegant and cosmic track “Hey Gypsy Boy”. Hendrix had worked on various versions of the musical themes that run through this track, finally ending with “Hey Baby” which was being finished before Hendrix’s death in 1970. This is a more embryonic version that is a duo recording between Buddy Miles and Hendrix. Very ethereal, this is what his next movement of sound really stood for and it’s beautiful to see where it was all beginning while Electric Ladyland was being recorded. The sections where Hendrix solo’s and doubles the harmony with his vocals is transfixing and one of the best moments on the album. The majestic “Villanova Junction Blues” closes the album out which is sourced from the same May 1969 session that “Hear My Train” and “Bleeding Heart” come from. Steeped into a heavy blues feel that is complimented perfectly with open ended drumming by Buddy Miles, this is a really phenomenal yet short take on this lovely piece. The recording fades out as soon as things start to heat up and the end of this incredible LP has taken form.
Now all that’s left is seeing what Hendrix LLC and Legacy have planned for the liner notes and grabbing a vinyl print. Really love what this LP stands for in terms of the new heights Hendrix was reaching for after the magnificent level of world consciousness communication that became Electric Ladyland.
-Erik Otis