Thursday, September 16th 2010
News: Jimi Hendrix
Even More Hendrix, 40 Years Gone
September 18th marks the passing of ultimate guitar hero Jimi Hendrix into an entirely different Experience. The Seattle native is being honored in his hometown with a concert, a special weekend exhibition of Hendrix treasures at the Experience Music Project museum, and on November 16th the release of a 4-CD/DVD box set containing over four hours of unreleased Hendrix material.
Considering how often Jimi’s musical legacy has been re-packaged, resold, re-everything, one could cast a wary eye at yet another collection, but this one is mighty intriguing.
West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology features exactly the kind of material fans long for – demos, outtakes, covers, live performances — covering Hendrix’s entire career. Throughout the design of this collection there seems to be a genuine effort to provide people with deeper insight into Hendrix as both a musician and man. His earliest work with R&B pioneers like the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, Don Covay is highlighted, which alone makes the set valuable.
Remixed by engineer Eddie Kramer, the electric trill-infused track Love or Confusion will be included, originally featured on the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 debut, Are You Experienced. Listen:
Digging further in, Hendrix’s electric flash is replaced by a more intimate musical feel on an acoustic version of 1983 (A Merman I Shall Turn To Be), he collaborates with Love’s Arthur Lee on Everlasting First and takes on another Bob Dylan song, Tears of Rage. This is good stuff.
The DVD, Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child, sounds just as promising, from Beatles Anthology director Bob Smeaton. Live performances are interspersed with views of Hendrix’s personal diaries, drawings, song drafts and more. His story is told in Jimi’s own words, and narrated by funk bassist legend Bootsy Collins.
I’m not really one for reissues and posthumous box set type stuff, but this looks promising.
I’ll wait and see if this is worth two shits. But Im not that big on digging in shit the artist never intended the fans to hear. My dad has all the Beatles Anthology albums, and while they are kinda cool I really never got into them. If I wanna listen to some goddamn Beatles, I’ll throw one of their records on and groove on that, not 4 hours of them fucking it up.
Aw, see, I’m just the opposite: I can’t get ENOUGH of the alternates/demos/unreleased stuff of an artist I love. It fascinates me to get a look inside the creative process, and it’s not uncommon for me to prefer a take that would have been left to rot otherwise. I very much appreciate this kind of thing being officially released.
At the EMP, there is a small mixing board with Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic” loaded in, and you can mix and pan it as you wish. It’s a blast, and I don’t think it is disrespectful to his artistic intent at all. I think Hendrix would be stunned to know how relevant he remains today.