Jimi Hendrix

Good recommendations from our resident Hendrix expert!

Band Of Gypsys is still my favorite but it's all good, the remainder of those performances are on the Live At The Fillmore CD that he listed above.

S.D. wrote:

Good recommendations from our resident Hendrix expert!

Band Of Gypsys is still my favorite but it's all good, the remainder of those performances are on the Live At The Fillmore CD that he listed above.

I have Band Of Gypsys and was hoping to find a good live album with the original "Experience". I'm thinking that maybe the BBC sessions will have some good stuff. I noticed while reading about some of the live releases that many of them didn't have the "Experience" backing him. Actually Monterey Pop many be my best bet. I didn't realize the "Experience" wasn't always with him and thought Band Of Gypsys was a side thing.

The only recommendation in manny's list that isn't the Experience is the Live At The Fillmore set. The just released Winterland set is 4-CDs of great music from the original Experience.

The Experience was together until June of 1969, after that time Hendrix kept recording with Mitch Mitchell as well as doing the Band Of Gypsys on the side. The "Experience" was reformed in 1970 with the new lineup of Billy Cox & Mitch Mitchell and continued until Jimi's death.

So confusing. Trying to sort out this mess is crazy. Special, alternate, remastered, repackaged, etc. Now I know why I've just stuck with the original 3 studio albums. At one time or another I've had a few of the Hendrix post 11/70 on vinyl which is long gone and trying to build my collection all over again isn't as easy as I thougth it would be.

Here is my list so far:
BBC (really like the orginal Experience and this seems to be the lion's share)
South Saturn
Valleys of Neptune (target version I guess)
Winterland (4 cd version, I think??)
all the rest will fall into place once I figure that mess out.

Here is your essential Hendrix discography IMO, excluding the original 3 studio albums and live album during his lifetime and skipping disc you already own or listed

'In the West' -live album recently reissued

Blues- the only album that survived after the family took control over his legacy

First Rays of the New Rising Sun- combines the original 'Cry of Love' and 'Rainbow Bridge' albums into one disc, closet we may ever get to what Hendrix intended

and the Jimi Hendrix Experience Box Set released in 2000, simply excellent, plus the live albums I had already listed

Here is a partial official Hendrix discography, broken down into eras (all releases by Experience Hendrix).

The original Jimi Hendrix Experience (Hendrix, Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell)

The BBC Sessions
Are You Experienced?
Axis...Bold As Love
Electric Ladyland
Winterland (box set)
Hendrix At Monterey
The Jimi Hendrix Experience (box set)

Gypsy Sun & Rainbows (Hendrix, Billy Cox, Mitch Mitchell & others)

Live At Woodstock

Band Of Gypsys: (Hendrix, Billy Cox, Buddy Miles)

Band Of Gypsys
Live At The Fillmore
The Baggy's Rehearsal Sessions (Dagger records)
Burning Desire (Dagger Records)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1969-1970 (Jimi Hendrix, Billy Cox, Mitch Mitchell)

First Rays Of The New Rising Sun
Live At Berkeley
In The West
Blue Wild Angel

Various lineups - Collections

Blues
South Saturn Delta
Valleys Of Neptune
West Coast Seattle Boy
Hear My Music (Dagger records)
Morning Symphony Ideas (Dagger records)

Nice breakdown.

Whoa yeah. very nice breakdown. Makes a whole lot more sense. A Hendrix complete works would be nice
Any interest?

Now it's time to go shopping.

the three studio albums are excellent!

exact33 wrote:

the three studio albums are excellent!

There are many more studio recordings than just those three. You should get "First Rays Of The New Rising Sun" as soon as possible. As Manny mentioned it's the majority of the material Hendrix was recording for his next release.

S.D. wrote:

exact33 wrote:

the three studio albums are excellent!

There are many more studio recordings than just those three. You should get "First Rays Of The New Rising Sun" as soon as possible. As Manny mentioned it's the majority of the material Hendrix was recording for his next release.

Yes yes. First Rays is one I would consider a must for Hendrix fans. It is slightly different that the first three, but well worth it. I think of it as the forth studio album. Hendrix certainly intended on releasing a new album and how close First Rays comes to being that release is hard to tell. The quality of the release is very good, so I'm guessing that it was darn close. Back to back double albums was not common, but it was Hendrix after all.

Its on my list - as is Band of Gypsys.

It really never got any better after Hendrix.

Andy wrote:

It really never got any better after Hendrix.

That's because we still haven't caught up with him. Hendrix and Coltrane still remain frustratingly unattainable goals.

A film of Jimi Hendrix is being filmed:


http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/andre-3000-channels-jimi-hendrix-upcoming-biopic-side-article-1.1086306

nice! I have some more Jimi coming my soon!

The Hendrix releases I have on CD are from the early 90's from MCA Records. These were remastered and extensive liner notes and new cover art. Cover art is lame but when you put all 3 together they look decent. It also included Jimi Hendrix "stamps" of the new cover art in the back. I wisely left them intact. The remastering is pretty good but since I already had these I didn't bother buying them again when they were reissued again by Experience Hendrix so I can't compare them.

mikeinfla wrote:

The Hendrix releases I have on CD are from the early 90's from MCA Records. These were remastered and extensive liner notes and new cover art. Cover art is lame but when you put all 3 together they look decent. It also included Jimi Hendrix "stamps" of the new cover art in the back. I wisely left them intact. The remastering is pretty good but since I already had these I didn't bother buying them again when they were reissued again by Experience Hendrix so I can't compare them.

Yeah, I used to own those, but gladly dumped them when the Hendrix Family re-acquired the rights to the catalog. The original engineer Eddie Kramer doing the remastering was another draw.

I've decided I could never own too much Hendrix, I have all the official releases (including the Dagger Records releases) and numerous "grey-market" and bootleg discs. I love all of it.

So do the Experience Hendrix versions sound better? The ones I have sound good enough and I decided to hold on to them once the new ones came out because I knew they would be out of print, never to be printed like that again.

mikeinfla wrote:

So do the Experience Hendrix versions sound better? The ones I have sound good enough and I decided to hold on to them once the new ones came out because I knew they would be out of print, never to be printed like that again.

IMO they sound better and the liner notes on Hendrix-Experience , are more accurate. I have one remastered MCA with the stamps in it, and I may spin it this weekend and compare it.

I only have the Experience: Hendrix greatest hits album, but I enjoy spinning it. After reading this thread, you guys are way more into Hendrix than I am. However...

Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell have hugely influenced the way that I listen to drummers and bassists in rock and metal. One spin through "Fire" and it is pretty plain that not just Hendrix but the band as a whole are something special that has yet to be topped. There is an explosiveness in the playing that has a ton of energy and fire (pardon the pun) in it. When you come across a drummer that is influenced by Mitch's playing, it is pretty obvious. Rather than the standard 3/4 or 4/4 timing, there are these huge fills and snare drops that really bring another level to the whole band and listening experience.

While Hendrix is absolutely unbeatable as an influence across many genre's, don't forget to mention the insanity of the backing band that somehow were able to not just keep up with him but brought their own flavor to the party.

I agree with you, especially about Mitch Mitchell, it is very telling that after Hendrix did the Band of Gypsy's live album and scattered studio recordings, for live performance and majority of his studio work, the Master always went back to Mitch Mitchell.

When I was a kid my brother had an album called "Crash Landing". There was a killer tune on it called "Peace In Mississippi". I belive this was a Reprise release. Dont know if it was offical or not. Back in 1997 or so I saw it available on CD at a used store but didn't get it. When "Valley Of Neptunes" was released I found a CD single at Walmart for $1.88 that had "Peace In Mississippi" as the second track so I quickly picked it up. Was planning on buying the whole album but still haven't done it yet. I need to get that and "First Rays Of The New Rising Sun". I had a CD one time called "Voodoo Soup" and I think this has some of the same songs on it. I remember there being a big controvery on this one over the use of the drummer from The Knack re-recording the drum tracks. I don't have this anymore and wish I did so I could compare the two when I finally get "First Rays".

Voodoo Soup is a waste of time, avoid it, Alan Douglas really didn't need to record new studio tracks.

The version of Peace In Mississippi on the Valleys Of Neptune single is the complete take of that performance, it's almost 2 minutes longer than the one issued on Voodoo Soup.

Glad you enjoy Mitch Mitchell so much. He's more of a jazz drummer than a rock drummer, you can tell he listened to alot of Elvin Jones (from Coltrane's band), Art Blakey, Max Roach and Tony Williams. That rhythm section created an amazing pocket for Jimi to improvise around. I'm also quite fond of the Hendrix/Billy Cox/Mitch Mitchell lineup.

I think I need this:

http://legacy.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=174884


Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release a restored and newly expanded edition of "Jimi Plays Berkeley" on Blu-ray and DVD, on Tuesday, July 10.

A historic documentary film chronicling the two concerts Jimi Hendrix performed at the Berkeley Community Theatre on Saturday, May 30, 1970, "Jimi Plays Berkeley" captures the cultural milieu surrounding one of the finest Hendrix performances ever lensed.

Made from a new, digitally-restored transfer from the original 16mm negative, "Jimi Plays Berkeley" premieres more than 15 minutes of previously unseen documentary and performance footage of Hendrix classics including "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", "Machine Gun" and "Hear My Train A Comin'" not featured in the original film release.

"We take great pride in doing our part to preserve the music of my brother, Jimi, especially during his 70th birthday year," said Janie Hendrix, President and CEO of Experience Hendrix and co-producer (with John McDermott) of the "Jimi Plays Berkeley" DVD. (Jimi Hendrix, born November 27, 1942, would be 70 this year.)

"Jimi Plays Berkeley" features a 5.1 Surround stereo soundtrack mixed by original Jimi Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer and commentary from Abe Jacob, the audio engineer who recorded the Hendrix Berkeley concerts in 1970.

As an added bonus, the newly expanded "Jimi Plays Berkeley" includes an audio-only presentation of Jimi's complete Berkeley May 30, 1970 second show mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound. Showcasing 67 minutes of music, the second set concert recordings include "Pass It On (Straight Ahead)", "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)", "Lover Man", "Stone Free", "Hey Joe", "I Don't Live Today", "Machine Gun", "Foxey Lady", "Star Spangled Banner", "Purple Haze" and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)".

The second set from May 30, 1970, will be released on CD and on 12-inch vinyl as "Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At Berkeley (The Second Set)". The audiophile 12" double album release is an all analog recording cut by Bernie Grundman from the master tapes and struck by Quality Record Pressings (QRP) on 200-gram vinyl.

The most complete record ever-released of that magical Saturday in late May 1970, "Jimi Plays Berkeley" includes an essay on the film by noted Jimi Hendrix historian John McDermott.

Also on July 10, Legacy Recordings will release the "Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child" film for the first time on Blu-ray. A 90 minute documentary directed by the multiple Grammy award-winning Bob Smeaton, "Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child" was originally included as a DVD in the "West Coast Seattle Boy" Jimi Hendrix boxed set. An autobiographical journey told in the legendary musician's own words as read by PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC's Bootsy Collins, the film incorporates interviews with Hendrix, coupled with the artist's letters, writings and recordings to provide new insight into one of the most enduring icons of popular culture. The documentary features some of Jimi's greatest performances as well as rare and never-before-seen footage and photos including — for the first time ever — examples from the Hendrix family archive of the late guitarist's personal drawings, postcards home to his father, song drafts, sketches, and lyrics.