Dez Record Guides: Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix’s discography is one of the most confusing of any major rock artist. During his lifetime, things were pretty simple. He released only three studio records with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a compilation and a live album (of new material) with the shortlived Band of Gypsys. That’s it. The confusion enters the picture with the multitude of posthumous releases containing massive amounts of previously unreleased material. Hendrix was a prolific studio hound, and between 1967-70 he recorded many records worth of material that was not released during his lifetime, much of it intended for his next planned record, an ambitious double or triple album that he was going to call (according to most sources) "First Rays of the New Rising Sun." You have a lot of unreleased material in various stages of development and completion, and you have a legal labyrinth of different parties who claim possession of this unreleased material. A series of controversial heavily edited and posthumously dubbed records were released in the 70’s and 80’s, until Hendrix’s father, Al Hendrix, finally gained legal control of Jimi’s material during the 1990’s. Those controversial releases have been taken off the market, to be replaced by releases under the Experience Hendrix, LLC banner. These releases have been largely well done with little doctoring, and Al Hendrix wisely hired Eddie Kramer, Jimi’s producer during much of his lifetime, to oversee the compilation, remastering and re-release of all of this material. Since the 90’s, Hendrix’s legacy has been in good hands.

This Guide will first address the core discography that was released while Jimi was alive and is therefore the only material with Hendrix’s actual stamp of approval, and then the posthumous Experience Hendrix releases only, plus I will discuss the myriad live recordings available and give some suggestions there as well. I will also discuss compilations.

Why is Jimi Hendrix almost universally acknowledged as the greatest rock electric guitarist? Even if you (as I do) prefer some other players, it is ignorance to try and argue anyone else was “better” or more significant or more influential. Few things in music are absolute fact, but this is one of them. There is pre-Hendrix and post-Hendrix electric guitar. It is as significant for rock music as the dividing line of B.C. and A.D. to religious history. Sometimes lost in the guitar worship are the facts that he was also a great songwriter (with no formal training), an expressive singer, visionary arranger and a master (and perfectionist) in the studio. But I guess it does always come back to the guitar. He was technically dazzling, mastered the use of volume and distortion, the use of effects and studio magic (he got sounds that are still a mystery to people who try to recreate them.) As Guitar Magazine said in 2012, Hendrix “changed everything…monumental rebooting of guitar culture ‘standards of tone,’ technique, gear, signal processing, rhythm playing, soloing, stage presence, chord voicings, charisma, fashion and composition...He is guitar hero number one.”

Core Discography

Are You Experienced? (Jimi Hendrix Experience) (1967) *****
The greatest, most stunning, life changing debut record ever? I think so, at least if you are talking about the American version of AYE (SEE note below photo). Peoples’ reactions to this record when it came out were a mix of disbelief, excitement and fear. Pete Townshend supposedly got so depressed that he claims he contemplated giving up the instrument entirely. One of the keys for me, though, is that beneath all of the revolutionary sonic experimentation lie a set of just great songs. Hendrix never forgot that you still needed the song. Hendrix spurred everyone to up their game after AYE, they had no choice if they were going to stay relevant. One other thing I found impressive was that Hendrix was learning to write songs on the fly. The originals here are his first songs he ever tried to write. Not bad to have “Purple Haze” be the second or third tune you ever pen. Two other things make AYE what it is. Manager Chas Chandler (formerly of The Animals) reigns Hendrix in a bit here. Chandler still believed in the three minute single, so that tug of war between Hendrix’s more expansive and experimental tendencies and Chandler’s commercial savvy of forcing Hendrix to stay within pop forms is the perfect balance. And finally, the Experience was also bassist Noel Redding (who never got along with Hendrix, as Redding was a fine guitarist in his own right and always chaffed at being “just” Hendrix’s bass player) and drummer Mitch Mitchell. Mitchell and Hendrix especially had a special chemistry. Hendrix would not have been what he was without those two guys, who were essentially forced on Hendrix by Chandler.

ABOVE: The cover for the American version of Are You Experienced? The practice at the time was still to release different versions of a record in the UK and the U.S. The UK version left off singles “The Wind Cries Mary,” “Purple Haze” and “Hey Joe,” as they were released as standalone singles in the UK with no accompanying record. Instead, the UK AYE included “Red House,” “Can You See Me” and “Remember” in their place, songs which are not on the original American release. But no matter, the CD version that is now available has all tracks from both versions, plus single “Stone Free” and b-sides “51st Anniversary” and “Highway Chile,” making the record now a 17 track tour de force. I find this 17 track version acceptable and legitimate, because if you compared these sessions to how long people take nowadays to make records, all 17 tracks would by today’s standards be considered part of the sessions for a single record recorded over several months.

Axis: Bold As Love (Jimi Hendrix Experience) (1967) ****
The follow-up may not be quite as jawdropping, but it is every bit as influential and important. He also expanded his sound a bit, showing a delicate lyrical side with “Little Wing” and “Castles Made of Sand.” He continued to break new ground in use of feedback and phasing.

ABOVE: Axis: Bold As Love. Interesting story: With a looming release deadline, Hendrix supposedly left the tapes for the mixed version of Side One in the back seat of a taxi and they were never recovered (imagine how much those would be worth now! The cabbie probably tossed them in the trash after cleaning out the cab for the night). Hendrix, Chandler and Eddie Kramer had to remix the entire side in one overnight session. Not satisfied with the sound of “If 6 Was 9,” they resorted to a cassette version that Noel Redding had, smoothing the tape out with an iron as it had gotten wrinkled in Noel’s possession.

Electric Ladyland (Jimi Hendrix Experience) (1968) *****
A sprawling double record that, to me, is the pinnacle of what Hendrix accomplished. Kind of like with The Beatles’ White Album, what is usually the weakness of double albums (lack of focus, sprawl, rabbit holes) is a strength here. Chas Chandler got so frustrated with the sprawl, excess and constant stream of groupies and hangers-on that were in the studio that it was here where he and Hendrix parted ways. But as chaotic as it seemed on the surface, Hendrix knew what he wanted to accomplish and he did. You’ve got tight pop/rock with hooks galore (“Crosstown Traffic,” “Long Hot Summer Night,” Redding’s “Little Miss Strange”), smoldering blues workouts (the 15 minute slowburn “Voodoo Chile” or the more concise “Come On”), psychedelic soul (title track, “Burning of the Midnight Lamp”), sidelong proggish experimentation (“1983…(A Merman I Should Turn To Be)”) and soul/funk jams (“Rainy Day, Dream Away”). And I haven’t even addressed the absolute perfection that is Side 4. It opens with the burning jam “Still Raining, Still Dreaming,” then moves into the intense commentary on the increasing violence of the civil rights movement in “House Burning Down,” followed by the greatest and most transformative cover in all of rock, Hendrix’s radical reinterpretation of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” What was an acoustic folk number for Dylan, Hendrix turns into an electric maelstrom with cascading guitar lines. Even Dylan started to perform Hendrix’s version of his own song after that. Side 4 wraps up with the wah extravaganza “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”, with Hendrix at his hardest rocking and most intense.

Smash Hits (Jimi Hendrix Experience) (compilation) (1968) ****
The only compilation released during Hendrix’s lifetime, it served the purpose of collecting his more concise radio hits, focusing most heavily on the debut record (in fact, there are only two tunes from Electric Ladyland here and none from the sophomore effort). Obviously the collection of songs is amazing, but judging it as a compilation trying to give an accurate picture of the artist up to this point, the picture is incomplete.

Band of Gypsys (Band of Gypsys) (live) (1970) ***
Due to the complex mess Hendrix got himself into due to his habit of signing any contract put in front of him, he found that he owed Capitol Records an album of new original material. But he had just disbanded The Experience, so he had no band. He put together a new trio to play a few gigs and record the shows to fulfill the contract obligation. It was an intriguing group that given more time, could have gelled into something special. Recruiting drummer/singer Buddy Miles and army buddy Billy Cox on bass, Hendrix formed an all-black power trio. Cox didn’t have the technical skills of Noel Redding, but his grooves were deeper and funkier. At these shows, Hendrix really gets down into some intense playing. Honestly, most of this material is still half baked and rough. But the one absolutely essential track is “Machine Gun,” a slowburn 10 minute raging rumination on Vietnam that is one of Hendrix’s finest moments. In hindsight, this record would have been a transitional record into a new and exciting phase of his career had he lived, but it stands as his final officially released statement.

Posthumous Experience Hendrix Studio Releases:

First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1968-70/1997) ****
South Saturn Delta (1967-70/1997) ***
Valleys of Neptune (1967-70/2010) ***
People, Hell & Angels (1968-70/2013) ***
As stated in the intro, Hendrix had been prolifically recording new material in the studio for several years, and he was planning on releasing either a double or even triple record announcing his new direction. What was that direction going to be? As best as we can tell from this material, it was a more soulful, funkier direction. One must be cautious with this music, because he was still working on it and perfecting it when he died, and noting that he was a perfectionist in the studio, I am sure that he would have further refined it before releasing it. But I think Hendrix would have continued to blaze new trails, and this hybrid of soul/funk/rock/blues/psychedelia would have been fascinating to hear in its final form. Producer Eddie Kramer was hired by Al Hendrix to sort through this stuff (after taking all of the inferior, doctored releases off the market) and release it with some sense while trying to stay as true as possible to Jimi’s vision. FROTNRS is Kramer’s attempt to assemble what we are most certain that Hendrix had slated for the new record (the most completed tracks and from what we know from Hendrix’s own notes). The others contain material that could have ended up on it as well, but they also have some looser jams and tunes that Hendrix most likely would have intended to remain in the vaults had he lived. (Being the music geek that I am, I have constructed my own “perfect” next Hendrix album from the material on all four of these albums that would fill the space of a double. You’ve got another ***** record here with the right choices.)

ABOVE: Hendrix and Miles Davis? One of the many “what if’s” had Hendrix lived longer was what would have come of some alleged discussions between Jimi and Miles to work together in the 70’s on some jazz/rock fusion projects. Wow.

Live Recordings

As of this writing, there have been at least 17 posthumous live collections released. More are on the way. I don’t own all of them (or even most of them), but I can give some recommendations and insight into the ones that I am familiar with. They can generally be divided into two categories, Experience recordings and post-Experience. After the transitional Band of Gypsys, it seems that Hendrix was about to settle on a new permanent Jimi Hendrix Experience line-up of Mitch Mitchell on drums and bassist Billy Cox. A lot of the latterday recordings feature that line-up. What I generally have found is that his live recordings are much less disciplined, as he was such a perfectionist in the studio. At the same time, the best of his live material has an intensity that the studio never captured.
Live at Monterrey (Jimi Hendrix Experience) (1967/2007) **** contains his entire legendary set at the Monterrey Pop Festival (including when he burned his guitar onstage), which broke him through in America. I think that the best live recording of the original Experience line-up is on the unfortunately out of print Live at Winterland (Jimi Hendrix Experience) (1968/1987) ****, although the entire sets from this series of shows are now available on the four disc box set Winterland, which I do not have. Four discs of this might be a bit much, but the original single disc sampler was amazing. The best example of latterday live Hendrix would be Hendrix in the West (1968-70/1972/2011) ****. Live at the Fillmore East (1970/1999) *** is a much more expansive look at the shows that produced Band of Gypsys. It is better than that record because while contractually Band of Gypsys could contain only new material, the group actually caught fire more on some of Jimi’s earlier tunes that they tackled those two nights. Hendrix could be off some nights, and they have put those out too. Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wright (1970/2002) ** captures his last UK performance, only three weeks before his death. As legendary as his appearance at Woodstock was, it occurred during a transitional period in his career, and he is tentative and distracted on Live at Woodstock (1969/1999) **, not really clicking or comfortable with the ramshackle one off band that he assembled for the gig.

Compilations
Many compilations have been released over the years. Out of print companion pieces The Essential Jimi Hendrix (1978) **** and The Essential Jimi Hendrix vol. 2 (1980) *** were crucial in exposing me to the artist. Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix (1997) **** and Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection (2001) *** are both decent introductions to the artist, although both are missing some essentials.