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Recommended Jimi Hendrix LPs?

topa

topa

Sans CDPs
Hello!
I have a old (and cheap) sampler of Hendrix, with a few songs I love (Something you got, Along the watchtower, Let the god sing) but can't seem to find any good albums. They either sound crap, or the music contained doesn't appeal. Any recommendations of his work simular to the named songs?

Tobi.
 
You can't really go wrong with Are You Experienced?, Electric Ladyland, Axis: Bold As Love, or Band of Gypsies. They're all stone-cold classics.

-- Ian
 
The BBC sessions is a good collection, though sound quality isn't always brilliant.

Steve.
 
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What Ian said. I’m a firm believer in avoiding any posthumous releases until you have already heard all the albums the artist had quality control over – record companies frequently cash in and release stuff that would never have seen light of day had the performer been around to object. With Hendrix (as with anything else) just start at the beginning and work forward.

Tony.
 
The four albums in chronological order are 'Are you Experienced?', 'Axis: Bold as Love', 'Electric Ladyland' and 'Band of Gypsies'. There was a bunch of rubbish recorded with Curtis May (?) earlier in his career, 'Band of Gypsies' was recorded live as a contractural obligation to an earlier vulture and is less obvious than the earlier three albums.

A good place to start is 'Experience Hendrix' a compilation of singles not on the original released albums and album tracks including some stuff that didn't see the light of day during his lifetime but probably would have. I see it is £8.97 on amazon now.

Avoid stuff like 'Crash Landings', 'War Heroes' etc unless you're a completist. 'Blues' is a good collection of Hendrix playin the blues (!), 'In the West' is an excellent live compilation if you see it.

FWIW I think 'Something you got' and 'Let the god sing' are from the early pre-Experience generally ignorable days. So all this advice is moot...

Paul
 
Most of the pre-experience stuff that's leaked out either isn't Jimi or is of archaeological interest only. Two of the tracks that topa listed as liking are from this period. So I've no real advice for him, and, it appears, neither do you.

Paul
 
Wow! Lot's of advice given, thank you all!
I'll go out and find myself those four original albums as recommended, upto now, I've only been randomly filing through the records I came across in S/H stores, and sadly, none of the named have been among them. Only rubbish. Checked Ebay just now, and there are several of the originals available.

Ron:
>Many people dislike the "raucus" Hendrix tunes (like "Purple Haze"). Electric Ladyland
>is a record which doesn't get you up on your feet but plants you in your seat. A
>comfortable listening chair and a joint or a pint are recommended.

That's my kind of listening session! But make it a bottle of French Red-Wine instead...!
:)

Cheers,
Tobi.
 
Have to say Ron, although I have the cd's rather than vinyl, you are right about the Experience Hendrix stuff. The Filmore set is indispensible and Machine Gun absolutely blazes.

Tobi, get the four you mentioned, and if you want the live wire, live thing, get Live At The Filmore East, you won't regret it.
 
Ron,

You're basically recommending Electric Ladyland to topa, which is what Ian, Tony and myself all did. If you want to find out about Hendrix then the first three 'proper' albums and a compilation containing the singles are essential. Afterwards you can dig into the unofficial early stuff, which is always patchy, and the material he left for planned release, plus a few live albums and the Band of Gypsies.

FWIW I suggested that the early material is of archaeological interest. There's not even any guarantee that Hendrix is playing. Demos for Electric Ladyland are of historical interest, but not where you should start with Jimi. I don't see any mistake.

FWIW I have the 5LP radio show release from 1989 which got withdrawn for copyright reasons. This has some good demo stuff on it.

Paul
 
Ron The Mon said:
I suspect you (and Ian and Tony), don't have anything by Experience Hendrix, and probably have crap 70s vinyl or CD to boot. And the fact none of you has First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, is a damn shame.
Click to expand...

Ron, how can you conclude all this only from the fact that I suggested that topa buy the four best-known classic Hendrix albums (which are, in case you hadn't realised, also his best records, and therefore obviously the best place to start)?

I own Experience Hendrix vinyl of Electric Ladyland, Are You Experienced, and Live at Fillmore East, so you're wrong (your comment is also utterly irrelevant, as no one has disagreed with you at all about Experience Hendrix). They're very good pressings and masterings, I agree. I've said nothing to suggest they aren't. Neither have Tony or Paul for that matter. I also have First Rays on CD (I have most of Hendrix's records). It's a relatively minor record by his standards, but worth having once topa has the classics.

Stop being presumptious, it doesn't suit you.

-- Ian
 
Hi,

I'd like to pop in here simply to recommend the 'Blues' album that Paul mentioned earlier.

Ron, I've taken note of 'Experience Hendrix' and will look into it later, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Regards,

Stuart.
 
I own Experience Hendrix vinyl of Electric Ladyland, Are You Experienced, and Live at Fillmore East, so you're wrong (your comment is also utterly irrelevant, as no one has disagreed with you at all about Experience Hendrix). They're very good pressings and masterings, I agree. I've said nothing to suggest they aren't. Neither have Tony or Paul for that matter.
Click to expand...

My point was to stick initially with the releases that Hendrix himself had sanctioned, i.e. get the four main albums first - I always trust the artist before the "experts". I made no mention of pressings, and, judging from the one I own (the Woodstock triple), the Experience Hendrix releases are very good indeed, especially as decent UK Track monos of most will cost over 100 quid a throw. The only thing that is unforgivable about the Experience Hendrix pressings is that they changed the cover art on Electric Ladyland for no apparent reason (few things piss me off more than people screwing with dead people's cover art, T.Rex being the worst hit here). I've not got that much Hendrix; the 4 main albums, all early 70s UK Polydor pressings. They are good enough not to bother replacing them, though I have to admit I would love a full set of the Experience / Classic pressings.

Tony.

PS CDs, yeah right!
 
Ron,

My dithering was down to the fact that Albert Hall Experience is on Charly Records - I wasn't aware that Experience Hendrix had done a version, othwerwise it'd have been a no-brainer (I've got the others).

And yes Frank, the Berkeley album's a ripper!
 
Tony L said:
PS CDs, yeah right!
Click to expand...

I have ELL on cd...and it's not bad. not bad at all...not as good as the vinyl, but, great at work when I have my hands dirty etc. Certainly gets the message across to the neighbours(alternative form of industrial noise) :D

Mark
 
In The West is good
Click to expand...

In the West is a must have, if only for the totally stupendous rendition of 'Little Wing', followed by the equally good 'Red House'.

On a good system Little Wing reduces men, of a certain age, to tears ;-)

Andy.
 
Andrew L Weekes said:
In the West is a must have, if only for the totally stupendous rendition of 'Little Wing', followed by the equally good 'Red House'.

On a good system Little Wing reduces men, of a certain age, to tears ;-)

Andy.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. And thanks again to Andy for reminding me I had a copy of this. It went un-listened-to for about 25 years but since his enthusiastic postings a couple of years back it has been played regularly. Another good example of why you shouldn't sell off your old LPs!
 
The 'In the West' 'Little Wing' comes from the Albert Hall concert, now available more or less in full. And very very good indeed.

I listened to 'Are you Experienced' yesterday from early 80s 'digitally remastered' vinyl and it actually sounds fine. As does my earlier Polydor Axis, and my Track mono Axis (although of course Axis really needs to be stereo).

Paul
 
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