My Jimi Hendrix CD Collection

therockman

Thank you very much for your encouragement. I really do not know the details of the "5th" album that Jimi was working on, but I own THE CRY OF LOVE on West German Polydor, catalog 829 926-2 and I also own VOODOO SOUP on a very nice Canadian CD. My understanding is that the material on these two discs were indeed the work of the unfinished "5th" album, and there are indeed some very nice tunes on these discs. Some Hendrix fans do not like the discs because Sir Alan Douglas added tracks into the multi-channel mix by musicians that were recorded after Jimi had already died. Although some of the music was indeed recorded after Hendrix's death and added much later, I still very much enjoy these 2 CDs. Just as with the entire Hendrix catalog on CD, these 2 CDs do contain a lot of the same songs but different takes and or mixes. Although the sonics are not as good, the Experience Hendrix title FIRST RAYS OF THE NEW RISING SUN has everything that VOODOO SOUP and THE CRY OF LOVE has, all put together in one place and without the posthumous instruments. THE FIRST RAYS OF THE NEW RISING SUN is one of the new MCA discs that I actually like a lot, but it sure dosen't match the sonics of THE CRY OF LOVE.


Rocky Bennett

therockman

Actually, in my last post I did not mention that right after Jimi's death his management team gathered the unfinished tapes and rushed to market as many of them as they could. Thus, in 1971 at least 5 different albums hit the streets with "new" Hendrix material.

THE CRY OF LOVE
CRASH LANDING
LOOSE ENDS
MIDNIGHT LIGHTING
WAR HEROES

Although we have mentioned THE CRY OF LOVE as being part of the "unfinished 5th" album, my understanding is that WAR HEROES and CRASH LANDING also contained material that were destined for the unfinshed album. LOOSE ENDS and MIDNIGHT LIGHTING were albums that contained some "new" Hendrix songs (i.e. not released before his death) but they are not considered to be part of the "unfinished-5th". I do have all of these on CD and all of them should be easily obtainable on ebay or at used CD stores. The gem of my collection is MIDNIGHT LIGHTING on Japanese Polydor P20P 25025. This baby set me back a cool $100, but I have seen the P33P sell for as little as $60 recently, and the West German MIDNIGHT LIGHTING can usually be bought for around $40. MIDNIGHT LIGHTING contains some Hendrix songs that are considered to be some of his finest compositions, including TRASHMAN, MIDNIGHT LIGHTING, a beautiful studio version of BLUE SUADE SHOES and the very sweet BEGINNINGS. MIDNIGHT LIGHTING also contains the studio version of MACHINE GUN, although this studio out-take has surfaced recently in other compilations.

WAR HEROES is a really nice CD that has a searing song called THE PETER GUNN CATASTROPHE. I have the very rare West German WAR HEROES (catalog 847 262-2) that has Jimi spelled "Jimmi". A real sweet little disc that contains the studio version of IZABELLA and 3 LITTLE BEARS.

LOOSE ENDS might be easier to get on CD and this disc also contains a nice version of BLUE SUEDE SHOES, although this version is really toned down in tempo considerably compared to MIDNIGHT LIGHTING. LOOSE ENDS (West German Polydor 837 574-2) also contains a 10 minute version of BURNING DESIRE that is not found on any other source, digital or analog.

CRASH LANDING is a good CD to listen to some rare Hendrix material, and this disc is usually very easy to obtain. My copy is the standard US REPRISE (catalog 2204-2) that was mastered by Joe Gastwirt under the supervision of Sir Alan Douglas. If you get this disc you really must listen to SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW which has never been released anywhere else but the CRASH LANDING disc. A mint US Reprise CRASH LANDING should not cost more than about $15.

Rocky Bennett

stefan0013

Hi I have seen one on eBay,but got outbid..I seek a Cd called" Loose Ens Two":D..any ideas?..Let me know,Thanks

stefan0013

Whoops. mis-spell...:Loose Ends Two" to be exact!,,I am seeking it,Thanks.

headrott

Rocky,

I am interested in the history of the Axis: Bold As Love Japanese Polydor (I'd have to look up the catalogue number as I don't remember it off the top of my head) CD that is a different mix of the album. Comparing the mix with the U.S. mix I think I prefer the U.S. mix overall. I would be interested in hearing what history and/or facts you know about this Japanese CD though. Thanks.

Greg

Edit: How did I miss this thread????

PSOVLSK

headrott wrote: »

Edit: How did I miss this thread????

It's from '04;)

Interesting though. I'm glad it was revived.

george daniel

Hendrix is Mandatory Listening. :cool:

ESavinon

therockman wrote: »

I have 85 Jimi Hendrix CDs, all legitimate Polydors, Warner Brothers and MCAs. I started collecting Hendrix CDs the day after Sept. 11th, 2001, the day of the now infamous terrorist attacks on the US. I decided to collect Hendrix CDs because I felt that our country was in jeopaardy and I wanted to preserve a unique part of our cultural heritage. I chose to collect Hendrix because I felt that his body of work uniquely represented my generation, and I wanted to collect his CDs to peserve that unique part of Americana. (I know how silly that sounds now.)

At first I bought every sngle current release of Hendrix's catalog that Experience Hendrix had Eddie Kramer remaster for MCA. This was very easy and cheap, there are only about 16 titles plus The Purple Box. After that I had read that the Joe Gastwirt remasters were superior sonically, so I bought the entire Mankowitz collection on the MCA label from 1993. After that I was fortunate enough to meet a girl that had over 650 Hendrix CDs, and all of them were legit Polydors etc. So she schooled me as to the various differences and variations of Hendrix on Polydor and Warner, and I started buying some old Polydors and Warners. I got over 120 Hendrix CDs before I decided to sell off a few.

Well I can safely say that my Hendrix collection has taught me a little about the sonic differences between the different releases of his catalog. Here is a short list of the best to worse releases of Hendrix material on CD.

1. Japanese Polydor P20P series. Any Hendrix CD on this series will sound phenomenal, with a great detail and clean un-distorted sound stage.

2. Japanese Polydor P33P series. This series of CDs is all most identical to the P20P series except it is not audiophile grade, it is consumer grade.

3. West German Polydor. Excellent sonics and clean detail, second only to a good Japanese Polydor.

4. US Warner Brothers. These generally used the same master tapes as the Polydors, but the manufacturing quality was not as high.

5. The 1993 MCA remasters. These are a little warm and less detailed than the older Warner Brothers, but these are quite good sounding. These feature odd cover artwork done by Mankowitz, and are thus commonly referred to as the Mankowitz remasters even though the engineer was Joe Gastwirt.

6. The new Experience Hendrix remasters. These are by far the worse sounding release of Hendrix material ever on CD. These CDs feature an all new remaster done by Eddie Kramer which is maximized and compressed, with too much digital processing of the trebel frequencies. I would avoid these at all cost if I had to listen to a Hendrix album.


So there you go. The opinions expressed in this evaluation are not just mine but are shared by the serious Hendrix collecting community, (which oddly enough is populated with many females that collect as if Hendrix was some kind of Guitar God).


Please feel free to post your thoughts about Hendrix or questions regarding Hendrix on CD.

Rocky Bennett

Hendrix was, is and will always be the Greatest Guitar player that ever lived period.

heiney9

ESavinon wrote: »

Hendrix was, is and will always be the Greatest Guitar player that ever lived period.

Except for Jimmy Page :).

H9

dkg999

heiney9 wrote: »

Except for Jimmy Page :).

H9

Or except for Richard Thompson

I'll be we can get a couple hundred more posts with this debate :eek:

ESavinon

heiney9 wrote: »

Except for Jimmy Page :).

H9

Hendrix could outplay Jimmy Page with his teeth alone.

ESavinon

In my humble opinion, The only Guitar player that came close to Hendrix was Stevie Ray Vaughan.

headrott

PSOVLSK wrote: »

It's from '04;)

Interesting though. I'm glad it was revived.

Oh yeah, I looked at the month and day, but didn't look at the year.:o Thanks for pointing that out. No wonder I missed it.;) Still an interesting thread though (if you like Hendrix).

Greg

heiney9

ESavinon wrote: »

In my humble opinion, The only Guitar player that came close to Hendrix was Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Stevie copied Hendrix and especially players like Buddy Guy, Luther Allison and others. Don;t get me wrong SRV was a great player but so many of his chops were lifted from many of the greats.

Just like Michael Jackson lifted almost all his dance moves from James Brown. Doesn't diminish either perfomer but many time people don't realize the original performers are actually better.

I'll listen to Buddy Guy and James Brown any day over SRV or Michael Jackson.

Just IMO, as they are all great performers and each generation is influenced by the players/performers before them. Prince stole a bunch of James Brown moves too........move for move. .

Had an opportunity to finally check out some Luther Allison on DVD and actually see him perform rather than just listen to live cd's.

HOLY CRAP!!!!! Can he play and move on stage. If you like Otis Rush, SRV, Hendrix, or Buddy Guy start checking out Luther Allison. Born in the South, raised in Chicago and played along side and learned from a lot of the greats. Moved to Europe to make a living and before his premature death was finally getting the recognition he deserved in the states. He died in a hospital in Madison Wisconsin in 1997.

H9

headrott

ESavinon wrote: »

Hendrix was, is and will always be the Greatest Guitar player that ever lived period.

Agreed, wholeheartedly.

Greg

camp21178

Add Buck Dharma, Tony Iomni, Robin Trower and David Gilmour.

mrbigbluelight

Jimi may not have been the most "technically correct" guitarist, but .......... he had "it".


Thanks to whomever for resurrecting this thread.


If the Rockman is still active, re: your Hendrix collection. Just curious, do you have the "Rainbow Bridge" and "Friends from the Beginning" (Hendrix/Little Richard) in your collection ?

Norm Apter

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

If the Rockman is still active, re: your Hendrix collection. Just curious, do you have the "Rainbow Bridge" and "Friends from the Beginning" (Hendrix/Little Richard) in your collection ?

I recognized the Rockman's handle and location over at the Steve Hoffman forum, but I don't think he's hung out over here for a while (6 years). Anyway, I just PM'd him over at the SH forum with a link to this thread. Maybe he'll drop by again....:)

Norm

HB27

heiney9 wrote: »

Except for Jimmy Page :).

H9

I've seen a few guitarists play on stage in my day and the most memorable performance was here in Indy watching Jimmy Page.

I've burnt a few brain cells since then so I don't remember the date or which building here in Indy that it was in but Page had a busted hand and played the whole concert one handed and was fabulous.

I've been a Hendrix fan since I heard him on the first piece of vinyl I bought of him. I've never been a fan of his recordings but I always overlooked it because of the talent he had. It seemed like all the original vinyl on him had the same recording flavor in the way it was engineered. I'm not saying it was bad by any means but the final results of those original recordings were easily recognizeable.

heiney9

Busted hand, would have been in January 25, 1975 at The Market Square Arena. They had to substitute "How Many More Times" for "Dazed and Confused" because of his broken finger(s). Some of these early '75 shows they played "When The Levee Breaks", a rarity.

There are lots of great guitarists out there across many, many genre's of music so picking the greatest of all time is sort of an absurd exercise. For me Page, Hendrix and Beck are interchangeable as my greatest of all time.

But then that leaves out a lot of others. My current two most favorite blues guitarists are Buddy Guy who really should be added as my fourth interchangeable greatest of all time and Luther Allison.

Then we have a local guy here that's been playing for 25-30 years who takes bits and pieces from the above 5 mentioned and could give anyone of them a run for their money.

H9

SolidSqual

I use this site to learn about elusive albums sung before I was breathing: http://www.discogs.com/

Here is an example of the wealth of information:
http://www.discogs.com/Jimi-Hendrix-Experience-Electric-Ladyland/master/24535

Interestingly, this thread confirms what I learned in my search for the perfect Hendrix recording/release. The older the better.

SolidSqual

From my link above, Notice how Electric Lady Land began on 2 CDs, then one. I imagine the label was copying the format of the LP in the beginning, but I also suspect they had to compress the tracks to fit them onto a single CD later. You will notice the two CD albums sound better.

SolidSqual

NUDITY - WARNING DO NOT OPEN AT WORK - ESPECIALLY DO NOT MAXIMIZE PHOTO AT WORK

Check out the crazy art on this Polydor (maximize the photo for full album art): http://www.discogs.com/Jimi-Hendrix-Experience-Electric-Ladyland/release/828191

headrott

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

Jimi may not have been the most "technically correct" guitarist, but .......... he had "it".


Thanks to whomever for resurrecting this thread.


If the Rockman is still active, re: your Hendrix collection. Just curious, do you have the "Rainbow Bridge" and "Friends from the Beginning" (Hendrix/Little Richard) in your collection ?

A friend of mine went crazy over getting "Rainbow Bridge" on CD. He saw the release date, the catalogue number and UPS said it was actually shipped to him, but they pulled it before it arrived (re-routed it back to the distributor). He wasn't too happy about it.

Greg

headrott

heiney9 wrote: »

Busted hand, would have been in January 25, 1975 at The Market Square Arena. They had to substitute "How Many More Times" for "Dazed and Confused" because of his broken finger(s). Some of these early '75 shows they played "When The Levee Breaks", a rarity.
H9

Zeppelin also played "The Wonton Song". Another rarity. Have you heard "Live On The Levee" Brock? Poor recording, but great performance.

Greg

heiney9

headrott wrote: »

Zeppelin also played "The Wonton Song". Another rarity. Have you heard "Live On The Levee" Brock? Poor recording, but great performance.

Greg

Yep, not to brag at all, but I have just about every LZ concert bootleg available, the exception being some of the very new stuff (within the past year or two) that is either more complete or better generation. They did play "Levee" and "Wonton" on this tour but only on some of the very first shows of the tour, IIRC. Very poor recordings of these shows with these rare live versions.

Have you heard the KB Hallen Hall, Copenhagen Denmark show in 1971 where they did a totally unrehearsed, improvised version of "Gallow Pole and Four Sticks", complete? They pulled it off, mostly...........these versions sound a little different than the studio versions. Only time I'm aware of (based on available recordings) they played these songs complete.

H9

headrott

I have not heard the Copenhagen, Denmark show. I have wanted to for about 18 years now, but never had the opportunity to hear it. It can probably be downloaded now as a torrent I am sure. I just haven't done it yet. Always sounded interesting to listen to. Was there one more show they did "Four Sticks" at? Or was this the only show they did it at? I cannot remember for sure.

Greg

Polkie2009

"Rainbow Bridge" was actually a pretty good soundtrack album. I think I had it on 8 track or cassette back then. Rainbow Bridge used to be a fairly popular midnight movie around Houston back in the day. I remember going to Record Town and getting a bunch of cut-out Hendrix albums on odd name record labels...

heiney9

I have a lot, maybe 100-150, Hendrix boots and studio outtakes. Much of the stuff has been endlessly recycled. I like the fact that Jimi always had a recorder with him or had someone taping even for the most casual jams. Most of that stuff is GOLD. I love studio outtakes or impromptu jams becasue you can see the genesis of many of the great songs and let's you really live and experience the creative process an artist goes through.

If find it fascinating to listen to a few hours of endless nooding in the studio, etc. Most of is is just jamming and exploring different musical themes, etc. Both Hendrix and Zep really were creative just sitting around creating music.

The LZ from Headley Grange session material/outtakes are priceless as well as the Bron-Yr-Aur cottage material. They went out in the middle of nowhere into an old stone structure with no electricity or running water (Bron-Yr-Aur cottage). Headley Grange,which was built in 1795 is a three-storey stone structure which was originally used as a workhouse for the poor, infirmed and orphaned.

H9

Snowdogyyz

ESavinon wrote: »

In my humble opinion, The only Guitar player that came close to Hendrix was Stevie Ray Vaughan.

For me, it would be either Robin Trower or Michael Landau.