West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology [CD+DVD]

Inevitably, being a Jimi Hendrix compilation, there is some fantastic music on here. But sadly not very much - the stuff I would want to listen to repeatedly would happily fit on one disc - probably not exactly coinciding with the contents of the single CD version. I like much of the pre-Experience stuff on the first CD - it's great that they've all been released in one place to give a good overview of Hendrix's pre-Experience work as a sideman, though a shame that the best of the Lonnie Youngblood material, including Jimi's first recordings of his own material, couldn't be included due to contractual issues. It's amusing to hear Ronald Isley singing, "all of the lonely people, where do we all come from" on the lovely Have You Ever Been Disappointed - nearly a year before the Beatles recorded Eleanor Rigby, and also amusing to note that the Rolling Stones were, unknowingly, trying to emulate Jimi Hendrix licks in 1965 when they covered Don Covay's Mercy Mercy. Not all of it is great, but the Isley Brothers tracks, especially Move Over And Let Me Dance, show that Hendrix was pretty much already fully formed as a guitarist in 1965, and the Don Covay and Little Richard tunes are also quality; it goes without saying that the vocals by all three of these artists are superb. It's also worth noting that all three Isley Brothers tracks are remixes from the early 1970s made with the specific intention of making Hendrix's contributions more prominent. Using these remixes obviously makes sense here but, not having heard the original mixes of any of them - I imagine Hendrix is to some degree obscured by horns etc. - I can't tell you whether the remixes are as good as the originals in strictly aesthetic terms, or how different they sound.

Then we get to the 1966-70 stuff. It consists of:
a) some "alternate" mixes of already familiar material. Note, these are NOT alternate takes. There's nothing wrong with the mixes and the songs are great, but casual listening does not reveal any drastic difference from what we already have. They take up space that could have been occupied with worthwhile new material - if Experience Hendrix had any (see below).
b) a few odds and sods of previously unissued songs - a few of these are pretty good, more of them are moderately interesting, none of them are great;
c) a lot of solo demos - some of these are nice, but most of them are very rudimentary, guitar-wise - just sloppily strummed chords in many cases. It's nice to hear another Dylan song (Tears Of Rage) covered by Hendrix, but it sounds like he's barely got to grips with it - both guitar & especially vocal are very tentative;
d) some jams - the 21 minute long Young/Hendrix is fairly dull and formless, though Hendrix manages some decent enough licks; most of the others are pretty throwaway, e.g. the previously issued Peter Gunn/Catastrophe;
e) 7 live tracks, of which the very nice Wind Cries Mary (Stockholm) and the so-so LA Forum tracks are previously issued, though in different mixes of course. The three Band Of Gypsys tracks have their moments, especially Foxy Lady, though are let down at times by Buddy Miles's drumming, especially Fire; the Berkeley Red House is OK but isn't a patch on the Albert Hall or San Diego versions;
f) some early instrumental takes of familiar material, of which the guitar and drums only version of Castles Made Of Sand is nice but Are You Experienced isn't that impressive;
g) the DVD - previously shown on the BBC - is a pretty good documentary, though it largely avoids controversy.

So there's sufficient interesting material here that, as a Hendrix fan, I'm not about to put this on ebay - but I'm also sure that Jimi would have been appalled at most of this stuff being released. And it's worth comparing this box to its most obvious predecessor, and seeing what that tells us about Experience Hendrix.

Ostensibly, aside from the pre-Experience material, which I'm pleased to see collected here, this is a pretty similar type of product to the purple velvet The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Deluxe box from a decade ago. But in strictly listening terms, this collection really doesn't cut it next to that one. The Jimi Hendrix Experience box, though not perfect, was a fine trawl through alternative and live material (far more of the latter than here, and of a higher standard) and much of it was perfectly accessible to the relatively casual fan who perhaps had the 3 Experience studio albums and little more - you could put on a disc and listen to it like an album. I cannot emphasise enough that this is a very different beast - many of its virtues, such as they are, will only be fully appreciated by very serious students of Jimi's music, and a lot of them don't run to whole tracks. Subtitling it "The Jimi Hendrix Anthology" is pretty dubious - it makes it sound more like a standard box set, i.e. a collection of well-known material with a few rarities to hook the fans who already have the regular stuff - which it quite fundamentally isn't.

This suggests to me that, in terms of studio and demo material, Experience Hendrix are either running out of material to issue, forcing them to pad out a box set with slightly different mixes of very familiar material, so-so obscurities and a boring 21 minute jam - or they have strange priorities/tastes; there ARE numerous alternate takes of familiar material, and some of them are far more interesting, and entertaining, than much of this box, and could have illustrated Jimi's creative process better than much of this material, if that's what was intended here. They could also have been - but weren't - added to the recent deluxe reissues of the studio albums. And more to the point, there are still good live recordings out there, most notably the magnificent performance at the Royal Albert Hall in February 1969, which for some reason has never been officially issued in its entirety - and let's not forget it was filmed too! If this messy, haphazard collection is anything to go by, they're going to have to start issuing some good live recordings soon (properly, not just by mail order) because unless they have something startling up their sleeves (in which case, why has it taken them over a decade to release it and why isn't it in this box?) they don't have any worthwhile studio material left.

forget big long reviews analyzing every square inch of this cd/dvd. if you are a big jimi hendrix fan like i am then this is a must have. believe me you ll love it.

Although not a completest, with about 80 Hendrix CDs, I sure am a fan and have been since he erupted on the world in '67. I was not going to bother with this box, but with the 25% drop just before Christmas, I thought that I would treat myself. So, what have we got?

Well, a lot has been written in the music press about the significance/interest of the first CD with the early Jimi recordings. To be honest, I found them little more than a collection of curios which I doubt will get many airings in my home. Anyone interested in pre-Experience recording would be far better off listening to the complete ppx studio recordingsIMHO where there are some interesting tracks and Jimi does feature on them.

The meaning three CDs contain unreleased and "alternative" versions, some of which are really worthwhile, but anyone new (is there anybody?)or anyone expecting an anthology in the true sense of the word would be disappointed. For example an alternative mix of "Are You Experienced" without the lyrics. Even for the ardent fan who was expecting this box to show Hendrix "at work in the studio", I would suggest that In the Studio Vol.1-10 provides a far greater insight. However, when all is said and done, this box still provides plenty of enjoyment, with high quality mastering, but it is no place to start.

The bonus of a good documentary DVD is a welcome addition, and raises the star rating for me.

The packaging is the modern "fold-out" format, like a double size digipak with a booklet in the middle which contains a slot for the DVD. Whilst better than the old box sets which were simply CD cases housed in a box,it would have been so much better to have gone for 100% cardboard and ditched the plastic altogether.