Heh heh. Good old "Eggers" and how hilarious they are.
special introductory paragraph!
In The Beginning
Are You Experienced?
Jimi Plays Monterey
Axis: Bold As Love
Electric Ladyland
Smash Hits
BBC Sessions
Live At Woodstock
In The West
Band Of Gypsys
Live At The Fillmore East
Sky High
The Cry Of Love
Rainbow Bridge
War Heroes
Loose Ends
Crash Landing
Midnight Lightning
Nine To The Universe
The Ultimate Experience
Blues
The Rainbow Bridge Concert
(Ian Moss reviews) First Rays of the New Rising Sun
Valleys Of Neptune
Oh, I mean besides revolutionizing the use of an electric guitar. I mean besides that.
Oh, okay, he revolutionized the use of the electric guitar; he coaxed weird frightening feedback noises out of it the likes of which fellow genius Peter Townshend had only umm... I guess attempted to make. And for that I am grateful. But he also wanked around on that thing an awful lot, and, as much as I love a crazy guitar noise, I can do without blues-based wankin'. It's just not my personal cup of tea (which, while we're on the topic, also isn't my cup of tea. I forkin' HATE tea, and down south where I grew up, that's all they ever give you!!! Fork 'em in the nnnn!!!!!). But that's just my take on Jimi Hendrix. I'm not knockin' the guy; I'm just saying he sucked.
Just kiddin' ya! No sir, let me cut to the chase and stop pussyfooting around the subject - okay, I'll just come out and say it. Although I would be hard pressed to come up with a guitarist more creative and influential than Mr. Hendricks (aside from maybe Eddie Van Halen, but he borrowed a lot from Jimi too, just like everybody did), he honestly wasn't the greatest songwriter in the world, in my opinion. Like I said, a lot of people worship the guy, but aside from that killer debut album, most of his tuneage was a bit iffy at best. Good voice, though. He hated it, but I think he sounded really cool. He sang like a rock'n'rollah!!!! So add all the hate mail you want, but that's my opinion. Jimi Hendrix was an incredibly important guitarist and fine singer, but something of a limited songwriter, if you ask me.
I apologize for approaching the topic like a scared little kitty cat, but it's really hard to criticize a legend, especially a DEAD legend. I bet he was a pretty cool guy, though. Does anybody know?
the fact that you can't even spell hendrix my dear friend sums you up. H-E-N-D-R-I-X!!!!!! GOD.
AND OVER THE YEARS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SLOWLY DAWNED ON ME WAS JUST HOW GOOD OF A SONG WRITER JIMI HENDRIX ACTUALLY WAS.
AS A LEAD GUITARIST, THAT WAS ALSO A WRITER, IN TERMS OF IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY, HE STANDS UNEQUALED IN MY OPINION.
IT SEEMS A BIT UNFAIR TO COMPARE HENDRIX, IN TERMS OF SONG WRITING, TO THE BEATLES; HE WASN'T IN THAT KIND OF A BAND; HIS UNIT WAS A THROWN TOGETHER SITUATION; THE BEATLES HAD A REAL BAND AND IT SHOWED.
HENDRIX DIDN’T HAVE A SIGNIFICANT SONG WRITING PARTNER AS DID PAUL & JOHN AND HIS PROFESSIONAL CAREER STARTED MUCH LATER IN LIFE AND IT WAS RATHER SHORT.
I WOULD NEVER COMPARE ANYONE TO THE BEATLES BECAUSE THAT WILL NEVER BE EQUALED.
JIMI'S PLAYING WAS SOULFUL, PASSIONATE, CREATIVE, EXPERIMENTAL AND FULL OF FEELING.
IN TERMS OF SELF EXPRESSION, IN THE LITTLE TIME HE WAS HERE, MAYBE THE BEST MUSICIAN/ARTIST I HAVE EVER HEARD.
I AM A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PERSON THAN JIMI HENDRIX.
HENDRIX WAS A VERY COMPLICATED AND ERRATIC INDIVIDUAL, I COULD HAVE NEVER WORKED WITH HIM PROFESSIONALLY OR CALLED HIM A FRIEND.
BUT I GREATLY ADMIRED HIS CREATIVE ABILITY AND THE BREADTH OF THE WORK HE LEFT.
"THE WIND CRIES MARY"
"ELECTRIC LADYLAND (HAVE YOU EVER BEEN)"
"LITTLE WING"
"ONE RAINY WISH"
"CASTLES MADE OF SAND"
"ANGEL"
"DRIFTING"
"VILLANOVA JUNCTION"……………
BEAUTIFUL BALLADS, WHAT LOVELY SONGS, I FEEL GOOD JUST WRITING ABOUT IT.
In the beginning you listed IS NOT JIMI HENDRIX, except for the track "She's a Fox".
It's a rip off of the finest order. Just more bad cash in attempts by John Branton, who was a studio engineer / producer for Lonnie Youngblood, who was a Harlem based sax player Jimi used to play with before he joined the Isley Brothers in 1964-65.
The Isley Brothers with Jimi have a GREAT LP also titles In the Beginning, this is one you should hunt down and find and review. Killer mid '60's R n B.
Incredible. I know it seems a bit obnoxious to call a guy a "limited songwriter" and then rave about how phenomenal one of his records is, but there I go. I did the same thing with Pete Townshend. He was a genius too, but some geniuses run dry a little quicker than others. This debut record steams - every damn noise his guitar makes just tears right through you. If it weren't for some awfully '60s-ish production, you'd never believe that this kinda kickass action was created 30 darn years ago.
Like I said, Jimi basically rewrote the history of the electric guitar with this record (buy it and listen for yourself, if you haven't already), and the songs are pretty much all classics too. Apparently there are several different versions of this LP floatin' around, but the one I have contains eleven tracks, most of which are beyond classic at this point - "Purple Haze" rocks, "Manic Depression" thrashes, "Hey Joe" grooves, "Love Or Confusion" boogies, "May This Be Love" sweats, "I Don't Live Today" tears, "The Wind Cries Mary" soothes, "Fire" licks, "Third Stone From The Sun" careens, "Foxey Lady" pounds, and "Are You Experienced?" totally surfs the Web. To the extreme!!! That's it. And that's all you need. Who rocked this hard and heavy in '67? Pink Floyd were weird and noisy, but even THEY didn't butt-out rock like this. The blues, the shoes, and a slaphappy afro white guy on traps, aww turn up the heat. Sure, it ain't no Slayer, but you have to start somewhere. I suggest right here.
No. Here.
Uhhhhh...I'm just comparing diversity here. I'm not making a statement and trying to elevate Satriani to the level of Hendrix or anything so all you Hendrix fans spare me the flame mail. I will accept flame mail for the following though....
The one thing that really irks me about this record (I have the new release with the correct song order) is the glaring change in the mix from song to song. There is no continuity here at all. It sounds like a bunch of singles slapped together to form an album. "Fire" doesn't sound like "Wind Cries Mary". "Purple Haze" doesn't sound like "Third Stone From The Sun". And so on. The reason it irks me so is that it makes me think, "Gee if only Jimi had used the sound/mix from "Third Stone" on "Fire" and other tracks they'd kick even more". With most records, even back then like Sgt. Peppers, there is a basic feel that permeates the whole album and flows from one song to the next and gives the listener a foundation to really get into the album. That foundation isn't to be found here. The drums, guitars, bass, and vocals keep changing from song to song and the changes sometimes result in songs that aren't as good as they should have or could have been. This is best reflected in the title track which is sooo tinny compared to the bass heavy "Wind Cries Mary".
Okay, this was 1967 and we're talking 4 track mixing here. And dammit, Hendrix blew everyone's perception about what a guitar could do in the right hands. His voice was silenced before it was done speaking but he more than deserves the title of World's Greatest Guitarist.
Van Halen Slam: Eddie ain't no Jimmy. Jimmy had as much flash as Eddie but Jimmy's flash complemented and was woven into the songs. Eddie's flash stuck out like a sore thumb. Even on the first album. My two cents.
Strange enough, though, the best cuts on this album seem to be the first 5 tracks which do not actually belong to the original LP, but were culled from Jimi's first singles (5, excluding "51st Anniversary", which is clearly a piece of bullshit).
"Hey Joe", which was his first single, doesn't yet display all of Jimi's techniques and has a somewhat shy and naive look to it, but it is also done with a lot of feeling and he somehow achieves a great sound without really doing anything. "Stone Free" is a good rocker, rather in the classical style. "Purple Haze", of course, is Jimi's badge, and doubting its musical value is rather like doubting the musical value of "Yesterday" or something like that. "The Wind Cries Mary" is one of the gentlest and catchiest songs Jimi has ever written; very Dylanish in places, but maybe only for the better. And "Highway Chile" is interesting, too; I wonder if rap music grew out of this one? On the LP itself don't forget "Foxy Lady", "Fire" and "Love or Confusion". There's a cute little Jimi with some exciting singing. All the other songs are dull and worthless - well, except for Jimi's guitar playing, of course.
He was a guitar god. He never was a genius of a songwriter. The same goes with such guitar gods as Clapton, Page and Blackmore. Leave the songwriting to Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards and Townshend!
By the way, I think Electric Ladyland is Jimi's best album. His first three are all damn near impeccable, though.
It's basically a crime and a travesty that an artist this gifted was presented with recording engineers and producers so fraudelently clueless as to how to record these brilliant songs that the resulting album is almost a textbook example of how NOT to record a loud, dynamic rock band.
And don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those people who worship Steve Albini and demand audiophile quality pressings for every record I buy. I just cannot stand how this album (Are You Experienced?) has guitar solos "flying" like an annoying mosquito between the left and right speakers, how the drums sound like they were deliberately robbed of all of their tonal qualities, and how Jimi's "S"s and "P"s sound like fingernails down the proverbial chalkboard. WAY too many overdubs, to the point where the whole thing falls apart when the song quality itself is even mediocre. It sounds like a limp, tinny pile of shit and that Kramer producer guy who considers to get credit for these records should be tied to a pole and strangled with one of Hendrix's thick-gauged guitar strings.
That said, it's a real testament to how brilliant Hendrix was that I can still give this album an 8.
What I do know is what I do and don't like. I think from a younger point of view that you are all arguing about a time where they didn't have too many advancements. You must remember that they also didn't have very much money. That it was hard to get a record out when a lot of people don't like your music and are against it.
I think that Hendrix is one of my all time favorite guitarist/singers. To me it doesn't matter if I can understand the exact words that are coming out of his mouth, but about the feelings you get from the songs themselves.
You can agree or disagree. You thoughts
That's an impressive list of tracks, although there is one that I could switch for one of the bonus tracks, some of those are really good. But I still don't think this is the best Jimi album, although it might deserve the ten anyway. If an album has a bunch of disappointing performances, it should matter, but I wouldn't take it far enough to make some sort of a mathematic level where it's all about how many good songs you get...And my point is that Electric Ladyland has moments that are just mind-blowing, more so than here. "Love Or Confusion" has a powerful intro, so I could name it as my favourite track on the album. Lots of great tunes though...So, sure it's a classic and it might as well get a ten.
That's because you ARE hearing a bunch of singles that were slapped on to make an album. The original version of the album (the UK release) lacks the singles and contains more studio tracks, and as a release has a continuous and standardised quality of production sound. However, it was commonplace in 'ye olden days' to alter tracklists for the US market, remove studio tracks and replace them with UK singles instead - and the latest CD version was also compiled in a similar manner to include all the singles..
It seems that back in the 60's and 70's the US record companies habitually couldn't trust the US listener to be able to handle any undiluted version of an already-released-in-the UK-album. They were still doing it a decade after this release, just take a look at the US version of The Clash's first album.
Let's go through the record and see how the various themes in each song progress. I'm going to follow the original American version, which has 11 tracks:
1. "Purple Haze" starts out with crunching chords, followed by Hendrix screaming something that sounds suspiciously like, "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy!" Apparently when performing this in concert he would on occasion point to bass player Noel Redding as a joke. But after rejecting the gay lifestyle, Hendrix continues with some lewd breathing, more screaming about how tormented he is by some woman and then the song degenerates into a confusion of notes and chords and the listener is left wondering, "What did she do to make him feel this way?" Theme: That bitch has got me all fucked up.
2. "Manic Depression" is not a Psychology 101 song, but a song that combines an up-tempo beat and circular drumming by Mitch Mitchell to create a stressed mania while at the same time Hendrix's subdued vocals evoke a depressed state. He's both angry and sad because of what happened in or before the first song. These two feelings fit in nicely with the line, "I know what I want, but I don't know how to go about gettin' it." Theme: I'm so pissed off because of what that bitch did to me, but I also feel like shit because I can't get what I want -- that is, to get laid.
3. He decides to take his revenge in "Hey Joe" by resorting to domestic violence which even in the Summer of Love was not yet adequately being dealt with, but we'll assume that in this case Hendrix didn't have any bullets loaded in his guitar and is just shooting her metaphorically, therefore putting an end to the relationship with a lethal guitar solo. This is all a result of the anger building from the previous song. Theme: Blam! Blam! Bitch!
4. Now he gets a little introspective in "Love and Confusion", but he's more confused than anything with all the psychedelic mixing here and sounds floating back and forth from the left to right. With everything that's happened in the three previous songs, he has no idea what's going on at all. Theme: What the fuck is going on?
5. "May This Be Love" is a throwaway here with wimpy singing that makes Terry Jacks sound like Wilson Pickett. It's more introspection, but the anger has worn off and he's able to think more clearly, if superficially. Theme: Golly gee, I wonder why I'm feeling this way?
6. But Hendrix picks himself up by the distortion pedal and blazes through "Live Today". This is a guy who's decided to make a comeback from all the anger and sadness that he's been put through so far, but he's also feeling mortal wondering if he might not be around to see another naked woman, so the fast tempo of this song creates a sense of urgency that comes with wanting to get back in the saddle. Theme: What am I doing sitting around here for when life is so short and there are women out there waiting to be fucked?
Now, let's flip over to side two of the record. Oh, for the MTV generation, when I say "record" I'm not using the generic term which is similar in meaning to an album, but rather I'm refering to a big, black thing -- no, not the greatest guitarist's manhood, although judging from plaster casts that two female fans made of Jimi's weenie, this would be an appropriate definition for that as well -- that, unlike a CD has two sides and had to be played on a primitive device called a turntable. Unless you were one of those people goofy enough to buy two records of the same album and put them on together, one on Side A the other on Side B, then you had to get up and turn it over manually while only handling the outer edges of the record. If you can find this record and you've got the equipment, I recommend putting it on and seeing what it's like hearing a side end and then having to get up to turn it over wondering "Wow, I wonder what side two is gonna be like!" From Hendrix's point view, splitting up the songs this way creates a kind of hiatus between the torment of the first side and the ultimate triumph of the second side.
7. Side two starts slowly with "The Wind Cries Mary". Before heading off to the bar scene, Hendrix is pondering what it's like to be lonely, but he's nowhere near as superficial as he was on "May This Be Love". He sounds more confident in thinking about what it's like not to have a woman he can call his own. The confidence is there because he's certain he's going to get someone in the sack pretty soon. Theme: Life can be a bitch.
8. "Fire" is Hendrix all enthusiastic again about gettin' a little booty again. But it sounds like Jimi had to ask a dog to get out of the way so he could do the woman. This isn't free love, it's freaky love. Kinkiness aside, the rhythm and the baselines are really cooking here just like the loving. Except the lady he's trying to love is a little uptight because of her family. Also, the animal thing. You know what they say: A dog is a woman's best friend. This song is also very short, so the brevity gives the impression that this relationship wasn't meant to last. Towards the end of the song Hendrix sounds a little frustrated, so he decides to move on. Theme: Just say no to bestiality. OR There are plenty of other fish in the sea, bitch.
9. "Third Stone From the Sun" appears to be Hendrix's attempt to have sex with aliens by moving to Mars. Wow, he must have been really frustrated with the women on Earth to try this. OK, but in 1967 they still hadn't landed on the moon, so what's the point in trying. Some nice guitar work here. It sounds more like a jam session than a song. He says at one point, "You're people I do not understand." So, since he couldn't speak the Martian language he decided to move back to Earth. Theme: Earth women are easier than Martian women.
10. After splashing down, Jimi roars back with tons of feedback, macho chords and testosterone in "Foxey Lady". He's so confident about reaching his goal that he's not even hiding his emotions anymore. It's no longer a question of if, but when. Long gone is all the pondering about why life sucks. Forget the past because the future's what matters. Theme: I'm gonna get me some.
11. "Are You Experienced?" is simply "Boy meets girl. Boy seduces girl. Boy fucks girl." The opening backwards guitars are Hendrix spotting the object of his lust and zeroing in on her. This is followed by him trying to tell her to forget whatever the rest of her life is all about and just engage in some genuine passion. Then comes the guitar solo in the middle when Hendrix is waving his process about trying to impress her with what he's got. There's a one-note piano that plays incessantly throughout the song adding to the high sexual tension of the song. Just towards the end of the song the backwards guitars and one-note piano combine to recreate the pumping action of having sex followed by a power chord (orgasm) and a slow fade out. This is followed by a false ending that is Hendrix sighing with relief because he finally did it. Theme: I did it!
In the end, the question "Are you experienced?" is answered. In Hendrix's case, yes, he is.
Love your site, by the way. Keep it up. But Axis: Bold as Love is Jimi's finest album. Trust me. I've got 'em all.
A sad fact, and testament to his uneven recording legacy, but check out “War Heroes,” a really great bootleg.
Jimi, we love thee; come back to we.
greetings from hamburg.
If you're a Jimi freak, it'll probably blow you away. Myself, I kinda miss all that feedback noise.
Now what I seriously don't like about this album is "Castles Made Of Sand". Everybody seems to like it, but it's actually a re-write (and a very uninspired one, if you ask me) of "The Wind Cries Mary". Once again Hendrix tries to be Dylan and fails. Pity. That "ii-ven-chal-leee" almost ruins my ears. But "Little Wing" is good. Real good. Although when Eric C took it and used it on Layla, he basically made the song his own. It is too short, for one thing. The choruses on "You Got Me Floatin'" and "Wait Until Tomorrow" are superb. And everybody seems to neglect Redding's "She's So Fine", but I think this is one of the best tracks on the album. No kidding.
BTW, when are you going to review Live at The Fillmore East and the BBC sessions???????
It get's a 9 from me. "Wait Until Tomorrow" is classic!
1.EXP: booooooooo waaaaaaaaa wah wah wahhhhhhhhhh ............................................................................ GOOD EVENING LADIES AND GENTELMEN WELCOME TO RADIO STATION EXP. TONIGHT WE ARE FEATURING A PECULIAR LOOKING GENTELMEN BY THE NAME OF MR. PAUL CARUSO AND THE DODGY SUBJECT OF ARE THERE OR ARE THERE NOT FLYING SAUSERS OR UFO'S! PLEASE MR. CARUSO COULD YOU GIVE US AN OPINION ON THIS NONSENCE ON SPACESHIPS AND EVEN SPACE PEOPLE! FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDBACK! KKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRANGA! THEME: FEEDBACK
2.UP FROM THE SKIES: I JUST WANT TO TOUCH YOU! O FUNKY JAZZ STUFF WITH THE WAH WAH GUITAR. THEME: SPACE JAZZ
3.SPANISH CASTLE MAGIC: YEAH! A STAPLE OF JIMI'S CONCERTS! DRAGONFLYS AND BATTLES! SPANISH CASTLES!
THEME: SPANISH FORTRESS.
4.WAIT UNTIL TOMMORROW: DOLLY MAE ARE YOU STUPID? ARE YOU A DUMB HO!?????? BITCH U WAIT UNTIL I CALL YOU! HA HA HA HA HA! I HATE U HO! THEME: TAKE A CHANCE YA STUPID HO!
5.AINT NO TELLIN': MOTOWN! CLEOPTRA SHE IS SO HOT! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! FUNKY! YOU MAY THINK HE LIKES THE 4 TOPS! THEME: MOTOWN!
6.LITTLE WING: THIS IS SHORT BUT I LIKED IT! BELL SOUNDS AND CLEAN BLUES PLAYING. STING COVERED IT SO DID SRV. THEME: I LOVE YOU MY SWEET LOVELY SILVER WING GIRL.
7.IF 6 WAS 9: YEAH! USED FOR EASY RIDER, HENDRIX SWIPES THE PC ASSHOLES! AND A GREAT BASS SOLO! NOTE: THE SPEAKERS YOU HEAR ON THE LEFT IS JIMI'S GUITAR AND ON THE RIGHT IS NOEL'S BASS PLUS A DRUM SOLO AND ROCKS BANGING! AND JIMI CHEWING GUM! HE SAYS DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM TALKIN' ABOUT! SEE YOU MY BROTHER! THEN CAME A CRAZY FLUTE SOLO! SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEANG! TW ET WT ETW TEW TE TWE TW TET E TEW TEW TET ETE TEFLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! SHUT UP! THEME: WILD CRAZY BLUES!
8.YOU GOT ME FLOATING: SSSSS DOOOOO WEEEEE SHSHSHSHSHSHS AR INGA BAM! THOSE ARE EFFECTS. SWEET LOVING FOR THE HIPPIE LADY! PM DAWN COVERED THE SONG! WITH TAPE SOUNDS AND SYNTHESIZED EFFECTS LIKE JIMI HENDRIX!!!!!!!!!!! BLA LALALALALALALAALALALAALDDDDORIP! THEME: AQUA LOVE!
9.CASTLES MADE OF SAND: YAONK YANK YANK ! BACKWARD EFFECTS! HE TELLS 3 SHORT TALES LIKE THE DRUNK AND THE WIFE, THE WARRIOR, AND THE CRIPPLE! THEME: THE STORYTELLER.
10.SHE'S SO FINE: DORKY VOCALS DO NOT HURT THE SONG! JIMI HAD A GREAT TIME GETTING HIS PEEPEE PLASTER CAST!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! YOU HORN DOG! THEME: HOT LOVING!
11.ONE RAINY WISH: COSMIC BALLAD. GOLDEN ROSE. GOLDEN GARDENS. MOONBEAMS. WHY FIGHT WHEN YOU CAN BE WITH ME WITH YOUR LONG HAIR. BEAUTIFUL WOMAN. THEME: COSMIC LOVING.
12.LITTLE MISS LOVER; ANOTHER ATTACK ON A STUPID HO! THAT MEANS YOU PARIS HILTON!!!!!!!!!!! THEME: I HATE YOU PARIS!
13.BOLD AS LOVE: ENDING THE TRIP WAS THE SHINY METALLIC PURPLE ARMOR! MAN! CRAZY STUFF! THEN SHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP BANG! PHASERS!!!!!!. THEME: THE TRIP ENDS.
NO SLUMP HERE 10/10!
The long experimental tracks? Yeah. There's a really great 14-minute wankfest (sure, I just said I hated wankfests, but this one's a doozie. It works.) called "Voodoo Chile," as well as a beautiful and disorienting 22-minute "raining on marijuana drugs" suite, and these tracks alone are probably the reason that this record is so popular. But that's not all!!! When you purchase this LP, you also receive the wonderful rockers, "Crosstown Traffic," "Come On (Part 1)," "All Along The Watchtower" (Dylan cover), and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"! Yeah!!! Of course you also have to sit through those other seven crappy songs. (Yes, "House Burning Down" is a crappy song. And I know that you love "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp," but aside from the cute keyboard break, it makes me wanna go look at my ass.)
Hmm. Perhaps I've misstated myself. Maybe what I meant to say was NOT that Jimi was a "limited songwriter," but that he was a terrific songwriter, but a poor editor. That's really what I meant. Do me a favor and go back and rewrite my introductory paragraph for me. Thanks!
As I look at the track listing, I can't help but think that you really SHOULD go buy this record, even if it has too many generic blues rockers on it. About sixty percent of it totally rules. Ahh, maybe I should give it an eight. Your call. I hardly ever get the urge to listen to the damn thing, but everyone else seems to bake a cake over it, so what the hey.
Okay, enough of that. While Electric Ladyland doesn't have the impact of the debut (there are maybe about 2 records in the world that do). It's still an incredible record. How can you like Husker Du's Zen Arcade and dislike this? I find the albums very similar. Both have some weak tracks, but man, sit back and listen and you won't even notice. The songs you mentioned are all fantastic, and I also enjoy "Long Hot Summer Night", "Gypsy Eyes", and "Burning Of the Midnight Lamp". That leaves four tracks, none of which are bad, filling out the album. Electric Ladyland is when Jimi learned how to make jams, studio experiments and his trademark ass-kicking work together. Now, I'm not gonna say you're an asshole for not digging it. It's really not for everyone. But as far as legendary albums go, oh man is it ever better than White Light/White Heat.
Again I have to whine about the lack of consistency here. If you took this record to someone who's never heard Hendrix and played "Crosstown Traffic" followed by "Watchtower" the guy would be hard pressed to believe that both come from the same record.
See, me wore out this superb recording during my third year in high school...
An easy 11, if you ask me + it destroys any "alternative" band easily in terms of quality & production.
It took me a long time to get into this record, though. If you hate guitar solos as much as I do, you might wanna put off buying it until you can cope with em a little better. Eventually though, ya figure out that he's not just wanking off.
Out of all the great albums to come out of the sixties, this one's the WORST (if there can be such a thing as a BAD GREAT album!) Yeah, I can feel talent and genius squeezing out from every note on this album, but I just will NOT force myself to listen to it more than once a year or so! Axis was at least listenable, but this one starts with another crazy feedback expweriment ("And The Gods Made Love": AWFUL! "EXP" is just childish pranks compared to this one!), then after a short while ventures into the torturingly-long "Voodoo Chile", then there's that insipid suite about a rainy day or something, and off we go onto "Voodoo Chile" again! Is this what double albums are really made for? Nah! Still, there are several (only a few) moments that somehow redeem this duffer (although it certainly isn't the gimmicky album cover). "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" is quite cool. The second "Voodoo Chile" is not as boring as the first (hey! wait! maybe it's just because this one's shorter!) "Gypsy Eyes" - a good groove (partly!) Yeah, and that cover of "All Along The Watchtower" is fine, too, although the original is about fifty hundred times better!
Sure, this album "is not for everyone"! Not for me, at least! Mind you I have nothing in mind against "wankfests", long jams, solos, experimentation, feedback, etc., but somehow Jimi managed to connect them here in the worse possible manner! Electric Ladyland? More like Electric Boredom (A Quick Guide To...)! Nah, thanks! I'll stick to Are You Experienced. Or to Axis. Maybe even to Band Of Gypsies!
Hendrix just happens to be a challenging artists. His albums are not really song oriented. The actual songs are buried in sonic experiments. Patience and careful listening reward the listener when it comes to a Hendrix album. You won't get it the first time. I didn't. But on repeated listens the pleasures are many.
The third side starts developing this idea by making it a lot stranger. Hendrix is trying to make us feel like we're high, and he succeeds. The Rain Away song is beautiful, bringing us, at the end, to another world: 1983. The end of Rain Away, the fade-out, is really disturbing -- like it's descending into chaos. Then 1983 gets weirder and weirder and the atmosphere becomes more and more magical, until the flute comes in. The weird sonority of 1983 is amazing, and that part gives me a chill usually. Then, the feeling keeps developing and becoming more and more halucinatory, until the music turns into a lot of "wind".
Then, we are suddenly surprised by the fourth side. The fourth side is a "return to sanity", and after hearing 1983, the Still Raining song produces a wonderful feeling of ecstacy. House Burning Down is great and does the same thing. But I only get this feeling of ecstacy when I listen to the whole album at once. All Along the Watchtower is amazing too, although not that good by itself -- I'm not saying it doesn't have intrinsic merit, I'm saying its merit is only understood when the listener has the feeling of hearing all the songs beforehand. Then, the last song, Voodoo Chile, is mezmerizing. By the middle, I'm swept into the beauty of one chord being repeated with amazing guitar work above it. Again, this song sounds boring by itself -- but it produces an amazing sensation as the last song on an album. By the end, I just feel like Hendrix is an amazing artist.
So my main piece of advice is: listen to the album all the way through except for side 2 before judging it. Even hearing the third and fourth sides, although better than hearing just the fourth side, doesn't sound that good. The fourth side seems to long in proportion to the rest of the album. Hendrix was smart to put both those records together in one album, and they should be listened to that way. Also, if you have the record, get the CD -- it sounds better. I don't know why -- just trust me.
Excuse me the english!
NEway, 4give me 4 sending a comment that ain't really directly related 2 music. I was trying 2 get in2 ELECTRIC LADYLAND earlier 2night (already loved "All Around the Watchtower" & "Crosstown Traffic," of course, but that other stuff takes some getting used 2 -- spose U don't wanna hear that yr reviews on the lower 1/2 of yr page recently helped turn me on2 The Church's STARFISH album years after I'd stupidly given up on it, right? That The Church's "Reptile" is 1 of the great overlooked classics of R time? Well, NEway....), & flashed on that book, so thot I'd tell ya about it. Well worth yr time as a music fan, mon!
Okay, now that i've got that out, the album: "1983" is better than "Voodoo Chile". It is. It actually has a melody, an amazing main riff (which Metallica totally ripped off for "Unforgiven II") and the most awesome spaced out section in the middle. Would you listen to that Redding play bass! Him and Mitch Mitchell are like, THE most underrated musicians ever! They're always conveyed as merely session players, but fuck are those two talented.
This album fully has a stoner atmosphere to it (nah, really?), and i've said it once, but i'll say it again that stoner albums can often be the best to listen to. Now i'm not a stoner by any account, but simply listening to this album can put into a semi-induced stoned state. The best on here are "Crosstown", "Gypsy", "Midnight Lamp", "1983", "Watchtower", "Voodoo (slight return)". Oooh baby those last two cook!
Get this one, then get Are You Experienced?
Anyway, Electric Ladyland is the album that justifies the name of the band (and this was a *band*), the Jimi Hendrix EXPERIENCE. This album is certainly that. Okay, Noel Redding was a complete non-entity (in fact, that's Jimi on bass in "All Along the Watchtower"). But Mitch Mitchell is one of the ten greatest drummers in rock history, in my opinion. And opinions aren't very much like onions at all, now that I think about it.
You might think that my opinion doesn't mean a lot, and I wish I knew more about Hendrix history, but I don't so I'll go on anyways.
One response by (Sam Oram) was original and truly great. As far as my eye can see he is the only one that isn't taking a look at "the cover" and actually "reading the book itself". Basically noticing the feeling behind what Hendrix liked to present.
I suggest that in opinions like these this statement would work best: "People with closed minds should not open there mouths."
the 1983/moon turn the tides epic is worth the album alone, but i also like the first 2 songs, voodoo child/chile, and burning of the midnight lamp. Not to mention all along the watchtower.. if you can make Dylan reject his own version of a song in favor of someone else's that's an impression all in its own.
As a CD it's an 8/10... but for discussions and its legend status it deserves a fuckin 20...
...now Pere Ubu's Dub Housing, that's one we'll never agree on. Just why did I give that CD to my brother? I still have my vinyl original but no turntable-friendly amp!
One other point: I think all you guys/gals must be white rock fans, basically. What other explanation can there be for ignoring Jimi's superlative soul song Long Hot Summer Night. Makes me swoon...
Electric Ladyland is a flawed masterpiece. But it's also a daring, revolutionary record that any self-respecting fan of 20th century popular music simply MUST have, just as they must have Experience and Axis (and, I would argue, band of Gypsys)
I believe this is an album that must be re-reviewed every 3 or 4 years, by those who panned the release. I didn't 'get it' the first few years I heard it, but it grows on you. I consider it Jimi's best work It's still relevant, still holds the test of time. Extraordinary guitar work. Musically it is a superior album. His best guitar work. His best writing. A 10 ^ 2 star record. I don't listen to it all that often, but I have to say it's in my top 5 of all time, and represents Jimi's influences and qualities better than any other work.
A great mix of music styles; heavy rock, jazz, old blues, experimental, soul/gospel, poppy brit stuff, etc.... Like the Steven Stills' 1st Mannassas album ( gotta be in my top 5 all time albums too) , it uniquely mixes different styles to gives a true overall listening experience. The sum of the album is greater than the parts. So don't hate it because you don't like Voodoo Chile or 1984, there's so much material that you need to rate this album as a complete work, not just individual songs.
It'll still be selling and relevant, 200 years from now. If it was released today, it would still hold its quality and be as innovative.
So go ahead people, crack it open again, give it another listen, its ok to skip a some songs, (hell its a double album, like the Manassas album). I promise you'll find new insight, new appreciation for the man and album. Its sad that Jimi is more of a corporate symbol now, but no one can deny his still continued dominance as a guitarist's guitarist. At least preface the review of ELL, by giving 3 extra dots for guitarists, and 2 extra dots for any other musicians.
Long after we're all dead, people will still be initially dogging this album.
The result is one continuous live studio like jam in between two sets of three songs each. This is change makes Electric Ladyland my favorite studio Hendrix recording.
God bless and Peace
Between the 'mess of the blues,' Jimi does present swell versions of a dozen classics - 7 from Are You Experienced, 3 Axis and 2 Electric Ladyville - but that leaves like 17 tracks of tonic/tonic/subdominant/tonic/dominant/subdominant/tonic electric blues bullshit and repeat material (three "Hey Joe"s, three "Drivin' South"s, two "Foxey Lady"s, 2 "Hear My Train A-Comin'"s). It does have a few gassers that you won't find on his three LPs, including a tight poppy run-through of "Day Tripper," a quick edition of "Sunshine Of Your Love" and a silly original Radio One theme song ("Just turn that dial! Make your music worthwhile! Radio One - You stole my gal!"), but this is very much a release for fans of Hendrix's guitar solos, of which I clearly am not. Sure, some of his passages are terrific -- especially the high-energy melodic runs of "Drivin' South" -- and the man knows his way around the guitar better than almost any guitarist I've ever heard (seriously - you get the feeling he could solo over a 12-bar blues for four hours straight without ever hitting a sour note), but it becomes SUCH a bore listening to him dick around with bendy high notes while his band plays nothing at all of note in the foreground.
Dylan rarity "Can You Please Crawl Out Of Your Window," Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man," Robert Petway's "Catfish Blues," Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" (kidding - don't correct me please), Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made To Love Her" -- all of these and more crumble under the unfathomable weight of Jimi Hendrix fucking around with his wah-wah pedal. Seriously - "Killing Floor" is pretty much the only blues/r'n'b song that survives unscathed; unlike Led Zeppelin ("Lemon Song"), Jimi manages to keep his version down to two and a half minutes! My guess: he was out of dope.
I certainly respect Hendrix's abilities and LOVE the fact that one of redneck America's favorite legendary guitar gods is a black man (surely his success has contributed to racial tolerance in certain areas of the U.S. - at least, I hope so!), but come on - when one of your few new originals is entitled "Jammin'," you may be a bit too in love with the sound of your own amp.
Nevertheless, it's quite an enjoyable double-CD considering. I mean, a low 7 for sure, what with Jiim playing more solos than a foot in his concentrated effort to fill up space where other songs might have gone had the band rehearsed any. But still, the Band of Gypsies were a formidable unit their own self, especially with ass kicker Mitch Mitchell on traps (drums). And they run through some old classics (four from AYE and one each from A:BAL and EL) as well as some decent new material ("Message To Love" is a GREAT soul rocker!), guitar jams galore, and most famously of all, Hendrix's legendary rendition of America's national anthem, Francis Scott Key's "Spanish Castle Magic." It's a ass-kicker!
Also, he does "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- and I know we're all a bit Freedom Rocked out on this track by now, but my God, Jimi's rendition is absolutely SICK! He makes some guitar noises in that song that I haven't heard reproduced by the noisiest of noise bands even to this day. It's an absolutely amazing track - up there with Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" - and it's the goddamned STAR-SPANGLED BANNER!!! Now see, that's the kind of Jimi Hendrix playing that impresses me: how did he come up with the idea of turning the national anthem into a grotesque collection of tremelo-bend swooping and lightning strike SCHWAK! noises!? Was he mistaking the lyrics sheet for the musical score? (bombs bursting in air, etc) Either way, thanks for the memories, Jimi Hendrix!
The rest of the album is an extended noisy guitar solo that the occasional song accidentally pops out of. The most telling moment is when Jimi suddenly says into the mic, "You can leave if you want to. We're just jammin'!" And jammin' they are indeed. Jammin' and improvisation. Especially in the tracks "Jam Back At The House" and "Woodstock Improvisation." So basically, you'll come for the hits ("Hey Joe," "Fire," "Foxey Lady," "Purple Haze") and stay for the stage patter.
- one song each from his second and third albums
- a cover of Buck Cherry's "Johnny B. Goode" (a hilarious pun on the phrase "Johnny, Be Good" that will have you on your seats screaming with blood-specked laughter) - THIRTEEN EXCRUCIATING MINUTES of Jimi's bland boring blues b-side "Red House," which bears no resemblance to the excellent Cows song of 1987 - A dull R'n'B original called "Lover Man," which bears no resemblance to the excellent Nick Cave song of 1994. It doesn't even have the same title! Where do you get "Lover Man" out of "Red Right Hand"? Dumbass. You fucking dumbass. Hey, did ya see this DUMBASS over here? God, what a dumbass! If you were a huge Husker "Du" fan, earned your "mba" and were a member of Hitler's "ss," you STILL wouldn't be a bigger "Dumbass" than you are right now! You fucking dumbass. That's cool though. Nothing wrong with playing your bass guitar with a small lollipop. With all of these high points, you might wonder, "Hey, Mr. Mark Prindle! How come you only gave this album a 5 instead of a 10 or 1?" Well, the answer is simple: "Voodoo Child" and "Little Wing" are great songs. And where else but the original studio albums and several other live albums are you going to find them? Also, I love cussing and right before "God Save The Queen," Jimi tells his British audience, "Stand up for your country and start singin'! And if you don't, fuck you." See? Jimi Hendrix was a witty, irreverent man! It's a pity he loved the blues and his wah-wah pedal so much, because he could have played some great concerts if he'd just stuck to his catchy rock/pop/r'n'b originals and refrained from making a bunch of cruddy distorted wire noise for three minutes at the end of every song. Let's face Fax: Jimi Hendrix was an exciting, revolutionary guitar player. His concerts were probably ALL excellent because he was such a powerful showman, setting his guitar on fire and playing it with his teeth and whatnot. But as cool as they probably were to WATCH, most of his solos are brutal to listen to. They're just noisy and boring! Sometimes he'll catch on an actual melodic line and play that a little bit, BUT for the most part it's just like listening to Angus Young: a whole lotta bendy notes and narcissistic 'feeling' that ultimately amounts to nothing more than a very long, loud pause between one song and the next.
In conclusion, Jimi Hendrix is black and from Seattle, and now performs under the name "Sir Mix-A-Lot."
Band Of Gypsys may have been released before his death in September of '70, but I'm going to assume it wasn't because I don't really give a crap either way. This is a live jammin' blues rock session he conducted with Buddy Miles and Billy Cox (neither one of which is white like those old guys). It starts off promising with a couple of kickin' groovedive bass lines, but turns into a series of semi-interesting guitar solos soon afterwards. Side two has four actual SONGS, but they aren't that great. A pretty good record, but ehh. There's lots of those in the world, and I wouldn't want to have to listen to all of 'em.
Sometimes he just went into a trance as he played them and Machine gun is a good example of this. I give this album at least an 8/10
Personally, Hendrix wasn’t the same with the Band of Gypsys. He just had to start bringing in more guys, causing Noel, then soon Mitch, leave him.
I've been to his grave in Washington State. It was the most gnardliest thing ever. If only I had my guitar with me at the time. I would've Jammed all day. Hendrix will always live on! :') man that’s good stuff.
Aww and screw everyone out there that dogs on him. You all can kiss my ass.
LONG LIVE HENDRIX!!
There you go.
And to the rest of you - bullshit. This IS Hendrix's best recording, live or otherwise. It's precisely because he has moved on from the psychedelic-pop-rock of the 1st album that it is a landmark. This is the direction Hendrix was moving in before his death. It is very earthy and often funky electric-blues (and if you don't like blues why the fuck are you listening to Hendrix), stripped bare of a lot of the spaciness and gimmicks of his other works. And the rhythm section kicks arse, particularly Billy Cox in comparison to that stiff twat Noel Redding. They are hard-hitting and add blackness and soul to these blues jams. I even like their voices. I like every song here without exception. By contrast, don't bother with 'Live at The Fillmore East' - that's just the stuff they edited out of this.
I just thought of something strikingly appropriate and relevant to say to you.
Ha ha! Just kidding! It's Apposite Day!
Here's a little joke for you: Why did the old man buy 2,000 cartons of eggs?
Because he wanted to "Fill more East"er baskets!
So far this review is totally kicking ass. Let me grab my Dictionary of Insurance Terms here and make it even better.
Lightning may be the discharge of electricity from the atmosphere, one of the perils covered in most fire insurance policies, but that doesn't stop Jimi Hendrix from setting the sky alight with flaming guitars of rock and blues roll! When the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) developed the Model Policy Loan Interest Rate Bill, they never expected Jimi to blast crowds away for two separate nights at Billy Graham's World Famous Fillmore East. Hell, they probably needed Federal Flood Insurance after all the crying teenagers and sopping wet pussies left the venue! But alas, like the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), all we have now is this recording to go by: a mess of overlong songs and fucking ass-as-shit-ugly guitar solos. I mean, I hate to sound like an Associate in Premium Auditing (APA), but this is just a bunch of bendyass wah-wah racket!
In case your copy was stolen and you don't have Storekeepers Burglary and Robbery Insurance, I'll remind you that Jimi and His Band Of Gypsies herein, on this double-CD, perform only two classic tracks - "Stone Free" (for 13 asininical minutes) and "Voodoo Child," filling the rest of the gigs with "Auld Lang Syne," TWENTY-FIVE minutes of "Machine Gun," and some rarities that might actually make the record worth your while if you're a Hendrix completist -- especially if your Gross Estate doesn't include the fast cowpunker "Stepping Stone" (not a cover), cute catchy descending riffer "Earth Blues," Free-esque soul cover "Stop" and (umm... theoretically) meandering, quarter-written 8-minute 'rock' song "Burning Desire." Check your Past Service Benefit to make sure you don't already have these, but PLEASE don't buy this messy, lazy, raggedy, stoned double-live-disc on account of Buddy Miles' "We Gotta Live Together." You know what it is? Well, do you? According to my Probability Distribution, you likely don't so I'll share the news:
It's a 10-minute gospel audience singalong with two lines.
Jimi's cracking jokes about Drive Other Car Insurance (DOC) left and right though, including this great ad-lib verse in "Who Knows": "It's New Year's Eve/1969/Whatcha gonna do for me?/Scratch my behind." Oh Jimi! If only you'd had a Life Income With Period Certain. Where were the Liquor Liability Laws when you needed them?
Also, why did you like the electric blues so much? Has there ever been a more limited musical form? Even using Modified Reserve Methods, you're still basically playing 12 bars of tonic-subdominant-dominant Goat Shit for white losers who think they feel something when you go "Bwee!"
It has its moments though ("Hear My Train A-Comin'" choogles like CCR's "Graveyard Train" in this rendition!; "Voodoo Child (Slight Return) never fails to satisfy!; "Who Knows" and "Changes" are groovy as shit! Hear them!; and I already mentioned "Earth Blues"), so I'll give it 6 points. By which I mean 6% of the loan amount paid to the lender for making a loan.
Ha ha! Just kidding! It's Opportunity Cost Day!
And if you thought THIS review was a gasss, wait til you read the piece of shit I wrote for the new Obituary album!
Just years later, I was in NYC's "Other Music" store when I happened across an $8.00 album with a cartoon skull against a neat blue-black background. Assuming it was a Grateful Dead album, I of course grabbed it faster than arms can swallow because the Grateful Dead have never made a bad album if you're stoned all the time. Imagine how quickly my socks filled with dung when I saw photographs of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison on the back. "A Spontaneous Jam Session," the text excitedly announced, before listing the members of Jiimi Hendrix's band The Experiential Marketers, along with those of Jim Morrison and Johnny Winter. "HOLY FRIJOLE, SENOR!" I shouted, being a native Mexican named Marcos Prindle (pronounced "Preen-yah-dlay"). I bought it, took it home, threw it on the turntable and gave it a 3.
Jimi Hendrix can play a guitar. He's mighty, mighty good with those solos. And it's certainly neat to hear him doing his "wild african-american" thing to "Tomorrow Never Knows," "Outside Woman Blues" and "Sunshine of Your Love." But side two is an extremely trying, tiring and tyring blues bland, and Jim Morrison... ONLY says "SUCK ME WOMAN - ALL NIGHT"! Here I was dreaming of a half-hour drunken Jim Morrison cussfest filled with immorality and words like "p---y," and all I get is a couple of generic blues lyrics and a shout of "Suck me woman - all night"?!? If I'd known that's all it was, I would have just stayed home, took a bluesy shit on my guitar and yelled at my wife (a woman) to suck me all night. It's the SAME THING.
So the next time you're in a car with a former member of Caroliner and he starts to talk about this awesome jamfest featuring the three leading artists of the late '60s (except Johnny Winter, whom I see as the "Jeff Lynne" of this pre-Wilburies supergroup), tear his hands from the wheel, drive the car into the ocean and tell him what Tom Bosley told me so many years ago -- "Yes, you ARE going down, and there's nothing you can do about it!"
Johnny Winter, great guitar player that he is, has always maintained he was never at this jam. He did play with Hendrix at the Scene Club and in the studio sometime in '68-69, but is adamant that he never, ever met Jim Morrison.
Is that a good thing, I dont think so but for those who are interested in this particular recording it appears as thought there may be several variations of it kickin around.
Sorry to hear of your retirement. Have a rest, come back later.
Ageing Pop Bitch's American Life review still makes me laugh...
So here's a Top 10 List like David Lebberman:
THE TOP TEN THINGS JIMI HENDRIX IS DOING RIGHT NOW UNDER A PILE OF DIRT
10. Playing a guitar solo, using a maggot as a pick
9. That's all I can think of
Well that was great and a good time, so let's try some jokes:
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Jimi Hen!
Jimi Hen who?
Jimi Hen, I said! Where do you want these eggs, asshole?
Why did Jimi Hendrix cross the road?
To get out of the "Crosstown Traffic"! Ha ha! That's one of his songs! (*masturbates onto a piece of poop*)
What's the difference between Jimi Hendrix and Mel Gibson?
You look like a fucking pig in heat, and if you get raped by Jimi Hendrix, it will be your fault!
Good old Jimi Hendrix. Is it any wonder that when you mix up the letters in his name, you get "Mid-E.R. Hijinx?" That guy's always playing gags in the emergency room!
Then he ate the brains of all his musicians.
Even worse than its predecessor, War Heroes sounds like the kind of music Sanford & Son would sit around listening to in their trash factory. The covers of "Peter Gunn" and Hansson & Karlsson's "Tax Free" aren't terrible, but the only song here that actually sounds finished is the catchy rocker "Highway Chile," which already appeared as the b-side of "The Wind Cries Mary." Most of the rest is half-written solo-drenched boogie-woogie blues.
Pick it up if you're curious to hear the worst song ever recorded (the vomitous Latin-pop "3 Little Bears," which causes Jimi himself to exclaim "I don't feel like doing this; it's really silly" and "Okay, you can stop it any time. Stop it!"), but otherwise you probably want to stick to the pre-mortem releases. "Stepping Stone" isn't even a Monkees cover! And after the "solid" they did him by allowing him to open for them with his shitty music and their ass-kicking monster rock.
Now here's a list of things you can do with this album after you realize how much it stinks:
1. Wiggle it between your hands to make a hilarious noise for children and old people - hell, EVERYBODY!
2. Keep making the hilarious noise, because even astronauts and birds are enjoying it now.
3. Stop wiggling it because you're annoying Old Man McGillicudy. Throw him out a window, then begin wiggling it again.
4. Wiggle it faster.
5. Invite a church group to watch you wiggling it, then piss all over them.
6. Bake a cake out of it.
7. Eat the cake, take a dump and wiggle it.
8. Get arrested for wiggling a piece of fecal matter in front of God and everybody.
9. Die and go to Hell.
10. Listen to War Heroes for all of Eternity as Satan laughing spreads his wings.
Mark Prindle, residing on The Internet, hereinafter referred to as "Husband," and Jimi Hendrix's Loose Ends, residing on an MP3 disc, hereinafter referred to as "Wife," hereby agree on this day of July 13, 2010, to the following:
A. Preliminary Matters
1. Husband and Wife were lawfully married some time in early 2009 when Husband downloaded Wife off of the Internet. Because certain problems have developed between Husband and Wife, they hereby agree to live separately and apart, subject to the terms and conditions as set forth below.
2. Husband and Wife have made a complete, fair, and accurate disclosure to each other of all financial matters affecting this agreement.
3. Husband and Wife have each been advised and counseled by attorneys of their choosing regarding their legal rights as related to this agreement.
4. This agreement is intended to be a final disposition of the matters addressed herein and may be used as evidence and incorporated into a final decree of divorce or dissolution.
B. Assets
Songs
1. The parties are in agreement that this is just more blues-rock shit.
2. The parties are in agreement that, although the short take of "Electric Ladyland" features some very pretty soloing and the cover of Willie Dixon's "Hootchie Kootchie Man" has a hookier riff than most blues-rock songs, the only tracks that Husband fully enjoys are the energetic, funky cover of Bob Dylan's "Drifter's Escape" and a take on "Blue Suede Shoes" that mostly consists of Jimi Hendrix trying to explain the beat to his drummer ("Only cymbal and snare! Cymbal and snare! Chonk-konka chonk-konka....").
3. The parties are in agreement that Loose Ends!? More like "REAR Ends," if you ask the parties!
4. The parties are in agreement that Wife will retain ownership of all songs, especially the boring 12-bar electric blues "Come Down Hard On Me Baby," boring 12-bar electric blues instrumental "Jam 292," noisy drug joke "The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice" and listless 9-minute blues rocker "Burning Desire" (were they asleep when they recorded that one!?). Husband has no interest in visitation rights.
5. The parties over. Don't you dummies ever understand anything? You gotta go to school!
Everything Else
1. The parties are in agreement that Husband gets everything else, and that he probably shouldn't have married a folder full of MP3 files in the first place. It hurt that time he rammed his dick in the CD drive.
C. Attestation
STATE OF THE INTERNET
COUNTY OF THE INTERNET
On this 15th day of July, 2010 before me came
Husband Mark Prindle / Wife Jimi Hendrix's Loose Ends
to me known to be the individual(s) described in and who executed the foregoing instrument, and acknowledged that he/she/they executed the same.
Steve Fuckleberry
Notary Public
So I decided that I would have a big five-day drunken Karaoke blowout for my birthday and then get my shit together immediately afterwards. Let's see how it went down:
Thursday - Went to Rick's karaoke at Brooklyn's Alligator Lounge. Performed Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," The Cars' "Drive," AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock" and apparently Slayer's "Seasons In The Abyss," though I'd blacked out by that point. I was also a regular social machine, chatting up a pretty nursing student named Allison as well as a few other LAYDEEZ I'll never see again. Was also pleased that my friend Shandi was there, and we chatted for a while afterwards. Had a great time! Got home around 5:00 AM.
Friday - Went to Punk Rock Karaoke (with live band!) at Fontana's. Drank three double-shots of vodka in 45 minutes, but managed to perform Fear's "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones." Chatted up one LAYDEE, I think. Made eyes with another and thought we might be flirting with each other until she walked up and said, "Are you Michael?" Turns out she just thought I was her friend's boyfriend. (Jim Laakso looked on the bright side of this, saying, "Alright! That means that somebody who looks like you has a GIRLFRIEND!") At closing, Laakso and I went to a Mexican restaurant around the corner from Piano's, where I tried to chat up four LAYDEEZ at the table next to us -- even fetching one an ice water and offering all four a bite of my dessert -- but somehow they remained unimpressed. Still, mostly had fun. Got home around 4:30 AM.
Saturday - Jim Laakso's kickass ladyfriend Sarah held a rooftop barbecue for my birthday! Actually, the day started off on a jarringly nice note when I received a Happy Birthday balloon and beer mug full of flowers, sent by a couple of my readers. That's YOU! But then later I went to the rooftop barbecue and drank quite a bit of this fizzy lemon-flavored vodka concoction. Lots of her friends and neighbors attended and we all had a delightful time. By the time we left the party to go see a band at Brooklyn Bowl, I had blacked out. I do not remember entering the Brooklyn Bowl, nor do I remember standing by the stage repeatedly texting on my phone, but I do remember being thrown out! I'm not sure what I did; maybe I was just visibly far too inebriated to be there. At some point, Laakso texted me asking, "Where are you?" I responded, "Outside!" and the evening continued. Did I see any of the band? Who knows? Our next and final stop was a party in an apartment courtyard. I talked to lots of people and must've had a good time. My clearest memory is staring at a disgusting splattered mushy watermelon sitting in a puddle of liquid on a plate, until a woman walked up and I said "I dare you to drink that." Being 450 sheets to the wind, I did so without hesitation. Thankfully it was just watermelon juice! I told her so, and she took the plate from me and drank some. Good old drunkies. We ended the evening standing outside complaining about the unions with some guy we'd just met. In the interest of full disclosure, I should add that I also exchanged several drunk'n'perverse texts with an old crush, and (b) sent several pathetic, self-pitying bullshit texts to Shandi, driving her to phone me out of concern at 3:00 AM. Had a great time, but also realized that I can't get drunk without immediately telling some stranger about how my wife just left me after 15 years. Got home around 4:00 AM.
Sunday - Went to Rick's karaoke at Le Poisson Rouge, but was physically and mentally exhausted from the three previous nights. My throat hurt, my voice was scratchy and I kept coughing every time I breathed too deeply. I tried singing The Cars' "Moving In Stereo," but I completely half-assed it because I wasn't in the mood. Thankfully, I later came up with a great gimmick for my second song that would mask the fact that I had no energy or voice. At the beginning of the evening, Rick had been thrilled to discover that the club provided an effects processor that he could screw around with. He used it very sparingly, generally only during the between-song music, but when I went up for my second song, Urge Overkill's cover of "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon," I asked him to pump my voice through as many ridiculous effects as he could, so that I could just wander the floor aimlessly and sing it straight, yet it would still be funny. He was very excited by the request, and the result was a SCREAM. He changed the effect after every line, so I kept going from super-echoed to flanger/phased to vibratoed to tremeloed to sounding like the Great Phone Calls "Hijinx" computer, all while wandering around Tom Jones-style. It was good fun. Still, I left soon afterwards. Got home around 2:00 AM.
Monday - Went to Piano's for rock trivia and Rick's karaoke. Hit a major snag near the end of rock trivia when I tried to order a fifth shot of vodka and the waitress told me, "Wait a while." Knowing that I wasn't drunk (my tolerance had shot way up after the preceding four evenings), I was of course a bit unnerved by this so I went to the downstairs bar and asked for a double shot of vodka. The bartender's response, "Can you have a double shot of vodka? No, you cannot!," let me know that I had done something to become Persona Non Grata at Piano's. But what? I wasn't sure. I went back upstairs, sat down, and tried to figure out what was going on. A few minutes later, a manager came by and asked if we could have a chat. He took me down to a room in the basement and explained that the upstairs bartender (who looks exactly like John Entwistle, btw) had warned him that I was drinking too much week after week. His reason for feeling this way? My karaoke performances. Yes, I'd been drinking, but no more than any of the other karaoke partiers. But how could I explain to the manager that I'd made a conscious decision to lie on the ground in a foetal position while singing "Love Hurts"? Long story short, the manager was a great guy. He explained his position, he expressed concern for my situation, and he invited me to stay as long as I let the bartender determine my drinking schedule. I went back upstairs for a little while and talked to a couple of friends, but couldn't shake the feeling that the manager had a point: no matter how painful the trauma, I'm never going to heal if I just keep soaking it in alcohol. So I left. Got home at some point.
Tuesday - Decided I should probably do something to take care of the illness and exhaustion I'd been feeling for two days. Slept til 7:20 PM.
A more general problem I'm having is that I'm 37 years old and suddenly alone. Though there are a million arguments against me trying to find female companionship while my pain is still so raw, nobody likes feeling lonely goddammit so off my back. The problems here are that (a) most desirable women my age are married, and (b) I have absolutely no ability to gauge a woman's age. Perfect example: karaoke a couple weeks ago, fairly attractive woman in a polka-dot dress. Next night, walking to the subway from a movie, I saw the polka-dot dress and voila! Same woman. I stopped her, said "karaoke!" and we talked for a bit. She mentioned that her birthday was in one week, I pulled out my driver's license and said, "Me too! Look, we have the same birthday!" Her reply: "Looks like you're a little ahead of me though." I was turning 37. She was turning.... (sigh)..... twenty-one. Then her little emo boyfriend came over and I felt like Orville Redenbacher.
Crash Landing is infamous for its producer's decision to erase all the original music aside from Jimi's playing, and replace it with new recordings by session musicians. Honestly, the songs would've sucked either way, so I'm not sure what the big deal is. "Message Of Love" starts things off with a catchy bing-bong, but surely you already have the Band Of Gypsys version. Ditto for "With The Power Of Soul," semi-ditto for re-recorded single "Stone Free Again," and quasi-ditto for "Come Down Hard On Me," if for some reason you accidentally purchased Loose Ends. That leaves four new songs -- two passable instrumentals and two horrendous garbage balls filled with toilet puke. The gospel-funk title track is in fact almost fistfuckingly bad. And I don't even have a fist!
Okay, I have a fist. I just didn't want you getting any ideas.
ok now that i've insulted you i'd like to wish you the best of luck with everything... and keep up the good work on the site.
With all due respect, It has become obvious to even the most near-sighted that you are a gangrenous sore upon MarkPrindle.com. In lieu of this development, I, a Mark Prindle frequent reader, would ask that you kindly keep your disenchanted comments about Mark's personal struggles and his new, temporary lackadaisical attitude to yourself. I understand that you have no possible comprehension, nor preconceived notion about what he is struggling with, or what it is to be jaded... what it feels like to be crippled after an enduring and loving relationship. I also understand that you may have never felt the kind of love that it takes to break someone so completely that they don't want to rise again each day. And this is alright, because, as a MarkPrindle.com devotee, I know that he is a real and honest person... a genuine and absolute being with strengths and weaknesses just like everyone else. And this is what makes his website such a treat, we get the unedited, uncensored, unbiased opinion of a real and true human, with a love for music and an sarcastic attitude. His fans and readers know that despite his struggles, he will rise to reclaim that positive attitude we all love so much and continue to show us the way through the world of music. But you are neither supportive nor an admirer of Mark and so there is no room for your obviously obtuse opinions about his personal life or writing...And If you don't like his entries so much... here's a thought, go somewhere else. The internet is vast... and from what I've seen, there are plenty of websites for people like you.
Subject: Hey, "Other Adam" -- Fucking blow me (and blow Mark while you're at it)
You sir, can go fuck yourself with a spoon. I am married to a woman without whom I could not imagine living my life, and I endeavor to remind myself of that fact every day. I also, some days, do something which is ill-advised and off-putting towards her because I am either drunk, tired, or annoyed from work. It is difficult to live with another person, and more-so when you are stuck in an unfulfilling job or without one. Mark's forthright, (brutally) honest, and above all intensely personal ruminations over these last few months have been revelatory for me and, I'm sure, many of his other readers. Where you see whining, I see venting. Venting is not a sin.
Mark may have brought this whole situation upon himself; you and I have no idea. I'm not here to judge Mark, just to listen to him. In some weird way, I care about him, because I've been reading his site for more than five years. I have some of his albums (in a box somewhere in the attic). I like to know what he's thinking about, as long as he doesn't sing.
J/K Mark.
In closing, if you'd like your music quantified to two decimal positions with a (non-arbitrary) numerical grading system, go suck Pitchfork's dick.
If, however, you'd like to hear what a crazy-smart writer/musician thinks about an album, stick around here and stop hating on my internet-friend.
You aren't worthy of sharing my first name.
Seriously, Mark. You’re famous and interesting. There are a lot of women out there…it just takes time.
adamdowner - you’ve stumbled onto the wrong site. Here’s the link you were looking for:
http://www.iamgay.com
This album sucks.
I'm so fucking lonely.
The first song is an instrumental, and good.
Life is so painful, I've been sleeping til 5:30 PM or later every day.
The last five songs are terrible. It's just more leftover shit and alternate versions, with the background musicians erased and replaced. Terrible blues-rock, funk-rock, slow blues, jams, just terrible music for bad people.
I'm so shy and alone. Fuck you, wife who left me, whatever your name - Steve or whoever I don't know.
Why can't pretty girls/women walk up to me and go "Hay, let's date" and then we can date? I mean yes hookers do that but then the whole payment thing and I don't know.
Midnight Lightning? More like "My Life Is Literally A Toilet Bowl" if you ask me.
At least one good thing has come of this debacle: I drink every fucking night!
READER COMMENTS
Important Employer
Hey Mark, I read that bit about drinking every night so I want to immediately hire you at a salary of "All The Money In Our Vault." You can start on Monday, by sleeping til 5:30 PM and then getting drunk.
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Still, UE has got some of the most interesting music coming out of the Sixties, and though I don't listen to Jimi much I still must say that the man had an INCREDIBLE force in him. And I don't mean his technical skills. All that tooth-playing, guitar-burning, amplifier-fucking, finger-flashing thing - it was good enough to attract the public, but the man had FEELING as well, and it shows on his records! Yeah, you can name me at least a dozen modern guitarists who could overplay Jimi with their technique, but NOBODY could reproduce that excitement he created - 'cos flashy fingers ain't the only thing one needs to play guitar! And what was that about "Blues-Wankin' Noise" you were talkin' about? Okay, you may hate blues as much as you want (although I think 'tis rather naive to do that), but I tell you- Jimi's playing's not really bluesy at all. At least, it's not more bluesy than the Stones' playing.
What the fuck?
This is a really great collection of his music. They even added his version of our national anthem. Good idea there.
All these songs are rightfully burned into our memory at birth. Jimi was so wronged in his actual life and his career, opening for the fucking Monkees and getting booed at by STUPID FUCKING FEMALES. So now all his songs are played every hour, on the hour, for about 30 years and running.
For any musical act, I would not wish a fate like that on. So it's worse that it happened to Jimi. Imagine what those stupid little Monkees fans are like now. They are why we live in such a pathetic world right now. Because all those brats have now spawned, and have severed their marriges. I know some moms out there have 9 kids, all by different men. And you can bet that those chicks are all Monkees fans. FUCK THE MONKEES. Jimi is God.
Obviously, I don't have to tell you that most people disagree with me on this issue. But that's cool. I'm not gonna pretend to enjoy Jimi's solos - I enjoy a lot of his melodies and I like his voice and I appreciate what he did for the revolution of the electric guitar, and I feel that that's enough. Thus, I have little use for this blues CD. It's all electric blues (except one acoustic song). A few of the songs are great ("Red House" never stopped ruling, and "Once I Had A Woman" is effectively as depressing as a broken pinky toe), but most of them are just okay. Lots and lots and lots of guitar solos. Buy it if you enjoy Jimi's solos. Stay at home and listen to Are You Experienced? if you like a little riffage with your masturbation.
P.S.: all said refers to playing, not to songwriting. I stand dead on this one: Jimi was a bad songwriter and I know he knew it as well.
As much as I want to kick Mister MarkyPrindle in the ass for this review, I have to agree. Make no mistake, Master Hendrix is one of my all-time favourites, despite the fact that he goes on a trundle far, far from where his rythm section is at on many occasions. But, yes, ole Prindle here has a point. Jimi's just fuckin' all over the place on this one, and even if looong blues solo's are yer bag this is sure to tire you a lot faster than say, the Carpenters or any one of those kick-ass groupings. This is weird shit, though, it's really, really good, in a self-indulgent sort of way, but then, a guitar is a selfish instrument and I guess I'm just shitting about right now, so I'll stop, but then on the other hand I'll just keep going. Well that's it. Just what Jimi did. He fucked about thought about stopping and just went on again. Like a train, or a really big turd, or like...you kinow what I mean. This record is good, but it's shite. Good shite. Shite good. Dunno, just doesn't kick me in the ass like generic electric blues should.
Now a little rant about your outlook on Hendrix, specifically his song writing ability. Ok maybe Dylan wasn't shaking in his boots but most of his lyrics are very concise. I ask anyone to name me someone who was considered top at their instrument, write 95% of their songs, sing them with such verve and have a big hand in the production. Pretty damn short list. And don't try any of that Steve Vai- Joe Satriani stuff. I said SING. If I want instrumentals Ill listen to Beethoven. This is what makes me like Jimi so much. You could take him playing a song and have someone else sing it and it just wouldn't be the same i.e. the icky Band Of Gypsys. I have never heard someone have so much fun being able to do their thing and play their music. Think about that for a while.
Hendrix bad songwriter - What the fuck are you people talking about? The reason people still listen to the guy is because his songs hold up 30 years later. Purple Haze, Third Stone from the Sun, Manic Depression, The Wind Cries Mary, Red House, Little Wing, If 6 was 9, Castles Made Of Sand, Look Over Yonder, Midnight, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Machine Gun... Yeah buddy all those songs suck. Really bad songwriting. Lenny Kravitz is a bad songwriter.
On the first CD it opens with a 13 minute version of " Stone Free " and it kicks ass!!. Then it`s " Power Of Soul " which is another good song, and it was supposed to appear on his new album : First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, but unfortunetly, Jimi croaked. Then it`s a 9 minute version of " Hear My Train A Comin " which is also a cool blues rocker. Next is " Izabella " which was also to appear on First Rays, and the song kicks ass because it`s so catchy. The next song is " Machine Gun " which is probably Jimi`s greatest performance ever, the solo is so amazing. Then it`s " Voodoo Child " which kicks the studio version`s Ass!!. And finally the first CD ends with the Buddy Miles song called " We Gotta Live Together " , it`s alright but it just doesn`t blow me away.
The next CD has nine other tracks with another version of " Machine Gun " and a couple of Buddy Miles songs which are pretty good.
This album is a MUST for every Hendrix fan. Though it doesn`t have " Message To Love " which is featured on Band Of Gypsies, i`ll try to find a copy of that cheap because 5 out of the 6 songs are already on Fillmore. So a 9/10 for this terrific live album. And Buddy Miles is a kick ass drummer!.
One week before he choked to death on a tomato sandwich, Jimi Hendrix pulled together five of his best friends, including Miles Davis (credited as "Buddy Miles" since he and Hendrix were good pals) and others to perform two shows in the middle of a bridge in Rainbow City, Alabama. During these messy, sloppy shows performed with absolutely no skill at all, especially by the drummer who couldn't play ANY of the classic JH Experience tracks correctly (he's too loose and bloopy!), Jimi and his Band of Actual Gypsies skirt their way through 16 songs, including covers of Nick Cave's "Lover Man" and the Cows' "Red House" as well as all three tracks on his classic Are You Sexperienced? pornographic film, including "Voodoo Children."
There's some new material on here too that might interest you, and this part doesn't have any factual errors, so read it for real. Read this shit for real.
-- "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" sounds like a sadder, quieter reworking of the "All Along The Watchtower" chord sequence (with the final chord changed to a sadder one). It's worth hearing, especially if you need to test out your new ear.
-- "In From The Storm" features a good hard funk riff, but it sounds like the band doesn't actually know how it's supposed to go -- kinda directionless and half-written. Either that or Jimi was going through a "Flipper" period.
-- Continuing our tour of rare material, we now have "Dolly Dagger," a funky "bliddy bliddy bliddy" pop-rock song that you'd have to have immeasurably poor taste to find anything of worth in. Actually, this might have been on one of his other post-mortem albums. I don't know. I haven't listened to Jimi Hendrix in a while. I am over the age of 13, after all.
- "Land Of The New Rising Sun" is an instrumental with some interesting chord changes. Oddd! Some arpeggiation, lots of phase or something. Tremelo? I dunno. Certainly not a fully fleshed out song though.
--------- -- - ---- - "Instrumental" - Shut up!
In conclusatory finishment, Jimi Hendrix, one of the first black men to play the guitar, was one of the hottest stars of Seattle's grunge scene. When he died in a bathtub in Paris, many people thought that he would never be heard from again. Luckily, this messy, sloppy live double-CD that sounds like it was recorded in an airplane hanger filled with cement, is here to remind us of the anemic songwriting that would likely have plagued the rest of Jimi's recording career had he lived. As such, we can look to the Heavens and say, "Thank you, CIA, for forcing so much wine down Jimi Hendrix's throat that he died of alcohol poisoning before he could devolve into the African-American Eric Clapton."
God, can you imagine how much Eric Clapton would rule if he'd died in 1970? Fuck, I'D probably even like the guy! Unfortunately, only the good die young.
but I LOVE eric clapton, this i must say. i also must say that he ain't done diddly since 1975. yup, that's where i draw the line. back when the hottest selling bumber sticker in the ol USofA was "Stay Alive in 75 Keep it Under 55" remember that one? Everything Crap Tone did up to the No Reason To Cry album was ace! yardbirds, cream, derekandthedelaneys, his first solo elpee, where he's sitting peeling an orange on the cover. the one with all the friendly musician types who helped out on it (eric gave away lots of dope when he got rich, hence made a lot of friends) are pictured on the back cover (except stephen stills who was too high he was right out of the photo) 461 rehap boulevard is real nice and There's One In Every Crowd is my fave! no hits! just mellow funky soulfull playin' and singin' and songin'. casual and brill. great record. then that same year - 1975! he put out a live album. the last great thing released under the Clapton banner ever again. nice cover too, had a large close-up of a sweet lady's naked back, and when ya flipped it over a super close-up of her cleavie! the album was called E.C. Was Here - get it? hahayukyukyuk. it's passionate, got some fiery geetar with some credit to george terry who plays so much like eric it's hard to know whoswho. and eric sings like he still means it with help from either marcy levy or yvonne elliman. nice harmonies. after that you can forget about clapton. even the cream reunion this past summer, the fugger never even pulled out the ol' axes he used in cream, instead played that damn same strat! never even pulled out the wah-what neither. Cream with all strats, no marshalls and no wah-wahs??? 37 years we waited for that? it's hopeless, clapton is hooped. and i can finally stand by what i said at the beginning: After 1975 there ain't no use for the Crapper. CLAP OFF!
One more thing: When you offer Jimi Hendrix reviews, it’s helpful to distinguish between the live performances – loose, full of improvisation and (owing to either primitive equipment or physical intoxication) sloppy – and the polished studio recordings. They are worlds apart and branding them as mere “blues-based” playing is just a lazy way of saying you don’t understand the difference.
I dig your site a lot. You offer no-bullshit appraisals of some of the most vital and overlooked music. But your take on Hendrix is equivocal, at best.
Bob Dylan once said “No man can apply as much cock as he can” A Statement later made fun of by Kiss. A Singer that could not sing, Hendrix relied on his cocky guitar. His Solos were fake and cocky, and all he did was burn his guitars to make people come to his concerts, a place were no Dylan fan would ever go.
MARK LINDSAY (of "Paul Revere & The Raiders")
THE TURTLES (featuring "Flo & Eddie")
MICKEY DOLENZ (of "The Monkees")
THE BEACH BOYS (featuring "Mike Love" and "Bruce Johnston")
Best of all, it was FREE! So here's my report.
Gemini (Jim & I) arrived at Coney Island, saw the wondrous and magical Cyclone Roller Coaster and made our way to the world-famous Boardwalk, next to the water you can't go into because it will burn your flesh off. We followed the folks with the foldable chairs because really, where else would they be going but to see Mike Love's Beach Boys? When we arrived at the outdoor park grounds, we were chagrined to find the entire area packed with wide-in-the-dull (brilliant play on "dyed-in-the-wool") locals. Politicians with hideous Brooklyn accents were onstage chit-chatting about each other, I glanced at my surroundings and politely whispered to Jim, "IQs are low," and a man behind me said to his family, "Sit down - relax! Ya only need ta hear it anyways!" (followed a few minutes later by "Who WOULDN'T show up? It's free and it's da Beach Boys!")
So I hate people. Let's move on to the music.
Mark Lindsay, age 68, took the stage to screams of Brooklyn Joy. His 20-minute set rocked the ass off society with such monster hits as "Arizona," "Indian Reservation," "Just Like Me," "Kicks," "Hungry" and "Good Thing" -- not to mention his uproarious comment, "Who misses the 60s? You know, one day the 60s ended, and time went on, and the years went by, and then all of a sudden I was in the '60s again -- MY '60s!" Heh heh. Good old Mark Lindsay. It's no wonder that when you mix up the letters in his name, you get "Say... Mark Prindle!"
Next up were The Turtles, featuring Mark "Flo" Volman and Howard "Eddie" Kaylan, both age 63. Flo's voice sounded wrecked through the abuse of time, but Eddie was singing the hits like yesterdaysville. We all had a gasser to such monumental time capsules as "You Baby," "It Ain't Me Babe," "She Only Wants To Be With Me," "Elenore," "Happy Together," a cover of "The Pied Piper" and a verse of Frank Zappa's "Peaches En Regalia." As AC/DC once sang, "Everybody comes and comes again!" They were talking about balls, but it's the same emotion.
Third to the stage was Mickey Dolenz, age 65, donning his trademark baldness-covering fedora. His set featured lots of appreciative comments about all the terrific songwriters who wrote for him back in the day, as well as such Oldies But Goodies as "Daydream Believer," "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You," "Last Train To Clarksville," "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "I'm A Believer" (prefaced by his comment to the children in the audience that "I sang this before Shrek!"). Best of all, when he started "Stepping Stone," I remarked to Jim Laakso, "Hey, Mark Lindsay should join him, because Paul Revere and the Raiders did this song too!" Not SECONDS LATER, who showed up on the stage but MR. MARK LINDSAY! A hilarious "faux"-argument ensued, highlighted by this heated exchange:
Mark Lindsay, Rock God: "I sang it first!"
Mickey Dolenz, Scientific Genius: "Yeah, but I had the hit!"
Finally they agreed to disagree and all of Coney Island squirted jism all over itself as the two greatest male voices in cinematic history collaborated on a duet of "Stepping Stone." Neither Johnny Rotten nor Ian MacKaye joined in though, because their trains collided into each other en route, killing them both instantly.
Oh hell, did I say "squirted jism all over itself"? That was a typo. I meant "clapped."
Finally, The Red Sea parted and the stage was regaled by the arrival of The Beach Boys, featuring Bruce Johnston (age 68) and Mike Love (age 69 -- IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!!!). The musicians sang the vocal harmonies fine (making it clear yet again that Mike "Dick-Up-His-Nose-Voice" Love should never have been allowed to join the band in the first place) on such crusty crustaceans as "Surfer Girl," "Surfin'," "Surfin' Safari," "Do It Again," "Hawaii," "Getcha Back" "Don't Worry, Baby," "Little Honda," "409" and "Little Deuce Coupe." But by far the most exciting part of the night was realizing that the sexy young guitarist hot dogging it all over the stage was none other than MR. JOHN FUCKING STAMOS (AGE 46). Jim Laakso recognized him long before the rest of the audience, who finally cottoned on about five songs in and went absolutely apeships every time he showed up on the big screen after that. And really, isn't that what the Beach Boys are all about? Getting excited because John Stamos is there?
My final conclusion is as follows: how could another posthumous Jimi Hendrix album hope to compete?
Valleys Of Neptune features material mostly recorded in early 1969. The mixes are very crisp, but again - sorry to say, but have to do so - it's mostly just a bunch of boring blooze and solo-heavy blooze-rock. Three instrumentals (including a funky wankoff of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love"), three alternate versions of Jimi classics, and six whatever pbblls. The much-vaunted title track sounds like an Axis: Bold As Love outtake -- bluesy relaxed pop-rock with interesting chord changes, but certainly nothing mindblowing. Much better are an excellent, epic take on "Hear My Train A-Comin'" and an enjoyable "So What"-influenced blues rocker called "Ships Passing Through The Night."
The rest can give itself, take itself, whatever. "Crying Blue Rain" is laidback mostly-instrumental blues, "Lullaby For The Summer" is a boogie-woogie multiple-guitar solo, "Lover Man" is generic 12-bar blues, "Mr. Bad Luck" is a hookless Chuck Berryish rocker - Do you need these songs? I'm falling asleep just TYPING about them. No. No, I'm sorry. If Mike Love doesn't play on this album, I don't need it.
Don't want it!
Can't stand it!
Fucked its wife, but otherwise won't have it!
Other Jimi Hendrix Web Sites
'Scuse me while I ask you to buy! (some Jimi Hendrix CDs by clicking here)
If you don't care for me, I don't care about that. Go to Hendrix Links.
There must be some kinda way out of here. But wait a second! Who Is Jimi Hendrix?.