Joe Viglione takes Another Look at the Haleakala Center Recordings

 The dreamworld that was the collection of films and bootlegs of Jimi Hendrix at Rainbow Bridge, including a Reprise records album (Original Motion Picture Sound Track From Rainbow Bridge) back in the 1970s, are for the many Hendrix collectors as exciting and difficult as figuring out the philosophical maze presented by the film The Matrix.

Jeff Slate’s excellent writing in his liner notes helps put the spider web of information into a proper context.  I cannot stress enough the accurate business model Experience Hendrix has built in keeping all-things Jimi compact and easy to identify.  The booklet that accompanies this new Legacy/Sony release has pictures galore – the above referenced narrative as well as John McDermott’s technical notes.   It’s something that is very helpful for those who have joined Hendrix groups on the internet, read the ever-evolving Wikipedia, or taken dives into the more maddening perpetually changing histories on YouTube, eBay and elsewhere.

“Dolly Dagger” goes into “Villanova Junction” on the late show and hearing the splendid performances again always enlightens and inspires writing, stirs up thoughts or – perhaps – gives one an urge to pick up the guitar and start making your own noise.  Entitled “Instrumental” on the now out-of-print British release – Jimi Hendrix The Rainbow Bridge Concert – this appealing music from the Hawaii taping has always been one of my favorite Hendrix live shows.  From the bootleg I purchased when I was 17 or 18 years of age to the Rainbow Bridge VHS and other anomalies, the sounds created by this combo of Band of Gypsys (Billy Cox) and Jimi Hendrix Experience (Mitch Mitchell) backing Jimi’s amazing tonal quality and instrumental story telling is pure symphonic rock. Symphonic with only three people.  The Jimi Hendrix Experience of 1970.

      July 30^th 1970 is the actual date and a very intriguing “Jam Back at the House” is nearly nine minutes of this elaborate rock bordering on jazz/blues fusion.  While “In From the Storm” from the earlier show bites harder.  “Purple Haze” as mesmerizing fuzz tone ascending while “Message to Love” showed an evolution from the Band of Gypsy’s album recorded one half a year earlier. The two shows from Maui have their own personalities and discs one and two deliver the goods. To quote Slate’s liners the music you encounter is “…unlike any of their many concerts circulating both officially and unofficially.” 

With decades of listening to these sounds on those official and unofficial releases, there’s no argument here.  

Rainbow Bridge or Live in Maui or Hendrix/Mitchell/Cox, whatever you choose to call it, has “streamed” on our consciousness for decades, coming out in bits and pieces and standing out as a primary, essential look at Jimi Hendrix, not just in concert, but creating his art in a splendid and most compelling way.

Just as I have essayed on Goat’s Head Soup with various perspectives, the Maui tapes of this version of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, coupled with the Stones’ Goat’s Head Soup release are two of the key gems of the year 2020.  And what kind of statement does that make about seven billion or so people currently on this planet unable to capture anything close to what the 60’s and 70’s gave us?

Package is elaborate with a Blu Ray and a cover that extends out five ways from Sunday. Very nice.

MY SON JIMI – AL HENDRIX WITH JAS OBRECHT

BOOK REVIEW BY JOE VIGLIONE

Written Jun 28 1999, 12:00 am

James A. Hendrix tells his story to Jas Obrecht, former editor of Guitar Player magazine and primary author of Blues Guitar: The Men Who Made The Music. And many of us forget that underneath the psychedelia, the fuzz guitar, the stage presence and theatrics,

James Marshall Hendrix was, indeed, a blues guitarist. Check out the great stories…P 144 “Jimi didn’t give his first album to me directly, I got one from some hippies who lived next door…I was surprised that I knew it was Jimi because I’d never heard him sing before. I had also never heard him play
as the Experience. But I told the wife, “Hey, that sounds like Jimi!”
..The people came over and brought their record. They had just bought
it that day, and they were so excited over living next door to Jimi’s dad. They said, “Oh, yeah! You can have the record.”

Great shots of The Experience at the airport during the visit to Vancouver, Jimi’s last visit home…reading this it is hard to believe the rock warrior was only 27 years old…a baby – really, and made such an impact on what we hear and how people make music today.

This book is essential reading. It sells for 29.95

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-]

Unlike the soundtrack to the movie Janis Joplin, which — most unfortunately — contained studio versions of songs performed in the film but not the actual live takes from the motion picture; this 1973 double-LP from Reprise/Warner Brothers has the actual music from the celluloid. The liner notes to Sound Track Recordings From the Film Jimi Hendrix note that the film contains “all the performances included in this album,” so there are none of the substitutions that Joplin fans would encounter two years hence. There’s a plethora of interviews in the actual film, Eddie Kramer, Lou Reed, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, and many others, while this soundtrack album — interestingly enough — contains “some of the same individuals interviewed in the film but (not) necessarily taken directly from the film.” Making it a definite collectors item. As for the music, four tracks are from the Monterey Festival in June of 1967, “Johnny B. Goode” and “Purple Haze” come from Berkeley California, May 30, 1970, “Machine Gun II” is from the Band of Gypsies recorded December 31, 1969, with material also from Woodstock and the Isle of Wight festivals. There’s also a “Hear My Train A-Comin'” taped in London, 1967 by Jimi using a 12-string guitar. Twenty-four photographs inside the LP gatefold, and a Nigel Waymouth illustration of the musician sitting on a stool gracing the front cover give the document added value for collectors. When released in 1973 it was difficult to find some of this material, though most — if not all of it — has surfaced via the fine work of the Experience Hendrix corporation. The interviews do make it extra special, and right now, it is the only LP to legitimately have the voices of both Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix — though Little Richard is here in interview form. Not to be confused with the British film soundtracks Experience and More Experience, released in 1971 and 1972 respectively.

EXPERIENCE SOUNDTRACK AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-]

This single disc in a beautiful gatefold cover, Experience (subtitled “Original Soundtrack from the Feature Length Motion Picture ‘Experience'”) is material culled from the Jimi Hendrix appearances at Royal Albert Hall in London during February 1969. As with the sequel to this outing, 1972’s More Experience, the liner notes — quoting both Hendrix and his contemporary, Eric Clapton — claim the material is from the February 18, 1969, concert, though it is more likely that this is the second show that happened on February 24 of that year. It is mere fragments of the program and should have been combined with the follow-up or other selections from the performance. Steven Roby’s excellent book Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix refers to this album as having “horrid sound quality on highly edited official recordings from this show.” If one doesn’t have the bootleg to compare, the album is quite listenable, though much too brief. “We’d like to blast your eardrums one more time,” Jimi says during a lengthy tune-up prior to a title the producers call “Smashing of the Amps” — which is actually the intro to “Purple Haze” mutating into a very brief “Star Spangled Banner.” The cut takes up one half of one side of this recording but delivers very little. “Sunshine of Your Love” is fun and “Room Full of Mirrors” is also a delight, at least performance-wise, Hendrix acknowledging the presence of Chris Wood and Dave Mason of Traffic on the track — though they aren’t credited anywhere on the album jacket. With the Experience Hendrix company releasing so much other high-quality material, this one is definitely for the completists/fanatics.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/experience-original-soundtrack-mw0000987602

Experience [Original Soundtrack] – Jimi Hendrix … – AllMusicwww.allmusic.com › album › experience-original-soun…

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-] February 24, 1969 https://www.allmusic.com/album/more-experience-mw0000844920 WIKI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Experience

1972’s More Titles From the Original Soundtrack of the Feature Length Motion Picture “Experience” is the full name of this “Volume Two” to 1971’s single-disc, entitled — of course — Original Sound Track From the Feature Length Motion Picture “Experience.” The pair of albums — released on Ember Records in Great Britain — are better known as Experience and More Experience, Vol. 2. Steven Roby’s excellent book Black Gold — The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix has the date of the show as February 24, 1969, though the liner notes claim this set of recordings from the Royal Albert Hall, London, were made on February 18, 1969 “during the filming of his only feature motion picture(sic), entitled Experience.” This single-sequel disc includes alternate, shortened versions from the soundtrack of “Room Full of Mirrors” and “Bleeding Heart” — both titles showing up on the previous disc in longer form. They also give a truncated “Wild Thing” just as the guitar is going way out of tune. The material has been bootlegged for years — a marvelous Live at the Royal Albert Hall with Hendrix‘s image — but no mention of the artist on the black and white cover — appearing in stores during that era alongside the Ember releases — and noting that Traffic members Dave Mason (on second guitar) and Chris Wood (flute and percussion) appear on “Room Full of Mirrors” ( Steven Roby’s book mentioning Jim Capaldi, as well ). The band is Mitch Mitchell on drums, Noel Redding on bass, and the original Jimi Hendrix Experience and they can be heard far better on the bootleg — that even more underground versions display far more clarity than the Ember Records, Ltd. releases. There are different cover photos on the front of the respective volumes while the same photo is used on the back of Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 — all pictures in a pseudo-film frame painted along the right and left of the album cover. When comparing the tracks to those listed in Roby’s book, the set list matches the performances from February 24, 1969, not February 18, as described on the back of this release and in the gatefold of Vol. 1. “Little Wing” is listed on the back cover and on the label as “Little Ivey” — which only goes to show how out of touch the “producers” of these recordings were. It’s the same take of “Room Full of Mirrors” as on the bootleg, only it fades before Wood’s flute can be heard. It is the exact same take as on the first volume as well, identified by the feedback that can be heard as Hendrix is singing the first verse. Yes, this material is for the collector, but even with the questionable date of recording, mistitled classic “Little Wing,” and recording that is inferior to the authentic bootleg (no oxymoron intended), it is great to have in your personal Hendrix archives.

From Answers.com

The opening riff to “Foxey Lady” provides the foundation for the instrumental “Trash Man,” and no amount of bastardization can take away from the genius guitarist his legacy. If you take this work at face value, without the baggage of what “producer” Alan Douglas did to the tapes, this time with Tony Bongiovi along for the ride, it’s still Hendrix. Maybe God allowed the series of albums to happen so the world could see Hendrix’s work could survive doctoring and musicians jamming with his art after the fact. That this disc goes for big bucks on Internet auction sites says something about the timelessness of the music.

The title track, as with seven of the eight performances here, has session player Alan Schwartzberg on drums, a far cry from his work with Carole Bayer Sager. Mitch Mitchell only appears on Hendrix’s blues classic “Hear My Train,” Schwartzberg adding shakers. Bob Babbit is the “designated bassist” on the entire project (no doubt what Billy Cox and Noel Redding thought about this), and Jeff Mironov shares guitar duties with Lance Quinn. That’s not a misprint. Thankfully, the extra guitarists are somewhat invisible — you know, what’s the point of having co-vocalists add their talents to a Janis Joplin disc? What these recordings effectively do is offer the world a comparison between what the official Hendrix estate is doing, and what Douglas did. The Hendrix estate wins that battle, Eddie Kramer and John McDermott carefully restoring all the master tapes of Jimi Hendrix, and restoring them properly. Discs like Midnight Lightning are also a statement on how a great artist’s legacy can go through various hands and the artistic consequences of tapes traveling as if under their own steam.

History is an excellent vantage point from which to view. The title track is great — and it goes along with the cover painting very nicely. Is it blasphemy to say that this is a highly enjoyable disc? All the post-Cry of Love releases — War Heroes, Crash Landing, Voodoo Soup, Blues, Hendrix in the West, Rainbow Bridge, the soundtrack to the Jimi Hendrix film, and this — provide another crucial look at Hendrix. The more the merrier. It is great to have the official Hendrix estate with Janie Hendrix, John McDermott, and Eddie Kramer doing this properly, but this version of “Gypsy Boy (New Rising Sun),” the inclusion of Mitch Mitchell’s “Beginnings,” another “Machine Gun,” and “Blue Suede Shoes” exist, thus they are important additions to the Hendrix archives. It will be interesting to see if the official Hendrix estate eventually re-releases the Alan Douglas masters just to keep these once-legit works from cluttering the market with counterfeits. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide https://classicrockreview.wordpress.com/category/jimi-hendrix-midnight-lightning/

Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle Of Wight

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:26184~C

Blue Wild Angel
http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:276129~C

BLUE WILD ANGEL: Jimi Hendrix Live At The Isle Of Wight Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at The Isle Of Wight is a 102 minute documentary by Academy Award winner Murray Lerner which features a crystal clear updated sound mix by engineer/record producer Eddie Kramer and other goodies separating this version from the 56 minute 1970 release. Videotaped documentary footage recorded three decades after the original film was shot adds insight. There are interviews with Kramer, bassist {$Billy Cox}, drummer Mitch Mitchell, Jim Marron – president of Electric Lady Studios, Hendrix tour manager Gerry Stickles, along with director Lerner himself and full length versions of the included songs from the legendary festival. As audio fragments of this concert became commercially available through the years including three tracks on Columbia Records The First Great Rock Festivals Of The Seventies and four other titles on Polydor’s Jimi Hendrix / Isle Of Wight lp, different perceptions of one of Jimi’s final concerts reached the public consciousness. At nearly double the 54 minute length of the Rhino Home Video} from 1970 entitled Jimi Hendrix: Live At The Isle of Wight, the result is simply breathtaking with Jimi Hendrix – the rock star performing in all his glory as his sun was about to set. Lerner calls this “a labor of love which took a long time to finish” and he credits the Experience Hendrix company with helping obtain the backing to complete the project. Filmed between approximately 2 AM and 4 AM on August 31, 1970, it is so dark that the 600,000 or so people in the audience hardly affect what you see on the screen. The director said the film is “deliberately claustrophobic” realizing that “Jimi was the key thing to photograph” stating that they stuck to Hendrix “very intensely”. Billy Cox’s brilliant bass work can be heard cleanly as both he and drummer Mitch Mitchell creat a platform on which genius unfolds. Jimi’s versatility is in evidence, he clearly separated making a record from performing on stage. Purple Haze explodes in a way that would never have captured AM radio airplay, and is a stark contrast to the blues of “Red House” which, on film, has lots of interesting shots of Jimi’s hand playing against the light while his facial expression is of a man lost in thought while in the throes of a wild solo. The guitarist here is a master technician, as is Murray Lerner who captures this modern day Beethoven with equal brilliance. The contrast of “Red House’s” subtleties to Hendrix turning up his Marshall stacks and giving the people what they want -he psychedelic blasts of “Foxy Lady” – is more proof of how the singer/performer utilized all aspects of the stage – combining the volume and feedback with his clothing, hair, body movements, foot on the wah wah pedal, over amplification, all tools of this part of his trade. The build up with photography of the landscape before the main event and daytime glimpes of the crowd (along with Billy Cox’s memories of how loud they were) combine to make this a respectful and precise look at a special moment in music history. Murray Lerner feels the 20 minute version of “Machine Gun” here “makes a big difference. It’s much more powerful” (than the previous seven minute edit they had in release). The DVD has different camera angles for some of the songs included in the theatrical version, and will also include a bonus rare live performance of “Dolly Dagger”.

References[edit]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Lightning

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b Moskowitz, David (2010). The Words and Music of Jimi Hendrix. ABC-CLIO. pp. 102, 165. ISBN 0313375925. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b Viglione, Joe. “Midnight Lightning – Jimi Hendrix”. AllMusic. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
3. ^ Jump up to:^a b Christgau, Robert (1981). “Consumer Guide ’70s: H”. Christgau’s Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
4. ^ Valleys of Neptune uses the title “Hear My Train A Comin'”.
5. ^ People Hell and Angels uses the title “Hey Gypsy Boy”.

External links[edit]

• Midnight Lightning at Discogs (list of releases)

Two Great Experiences: AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-]

https://www.allmusic.com/album/two-great-experiences-mw0000019050

https://www.discogs.com/Lonnie-Youngblood-Featuring-Jimi-Hendrix-Two-Great-Experiences/release/3180275 Lonnie Youngblood on Discogs

Tracklist

1	Mother, Mother	8:01
2	Under The Table (Take 1)	1:35
3	Under The Table (Take 2)	2:54
4	Wipe The Sweat (Take 1)	2:49
5	Wipe The Sweat (Take 2)	3:32
6	Wipe The Sweat (Take 3)	2:46
7	Go Go Shoes	2:50
8	Go Go Place	2:04
9	Soul Food	3:31
10	Goodbye Bessie Mae	2:24
11	Sweet Thing	2:33
12	Groove Maker (Take 1)	2:19
13	Groove Maker (Take 2)	2:16
14	She’s A Fox	2:39
15	Go Go Shoes (Fairmount 45)	2:36
16	Go Go Place (Fairmount 45)	1:49
17	Soul Food (Fairmount 45)	2:48
18	Goodbye Bessie Mae (Fairmount 45)	2:30

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-]

Some of the recordings on Two Great Experiences are so absurd that you need to be a detective to know if Jimi Hendrix is on the record at all. Hendrix does perform on the What I’d Say album, live recordings by Curtis Knight with the disc label titled Early Jimi Hendrix, a different name for that collection than what is on the cover. The Friends from the Beginning album with Little Richard has absolutely no Hendrix. Which brings us to this Maple Records release, another alleged Hendrix product from “producer” Johnny Brantley for Vidalia Productions. Vidalia put out suspect product on Shout Records, and also released Moods on Trip, something Springboard International, the cheapo label, appeared involved with (they had distributed at least one Trip project, an album called Rare Hendrix). All of this stuff is disgraceful — capitalizing on the death of the most innovative electric guitarist of the time. There are nine minutes and 38 seconds of jams credited to Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Youngblood, and they are tracks seven through ten. It is not extraordinary music, but if this stuff is going to proliferate (and it is, indeed) then maybe it is time for Brantley and Ed Chalpin and all the people who have rare, early Hendrix tapes to just work something out with the Hendrix estate and let professionals create a CD documentary with dates, times, players, and commentary. The music is presented here lumped under one umbrella with the illusion that Hendrix is all over the disc. The instrumental tracks allegedly with Jimi Hendrix — “Under the Table,” “Table II,” “Table III,” and “Psycho,” with the tape machine stopping and starting and no definite liner notes giving any hints — become valuable more for the unique photograph of Youngblood and Hendrix on the cover. “All I Want,” which starts side two, is simple ’60s R&B with a throbbing bassline, keyboards, drums, and a distant, twanging rhythm guitar. Isn’t it amazing that Hendrix fans never got to hear Youngblood and Knight tour the country performing these classic tunes? The only thing monumental about these releases being sold in this fashion is that they are examples of grave robbing as hideous as the destruction of portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The silver lining is that someone might be able to piece together a good look at the guitar genius by finally putting this mess in order.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/friends-from-the-beginning-mw0000040051

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-]

There are only two instances of Jimi Hendrix performing with Little Richard known to exist on tape. There’s the Vee Jay single “I Don’t What You Got, .Pts. 1 & 2” produced by Bumps Blackwell, and a live performance at Revere Beach, MA, of Little Richard in concert with Jimi Hendrix on guitar, recorded by the legendary mastering engineer and disc jockey “Little” Walter DeVenne. According to very reputable sources, this Alfa release, Friends from the Beginning, is totally bogus. There’s Aki Tomita’s illustrations of Hendrix and Penniman on the front and back cover, there are ridiculous liner notes that are almost as absurd as the ones producer Johnny Brantley etched on the back of Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Youngblood: Two Great Experiences Together (an album reportedly containing a couple of actual songs with Hendrix and tracks that feature a Hendrix sound-alike to fill out the disc), and there’s the music. The album claims to be produced by Bumps Blackwell and Little Richard, but most likely is not. The version of “Tutti Frutti” which ends side one sounds like a simple guitar lesson being played over a quick studio session with vintage ’60s ambience. Where a true “bootleg” album contains rare performances that fans treasure and a “counterfeit” is usually an identical reproduction of a legit album by unscrupulous individuals, fraudulent recordings like Friends from the Beginning serve no purpose but to confuse the public and harm the reputations of the artists whose names appear on these travesties. It is a deception. There is no Jimi Hendrix on this record. This album says it is a 1972 release, and it actually credits most of the songwriting to Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix. This is of value to fans only as a bizarre artifact from an industry where the artist and the public are both being cheated. Author John McDermott from the official Experience Hendrix company has written Hendrix: Setting the Record Straight on Warner Books to help clear situations like this up. Such a book is very necessary for an artist whose catalog is rife with items like Friends from the Beginning; it is suggested you spend your money on the book rather than this pathetic album.

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-] https://www.allmusic.com/album/whatd-i-say-mw0000846653

This release on the Music for Pleasure label is culled from the 1965 live recordings made in New Jersey by producer Ed Chalpin. MFP was manufactured by EMI, and this Curtis Knight material featuring Jimi Hendrix is different from the Flashing and Get That Feeling studio recordings released on Capitol in the U.S.A., but does include tracks that were issued on MFP’s Birth of Success and EMI/Stateside’s Early Jimi Hendrix, Vol. 2. Stateside is an interesting name for a European label, as these tapes, allegedly, are not for sale in the U.S.A. — the licensing provides for their manufacture and sale elsewhere and they only come to the United States as imports. Side one opens with 12 minutes and 38 seconds of “Driving South” and “California Nights,” two songs credited to a McNear. A voice, perhaps singer Curtis Knight, opens the disc by saying, “I’d like to let everyone know that you’re being recorded. This is being recorded live here in the fabulous George’s Club 20 in Hackensack, New Jersey.” Muffled drum and bass come through the speakers along with guitar and vocals. It may be historic, but it is not the holy grail. Unlike the treat Jimi Hendrix fans have when the official Experience Hendrix company issues material with love and affection, all these Curtis Knight recordings are carelessly pushed out to the world with no sense of history, no chronological order, no liner notes that identify just where and when each track was recorded, and no documentation of who else performs on this live show. Where is Curtis Knight’s picture? On the What I’d Say album there’s a beautiful color photo of Jimi Hendrix on front and back, but it’s not truly a Jimi Hendrix album — it is a live tape of Curtis Knight with Jimi Hendrix on guitar. The public and the Hendrix legacy would be better served with photos of Curtis Knight, some sense of history, and a better edit of these tapes. The songs fade before they are finished, the recordings are drum-heavy, with the vocals and the guitar poorly recorded, and it is utter confusion having this material strewn over so many different albums, something that adds insult to injury and is just totally disgraceful. This version of Marvin Gaye’s “I’ll Be Doggone” is not something you are going to play at parties when the original Motown track sounds so much better, while “Bright Lights Big City” has no flashes of inspiration from anyone. The cymbals are too present and so annoying that when it does fade early it enhances the listener’s experience. Are the tapes historic? Yes. Does this packaging do justice to Jimi Hendrix? Absolutely not. The verdict? Someone should take control of this stuff and put it out once and for all with proper liner notes — and a warning to artists. That warning: No matter how influential and valuable your work is, unless it is in the hands of people who care about it and appreciate it, there is no telling how it will be represented. Ed Chalpin should turn his masters and the licenses over to Experience Hendrix and allow Hendrix’s family the chance to make these recordings an important part of the Hendrix library that they deserve to be.

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-] https://www.allmusic.com/album/flashing-mw0000371827

Flashing is the follow-up to Get That Feeling: Jimi Hendrix Plays, Curtis Knight Sings released on Capitol as well and the reason why the Band of Gypsies live album eventually came out. These Ed Chalpin masters are different from the live tapes recorded at the New Jersey nightclub in 1965, material that comprises the albums Birth of Success, What I’d Say, and Early Jimi Hendrix, Vol. 2 released on EMI’s MFP imprints in Europe. The material here was recorded in July and August of 1967, with three tunes recorded in 1966 and one from 1965. As Jimi Hendrix performed “I Saw Her Standing There” with Little Richard on the unreleased live tape by Walter DeVenne, the legendary mastering engineer, Curtis Knight and Hendrix give “Day Tripper” a go — though they both sound pretty out of tune. The 1965 track “Don’t Accuse Me,” on the other hand, isn’t bad, with snarling Hendrix guitarwork and a bluesy R&B groove. Though there are no revelations, as on Band of Gypsies, or underground gems like Jimi Hendrix Live at the Los Angeles Forum, 4-25-70, hearing Hendrix improvise on instrumentals like Curtis Knight’s “Hornets Nest” or Ed Dante’s title track “Flashing” (with its vocal snippet, “I got that feeling,” almost a reference to the previous album) is more satisfying than hearing Moods or Rare Hendrix. “Happy Birthday” has some excellent Hendrix wah-wah and gives a taste of future “Voodoo Child” sounds. “Odd Ball” is another Ed Dante instrumental which has some future “Machine Gun” riffs from Hendrix lurking, waiting in the wings. For true fans, this is all so essential. It will be interesting to see if and how Experience Hendrix compiles this material along with the music he recorded with the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, and Lonnie Youngblood. Hendrix fans will always be seeking the holy grail, so these early albums are of value in understanding his master’s guitar voice.

Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Experience [Original Soundtrack] – Jimi Hendrix, The Jimi Hendrix Experience on AllMusic … Rating: 6/10 · ‎Review by Joe Viglione
Soundtrack Recordings from the Film Jimi Hendrix – AllMusicwww.allmusic.com › album › soundtrack-recordings-fr…

Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Soundtrack Recordings from the Film Jimi Hendrix – Jimi Hendrix on AllMusic – 1973 … Rating: 6/10 · ‎Review by Joe Viglione
Listening – Listening | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusicwww.allmusic.com › album › listening-mw0000673731

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione [+]. Michael Tschudin led the Boston-based band Listening, but it is the contributions by former Velvet Underground bassist … Rating: 6/10 · ‎Review by Joe Viglione
What’d I Say – Jimi Hendrix | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusicwww.allmusic.com › whatd-i-say-mw0000846653

Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for What’d I Say – Jimi Hendrix on AllMusic – 1972 – This release on the Music for Pleasure … Rating: 6/10 · ‎Review by Joe Viglione
Two Great Experiences – Jimi Hendrix | Songs … – AllMusicwww.allmusic.com › album › two-great-experiences-m…

Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Two Great Experiences – Jimi Hendrix on AllMusic – 1971 – Some of the recordings on Two … Rating: 2/10 · ‎Review by Joe Viglione
At His Best, Vol. 1 – Jimi Hendrix | Songs, Reviews … – AllMusicwww.allmusic.com › at-his-best-vol-1-mw0000850000

Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for At His Best, Vol. 1 – Jimi Hendrix on AllMusic – 1987 – In the quagmire that is the Jimi … Rating: 3/10 · ‎Review by Joe Viglione
Birth of Success – Jimi Hendrix | Songs, Reviews … – AllMusicwww.allmusic.com › birth-of-success-mw0000846215

Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Birth of Success – Jimi Hendrix on AllMusic – 1970 – Producer Ed Chalpin’s live tapes of … Rating: 6/10 · ‎Review by Joe Viglione
More Experience – Jimi Hendrix | Songs, Reviews … – AllMusicwww.allmusic.com › more-experience-mw0000844920

Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for More Experience – Jimi Hendrix on AllMusic – 1972 – 1972’s More Titles From the Original … Rating: 6/10 · ‎Review by Joe Viglione
Midnight Lightning – Jimi Hendrix | Songs, Reviews … – AllMusicwww.allmusic.com › midnight-lightning-mw0000691149

Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Midnight Lightning – Jimi Hendrix on AllMusic – 1975 – The opening riff to “Foxey Lady” … Rating: 6/10 · ‎Review by Joe Viglione
Midnight Lightning – Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki › Midnight_Lightning

More Experience – Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki › More_Experience

Drummer Michael Tegza was the only original bandmember left when he reinvented the band H. P. Lovecraft.under the name Lovecraftand released an album called Valley of the Moonin 1970.  Joe Viglione, writing for Allmusic says of this album:  “For this 1970 Reprise release, they are dubbed Lovecraftand have abandoned the psychedelic Jefferson Airplane sound for a progressive Crosby, Stills & Nash-meets-Uriah Heep flavor.  In 1975, drummer [Michael] Tegzare-formed the band again and separated the two words; their Love Craft album,We Love You Whoever You Are, took things into an almost Santana-goes-soul direction.” 

AllMusic, 3/5 stars. More Experience is the second live album that was issued of the performance by the Jimi Hendrix Experience … Viglione, Joe. Album review …
The Eric Burdon Band – Sun Secrets (1974): This is an …www.pinterest.com › pin… hard-rock album that was released without Burdon’s consent according to Joe Viglione (AllMusic). … Jimi Hendrix – Can hear that guitar just by looking at Jimi.

Midnight Lightning is a posthumous compilation album by American rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix. … AllMusic‘s Joe Viglione later said the enduring quality of Hendrix’s music was retained in spite of Douglas’s “doctoring and musicians jamming …

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-]

I have the Love Craft album, and the addition of soulful vocals by LaLomie Washburnatop a dreamy pop-psychedelic sheen makes this a fascinating listen, though it has little similarity to the original H. P. Lovecraft.  This record gets some grudging admiration by Joe Viglione in Allmusic:  “The record sounds better than it looks, for they look like a glorified Holiday Inn band; but the creative spark is still there, with Michael Tegza producing this withLaLomie Washburn, and the band dipping into progressive jams, expertly played, but with little chance of obtaining Top 40 success.”   https://sites.google.com/site/underappreciatedrockartists/home/the-pantheon/other-media/allmusic/allmusic-2014

Jimi Hendrix At His Best Vol. 1 https://www.allmusic.com/album/at-his-best-vol-1-mw0000850000

https://www.allmusic.com/album/at-his-best-vol-1-mw0000850000

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-]

In the quagmire that is the Jimi Hendrix catalog of albums he never meant to release (not to mention travesties like Friends From the Beginning: Little Richard & Jimi Hendrix, which has none of the work that Hendrix and Richard did together), there are these four volumes consisting of 21 tracks. All of these Pantonic or SagaPan or Allied Records Ltd. releases come with the same cover photo, the difference being the 1971 release entitled simply Jimi Hendrix, with liner notes by Nick Allen. The three 1972 volumes are called Jimi Hendrix at His Best, Vol. 1, Jimi Hendrix at His Best, Vol. 2, and Jimi Hendrix At his Best, Vol. 3, and are hardly that. It is guitar noodling with percussion and no vocals at all on side two. The commentary on these three volumes is all by Mike Ephron (who credits himself with the songwriting, naturally, though it is doubtful he wrote the lyrics Hendrix is singing). The shortest track, “Baby Chicken Strut,” has interesting moments, and “She Went to Bed With My Guitar” at least has Hendrix having some fun jamming with the keyboards and singing. Someone should put this song on a 5.1 surround-sound DVD with the Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray.” But all kidding aside, there are “Sister Ray”-style interplays between the keys and the guitar, and as Alex Henderson states in his review of Jimi Hendrix at His Best, Vol. 2 on AMG, “the music on this album is intriguing…for die-hard collectors.” That is true. With the great work the Hendrix estate is doing, the fans deserve to have this material released under one roof, the Dagger records label, with John McDermott liner notes, commentary, and Eddie Kramer mastering, if only because it exists and is part of the output of the Mozart of the electric guitar. How much the liner notes by Mike Ephron can be trusted — liners stating that Jimi Hendrix wanted this music released, well, it’s anybody’s guess, but he places this circa 1964 in New York City. Material good for studying and collecting…maybe even as a soundtrack for an underground film, but in no way can it replace “Purple Haze,” and in no shape or form is it Hendrix at his best.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/early-jimi-hendrix-vol-2-mw0001028988

Another half-an-hour from the infamous PPX Production tapes owned by Ed Chalpin and recorded live at George’s Club in New Jersey, 1965. This second of two volumes is on the EMI/Stateside imprint with the German language used for the legal stuff on the label, and features artwork by Jacques Heere. These probably the most collectible aspects of this enterprise. “I’ll Be Doggone” and “California Night” appear on the MFP/Stateside 1970 release What’d I Say, while “Get Out of My Life Woman,” “Last Night,” “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch,” “U.F.O.,” and “Land of a Thousand Dances” appear on 1970’s Birth of Success album, also on MFP or “music for pleasure.” At least the What’d I Say and Early Jimi Hendrix, Vol. 2 mention singer Curtis Knight on the back cover; Birth of Success fails to reference the singer and bandleader at all, though they do credit him for writing “U.F.O.” on Birth of Success, at least giving you a hint. This material is best served as a historic document — the recording quality does not make it “music for pleasure.” To reiterate, this is the Curtis Knight group recorded live at George’s Club in New Jersey, 1965, with Jimi Hendrix on guitar doing cover songs. Hendrix deserved a lot better than this, but for those who acknowledge his brilliance, it is worth a listen.

Jimi Hendrix Reviews

Reviews can be found on http://www.jojolaine.com

linked to here:

JIMI HENDRIX
http://community-2.webtv.net/pubmac/JimiHendrix/index.html
Jimi Hendrix Experience Reviews
Joe Vig’s Jimi Hendrix Reviews
http://www.joeviglione.com
p.o. box 2392
woburn, ma 01888
http://www.varulven.com/ presentAnother great guitarist!
MICK TAYLOR ON VISUAL RADIO #115, July 9, http://community.webtv.net/pubmac/MICKTAYLORONVISUAL

Jimi Hendrix’s friend Jo Jo Laine has her own page:
http://community.webtv.net/musicbm/JOJOLAINE
The Quarrymen Original Beatles
http://community.webtv.net/pubmac/TheQuarrymenLive
you are reading:
http://community.webtv.net/pubmac/JimiHendrix
16 JIMI HENDRIX REVIEWS The Hendrix Songbook The Rubber Band http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:f9b1z81ajyv2~T1

Flashing Jimi Hendrix with Curtis Knight
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ey8m965o3ep6~T1

Early Jimi Hendrix Vol. 2 with Curtis Knight
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:6l0qoauaqijb~T1

Birth Of Success Jimi Hendrix with Curtis Knight
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:9tabqjkboj0a~T1

Two Great Experiences: Jimi Hendrix & Lonnie Youngblood http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ac1tk60xtkra~T1

Experience: Original Soundtrack
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:7sp1z88aoyv5~T1

More Experience: Vol.2 of Original Soundtrack
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:zad3vwrva9yk~T1

Soundtrack Recordings from the Film Jimi Hendrix
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:4zrc28ol053a~T1

Jimi Hendrix Live At The Forum (bootleg)
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aom831vj3zzua
photo on Ebay and review of Live At ForumeBay item 4028352410(Ends Aug-08-04 16:57:36 PDT) – JIMI HENDRIX LIVE @ LOS ANGELES FORUM 4-25-70 RARE 2xLP

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4028352410&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

Jimi Hendrix Midnight Lightning (Alan Douglas Prod)
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Ap1q67uw0h0jf

Jimi Hendrix What I’d Say
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Atev8b5z4tsqa

Jimi Hendrix Moods
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A9x0xlfae5cqt

Hendrix “At His Best” Vol. 1 http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:4s2gtq4ztu42~T1

Jimi Hendrix/Little Richard Together (Not posted on the Hendrix site) http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aoojweaz04xs7

Posted Here on AMG’s Little Richard Site: Friends From the Beginning: Little Richard & Jimi Hendrix [Ember]

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:yzdyyl2jxpbb~T1

Jimi Hendrix Live At Royal Albert Hall
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:evae4j276wae~T1

Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle Of Wight

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:26184~C

Blue Wild Angel
http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:276129~C

BLUE WILD ANGEL: Jimi Hendrix Live At The Isle Of Wight Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at The Isle Of Wight is a 102 minute documentary by Academy Award winner Murray Lerner which features a crystal clear updated sound mix by engineer/record producer Eddie Kramer and other goodies separating this version from the 56 minute 1970 release. Videotaped documentary footage recorded three decades after the original film was shot adds insight. There are interviews with Kramer, bassist {$Billy Cox}, drummer Mitch Mitchell, Jim Marron – president of Electric Lady Studios, Hendrix tour manager Gerry Stickles, along with director Lerner himself and full length versions of the included songs from the legendary festival. As audio fragments of this concert became commercially available through the years including three tracks on Columbia Records The First Great Rock Festivals Of The Seventies and four other titles on Polydor’s Jimi Hendrix / Isle Of Wight lp, different perceptions of one of Jimi’s final concerts reached the public consciousness. At nearly double the 54 minute length of the Rhino Home Video} from 1970 entitled Jimi Hendrix: Live At The Isle of Wight, the result is simply breathtaking with Jimi Hendrix – the rock star performing in all his glory as his sun was about to set. Lerner calls this “a labor of love which took a long time to finish” and he credits the Experience Hendrix company with helping obtain the backing to complete the project. Filmed between approximately 2 AM and 4 AM on August 31, 1970, it is so dark that the 600,000 or so people in the audience hardly affect what you see on the screen. The director said the film is “deliberately claustrophobic” realizing that “Jimi was the key thing to photograph” stating that they stuck to Hendrix “very intensely”. Billy Cox’s brilliant bass work can be heard cleanly as both he and drummer Mitch Mitchell creat a platform on which genius unfolds. Jimi’s versatility is in evidence, he clearly separated making a record from performing on stage. Purple Haze explodes in a way that would never have captured AM radio airplay, and is a stark contrast to the blues of “Red House” which, on film, has lots of interesting shots of Jimi’s hand playing against the light while his facial expression is of a man lost in thought while in the throes of a wild solo. The guitarist here is a master technician, as is Murray Lerner who captures this modern day Beethoven with equal brilliance. The contrast of “Red House’s” subtleties to Hendrix turning up his Marshall stacks and giving the people what they want -he psychedelic blasts of “Foxy Lady” – is more proof of how the singer/performer utilized all aspects of the stage – combining the volume and feedback with his clothing, hair, body movements, foot on the wah wah pedal, over amplification, all tools of this part of his trade. The build up with photography of the landscape before the main event and daytime glimpes of the crowd (along with Billy Cox’s memories of how loud they were) combine to make this a respectful and precise look at a special moment in music history. Murray Lerner feels the 20 minute version of “Machine Gun” here “makes a big difference. It’s much more powerful” (than the previous seven minute edit they had in release). The DVD has different camera angles for some of the songs included in the theatrical version, and will also include a bonus rare live performance of “Dolly Dagger”.

Joe Viglione Steven Roby’s BLACK GOLD
http://www.aimpress.com/bgreviews.htm
http://aimpress.com/blackgold.htm
The Tombstone Tourist with Hendrix
http://community.webtv.net/musicbm/bookreviewsbyjoe
pt 4 The Velvet Underground Discs on MoFiupdated august 7, 2004 10:11 pm
november 4, 2003 5:55 pm



http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.fan.jimi-hendrix/browse_thread/thread/118293d112aaa4fc/a9cdc583f92adc46?q=jas+obrecht++joe+viglione#a9cdc583f92adc46

Review of MY SON JIMI 1999

MY SON JIMI

Visual Radio Jun 28 1999, 12:00 am

Newsgroups: alt.fan.jimi-hendrix
From: v…@webtv.net (Visual Radio) – Find messages by this author
Date: 1999/06/28
Subject: MY SON JIMI


Title: My Son Jimi
Authors: James Allen Hendrix, Jas
Obrecht
Publisher: Aljas, Seattle

Release: June, 1999
185 Pages
85 photos
36 reproductions of Jimi’s artwork


Review (C)1999 Joe Viglione’s
First Impressions


A purple cover with gold embossed
letters, and one of my favorite rock stars
of all time comes to life again via the
written word.


Jimi’s dad writes in a message from
Experience Hendrix General Headquarters
“…I also wanted to get the story of his
life straightened out before something
happened to me…I just got so tired of
seeing so much garbage and made up
stuff, I had to set the record straight.”


Jimi’s grandparents – the beauteous
Nora Hendrix in her show biz years,
Jimi’s grand-dad in the age of horse
and carriages…on a whole other level
this book is a snapshot of an American
family – the photographs are incredible
life in Vancouver B.C., a front page of
the 1941 Seattle Star newspaper, the
Western Union telegram to Pvt. James
A Hendrickson (PFC James Allen
Hendrix), baby photos, rare and wonderful
photos of Jimi…the book is a treasure
chest and more evidence (as if it were
necessary) that the Hendrix Family
deserves to guard over Jimi’s legacy.


Jas Obrecht, co-author, was for twenty
years an editor at Guitar Player magazine, and he is the primary author
of “Blues Guitar: The Men Who Made The Music.


This Music/Biography sells for $29.95
and is worth double that.


joe viglione
producer/host
VISUAL RADIO
http://www.visualradio.cjb.net
Visual Radio Productions
P.O. Box 2392
Woburn, MA 01888


My Son Jimi
Only 1 message in topic – view as tree
Visual Radio Jun 28 1999, 12:00 am show options

Newsgroups: alt.music.jimi.hendrix
From: v…@webtv.net (Visual Radio) – Find messages by this author
Date: 1999/06/28
Subject: My Son Jimi
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.music.jimi.hendrix/browse_thread/thread/8650bafab0cd92d7/26418ce822f09569?q=jas+obrecht++joe+viglione#26418ce822f09569

Second Impressions tm
(C)1999 Joe Viglione


James A. Hendrix tells his story to
Jas Obrecht, former editor of Guitar Player magazine and primary author
of Blues Guitar: The Men Who Made The Music. And many of us forget that
underneath the psychedelia, the fuzz guitar, the stage presence and
theatrics,
James Marshall Hendrix was, indeed,
a blues guitarist.


Check out the great stories…P 144 “Jimi
didn’t give his first album to me directly,
I got one from some hippies who lived next door…I was surprised that I
knew it was Jimi because I’d never heard him sing before. I had also
never heard him play
as the Experience. But I told the wife, “Hey, that sounds like Jimi!”
..The people came over and brought their record. They had just bought
it that day, and they were
so excited over living next door to Jimi’s dad. They said, “Oh, yeah!
You can have the record.”


Great shots of The Experience at the airport during the visit to
Vancouver, Jimi’s last visit home…reading this it is
hard to believe the rock warrior was only
27 years old…a baby – really, and made
such an impact on what we hear and how
people make music today.


This book is essential reading. It sells for
29.95


Experience Hendrix
83 South King St.,
Suite 606
Seattle, WA 98104

AllMusic Review by Joe Viglione  [-]

https://www.allmusic.com/album/birth-of-success-mw0000846215

Producer Ed Chalpin‘s live tapes of Curtis Knight resurface again, without Knight‘s name anywhere on the album cover. The Birth of Success by Jimi Hendrix has an airbrushed drawing of the guitarist on the front and back with stars and butterflies under a rainbow of colors. No doubt this was intended to be a “showcase” of Hendrix‘s work with Curtis Knight & the Squires, and, if so, why not some liner notes and detail explaining just that? Six of the eight tracks appear on Early Jimi Hendrix, Vol. 2, the exceptions being a cover of Marvin Gaye‘s Top Ten hit that was charting two months before these recordings took place, “Aint That Peculiar,” and Jimi Hendrix doing a lead vocal on Bo Diddley‘s “I’m a Man,” which is a smart way to start things off. It’s too bad there are annoying sound shifts on “I’m a Man,” but that seems to come with the territory here. Only “UFO” was penned by bandleader Curtis Knight, and it is the only time Knight gets a credit — it’s on the label as a songwriter. Decades later, these myriad compilations indeed became collectors items, though the lack of liner notes makes the motive behind release after release even more questionable. In what is a strange and ironic twist to the PPX tapes produced by Ed Chalpin, it’s the Hendrix fans who truly know what this is (and who aren’t going to listen to it much) who keep buying this recycled material. The less savvy record buyer of 1970 might’ve been intrigued enough by the clever, cheesy marketing to hear Jimi Hendrix performing on hit songs with marquee value, the mentality Mitch Miller employed at Columbia to sell records by name artists — have them record popular covers to fill out their albums. The difference here, of course, is that Hendrix had no intention of being marketed in this fashion, that the sound quality is so poor, and the original headliner, Curtis Knight, didn’t even get his name on the cover of this album. Now that’s disrespect all the way around.

joe viglione
producer/host
VISUAL RADIO


http://www.visualradio.cjb.net



Visual Radio Productions
P.O. Box 2392
Woburn, MA 01888




Here’s an interesting Hendrix site:
http://www.portaldorock.com.br/english/museuhendrixenglish.htm

Here’s the usenet newsgroups:
alt.fan.jimi-hendrix
alt.music.jimi.hendrix

Jimi Hendrix Live at Winterland

Jimi Hendrix Live at Winterland

By Joe Viglione -September 12, 2011

Eleven titles were released in 1987 when Ryko Distribution issued Live At Winterland from The Jimi Hendrix Experience.  The potent new team of Experience Hendrix with Sony Legacy issuing a quartet of Hendrix music – an expanded edition of the venerable old lp Hendrix in The West, Murray Lerner’s Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight (DVD), a DVD with every Hendrix appearance on the Dick Cavett Show and another four discs, a box set of Jimi Hendrix Live at Winterland.

This review will focus on Winterland, specifically disc 4.  With 9 tracks each on discs one and two, eleven on disc three, the fourth is called the “bonus disc” which includes a revealing  backstage interview from the Boston Garden (about a month after the Winterland shows) as track seven preceded by six selections: “Foxey Lady” (10/12/68), “Are You Experienced” (10/10/68), “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” 10/10/68, “Red House” (10/10/68), “Star Spangled Banner” (10/11/68) and “Purple Haze” (10/11/68).   Now we purists, of course, may have preferred all three double dates (six shows in all, two each night) issued in the order as Jimi performed the titles…that concert experience times six, top to bottom, but just having the proper dates, the superb mastering, the booklet and more will have to suffice for the time being.

Rolling Stone writer David Fricke’s June 2011 liner notes explain details about the Winterland shows…how Wally Heider recorded “every note” – all of the music – and a bit about Jimi’s artistic presence at that point in time.

As a stand alone Disc 4 is a valuable library of music, both Red House and Star Spangled Banner displaying some of Hendrix’s musical eloquence along with cosmic bursts and delightful nuances put out there in inspiring fashion.  “Purple Haze” falls apart…wonderfully, the drums and bass playing on different planets the way Bachman Turner Overdrive went sideways during an 1980’s tour (though these days they are said to have come back down to earth and have it together)…but Jimi is the central point and, he, after all, is what we’ve come to hear.  No slight to Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding…with all three musicians having drifted from this mortal coil it is exciting to hear this music pouring from the speakers in all its psychedelic jazz-tinged glory.  Were disc four issued in the 1970s on Reprise some critics might have called it an instant classic.  In this setting its merely the bonus material…but it is staggeringly powerful and at least gives us a chance to enjoy …and study…the masterful sounds Hendrix generated.  Fun enlightenment is what it is.

Hendrix Returns: From Valleys of Neptune to West Coast Seattle Boy

Hendrix Returns: From Valleys of Neptune to West Coast Seattle Boy

By Joe Viglione -November 6, 2010

West Coast Seattle Boy – The Jimi Hendrix Anthology, featuring more than four hours of rare and previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix music on a 5 Disc (4 CD/1 DVD) is the first big box from the new Sony deal with Experience Hendrix. Previously Universal Music had a beautiful velvet 4 CD box in 2000 entitled simply The Jimi Hendrix Experience ( I’ll have to pull out my article on the making of that from Replication News back in the day and share it). The original Uni package was the first enormous project to take another look at Jimi’s commercial recordings…and while coupled with the Legacy/Sony November 16 box (though these two multi-disc packages are the true “official” look at Jimi in the same way that Eric Clapton’s Crossroads opened doors for the boxed set as a format)there were actually two compilations on Jimi prior to these landmark Experience Hendrix re-issues.

Alan Douglas released Lifelines: The Jimi Hendrix Story (Reprise), a 5 CD set in 1991 which featured the rare Buzzy Linhart/Al Kooper version of “Like A Rolling Stone” (though the narrator ends up placing the performance at the wrong New York club) and in 1996 Ed Chalpin released a 6 CD PPX Recordings – the Curtis Knight material. For we purists/historians all four of these sets are an invaluable look at the genius of Jimi and essential components of our respective Hendrix libraries.

Now when one also factors in the Purple Haze Records label out of the U.K. which was releasing the Yameta product (it gets very confusing, even with many of the CDs staring me in the face on my shelf), well, sifting through it all and giving a critique is one part of the job, the other is figuring out if these tracks actually surfaced on bootlegs or the “unofficial” labels that acted like they were official…it’s a huge task. But in the end, the fans do benefit as Experience Hendrix issues these wonderful releases which only add to the fun of exploring where we may have heard these tracks (if, indeed, we ever heard them) and how they fit into the context of Jimi’s recorded work.

Thus, I’ve had Disc 4 playing endlessly, just randomly pulling it from the envelope…and it is stunningly wonderful. Seventy three minutes and two seconds of newly remastered old tapes with a shimmering 14:46 minute version of “Stone Free” recorded live (keep in mind, TMRZoo reviewed Valleys of Neptune in March of 2010, the first Sony/Legacy release with a Traffic-styled rendition of “Stone Free”). “Sunshine Of Your Love” is tucked inside this long jam session, one of Jimi’s fave riffs it seems…and there’s yet another “Hey Baby” (New Rising Sun)” included which adds to that mesmerizing songs legacy …tons of great stuff on this jam packed disc. I could go track by track…but take my word for it…CD #4 is highly listenable and exciting. There are three more discs and a DVD to cover so let this article stand as Part 1. To be continued….

Joe Viglione is the Chief Film Critic at TMRZoo.com. He was a film critic for Al Aronowitz’s The Blacklisted Journal, has written thousands of reviews and biographies for AllMovie.com, Allmusic.com and produces and hosts Visual Radio. Visual Radio is a fifteen year old variety show on cable TV which has interviewed John Lennon’s Uncle Charlie, Margaret Cho, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Felix Cavaliere, Marty Balin, Bill Press and hundreds of other personalities.

CD Review – Jimi Hendrix: You Can’t Use My Name

By Joe Viglione -March 23, 2015

The authority of the playing displayed on a song like “Voodoo Child” is so firm and complete that it explains the world’s attraction to the artistry of Jimi Hendrix. It’s such a command of the musical vision/statement that the song’s appearance in a pop culture moment like Steven Segal’s film Under Seige is one of the many reasons why people who appreciate superb writing and playing keep going back to the Jimi Hendrix well. It’s the most dramatic event in an interesting but still corny film.

“Gloomy Monday” has elements of the “Sunshine of Your Love” riff just as opening track “How Would You Feel” draws heavily from Bon Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.” Those two compositions – and the artists that spawned them – Cream and Dylan – were essential parts of the Hendrix repertoire and spirit. The influences of the man who would influence millions more. But an album that is important because of the historical impact of an artist – as is this artifact titled “You Can’t Use My Name: The RSVP / PPX SESSIONS by Curtis Knight & The Squires” – is not going to be the first thing you grab to be entertained. But God bless Eddie Kramer for putting the music together in a way which lifts the veil away from the cloudy, murky quagmire that were the two releases on Capitol – the notorious but you-gotta-have-in-your-collection Get That Feeling and Flashing discs, along with the plethora of descendants that they helped spawn, a variety of imports and domestic pressings – so many other voluminous releases that made their way nine to the universe and beyond, so to speak.

This offering’s listening experience – and John McDermott’s always essential and detailed liner notes – contain true revelations for those of us collecting this material for 45 years or more and not knowing the proper context That context being: how the heck they were recorded, and where they fit into the puzzle of so much product – be it official releases, bootlegs or Purple Haze Records or where we really get lost and sidetracked – the internet waterfall – that blur of fan chatter (and the download onslaught that accompanies it…) as well as YouTube offerings – the Dusty Sprinfield/Jimi Hendrix duet being a favorite of that fare – and other platforms where Jimi lives on.

The complexity for the novice who likes Hendrix is sometimes equal to the confusion “experienced” by the obsessed long-time individuals – those who truly appreciate Jimi’s work (some not even knowing why) – all looking for enlightenment to navigate the fabric that is the ever expanding Hendrix museum of modern art.

You Can’t Use My Name has the daunting task of bringing that morass of the PPX/RSVP tapes to some kind of uniformity, where Jimi’s work at that point of time can be viewed with more clarity.

At least the Hendrix live tape with Little Richard is Jimi working with a star in his own league. If released on CD combined with Penniman/Hendrix studio work, it becomes a single moment that is easier for all to grasp and understand. Recorded by mastering engineer Little Walter DeVenne, and discovered during an interview Walter did with my TV show Visual Radio in 1995 (a tape which Experience Hendrix’s John McDermott got to hear when Walter played the WTBS/WMBR broadcast tape for us (yes, Walter played the Little Richard concert with Hendrix on his radio show on WTBS – now WMBR) the tape is, as stated, that single moment in early Hendrix time that is easy to understand. It’s Little Richard with Jimi. It’s Little Richard singing “Lucille” and “I Saw Her Standing There” with Jimi Hendrix – two stars who stand far beyond the relatively unknown Squires, a group known because of their association with Hendrix, not his association with them.

Here’s the complete track list of the live Penniman/Hendrix Experience: Little Richard: – I Saw Her Standing There, Lucille, Send Me Some Lovin’, Medley – Rip It Up / Tutti Frutti / Jenny, Jenny
– Shake A Hand – Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On

See some fan’s “Early Hendrix” site for more info: http://www.earlyhendrix.com/richard-menu-live

Add the live tape to the Little Richard studio recordings and you have the definitive Little Richard/Hendrix which
Is, in my opinion, even more essential. It’s Jimi blazing a trail on hit music with one of the most influential stars of early rock and roll.

These were the days before Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin psychedelicized the world, “”And my soul has been psychedelicized?” as the Chambers Brothers so succinctly put it. And it was the psychedelicization that came with “Piece of My Heart” and “Purple Haze” by Joplin and Hendrix, respectively, which changed the lives of those of us who were and are children of the sixties.

When Buzzy Linhart heard opening track “How Would You Feel” the first time he certainly had a chuckle (and stated “Hendrix deserves co-writing credit!) The “Like A Rolling Stone” riff was a key component of the Jimi Hendrix Experience – as stated above – and an important part of Jimi’s personal repertoire, a terrific live version of the Dylan classic with Buzzy Linhart on drums, Al Kooper on keyboard, Noel Redding on bass which proves just that. Which, of course, gives “How Would You Feel” the perfect entrée to the CD, You Can’t Use My Name, and one of the discs most compelling moments.

For those of us who are enamored of and love Jimi, “Like A Rolling Stone” is a key song. In the lyric Bob Dylan warns Buzzy Linhart to get away from his drummer in the Seventh Sons, who allegedly was the diplomat with the Siamese cat..
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat

Jimi Hendrix jammed with Buzzy at the Seventh Sons’ loft, while the Music album from Linhart was one of the first to be recorded at Electric Lady studios with Eddie Kramer, key information which makes hearing Jimi’s charging and slinky creeping “How Would You Feel” first cousin guitar riff a distinct look at Hendrix without that “psychedlicization” discussed earlier.

Play Track 1 from the Capitol Records lp “How Would You Feel” followed by Track 2, “Hornet’s Nest” from the Flashing lp, also on Capitol, tracks 1 and 11 on this new CD, and the lesson begins. Ahhh to go back in time and make the “Hornet’s Nest” accompaniment more Ventures in style than the manic keyboard/drum heavy jam that it is, Hendrix playing with decent but lesser talents. Perhaps that’s what makes this more of an investigative adventure than something you will play repeatedly, certainly not with so much invigorating Hendrix material within reach. “Fool For You Baby” is fun enough, but Knight – a good singer who hardly struck fear into the hearts of Marvin Gaye or Curtis Mayfield – is not in Jimi’s league. That’s the point, isn’t it? That reason alone makes the issuing of the true Little Richard / Hendrix tapes all the more essential. Richard Penniman, a wizard and a true star, is in Jimi’s outrageously famous stratosphere, and that the two paired up was a cosmic, albeit brief, storm.

Imagine being Curtis Knight and having a platform to be heard worldwide because Jimi Hendrix was your guitarist and a piece of paper got Capitol Records, the Beatles label, to give you a chance to release “Day Tripper” with Jimi Hendrix on bass? (as John McDermott’s liner notes emphasize.)

An opportunity of a lifetime that Curtis Knight couldn’t capitalize on to secure himself as a world class artist. “Don’t Accuse Me” ends side two of the Flashing album on Capitol and is track three on this marvelous early Hendrix CD, but it is marvelous only in that it shows us Jimi’s work in another light. Again, it’s the efforts of Eddie Kramer which improve the old tapes, which bring these fragments of Jimi history into a space where they can be listened to, dissected, and utilized to appreciate the master craftsman who set the standard for the electric guitar.

The fusion of “Knock Yourself Out” – track #43 on the old PPX boxed set – with “Flying on Instruments” – one of four instrumentals from the RSVP label, is smart, seamless and is again, quasi Ventures gone somewhat fuzzy and heavy.

Do we need this music? Yes, it’s great to have, and important to put the messy history that is the PPX legacy in the world of Jimi into some kind of compartment that is easier to grasp and comprehend. But at the end of the day, I want to pull out the Jimi Hendrix music that is the reason that we all flipped out the first time we heard the magical first notes of “Purple Haze.”

These are the fragments, and they give us a greater appreciation of Jimi Hendrix when he’s totally in control, writing, singing and playing. Perhaps my colleagues Buzzy Linhart (who finds the CD fun) and Ed Wrobleski will have a different perspective, I’m sure they will. But this is my take and for history’s sake, I thank Janie Hendrix, John McDermott and Eddie Kramer for getting this music out in this form.

Post Script: With all the litigation surrounding these tapes, the humorous thing is that Billy Ocean on Sony Music U.K. – the same label – has a song “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car”. ( (C) 1988 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited ) which has a very close hook to “How Would You Feel” written by the late Curtis Knight, PPX Publishing. Can anyone say “My Sweet Lord” / “He’s So Fine.”

The Hollywood Reporter states that there are 88 master tapes in all.

The deal between Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings is for the full and complete rights to 88 studio and live recordings by Curtis Knight & the Squires (featuring Jimi Hendrix) and concludes a long-running legal dispute between the Hendrix estate and onetime rights holder Ed Chalpin. Terms were not disclosed. Hendrix’s long-time sound engineer Eddie Kramer will oversee the reissues, which will be released by Legacy Recordings over the next three years.

Joe Viglione is the Chief Film Critic at TMRZoo.com. He was a film critic for Al Aronowitz’s The Blacklisted Journal, has written thousands of reviews and biographies for AllMovie.com, Allmusic.com and produces and hosts Visual Radio. Visual Radio is a fifteen year old variety show on cable TV which has interviewed John Lennon’s Uncle Charlie, Margaret Cho, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Felix Cavaliere, Marty Balin, Bill Press and hundreds of other personalities.

Excerpts from THIRD STONE FROM THE SEVENTH SUN

http://hendrixreviews.blogspot.com/

INSIDE THE LEGACY OF JIMI HENDRIX
By Joe Viglione

Imagine sometime in the future when the music of Jimi Hendrix will be public domain (as the works of Edgar Allan Poe are now) – when people will be free to take his amazing intuition, inspiration and feelings down different avenues with whatever new technology is available.

Exploring the life and music of JimiHendrix as it currently stands in 2005 is a full time job. Whether you are listening to the beautiful instrumental, “The New Rising Sun“, from the 1995 “Voodoo Soup” album put together by producer Alan Douglas or “Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)” that appears on the 1997 release “First Rays Of The New Rising Sun” produced by Eddie Kramer, Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and John Jansen, or comparing those two discs to the 1971 release “The Cry Of Love” – all three versions of Jimi’s “final album” having many of the same tracks, those performances going through new mixes with new technology, and sometimes, different sets of ears.

While listening to all the musical information these various producers have made available it is hard to retain each nuance of the guitarist’s magic – there is just so much remixed material to absorb, study and consider. And if you think cataloguing the music ofHendrix available to fans is a daunting task, what about the volume of text material being issued that discusses his short life?

The Jimi Hendrix fan base is strong — and rabid! Thus the release of the book “Jimi Hendrix: The Man,The Magic, The Truth”, by former UPI reporter and Hendrix friend Sharon Lawrence, has caused the usual stirs in that world. Described as “the definitive”account of Jimi Hendrix by publisher Harper/Collins, readers should be advised that, although author Lawrence was clearly a close confidante of Jimi’s -the 352 pages may include important information, but can hardly be considered the “definitive” account.

There is some insight regarding the persona of Ed Chalpin, the man who has perpetually licensed the PPX tapes and who signed Jimi to a recording contract in the 1960s. Lawrence speaks with him on the phone and quotes Chalpin as saying “They’ve killed him” in regards to the passing of Jimi on September 18, 1970. The author also notes that she received a call from Monika Dannemann in 1991 – who Lawrence describes as “the woman who let Jimi die.”
Since Jimi’s death has become as much of a discussion as his music – that event unfortunately walking hand-in-hand with the art – this article explores information previously unavailable about that tragic incident – and how it has all impacted what the artist was expressing. While “The Last 24 Hours Of Jimi Hendrix” DVD saysthat the U.S. Government had interest in killing Jimi Hendrix – making it clear that from that product’s point of view – that his death was a murder, Lawrence says with great emphasis that she believes his death was a suicide. Metronome Magazine, in an exclusive interview with Jimi’s friend, Buzzy Linhart, has information that the late Monika Dannemann killed Jimi at the request of the late Michael Jeffrey, former manager of Hendrix, The Animals, Genya Ravan and other groups.

In order to get to the truth the devotee – the true Jimi enthusiast – needs to explore as many of the books and DVDs as humanly possible. Jas Obrecht and Al Hendrix’s “My Son Jimi“, Steven Roby’s tremendous “Black Gold: The Lost Archives Of Jimi Hendrix” and Eddie Kramer and John McDermott’s equally excellent “Hendrix: Setting The Record Straight” are a good start, though none of them answer all the questions in a satisfactory manner.

Lawrence’s book is certainly compelling enough,but when she discusses the Toronto trial she limitsher own testimony at that major event in Jimi’s life to one paragraph. It leaves the reader wondering and wanting more. While Steven Roby includes testimony from both Hendrix and Lawrence in his book, an exhaustive and essential work, and though his 278 pages -like McDermott’s 364, is a fun investigation and exploration of the music, it still has flaws.

Lawrence glosses over “Jimmy James & The BlueFlames“, a pivotal bridge from Jimi’s work as aback-up musician to the formation of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The material on “Jimmy James & The BlueFlames” – a vital part of Jimi’s career which featured future “Spirit” co-founder Randy California and future Utopia co-founder Moogy Klingman – is remarkably thin.

At least a chapter or two on that phase of his lifeis essential to any biography. The author loves Jimi, and that comes throughloud and clear, but her bias against Al Hendrix, Janie Hendrix, Leon Hendrix, John McDermott (a major force in Experience Hendrix who gets dismissed with a mere mention), Ed Chalpin, Michael Jeffrey, Monika Dannemann, Devon “Dolly Dagger” Wilson, pretty much most of the people in Jimi’s life save a few, is a red flag. She lumps some of the heroes in with the villains. There’s no doubt that Jeffrey, Dannemann and Chalpin had a negative effect on the artist, but then there’s the catch 22 – the question which most feel is blasphemous: would Jimi Hendrix have emerged as the giant he is without the efforts of Ed Chalpin and/or Michael Jeffrey?

Would he have gotten frompoint A to point B without those two?

One would like to think that pure talent wins out, but we are talking about the music industry, a business which discards talent like yesterday’s newspaper. Just look at how the tapes of Jimi Hendrix were treated prior to Experience Hendrix giving those masters and mixes the respect, in regards to properly cataloguing andstoring them, that genius deserves. Lawrence is lethal when it comes to Al Hendrix, Jimi’s dad, and maybe – if she’s to get the benefit of the doubt -her insight there is not off base, but there is a glaring lack of objectivity in the book,and that is what weakens her story and makes us question her motives in regard to Al Hendrix. Roby, as well as McDermott and Eddie Kramer, give more meat in their writings- though all these books can’t resist offering and mixing opinion with fact. At least Steven Roby makes the effort to give a Bibliography in Black Gold, and a book that reviews the books is what is really needed here.
It is going to take a highly objective journalist to sift through the voluminous work that makes up the Hendrix audio and video catalogs as well as the variety of sources that give so many perspectives.

Eric Burdon’s 2001 biography, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, speaks kindly of Al Hendrix, and asks the pertinent question: Did Monika “dose” Jimi with wine and sleeping pills?
Proving my point – an overabundance of information with no clear line that provides something conclusive.

Perhaps the most outrageous aspect of “Jimi Hendrix: The Man, The Magic, The Truth” is Sharon Lawrence totally dismissing John McDermott (and StevenRoby) but quoting a whacko obsessive fan from aHendrix Yahoo group. For a credible journalist to indulge the lunatic fringe, well, the transcripts ofthe Toronto trial would be a bit more informative than hearing from one of the nuisance fans who live vicariously through Jimi’s music. It is devastating to Lawrence’s credibility – she savages the memory of the late Al Hendrix and backs up her position with quotes from a nutcase. Jimi Hendrix: The Man, The Magic, The Truth needed a little bit more emphasis on the performances and the recordings and less animosity. While the book has a wealth of positive material, the animosity does as much disrespect to Jimi’s memory as those who hurt him while he was alive.

A loving tribute to Jimi, Janis, Brian Epstein, Brian Jones and others is in therare and succinct “No One Waved Good-Bye” edited by Robert Somma for Bostonian Barry Glovsky’s Fusion Books. Al Aronowitz, Lillian Roxon and Lou Reed – three tremendous essayists, are far more sensitive in those128 pages.

Which brings us to the DVDs, and there are lots of them: Eagle Vision’s “Electric Ladyland” identifies the solution to the dilemma discussed in this article. The DVD is part of their “Classic Albums” series and gives one a renewed appreciation of the third album from TheJimi Hendrix Experience. Engineer Eddie Kramer takesus through the music and the DVD makes you want to putthe album on again. For those who truly want to remember Jimi Hendrix respectfully and stand in awe ofhis talent, something that creates new desire to hearthe recordings again can only get a thumbs up. “Electric Ladyland” the DVD has me playing the albumagain, and is a DVD that will get repeated spins inthis writer’s house. Chrome Dreams “Jimi Hendrix: By Those Who Knew Him Best” and MVD’s The Last 24 Hours of Jimi Hendrix are two interview discs. Steven Roby appears on “The Last24 Hours” while Jimi’s brother Leon Hendrix, respected journalist Al Aronowitz, Vince Martell of The VanillaFudge and others talk about Hendrix on “Those Who KnewHim Best.” Between all the items mentioned is such a wealth ofinformation that we won’t have time to give you thetranscript of Harvey Wharfield’s WZLX interview withbassist Noel Redding, or the lecture Visual Radiotaped by Wild Blue Angel director Murray Lerner. Butthis article will give you something very special – anexclusive interview – a conversation with BuzzyLinhart conducted on March 30, 2005.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Having collected Jimi Hendrix music ever since”Purple Haze” burst on my radio – for the better partof thirty eight years, it never ceases to amaze whenthe guitarmaster’s music perpetually sells on eBay -sometimes at ridiculous prices. There are 6,209 itemsmentioning Jimi’s name on eBay as I write this, 1:36AM on March 31, 2005. That’s a stunning amount ofmusic. But there’s lots more that you won’t ever findon eBay. When taping Little Walter for this writer’sTV program,Visual Radio, the famous disc jockey toldthis journalist that he recorded many Little Richardconcerts, including one with Jimi Hendrix on RevereBeach! Little Richard performed on a bill with Don & Dewey and Maxine Browne. Jimi Hendrix played guitarand Little Walter recorded the event. Not only that-he broadcast it on MIT’s WTBS (now WMBR). The onlyknown tape of Little Richard with Jimi was actuallybroadcast on college radio in the 1960s!

As I had interviewed John McDermott of the JimiHendrix Estate for an article on the packaging of theHendrix 4 CD Boxed Set, I phoned up Mr. McDermott andinvited him to hear the rare recording at LittleWalter’s studio. The three of us listened to theplayback from the radio broadcast tape, the dub, andwe actually got to touch the original masterreel-to-reel tape! It’s amazing, opening with The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There”, “Lucille”, “SendMe Some Lovin'”, and five other tunes – Little Richard with the unmistakable sound of Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Hopefully Little Richard will authorize its release. Akarma Records, a division of the Italian Comet Records label, re-released the interesting LittleRichard album “Friends From The Beginning” which claims to have Jimi and Richard together. It’s a good Little Richard lp, but others dispute any input fromHendrix – Steven Roby stating that Jimi appears only on the single “I Don’t Know What You’ve Got” b/w”Dancin’ All Around The World”, John McDermott’s “Setting The Record Straight” citing the only appearance being on the 45 “I Don’t Know What You’veGot But It’s Got Me” Parts 1 & 2 – the A side thatRoby mentions. It’s a dilemma, sifting through the fact and the fiction – and while not judging Sharon Lawrence, a true fan will find more info in “Setting The RecordStraight” and “Black Gold: The Lost Archives Of Jimi Hendrix”, so they are a good place to start. The definitive book has yet to be written – but thanks to the internet, eBay, and the lasting power of Jimi’s music, more will be written, studied and explored.

One idea is for a journalist and fan totake a look at what is currently on the table – as we’re doing here – and merging those reflections with information from someone who was there back in the day- someone who knew and who jammed with Jimi Hendrix. The tentative title of that work – a study ofthe recordings and insight from one of Jimi’s peers is:
“Third Stone From The Seventh Suns” Metronome readers have – with the above informationand that which follows, a taste of the proposed book which is

(C)2005 Joe Viglione & Buzzy Linhart – as is this article.



Buzzy Linhart played with Al Kooper and JimiHendrix at Steve Paul’s THE SCENE, a recording of them performing Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” is on a well known and very expensive double lp Hendrix bootleg,”Hoochie Koochie Man”. Buzzy also worked with Eddie Kramer and Mitch Mitchell putting vibraphone on the song “Drifting” which appears on all three variationsof the “Cry Of Love” sessions.

Buzzy:”I first met Jimi at the Cafe Au Go Go at themiddle of a rehearsal with Hendrix and John HammondJr. We were just stopping by to pick up a couple ofdrums or something. This was a pivotal evening for mebecause as I approached the Cafe Au Go Go, the famousdrummer Muruga (of Weather Report fame)was exiting theclub – Muruga told me to get inside and hear thegreatest guitarist in the world. I went down thedimly lit stairs into the showroom of the Cafe Au GoGo and turned the corner into the big room and sawJimmy James & The Blue Flames and John Hammond Jr.rehearsing for an up and coming show. It was a triowith the addition of John Hammond Jr. fronting thegroup, creating a quartet (this was before Buzzy’spartner, Moogy Klingman, and Spirit’s Randy Californiawould join The Blue Flames).The Steven Roby book Black Gold says on page 50 – that”Jimi found a loft on Hudson street with roommatesBuzzy Linhart, Roger McGuinn and David Crosby…” Buzzy clarified Mr. Roby’s information:”(It was on)Greenwich and Reade St. above the UnitedEgg Company – we were on the third floor – The SeventhSons had a rehearsal loft – Jimi came to it manytimes, David Crosby came many times, Roger McGuinncame many times, but they weren’t roommates. It wasthe Seventh Sons’ rehearsal loft and party place.” From 1966 to 1968 Buzzy Linhart was in the band TheSeventh Sons – featuring Buzzy on vocals, guitar andvibes, drummer Serge Katzen and bassist James Rock. Flute player Frank Eventoff made the Seventh Sons a quartet.
They produced an album but only limited material found release on the legendary ESP label.

—————————————————-

Buzzy: “I was playing Cafe Au Go Go after The Seventh Sons fell apart and left me with just an acoustic guitar… and I had an offer to open for whoever theacts were at Cafe Au Go Go – opening for acts likeBlood, Sweat & Tears.” Steve Paul saw Linhartperforming at Cafe Au Go Go and brought Buzzy to his club, The Scene, to open for acts like B.B. King, TheMcCoys with Rick Derringer, and other acts from theday. Buzzy remembers Jimi at The Scene: “…most nights, about showtime, if he wasn’trecording, Jimi would be sitting at one of the bestseats in the house – and many of those evenings weoften ended up in jam sessions.One night I was sitting by the side of the stagewatching whomever and someone came over and said”Buzzy, Jimi’s going to play, will you play drums?”, and I said Yes. I believe that was the same nightthat Noel Redding announced he was leaving theExperience. He was very sad and got very drunk andkind of messed up the bass parts – which is one of thereasons that recording has not been used more often.” It has found release on the Jimi Hendrix double discbootleg “Hoochie Koochie Man” which sells for about ahundred dollars on eBay IF you can find a copy.Sharon Lawrence claims Jimi committed suicide, The Last 24 Hours Of Jimi Hendrix claims it was apolitical assassination because of the Black Panther movement, etc. “That could have been a red herringput out there by Michael Jeffrey” Buzzy surmises, asDevon Wilson a.k.a. Dolly Dagger, told Buzzy “Please -you must tell everybody that Jimi was murdered. Hehad been drug free for months.” Supposedly she wasdrug free as well as Hendrix and Wilson reportedlyentered and left treatment together. Says Buzzy, “I’ll personally never forget Jimi lookingat me from the antique barber’s chair in theElectric Lady lobby – spinning around – slowing downexactly on the third spin, holding up a Marlborosaying “Now if I could just quit this I’ll havebeat everything.” It was really cool – it happenedthat way – I believed him when he told me that, and tohear just a day and a half later people claiming that”once a junkie always a junkie” etc. really rankledme. This was the evening of the day he went back toEngland for the last time. (It took about six hoursto get to London from New York, so night turned intoday with the time change.)Thoughts from Buzzy when Jimi passed away on September18, 1970 “I was sitting in my living room with John Hammond Jr.- we had just jammed on a couple of songs – harp andguitar – when we flipped on the radio. It happened tobe on the news and the international news report cameon saying “the greatest guitarist in the world hasdied in London.” I turned to John Hammond and said”that’s got to be Hendrix.” And the next part of thereport confirmed it. We didn’t know what to say, butbeing just 20 blocks or so from Electric Lady we justprobably jumped a cab down to the studio. At ElectricLady somebody said there was a phone call for me. Ipicked up the telephone on the receptionist’s desk andit was Dolly Dagger (Devon Wilson) telling me I had tobelieve her. What she told me was that Jimi hadcalled her the day or so before and told her that hehad been up for days. He had talked to his doctor inNew York City and the doctor said “You’ve got to getsome sleep” – the doctor said “Do you want me to callin some sleeping pills for you to a doctor I know inLondon?” Jimi said”No, that’s OK, there’s Tuinols in the medicinecabinet in the bathroom here.”

They agreed that Jimi- having a great tolerance to this type of drug -would need to take 3 capsules. But this turned out tobe the German Tuinols which were the EQUIVALENT ofthree apiece, so they turned out to have the potencyof 9 capsules.” (It’s been reported by Sharon Lawrencethat Jimi took 9 capsules, but what he took was theGerman equivalent of nine capsules – and Monika musthave known this. If she wasn’t sure she should havesaid something.)

It overdosed him into sleep lying on his back and hechoked on food, he asphyxiated. “Remember”, Buzzy made clear, “this is what Devon toldme.” Weeks or months earlier – not the night before -but it clicked with the someone in the know afterSeptember 18, 1970, a band member or crew member madea bad mistake when he decided to take a nap on a largecouch in Michael Jeffrey’s opulent office – thirdfloor of Electric Lady studios, New York City. It’sthe kind of a sofa where when it is facing this largefireplace – the giant back of the sofa – you can besleeping there and if someone didn’t think to lookthey wouldn’t even know you were in the room. Thisparticular crew member claims to have overheard adiscussion between Monika and Michael Jeffrey duringwhich he told her that it was only a matter of timetill he – Michael -assured her that he would be taking back the businessfrom Jimi and would she help by poisoning him.

To Be Continued.

THE ABOVE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE MAY ISSUE OF METRONOME MAGAZINE
http://metronomemagazine.blogspot.com

Here is Part II for the June issue, completed May 2, 2005 at 3:30 AM

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE HIGH TO STAY AWAKE TOO LONG(and You Don’t Have To Take Drugs To Be Paranoid)
By Buzzy Linhart as told to Joe Viglione

One of the basic things we have to complete to even begin step one, we must once and for all establish the coroners cause of death. There are at least three different versions in three different books regarding this. It’s hard to keep a clean laboratory when you’re not starting out with the purest necessary elements.

a)if he died of drowning in wine, as one source (between the books, internet and DVDs) suggests, then why is that not mentioned in the coroners report in one of the other well known sources on the subject?

b)what Dolly Dagger (Devon Wilson) was upset about was the suggestions that Hendrix would kill himself.

c)if as Dolly said – this was a proud moment for him -(being drug free) – why would he go backwards? He had already bragged to me about it.

All I can personally say as I sift through these files of immense proportion regarding Hendrix’s death -and boasting a long list of authors – is that everything I see and read seems to contradict everything else. All I know is that the phone rang at Electric Lady studios and it was D.D. (Dolly Dagger) for me, she said, “Jimi had been awake for days but totally straight, but too excited”. She said she was upset because the press was reporting “heroin overdose”, she swore he was “7 months clean”, something she and he had accomplished together, his plan to prove that he could play clean. His earliest memories of practicing and learning how to copy other people’s licks were confused with a combination of alcohol, marijuana and most anything for awhile there. But if he were to prove that he was the king of the psychedelic gypsies, he’d have to do it not only better than anybody else, but completely clean.

First he was my hero, then I was “dating” one of his girlfriends, and then he was gone. “Don’t believe them” she sobbed “He played clean.”

BUZZY ON DOLLY DAGGER:
Just a few months later (after Jimi’s passing), Dolly & I went to see Taj Mahal at the Fillmore East, Taj solo on dobro accompanied by three tuba players. A hell of a show. I couldn’t help but notice that she was looking tired and strained and looked sad even when she smiled. Everybody knew how bad she seemed to miss Jimi. And then just a couple of weeks after that she died mysteriously, under mysterious circumstances at the Chelsea Hotel, Manhattan, New York. She did tell me she didn’t know if she could go on without him. I wonder whatever happened to her baby. She showed me a picture of a baby with lips like Mick Jagger – she claimed that it was Mick Jagger’s baby, and you’d think so by seeing his face.”
In Sharon Lawrence’s book, JIMI HENDRIX: THE MAN, THE MAGIC, THE TRUTH, page 160, she claims Devon Wilson threw a party “both to celebrate Jimi’s birthday and further her own desire to start an affair with Mick Jagger.”

Buzzy’s recollections are startling – especially when one looks at the timeline. According to an article in VOODOO CHILE by Carmen Geddes: “Devon Wilson had fallen (or been pushed) from a window at New York’s Chelsea Hotel (in February of 1971), and in March 1973, Mike Jeffrey was killed in a plane crash on his way to find out who would be inheriting Jimi Hendrix’s British musical royalties.”

If Jimi Hendrix was murdered, which is the conclusion found in “Rethinking John Lennon’s Assassination – The FBI’s War on Rock Stars By Salvador Astucia, Part V, Chapter 12: Jimi Hendrix”, it fits in with what our unnamed Hendrix associate told us – that he heard Michael Jeffrey ask Monika to kill Jimi. But Jeffrey (the manager of Hendrix) only went so far in discussing it during that overheard conversation revealed in the May 2005 issue of Metronome.
Astucia goes back to the late Tony Brown’s book: “Brown insinuates that Dannemann murdered Hendrix because she was jealous of his other girlfriends. Having stated that, Brown makes a compelling argument that Dannemann was, at a minimum, deeply involved in Hendrix’s death in some manner. She may have killed him personally, as Brown suggests, but I seriously doubt that she acted alone regardless of her role in the crime.” Which gives more credibility to Devon Wilson’s claims and the information from the person who was on the couch in Mike Jeffrey’s office. Also keep in mind that Tony Brown was corresponding with Dannemann frequently until her death, April 5, 1996, while Tony Brown was working on HENDRIX: THE FINAL DAYS – that author having more access to Dannemann’s ramblings over a longer period of time than perhaps anyone. Astucia notes that the suicide was “Two days after the court found her ‘in contempt’, Monika was found dead in her Mercedes car, asphyxiated by carbon monoxide.” Tony Brown himself died on March 9, 2001. Which means the casualty list has grown quite long – Hendrix, Devon Wilson, Mike Jeffrey, Monika Dannemann, Tony Brown, Noel Redding, Chas Chandler and Al Hendrix.

Astucia goes into great detail on “the real cause of Hendrix’s death” saying ” Twenty-three years later, information emerged which strongly suggests Hendrix was murdered. In 1993 it was disclosed that Hendrix had not strangled on his vomit, but “drowned in red wine.”
Caesar Glebbeek co-authored “Electric Gypsy”, and interviewed Buzzy Linhart, though Buzzy is not referenced in the book. On page 477 of that 1991 St. Martin’s Press book the authors seem to draw a conclusion that it was an accidental overdose – but again – they quote Monika Dannemann on page 476 saying “there were other tablets in the cupboard which he could have taken if he wanted to do the job properly.”They also consider the CIA, FBI, Black Panthers and manager Mike Jeffrey – which they dismiss.

Classicbands.com notes that “In 1993, the investigation into Hendrix’s death was reopened by Scotland Yard, but when no new evidence was unearthed, the matter was dropped.”

www.classicrockpage.com goes into even more detail saying “…a leading forensic scientist said at the time that the dose of sleeping pills was too low to be fatal in itself. The official cause of death rendered was “inhalation of vomit due to barbiturate intoxication”. The site notes that “Both Noel Redding and Monika Dannemann believe in the “slight possibility” that Hendrix was murdered…” – which is interesting since Dannemann is believed to be the murderess.
The site also claims something interesting: “Jimi did have access to over 40 sleeping tablets at the flat, so if he wanted to commit suicide . . .)” Sharon Lawrence’s book says that Monika Dannemann told her she had four packets of 10 pills and that one was opened with only 1 pill left. So Sharon Lawrence, Jimi’s “dear friend” who slashes at Al Hendrix in the book,makes the ludicrous claim that Jimi made a “conscious decision” to take 9 tablets. Which means that Lawrence buys into one of Dannemann’s many stories – the one Sharon Lawrence finds most convenient. As an outsider, one has to shake their head: this is Jimi’s friend?? – believing one of Dannemann’s stories – stories from a woman who killed herself two days after losing a libel trial regarding her information (or misinformation) about Jimi Hendrix? The only thing missing from Sharon Lawrence’s book is the notion that maybe Jimi Hendrix took 9 pills while listening to The Beatle’s “Revolution #9” while the voice says “#9, #9, #9”.

Absurd.

The Classicrockpage.com has more interesting bits: “As Redding says in his book, “Jimi died from choking on his vomit and that in itself should have been a preventable cause of death”. Interestingly enough, in 1991 both Eric Burdon (who Dannemann called before calling the ambulance the morning of September 18, 1970), and Mitch Mitchell called on Scotland Yard to reopen the investigation into Jimi’s death. In 1993, England’s Attorney-General agreed and investigated before announcing that it “found no evidence to pursue the case further”.——————————————————-

Buzzy on Monika Danneman

The rumor is that Monika called a local celebrity’s roadie and he warned her that she had to make sure her flat was completely clean of any drug residue or paraphernalia or they’d all be indicted for drug possession. They started talking about it, it got out of hand, and she was afraid to call or something.That was NOT from Dolly Dagger, that was New York City scuttlebutt.

Jimi Hendrix’s Music in The Afterlife
http://www.artquest.org.uk is a British website which features the Artlaw Archive – a program for visual arts and craftspeople. There they have a fascinating page called “Art After Death” by Henry Lydiate

Lydiate discusses famous legal battles, the (Andy)Warhol Foundation (1994), the Dali Estate (2001), Bacon’s legacy (2002) and others. The site states:

“Consistent themes/issues emerge for artists who care what will happen to their works after death. For example, making a will and taking independent expert advice before doing so; choosing executors – especially ones who have nothing to gain from the Estate; ensuring that unsold works and personal archive material are carefully catalogued well before death; and taking particular care to decide on the possible merchandising of their images during the 70 years of their copyright remaining after their death.”

This, of course, was a major problem with the legacy of Jimi Hendrix, which makes his cause of death as essential as the fact that he had no written will.Keep in mind, in this 35th year after his passing, thousands of pages have been written in books and on the internet, with little new information. For the first time in those 35 years, Metronome Magazine is presenting new – never before published – information regarding one of the greatest tragedies in the history of rock music.

Scotland Yard should reopen the investigation.

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