Customer Ratings & Reviews

I guess they should just stop releasing old Hendrix material, regardless of how much he thought of it. This stuff is almost generic blues, some tunes he had performed better on other recordings, and a few tracks on which it's hard to detect that he was even in the studio. If you MUST have every "official" Hendrix release, fine -- otherwise, this is one to skip.

You get what you get when you purchase a 'new' studio album from Hendrix. Fair.

You get what you get with a new Hendrix album. Fair

I've done a detailed song-by-song review of the album below, but I'd like to break this album down in a much more concise read for those that just want a quick overview with that's being sold here. I'll be using "numbers" to make it easier to read... 3: Three songs are not Hendrix songs at all, with no vocals by Jimi - $20 Fine, Georgia Blues, and Woodstock. This version of Georgia Blues has already been released and is a Lonnie Youngblood song. $20 Fine and Woodstock are Stephen Stills songs with Jimi only contributing bass guitar on Woodstock! 3: Three instrumentals with no vocals from Jimi - Jungle, Sweet Angel, and Cherokee Mist. Jungle was already released in a full 9 minute version, but here we get a 3 minute version. That's right, we're at half of the songs on the album without Jimi singing a single note. Of the remaining 7 songs? 3: The three singles - Lover Man, Hear My Train A Comin' and Mannish Boy have all been previously released in superior versions. Lover Man & Hear My Train' A Comin' were both released as even more complete studio versions on the album the released just a few years back, Valleys Of Neptune. Hear My Train A Comin' has appeared as a studio version on ALL 3 of latest studio albums they've released. Lover Man has appeared on 3 out of the 4 "studio albums," they've released. Mannish Boy appeared in a superior version on the Blues album they have not only released, but re-released and which is currently in print. Additionally, that version also contains parts of this version on Both Sides Of The Sky. The Mannish Boy version on Both Sides Of The Sky has a much more lifeless guide vocal. The Blues version has much more heart & soul in the performance as a whole, although Jimi fumbles a few words here and there. 2: Things I Used To Do & Send My Love To Linda - These songs have been chopped up, badly. Things I Used To Do was released in a complete version on the Lifelines boxed set. The Both Sides Of The Sky version chops the song nearly in half, deleting 2 minutes and 30 seconds of the performance. Send My Love To Linda is a composite that has Eddie Kramer combing a solo demo version of the song with numerous chopped up takes of a later instrumental performance, which to many is not very flattering. I'm not against combining takes to complete a song, but wish this one had been done a bit better - It is still listenable. Even better, why not release both in complete form, with the studio instrumental coming after the solo demo? Then we get both visions, as Jimi saw them in a "Send My Love To Linda Suite [Part 1 & Part 2]" type of arrangement. 2: Power Of Soul & Stepping Stone - Stepping Stone is an excellent alternate version of an already definitively released studio song, but has no place on a "new studio album." Power Of Soul is great to have, but this exact version was already released by Experience Hendrix just a couple of years ago. Experience Hendrix seems confused. On one hand they want to give us the complete version of Power Of Soul and Cherokee Mist, with Power Of Soul already being released - But on the other hand, they want to give us a chopped up and truncated version of Things I Used To Do, which has already been released in a complete version. It makes no sense. This is not a "Brand New Jimi Hendrix Studio Album," as advertised by Experience Hendrix, it's an album of rehearsals, other people's songs, demo's, and sub-par and inferior versions of songs they've already released. This album is strictly for the Experience Hendrix completists, and not at all an accurate representation of a Jimi Hendrix Studio album at all. And for the completists, we have to deal with much of the material being chopped up. For the casual listener, listening to this album may come as a shock when half the songs have no vocals by Jimi, with 3 of the songs having other people singing on them all together. With most of the remaining material either being songs that have been released and re-released so many times, or chopped up, not much is left to wow the casual Jimi listener. If you like digging into the deep boxed sets to listen to rougher cuts, jams, and songs Jimi appeared on as a side player, this might appeal to you. If you're looking for a new Jimi Hendrix studio album, this is not what you're looking for. Grab "Are You Experienced?", "Axis: Bold As Love," "Electric Ladyland," "Band Of Gypsys" or even "First Rays Of The New Rising Sun." Based on how much chopping and editing they are now doing to the songs, I would also recommend the oft shunned "Blues" album over this Both Sides Of The Sky album, as it flows much better and has the superior version of Mannish Boy. If you're unsure, stream it and make your mind up after having a listen for yourself. I'd like to break this album down in a concise read for those that just want a quick overview with that's being sold here. I'll be using "numbers" for clarity... 3: Three songs are not Hendrix songs at all, with no vocals by Jimi - $20 Fine, Georgia Blues, and Woodstock. This version of Georgia Blues has already been released and is a Lonnie Youngblood song. $20 Fine and Woodstock are Stephen Stills songs with Jimi only contributing bass guitar on Woodstock! 3: Three instrumentals with no vocals from Jimi - Jungle, Sweet Angel, and Cherokee Mist. Jungle was already released in a full 9 minute version, but here we get a 3 minute version. That's right, we're at half of the songs on the album without Jimi singing a single note. Of the remaining 7 songs? 3: The three singles - Lover Man, Hear My Train A Comin' and Mannish Boy have all been previously released in superior versions. Lover Man & Hear My Train' A Comin' were both released as even more complete studio versions on the album the released just a few years back, Valleys Of Neptune. Hear My Train A Comin' has appeared as a studio version on ALL 3 of latest studio albums they've released. Lover Man has appeared on 3 out of the 4 "studio albums," they've released. Mannish Boy appeared in a superior version on the Blues album they have not only released, but re-released and which is currently in print. Additionally, that version also contains parts of this version on Both Sides Of The Sky. The Mannish Boy version on Both Sides Of The Sky has a much more lifeless guide vocal. The Blues version has much more heart & soul in the performance as a whole, although Jimi fumbles a few words here and there. 2: Things I Used To Do & Send My Love To Linda - These songs have been chopped up, badly. Things I Used To Do was released in a complete version on the Lifelines boxed set. The Both Sides Of The Sky version chops the song nearly in half, deleting 2 minutes and 30 seconds of the performance. Send My Love To Linda is a composite that has Eddie Kramer combing a solo demo version of the song with numerous chopped up takes of a later instrumental performance, which to many is not very flattering. I'm not against combining takes to complete a song, but wish this one had been done a bit better - It is still listenable. Even better, why not release both in complete form, with the studio instrumental coming after the solo demo? Then we get both visions, as Jimi saw them in a "Send My Love To Linda Suite [Part 1 & Part 2]" type of arrangement. 2: Power Of Soul & Stepping Stone - Stepping Stone is an excellent alternate version of an already definitively released studio song, but has no place on a "new studio album." Power Of Soul is great to have, but this exact version was already released by Experience Hendrix just a couple of years ago. Experience Hendrix seems confused. On one hand they want to give us the complete version of Power Of Soul and Cherokee Mist, with Power Of Soul already being released - But on the other hand, they want to give us a chopped up and truncated version of Things I Used To Do, which has already been released in a complete version. It makes no sense. This is not a "Brand New Jimi Hendrix Studio Album," as advertised by Experience Hendrix, it's an album of rehearsals, other people's songs, demo's, and sub-par and inferior versions of songs they've already released. This album is strictly for the Experience Hendrix completist.