“This is the first, and arguably the most authentic, of the posthumous releases of Jimi Hendrix material. It consists of studio tracks that he was recording for his fourth album before he died in September 1970 at the tender ‘dead rock star’ age of 27. Compared to the inventive studio and guitar wizardry he demonstrated on his magnum opus Electric Ladyland they sound a little like finished demos that he had intended to do so much more with. We’ll never know, but it’s always good to hear more Hendrix whatever the context. . Many of these songs have been re-compiled in subsequent releases, often amidst much haggling with the Hendrix Estate. First Rays of the New Rising Sun, released in 1997, is perhaps the most prominent and offers improved sound fidelity to this much earlier release. . Tracks like Angel are classic Hendrix in women-idolising lovelorn balled mode, similar to the lovely Little Wing from his second album, Axis: Bold As Love. Freedom and Ezy Rider on side one are in a funk-rock vein, reminding me of the live sound of Band of Gypsy’s, Hendrix’s post-Experience gigs with Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums. Unsurprising since they’re both performing on Ezy Rider, with Mitch Mitchell delivering drums on most of the other tracks on the album and Noel Redding making only one appearance on My Friend. : It’s by no means Hendrix’s best collection of songs, and it’s probably the LP of his that I listen to least. It is however a tantalising glimpse of where he would have gone to next. Though I imagine these recordings are still far from the sonic experimentation he may have intended. Personally, I hope I live to see the release of his autobiographical concept album Black Gold, recorded earlier in 1970 and yet to see the light of day.” . #jimihendrix #thecryoflove #angel #straightahead #posthumousalbums @jimihendrix #vinyl #recordcollection #nowplaying #nowlistening #randomrecordreview https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2blMIJUJp/?igshid=vfv2e5u9uqi4
