As a matter of fact,"Ezy Ryder" was going to be the next 45 after "Steppin' Stone",but was nixed by Reprise a week later,the same day that "Steppin' Stone" was pulled,BTW! (the flip would've been "Freedom".)Michael Boyce
Mitch himself says on his book that they had a version with his drums too. I guess it was done after Jimi's death.
The drum tracks are definitely different on the First Rays Izabella and the version on the Voodoo Child set. I am very sure that the First Rays version is Mitchell, and the Voodoo Child set version is Buddy Miles. Frank R.
You are correct! No difference in the drums. Buddy all the way. Both mixes are OK, but I prefer the guitar solo on the single...less harsh.
He may be confused. Every studio version of Ezy Ryder save for the early JHE studio versions has Buddy on drums.
No, almost positive both mixes of Izabella have Buddy's drums. Different mixes and guitar parts but Buddy is on drums for both.
LOL Doctor! I'm definitely going to listen to the both of them this evening and work it out. They definitely different drum tracks though. That much I am sure of. There are things in the First Rays version that Buddy would never have played. Frank R.
I've synched them up for comparison. Sorry, no difference! You are probably thinking of "Stepping Stone."
It may be. In the same book he says that "Angel" was the "the most jigsaw puzzle piece to put together". I believe he meant "Drifting".
Okay. Just listened to both, and I stand corrected. Both versions of Izabella are in fact Buddy Miles. I still like Mitchell's version of Stepping Stone better though! Frank R.
That's odd. I've heard a recording of the Drifting backwards guitar overdub session (obviously done when Jimi was alive) and it isn't that different to the released version. Mitch replaced his drums and they added vibes but the basic foundation of Drifting was complete when Jimi was alive. It's not like they completely overhauled the song.
He'd also said that he did a Drum "Re-take" on "Angel" the day after Jimi's passing at the Electric Ladyland studios....he added that emotions were running high....he added that it was pretty emotional,too! Michael Boyce
Angel was definitely a mess. Drifting was basically complete like Chris M said. Angel has two drum tracks on it which makes it sound unhinged in many places. Frank R.
Speaking of posthumous Mitch overdubs the 1968 rough mixes of Tax Free and Somewhere destroy the overdubbed versions. There was no reason to bother overdubbed drums to those tracks. Tax Free grooves so much better with the 1968 drums. The '68 mix is one of my all time favorite JHE tracks and is begging for an official release. There is a part of the overdubbed Somewhere where is totally out of sync with the track. Really cringworthy stuff. The '68 mix is fine. Mitch was much tighter in '68 than he was in the early 70's. He completely changed his style for the worse in '70 IMO..
It wasn't really the day after he died. More like a month after he died. Mitch was in the UK when Jimi passed away.
I remember reading the same quote about "Angel."....I don't know where. An interview? a book excerpt? He claimed that it was pieced together from takes that were done in different keys. Something along the lines of: the guitar solo went through some outrageous processing to make it synch with an entirely different performance. Does that ring a bell? The coda sounds like it could have been done this way. I hear an edit into a different key when the guitar goes into its heavily leslie'd closing bit. Has anyone listened to the samples I so painstakingly posted?
According to McDermott and Kramer book "Sessions", Kramer "fused together June 25 recording to the July 23 master in order to develop the song's basic track.....With Hendrix's guitar tracks in place, Mitch Mitchell replaced his drum parts."
Interesting. If that is correct the 2 versions must have been close. When I first listened to the in-progress version of Drifting I wwas expecting it to me a mess but was surprised at how close to the released version it was.
Yes. Both Tax Free and Somewhere were recorded during the Electric Ladyland sessions. Tax Free was completely finished so I don't know why Mitch bothered to add overdubs. Maybe he wanted to pick up some session fees?
"Somewhere" was recorded in March 1968 in Sound Center studios. That was a session that Jimi booked himself, without Chas, Noel or Mitch. It was the same sessions that yielded "My Friend" and Jimmy Mayes played on that one. Maybe it was him on the original one (which i haven't heard, i must admit!).
