Jimi Hendrix: EH Valleys Of Neptune, People Hell & Angels, Both Sides Of The Skies as 1 Cd

They would have been better compiled as a feature in a box-set, like they did with the pre-Experience tracks in the WCSB box (they managed to mess that up as well).

 

Might as well add an extra bonus CD:

"Hendrix: Before He Was Good"

A big seller, that one. heh.

 

Something I've been wondering since I got it:
Does my VoN disc have a glitch or is it something on the recording?
At 7:42 in Red House there is some kind of "crackle"... I notice some other distortion going on prior to that, that sounds like a bad cable or whatever, but I'm not sure about that thing at 7:42...

Anybody?

 

I would start with these 4 tracks.

Valleys of Neptune 4:05
Mr. Bad Luck 2:58
Hear My Train A Comin' 5:41 (PHA Version)
Red House 8:22

I don't own Both Sides Of The Sky... yet.

 

Oo yeah, just listened to the copy on my phone. Sounds like a frayed guitar cable alright.

 

At 7:42 too? It just seems very loud and sudden...

(I just edited my original post - I meant to say "I'm NOT sure about that thing at 7:42" of course)

 

Yep, that's the one I listened to. I've had that happen to me a number of times with my cables and my amp, so I know the sound well.

 

I compiled this disc of vocal tracks from the EH era releases.

1. Taking Care Of no Business
2. Cat Talking To Me
3. There Ain't Nothing Wrong
4. Tears Of Rage
5. Hear My Freedom
6. It's Too Bad
7. Shame, Shame, Shame
8. Hey Gypsy Boy
9. Ships Passing Through The Night
10. Crash Landing
11. Things I Used To Do
12. Lonely Avenue
13. Lover Man
14. Send My Love To Linda
15. Midnight Lightning (solo vocal version)
16. Valleys Of Neptune.

 

I got all three CDs recently and enjoy Neptune and Both Sides the most. Listening to these albums without omitting tracks.
If there's the opportunity of making this a double CD I'd take the whole two albums I mentioned before and take only about half of People, Hell And Angels.

 

Now after having a good couple of weeks to digest BSOTS (and I have a little spare time on a day off), time to look back and say "Did we need this?"

Valleys Of Neptune:

1. Stone Free 3:48-The box set one was all we needed for another version of Stone Free, no
2. Valleys of Neptune 4:05-We still need the original Sept 69 demo, but I'm still ok with this composite, yes
3. Bleeding Heart" Elmore James 6:23-enthusiastic version showing its progression away from a straight blues number, yes
4. Hear My Train A Comin' 7:32-Best overall studio version yet released, yes
5. Mr. Bad Luck 2:58-NO, original was fine
6. Sunshine of Your Love 6:48-good to have a decent studio version, yes
7. Lover Man 4:17-different than any other version, yes
8. Ships Passing Through the Night 5:54-early Night Bird demo widely booted, yes
9. Fire 3:14-just a rehearsal, ok to release but not in this context
10. Red House 8:22-see Fire
11. Lullaby for the Summer 3:51-Ezy Ryder progression-yes
12. Crying Blue Rain-Nivce mood piece even with the late Mitch & Noel additions, yes


People, Hell And Angels:

1. Earth Blues 3:33-great early version with interesting lyrical differences, yes
2. Somewhere 4:05-qualified yes, the original Jimi/Stills/Miles version may not have been "releasable" as a song as it was, but still worth hearing. The flown in parts are a bit distracting
3. Hear My Train A Comin' 5:41-Yes, even though it's not a full version. Tone on this is amazing
4. Bleeding Heart 3:58-No, not really interesting in comparison to the other released versions
5. Let Me Move You 6:50-Good work with Lonnie as compared to those early songs, yes
6. Izabella 3:42-Yeah, I guess but we've had enough better alternate versions on the other releases
7. Easy Blues 5:57-Yes, but Larry's solo should be there
8. Crash Landing 4:14-NO, the original take that Douglas worked with should have been released
9. Inside Out 5:03-More Ezy Ryder progression, yes
10. Hey Gypsy Boy 3:39-If this hadn't been released on ML, I'd say no because of the out of tune guitar, though other part of the performance are quite good
11. Mojo Man 4:07-Jimi as side man, ok but again maybe not on a Jimi CD
12. Villanova Junction Blues-it's short, yes


Both Sides Of The Sky:

1. Mannish Boy 5:01-Interesting comparison with the composite, but in the end, really didn't need it, no
2. Lover Man 3:03-Interesting but again, no
3. Hear My Train A Comin’ 7:25-Despite the sound flaws, the performance is strong enough, yes
4. Stepping Stone 3:12-Really good alternate take, yes
5. $20 Fine 4:59-On a Stills CD, yes, Jimi CD, no
6. Power Of Soul 5:55-Yes, no explanation needed
7. Jungle 3:28-Is there a real difference between this and the Dagger one other than length? No
8. Things I Used to Do 3:41-Would like it longer, but not a bad edit per se, yes
9. Georgia Blues 7:55-See Let Me Move You, yes
10. Sweet Angel 3:54-The missing connection between Little Wing and Angel, yes
11. Woodstock 5:19-See $20 Fine
12. Send My Love To Linda 4:36-The solo first 2/3 are a good enough combo, the change to the band version needs to be better and longer, but overall, yes
13. Cherokee Mist 7:01-Yes, again no further explanation needed

So overall, I think most of the material was worthy of release in some form. Even the "no" ones would be ok in the context of complete sessions. The problem with the "no" ones is they took the place of another song that was more worthy of release (Midnight Lightning, etc.)

 

I disagree on Bleeding Heart from People, Hell and Angels. It is one of my favorite tracks on the release and a cool version.

 

That one just left me cold. Not bad per se, but just not all that interesting. But I know there’s a bunch of songs people don’t think should’ve been released that I like, so everybody gets something.

 

First of all I'd call the album A Plethora Of Posthumous Pinwheels or Brand New Butterfly Roller Skates.
Cover would be a picture of Jimi acting silly before he went on stage at Fehmarn.
Whatever picture you like the best. Take your pick.

Side One
Mojo Man
Easy Blues
Somewhere
Things I Used To Do
Sunshine Of Your Love

Side Two
Bleeding Heart (PH&A version)
Power Of Soul
Lover Man (VON version)
Villanova Junction Blues
Hear My Train (PH&A version)

Would like to put a trick groove in on Hear My Train so if you skip to that depending on where the needle hits it would play anyone of the three versions that are available on these releases. Single would be Mojo Man with Red House as the non LP flip side. Put a trick groove on that as well so if the needle comes down at the right place it plays She's A Fox mono mix instead of Red House. Yes I know I cheated on the last bit don't worry.

 

As I mentioned in the main BSOTS thread, I finally arranged the tracks from the trilogy, along with a few extras, into a generally chronological playlist (fudged a little here and there so the Hear My Trains weren't too closely grouped together) and listening to it all the way through, it certainly boosted my appreciation of a number of the songs. The Bleeding Heart from PH&A that doesn't do much for me on its own, if you put it together with the other songs from that album from the session and heaving it follow the April material from the other two albums, the context helps bring out some little bits that you hear it on its own, it might not stand out. Woodstock after the Gypsy Suns and Rainbows material and right before BoG sounds terrific. I put Mojo Man next to last (I end with the VoN title track, though I also added in the original Sept 69 demo earlier for balance) and it really jumped out at me as something he might have put on a 1972 album as a help out to Albert and Arthur. It's a really rich track.

Doing each album as a chronological exercise doesn't really work and leaves holes that don't get filled. Putting them all in one pile and sorting them out to me ended up enhancing a great number of them. Even the 80s Mitch and Noel overdubs work OK since they're generally towards the beginning. Which is why EH really needs to think about at least trying out a session collection. Wanna try small? Do the BoG Jan 23, 1970 session. Bigger? Do the Electric Lady 1970 sessions in 2020 or 2021.

 

I'm about to just play all three albums and enjoy them.

 

...and what is your sequence? I can't seem to find the other "main" thread.

 

Didn't post it since I didn't have time to look at my phone during lunch!

 

Will all three albums fit on one CD? Or are you talking about making a composite?

 

...later, alligator.

 

Did it as a 44 song playlist, runs 3 1/2 hours. Wouldn't change my original single CD distillation noted upthread much, might swap something out for Crying Blue Rain but not sure what.

 

Can you share your playlist?


.

 

If I can get some spare time to type out the 44 songs from my phone! I'll see how it goes at lunch today.

It's basically just take the songs and arrange them by recording date, and move a song around here and there to get the three Hear My Trains not next to one another.

 

By popular request:

Mr. Bad Luck (80s overdub version-VoN)

Taking Care of No Business (unreleased 80s overdub version)

Cat Talking To Me (80s overdub version-VoN B-side)

Sweet Angel (BSOTS)

Somewhere (PHA)

Cherokee Mist (BSOTS)

South Saturn Delta (SSD)

Inside Out (PHA)

Sunshine of Your Love (VoN)

Fire (VoN)

Lover Man (80s overdub version-VoN)

Red House (VoN)

Crying Blue Rain (80s overdub version-VoN)

Let Me Move You (PHA)

Georgia Blues (BSOTS)

Hey Gypsy Boy (PHA)

Hear My Train A Comin’ (VoN)

Bleeding Heart (VoN)

Hear My Train A Comin’ (BSOTS)

Mannish Boy (BSOTS)

Crash Landing (PHA)

Things I Used To Do (BSOTS)

Stone Free (VoN)

Heart My Train A Comin’ (PHA)

Bleeding Heart (PHA)

Villanova Junction Blues (PHA)

Lullaby For The Summer (VoN)

Ships Passing Through the Night (VoN)

Message to the Universe (SSD)

Izabella (PHA)

Easy Blues (PHA)

$20 Fine (BSOTS)

Woodstock (BSOTS)

Valleys of Neptune (unreleased original Sept 1969 demo, custom 4:00 edit)

Jungle (BSOTS)

Lover Man (BSOTS)

Stepping Stone (BSOTS)

Earth Blues (PHA)

Send My Love To Linda (BSOTS)

Power of Soul (BSOTS)

Lower Alcatraz (unreleased BSOTS "title track")

Midnight Lightning (SSD)

Mojo Man (PHA)

Valleys of Neptune (VoN)

 

Here's what I've come up with (via Flickr):

Can you share your playlist?"]Bart Mazzetti

Note that the dates in the margins have been taken from the Internet. Haven't had time to verify every one against the Ultimate Hendrix book. Note that I have included the 2 Target Bonus Tracks from their edition of VON.

 

He was always Good.