Jimi Hendrix - Let's Talk About How We Would Have Put Together His Posthumous Albums!

It will be interesting to see if anything is released from Hendrix's Woodstock sojourn because IIRC, McDermott said EH only has one tape from the Shokan Sessions.

 

I think EH should do an anthology of the August-September 1969 Hit Factory sessions with the Woodstock band. A lot of it is chaotic, but there must be some gems we haven't heard, for example Jimi's solo demos.
An interesting thing is Jimi played a Gibson on most of those sessions, probably because he couldn't convince Larry Lee to switch to a Strat.

 

I agree. When I first heard COY, I was lead to believe that it was Jimi's "final" album. The Hendrix brilliance was still there and there were clearly some remarkable tracks on the album, but something was missing. After later discovering the real story behind COY, it made a lot more sense.

I think Hendrix was going to have a bit of a conundrum on his hands during the fall of 1970 as he tried to compile an album. Reprise was demanding a 4th quarter album, and Hendrix had to deliver. He had not released a new album of studio material via Reprise since 1968 and he and Jeffery owed Reprise a lot of money from advances -- the pressure was mounting. It seems unlikely he was going to be able to hold off releasing a new album to 1971. While Hendrix had made tremendous progress on his studio material during July and August, it still seems like he had a bit of a way to go with certain key tracks underdeveloped (such as "Hey Baby"), particularly if he was going to compile a thematic double album. And with Jeffery likely to force additional U.S. touring during the fall of 1970 to meet financial obligations, Hendrix was going to have challenges finishing a double album. Therefore, I think it is possible that he may have had to compromise and release a single disc album via Reprise for the 4th quarter retail period. Clearly it would not have mirrored COL's sequencing, but I think it is quite possible that Hendrix may have had to release a single disc album to meet his obligations.

 

Shokan Sessions:

 

Might be the only way we can get one of those studio Machine Guns. At least the "Hey Izabella" one

 

It is definitely an intriguing period, but EH seems unwilling to go deep into specific sessions. Fans are likely going to continue getting dribs and drabs from those sessions.

 

He was certainly closer to finishing off one by, say, Oct 1 than a double.

Freedom-needed probably one more overdub
Drifting-needed more overdubbing (one of the guitars on the CoL version came from a different session)
Ezy Ryder-done
Nightbird Flying-done
My Friend-?
Straight Ahead-supposedly done, but could've used some more work
Astro Man-close, probably needed more work
Angel-needed more work on the drum track
In From the Storm-close
Belly Button Window-demo, band version needed work
Dolly Dagger-done
Earth Blues-it seems he couldn't decide which one he wanted. He did more overdubbing and Mitch do a new drum part, but went back and mixed the BOG version too
Pali Gap-not on the new album, but he went and overdubbed, maybe he would've went back to it later
Room Full of Mirrors-probably would've taken another shot a mixing it
Look Over Yonder-not going to be on new album, but it seems to be the most finished track of anything from Oct 68-Apr 69
Hey Baby-needed a lot of work
Bleeding Heart-?
Stepping Stone-he had Mitch do the new drums and did new guitar parts
Midnight-another not likely to be included
Beginning-Either he or Eddie pared it down from 5:28 down to 4:12
Izabella-He did new guitar parts (and that's Buddy on drums, there's no difference I can hear between the single and this version)
Come Down Hard on Me-needed a lot of work
Drifter's Escape-needed a clean up mix (I like Jansen's better than the one from Aug 1970)
Message of Love-done, but likely put aside since it was on BoG
Power of Soul-same as Message of Love, probably needed another mix anyway

So from 25 of these tracks, about 8-10 were done or very close. If Reprise wanted to make sure it was out by Christmas, mid Oct probably would've been the drop dead time to be done. If he came back by Sept 20-21 (with or without Chas), it's not hard to believe he could've cleaned up 3 or 4 more to have a 10-12 track record ready.

 

It is conceivable that Hendrix could have "finished" even a double album by the end of October, but probably not realistic based on his method for working. As a self-producer, he simply belabored too much to work with that kind of efficiency. The following songs were nearly finished and received Hendrix approved mixes prior to his departure for Europe:

Dolly Dagger [8/20/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Straight Ahead [8/20/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios – Eddie Kramer only]
In From The Storm [8/20/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Room Full of Mirrors [8/20/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Ezy Ryder [8/22/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Astro Man [8/22/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Come Down Hard On Me [8/22/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Drifter’s Escape [8/22/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Earth Blues [8/22/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Message To Love [8/22/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Freedom [8/24/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]
Night Bird Flying [8/24/70 mix, Electric Lady Studios]

There is strong single album that can be constructed from those songs, but it is unlikely Hendrix would have wanted to compromise what was allegedly a bigger vision for the recordings. In theory, there was enough time for Hendrix to finish "Bolero/"Hey Baby" upon his return from Europe, along with "Midnight Lightning," if those were indeed the missing key tracks for his envisioned album (there are also other song titles he continued to mention interest in). But, if he was unable to work efficiently and suffer interruptions from touring obligations, it seems unlikely he could have finished the necessary recording on time, which may have necessitated a single album due to Reprise.

 

Yes...a Pali Gap

 

Also on:

 

And the August/September sessions with the GS&R band:

 

It seems like the edit, which improved the song, was done in 1971/72 by Eddie. There is no evidence that Jimi worked on or mixed the track after its recording.

 

Me too!

Which perfectly illustrates what I said earlier about Jimi being stuck in a cycle of very samey material at this stage. All great but all turning around the same basic feel.
With the talent that he had, I'm sure that he would have eventually returned to the songwriting prowess that he had displayed on the first three Experience albums - but alas.

 

This is much clearer. I would agree with you here. Other than purists comment.

I don't understand simple principles? That's condensing as is your continual remarks about "purists". If that is your attitude there is no point in this conversation at all. The vault was only "considered dry" because that's all AD had available to him. There were other tapes that people weren't letting him have. And yes they are relevant comparisons because MJ worked with what he had available to him. He choose to release things "as is" while AD choose to erase.

Bang. {sarcasm font}
Good luck to you.
Out.

 

Good point there, you look at the list and it's mostly all the rocking songs. After the logjam he had from late 68 to late 69 of getting songs to a finished state, the floodgates that opened in early 70 must have felt great and just happy to get things done. Once he got that worked out, then it was time to head in other directions. Things like Drifting, Angel, Belly Button Window and Hey Baby still needed work, along with Valleys of Neptune, Midnight Lightning and Burning Desire. But alas is right...

 

There were no (documented) studio recordings between May 22 (when Message From Nine To The Universe was recorded) and August 28 -
only the mentioned above Shokan recordings, which were not in a proper studio.

 

I would put this on his next posthumous release:



The best sound and footage of Jimi’s Royal Albert Hall concert I have seen or heard.

 

I actually quite like that they used the unfinished 'Belly Button Window' as the closing track of the album. I'm sure it never would have been included in that form had Jimi lived, but that's kind of the point. Its was a nice way for Kramer et al to illustrate/drive home the point that the album WAS in fact incomplete (despite how complete most of the material sounded) and indirectly it also served to illustrate how Jimi's lifespan was incomplete. Given all that I think it was the perfect closing track for COL (not to mention the later FROTRS).

As for 'My Friend' outside of the fact that it seemed like kind of a random inclusion given its age/anachronism compared to the rest of the tracks included, I don't think most people have a problem with the track itself (I certainly like it).

BTW my own pet theory about why Hendrix requested that Kramer pull the 'My Friend' tape out of storage in summer '70 was for possible inclusion in the new album, but NOT FROTNRS (his planned double album) but rather "People, Hell & Angels" (his planned triple album). Of course no one (other than Jimi) can be sure of how serious or set in stone either plan was or if/when one format displaced the other. Personally my guess is both ideas overlapped. Perhaps while working on the double album idea, it dawned on him that he may have had enough material (or nearly enough) for a triple album.

Further to my theory my assumption has always been since I first read about Jimi's idea for a triple album (with a three word title) was that each album would be subtitled one of those three words:

LP1 - People
LP2 - Hell
LP3 - Angels

So it may be possible that he had the two year old tape pulled when exploring (either seriously or just speculatively) whether he indeed did have enough material for a triple album. In addition to being a triple, my assumption is each album would be themed, and 'My Friend' would have been included on the "People" album.

I mentioned upthread my tracklist for a potential "Angels" album (since this is a thread about how we could re-do his posthumous discography). I didn't give tracklists for People or Hell because I don't think EH has given us enough yet to fill the 40 minutes required of each. People is a song short at about 37 minutes, and Hell is even shorter - that is before I decided to drop my EH released material only rule to include a bootleg 'Machine Gun' studio recording. Its a bit long at 12 or so minutes BUT the 'Hell album' I was compiling needed almost 12 minutes just to get to 40 minutes, and once I dropped one other song I was iffy about including anyway, the resulting tracklist was 40 minutes. BTW the track I dropped was 'Midnight' which I included pretty much just as a "placeholder" for Machine Gun anyway, though I suppose if the eventual EH released 'Machine Gun' is edited (which is likely) then 'Midnight' might possibly work following the edited 'Machine Gun' and thus getting the length of that disc back up to 40 minutes (give or take).

Anyway, without any further "blah-blah-blah" from me here's my provisional "work in progress" themed triple album tracklist (all tracks taken from official EH releases - except for 'Machine Gun'):

People:

Side 1
Bleeding Heart (Opening lyric: "People, People, Hear Me People.....")
Dolly Dagger
Ezy Rider
Drifter's Escape
Astro Man

Side 2
Look Over Yonder (aka 'Mr Bad Luck')
Straight Ahead (Opening lyric: "Hello, My Friend....")
Izabella
Lover Man
My Friend

Its a bit short and timewise could use one more song (any suggestions welcome) and I don't love the running order, but then as far as the songs are concerned this "record" strikes me as the weakest of the three anyway, so its hard to come up with a killer running order when many of the constituent songs aren't exactly killer - but its "decent".

Hell:

Side 3
Freedom
Room Full Of Mirrors
Machine Gun (12 minute bootleg version - if the eventual EH release of this track is heavily edited then follow it on the album with Midnight to fill the space - or if anyone has a better suggestion?)

Side 4
Stepping Stone
Earth Blues
Hear My Train A Comin'
In From the Storm
Midnight Lightning


Angels

Side 5
Power Of Soul
Message To Love
Angel
Valleys Of Neptune
Drifting

Side 6
Nightbird Flying
Pali Gap
Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)
Belly Button Window

Thoughts? BTW I don't *think* I goofed by included any redundancies (songs that were forerunners/embryonic versions of other songs also included - correct me if I'm wrong)

Anyway I know it casts a wide net as not everything comes from the 1970 sessions (when Jimi finally regained his focus and started working seriously on the album) but it is a way to round up a large chunk of material in a thematic way (that allows one to forgive some anachronistic/questionable inclusions). Plus as I said my own pet theory is that Jimi may have had this very thematic idea in mind at least long enough to make sense of why he had Kramer pull the 'My Friend' tape.

 

But man was he busy at this time. Heavy tour schedule, the implosion of the Experience, attempts at mixing two live albums with Eddie Kramer (neither of which was issued), forming a new band, rehearsing and performing at Woodstock!

 

Add Angel, Drifting, and perhaps Hey Baby to the 7 or 8 best from that list and you've got a real strong single album imo. I also don't think a double album would have been in the cards at the time due to record company pressure and time constraints.

 

Sorry this link was meant be posted above.



It will be removed quickly so watch as soon as you can.

 

Who knows why Hendrix wanted to revisit "My Friend" during the summer of 1970. It is a quality track, so it would not be surprising if he remembered it and wanted to review it for possible use or for additional work. Hendrix also made a note to review the b-side "Highway Chile." It seems like he wanted to conduct a thorough review of what he had while he made sense of where he wanted to go with his 4th studio album.

One thing that stands out to me about all of the material Hendrix was developing during the summer of 1970 is that most of the material was finely structured and condensed; there were not many sprawling pieces that often were associated with artistic double LPs. "Electric Ladyland" contained the lengthy psychedelic "Voodoo Chile" blues workout; the extended, spacey "1983;" and the bookend "Rainy Day"/"Still Raining" segment. "First Rays" or "Straight Ahead" (or whatever it would have actually been named) did not contain those sorts of musical pieces. Perhaps that is what he still was planning on developing with "Cherokee Mist" and "Bolero"/"Hey Baby." Not that a double album needed to go in that direction, but a double LP consisting of the material he was finishing up during the summer of 1970 simply comes across as a double LP of songs, rather than some sort of thematic statement or expansive, artistic piece.

I have my doubts that he would have produced a triple LP. First, a triple LP would have been pricey at retail and one suspects Reprise wanted something more accessible, especially because traditional studio Hendrix product had not been on the shelves in quite some time. Second, I think Hendrix threw out the idea in passing, taking into account how much material he was compiling, and I am not convinced it was under serious consideration -- it appears by August 1970, the focus was back to a double LP. Another thing to remember is that Hendrix owed Reprise the "Rainbow Bridge" soundtrack, which would have been due in 1971, so he was going to have to have material ready to fulfill that commitment.

 

Great stuff.

Dolly Dagger has to go on the Hell album. I don't know what to swap it with - Stepping Stone?

 

I think he just decided the psychedelic stuff was over and he was becoming more influenced by funk.

 

Which makes the fact that he never completed a studio album with the Band of Gypsys that much more disappointing. As I have stated on prior threads, Hendrix was closer to finishing a single disc BoG studio album in early 1970 than he perhaps was aware. From a practical standpoint, by the end of January 1970, the following studio tracks were in near-complete form and easily could have produced a tremendous album:

Power Of Soul
Message Of Love
Earth Blues
Ezy Ryder
Stepping Stone
Izabella
Burning Desire (sans vocal)

Granted, Hendrix likely did not want to give Chalpin/PPX/Capitol his studio masters, but there was a compelling studio album shaping up that would have made quite an artistic impact in 1970, arguably as much or more than the live BoG that was released in the spring.