“>I’m hard-pressed to name a musician or band with more unofficial releases than Jimi Hendrix. The Grateful Dead actually designated special section in each venue just for fans who wanted to tape their shows. Led Zeppelin played over a decade and had plenty of zealous fans that used those opportunities to record them; a lot of studio work also leaked out over the years. Bob Dylan’s many decades have produced plenty of bootleg recordings. However, when we compare the number of unofficial releases in proportion to studio records released during the artist’s lifetime and years that artist actively played, who else matches Hendrix?
Janie, Hendrix’s sister, established Dagger Records as a place to curate, assemble, and release some of that unofficial material. Yes, one can argue it’s a way to generate revenue and beat the bootleggers at their own game. However, it’s also a way provide not just access to additional material but also some quality control. For example, Eddie Kramer who was an engineer on Hendrix’s core albums mixes all of the tracks on ‘Hear My Music’ On the website for Dagger Records, Janie explains that the concept is to make the material sound as good as it can, document it in expansive booklets with full color photos and in-depth liner notes, and offer all of this at a reasonable price.
Hear My Music(2004) collects recordings from the first half of 1969 with Hendrix and other players in various New York and London studios. Despite the title, “Slow Version” open with a jamming guitar line and full drums and bass. This is the sixth and final take, so the band plays like they’ve rehearsed the song. When the drums stop, you can hear a wonderful fuzzy crackle coming from Jimi’s overdriven amplifier. Engineer George Chkiantz argued with Jimi over the volume of his amplifier. Hendrix refused to lower it, probably to the benefit of the track. “Drone Blues” begins with some wah and fast guitar runs. It’s difficult to believe that this was only bassist Billy Cox’s second recording session with Hendrix, but he locks in with the band just fine. The take of “Ezy Reader” featured here is number twenty-five of thirty-five. I hear small references to “Purple Haze.” What makes this version especially notable is that it is the only one that includes “Star Bangled Banner,” and it is the first known studio recording of Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner.” Hendrix just suddenly breaks out into “Banner” in the last three minutes of the track. Magnificent stuff.
“Jimi/Jimmy Jam” gives us an almost seventeen-minute jam in the studio that flows from mood to mood. “Jam 292” adds a pianist and trumpet player, according the liner notes, but I don’t hear much of them. Either way, “Jam 292” sounds mostly like a straightforward blues progression. Solid, but nothing remarkable. “Trash Man” is more dynamic and exploratory. The bottom end is reinforced by Noel Redding and his eight-string bass. The familiar “Message to Love,” the slow and moving “Gypsy Blood” (perhaps the record’s best track), and the unfamiliar “Valleys of Neptune [Guitar],” give us undistilled Hendrix with neither bass nor drums. After this trio of solo cuts, Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell rejoin Hendrix for the energetic “Blues Jam at Olympic.” Hendrix cuts loose and gives a lot of wailing solos during the song. Hendrix worked on and off on “Valleys of Neptune” during 1969 and 1970 but never found a form satisfactory to him. Closing track “Valleys of Neptune [Piano]” bring down the pace and captures Hendrix trying to work the song out by himself via piano. This is probably the most surprising track on the album.
While it’s probably best to start with canonical studio releases, you can find a lot of enjoyment and value in this record—If you don’t expect a pristine sound from the recording and perfectionism from the players. Instead, you can feel like you are sitting in with the band and hearing them work through drafts of songs. Maybe you’ll hear something new. Hendrix was always in transition.
TRACKLIST
1. Slow Version
2. Drone Blues
3. Ezy Ryder / Star Spangled Banner
4. Jimi/Jimmy Jam
5. Jam 292
6. Trash Man
7. Message to Love
8. Gypsy Blood
9. Valleys of Neptune [Guitar]
10. Blues Jam at Olympic
11. Valleys of Neptune [Piano]