While I’m not a Jimi Hendrix expert, I don’t detect any no new revelations on Both Sides Of The Sky. In fact, if anything, I’d say it pretty much reflects what I’ve heard from Hendrix before. And that’s quite alright with me. After all, we’re talking about possibly the best rock guitarist who has ever walked the planet. So more of the same really means more of the same brilliance. In my book that’s not a reason to complain. Plus, I have to say, this album also provides a nice occasion to rediscover Hendrix.
The record, which was fully released yesterday (March 9), is the third in a trilogy of posthumous albums after Valleys Of Neptune (2010) and People, Hell and Angels (2013). It captures studio recordings Hendrix made between 1968 and 1970. All three albums were co-produced by Eddie Kramer, Hendrix’s go-to recording engineer for all records that appeared during his lifetime. The full release was preceded by three upfront singles: The Muddy Waters tune Mannish Boy, as well as the Hendrix compositions Hear My Train A Comin’ and Lover Man, which I covered in previous posts.
Here are clips of Mannish Boy, a nice take of the Waters classic, and Lover Man, which Hendrix modeled after B.B. King’s Rock Me Baby.
“He used the studio as a rehearsal place,” Kramer told NPR, commenting on the transitional period for Hendrix this collection from the vault captures. These recordings happened shortly after the final album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland had appeared and before he would record his last and only album with Band Of Gypsies at Fillmore East in January 1970. “Thank goodness that was happening because the tape was running, and he would bring in different musicians to try to figure out what he was gonna do with his musical direction.”
These different artists included Stephen Stills, Johnny Winter and saxophonist Lonnie Youngblood, who appear on different tracks of the album. The collaborations with Stills include his original tune $20 Fine and a great pre-Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recording of Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock. Winter joins Hendrix on Things I Used To Do, a great electric slide guitar blues. Youngblood provides strong vocals and a killer saxophone solo on Georgia Blues. On that tune, I also dig what sounds like a Hammond in the background – no idea who was playing it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find YouTube clips for any of these tunes, but the entire album is still available for free streaming on NPR here. It’s also on regular streaming platforms, including Apple Music/iTunes and Spotify.
“Sometimes, a song would take him nine months to bring to completion, and a lot of these songs are that,” Kramer explained during the above NPR interview. “They are the takes prior to it being completed, which makes them very exciting.” The NPR segment further reported that according to Kramer, the Hendrix vault has pretty much been exhausted when it comes to unreleased studio recordings but still includes plenty of additional live material. Some 47 years after Hendrix’s death, one does indeed wonder how much unreleased material could possibly be left.
Asked whether working on Hendrix music is still meaningful to him, Kramer said, “Oh my goodness, yes, I love working on this stuff. I get so excited just putting the tapes up and hearing his voice. I wanna keep doing Jimi Hendrix for the rest of time.”
Sources: Wikipedia, NPR, YouTube
Christian's Music Musings 
It is hard to believe Jimi has been dead nearly twice as long as he lived. He accomplished a great deal- who knows what he would have done had he lived a full life.
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You’re right, it is kind of mind-boggling! If you like Jimi’s music and have access to Apple Music or Spotify, give it a spin, or the free NPR stream. I think the collaborations I mentioned in the post are particularly intriguing.
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