Can there be TOO MUCH Hendrix? Part 1

Been thinking about doing a huge Hendrix project for a while, I consider him to be perhaps
(seriously) the most talented musician of the past 50-60 years, and in my opinion, there is vey little room for arguement. Though, basically, his recording career was relatively brief, maybe 6 years tops counting his work as a session man, a rock star (and one of the very greatest), and as a funk/blues slammer that he was morphing into at the time of his passing. The great thing seems to be that nearly every time the man plugged in, someone was there to record it......for such a short  life, we have an absolute MOUNTAIN of recorded music, including a staggering amount of top-notch concert material, simply tons of alternate versions/alternate mixes.....just AMAZING that "Valleys of Neptune" was discovered but 4 years ago or so, and was simply one of the best rock songs of the year.....amazing.

So, how am  going to do this? Hell, not quite sure yet actually, I really DON'T want to post the original Experience albums, I have way too much other stuff to cover, besides, you already HAVE THEM (right?) and to be honest, hasn't "Purple Haze" or "Foxey Lady" in thier orginal forms been played about to death? I think so.......but I do have a mountain of interesting and hard to locate other stuff from Mr. Hendrix, hopefully sme of which you haven't heard yet.....gonna wait a bit for the too-cool-for-words concert sets, today I plan to open up in style with the EIGHT DISC "51ST ANNIVERSARY-THE STORY OF LIFE" set, which contains......well, everything but the kitchen sink and then some. I cannot remember where I got this, I THINK it MAY have been Voodoo Wagon, but I can't be certain.....if I am wrong, I apolgize. As for the music here, well, wow......

Well, disc 1 intersperses brief interviews with great music, a fine alternate take of"Hey Joe" which I had not heard before, a rambling live "Gloria", a version of "Sgt Peppers Lonely hearts Club Band", some other alternates ("Little Wing", "Foxey Lady")......how's it sound? Because that's about the half of it......check the track list you want this.......the session work on the Rosa Lee Brooks tracks is beyond amazing, you could identify it  a mile away.

Disc 2 is a series of "jams", not MY favorite thing necessarily, but "Traffic Jam", "Hey Baby Jam",
"Rainy Day Super Jam" are at least interesting, because various members of Traffic turn up,  and we get an alternate take on the great "Valleys Of Neptune".......guys, if you like Hendrix even a small bit, this set is essential to understanding his total greatness.

The third disc contains some free form stuff as well, a lengthy"Voodoo Chile", and "1983", we also get "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".......fine, fine, stuff,not just "interesting" but SEROUSLY listenable/enjoyable (if yer a Hendrix fan......actually, I am, see?)

Disc 4 goes in a more bluesy direction (great versions of "Machine Gun", "Lord I Sing the Blues r You and Me", LOTS more, gotta also mention "7 Dollars In My Pocket".

More blues/jams dominate Disc5, "Heavy Rider Jam" rocks hard and plenty more interestng stuff: "Lower Alcatraz", "Peace In Mississippi").

Disc 6 is loaded with outtakes from various albums, obscure tracks all....."San Francisco Bay Blues ", "Electric Ladyland Theme", "Cherokee Mist", TONS more that unless you are a Hendrix afficianado, likely you haven't heard...again, an essential disc for fans of Jimi Hendrix.

Disc 7 gives us some outtakes/alts of some "Experience" era stuff, always loved "Stone Free", an great to hear another take, "Up From the Skies/EXP" are ones I never thought I hear outtakes of, this is a fine disc as well......

And Disc 8.......alternate takes of great shit like "Fire", "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)", "Spanish Castle magic"........again, grade a stuff, this is a fin, wonderful release, you will love it and more...I have  few more of these "documentary"-like set, and I am going to put them up, also, before tearing into my mountain of concert recordings.....for now, I defy you to tall me this isn't a fantastic set......

If you DONT like it, stay away from this site for a week or two, because this Hendrix project is not about to be half-assed, I think it's going to be a great project (btw: you have any rare Hendrix? now's the time to break it out and share, share, share.........I probably have close to 100 live shows and plan on probably posting most all of them, so if you have a rare boot or something, let me know so the rest of us ca enjoy it as well!

I think this is a FINE 8-Disc set, considerng it's a hodgepodge......if you download it (you should),
PLEASE yer Uncle know whatcha think about it, there is WAY WAY WAY more to com, so strap yourself in and enjoy!!!!

DISC 1-01 Intro/Collage/02 Hey Joe (Demo)/03 Interview/04 How Would You Feel (Curtis Knight Material 1966-67)/05 Love Or Confusion (Live)/06 Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart's Club Band (Live)/07 All Along the Watchtower (Demo)/08 Little Wing 3 (Live)/09 Electric Church/Red House/10 Spanish Castle Magic (BBC Session)/11 Hear My Train a Comin' (Live)/12 Rock N Roll Band (1967 with Eire Apparant)/13 Stepping Stone (Band of Gypsies)/14 Gloria (1967 Session with Friends)/15 My Diary (Rosa Lee Brooks Single)/16 Utee (Rosa Lee Brooks Single)/17 The Burning of the Midnight Lamp (Live)/18 Little Miss Lover (Unreleasead)/19 Foxey Lady (Demo)/20 Catfish Blues (Demo)/21 Slow Walkin Talk (Demo)

DISC 2-01 Traffic Jam (Unreleased Studio Jam w/Traffic)/02 Hay Baby Jam (Unreleased Studio Jam w Traffic)/03 Jazz Jam (Unreleased Studio Jam w/Traffic)/04 Moonlight Jam (Unreleased Studio Jam w/Traffic/05 Studio Catastrophe (Valley of Neptune Session)/06 Valley of Neptune (Take 2)/07 Rainy Day Super Jam (Electricladyland Outtake)/08 Nervous Breakdown (with Fat Mattress)/09 Captain Coconut and the Cherokee Mist Jam (Electric Ladyland Outtake)/10 Crash Landing (Electric Ladyland Outtake)

DISC 3-01 Lover Man/02 Voodoo Chile/03 Somewhere Over The Rainbow/04 Red House/05 Angel/06 1983/07 First Jam

DISC 4-01 7 Dollars In My Pocket (Medley)/02 Devil Jam (Winter Jam)/03 Lover Man/04Midnight Lightning I (Acoustic)/05 Further On Up the Road/06 The Things I Used to Do (w/ Johnny Winter)/07 Once I Had a Woman (Take 2)/08 Machine Gun/09 Lord I Sing the Blues For Me and You (Hit Factory NY)/10 Country Blues (Record Plant NY)/11 Stop (Rehearsal)

DISC 5-01 Midnight Lightning/02 Lower Alcatraz/03 There Goes Easy Rider/7 Dollars In My Pocket/04 Heavy Rider Jam (Ezy Rider Jam)/05 Easy Blues/06 Gypsy Boy/07 Peace  Mississippi

DISC 6-01 Two Guitar Jam (w/Stephen Stills)/02 San Francisco Bay Blues Jam (Electricladyland Outtake)/03 Gypsy Eyes (Outtake)/04 Cherokee Mist (Studio Jam)/05 The Street Thing (Outtake)/06 In From the Storm (Outtake)/07 Freedom (Outtake)/08 Somewhere Over the Rainbow II (Outtake)/09 Belly Button Window (Instrumental Outtake)/10 Captain Coconut and Cherokee Mist (Outtake)/11 Rider Blues (Outtake)/12 Electric Ladyland Theme (Outtake)/13 Jazzy Jamming (Studio Jam)

DISC 7- 01 She's So Fine (rehearsal tape)/02 Axis: Bold as Love (rehearsal tape)/03 EXP (Rehearsal
Tape)/04 Up From the Skies (reherasal Tape)/05 Love Jam (Jazz Jimi Jam) (reheasal tape)/06 Electric Ladyland Jam (reharsal tape)/07 Pass It On (Live at Berkely)/08 Hey Baby Hey Baby (New Rising Sun (Live at Berkely)/09 Stone Free (Live Berkely)/10 Hey Joe (Live Berkely)/11 Freeedom (Live Berkely)/12 Red House (Live Berkely)/13 Ezy Rider (Live Berkely)/14 New Rising Sun Theme (Instrumantal)

DISC 8-01 Fire/02 Getting My Heart Back Together Again/03 Spanish Castle Magic/04 Purple Haze/05 Tax Free/06 Message of Love/07 Red House/08 Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)/09 Machine Gun/10 Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun)

OK, links will be around in a little bit......if you don't like Hendrix, might as well spend a few days away from here because there is a BUNCH headed yer way!