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It’s a biggie: 39 tracks, all but one previously unreleased, on three CDs (or five LPs), plus, on Blu-ray, a feature-length documentary on the creation of Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios and 20 new mixes of previously released tracks. Though not intended for beginners, anyone curious about Hendrix’s legacy will be dazzled.
While the documentary offers an interesting behind-the-scenes look at what Hendrix intended to be a permanent recording home, the 39 tracks, recorded in summer 1970 just before his death, are the main course. Chronicling the only time the guitarist would work in his own studio, Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision spotlights alternate versions of songs that would be high points of his posthumous releases, among them “Ezy Rider,” “Room Full of Mirrors,” “Drifting,” “Angel” and “Freedom.” (Some seem nearly finished; some are rough sketches.) The guitar playing is typically magical, delivering head-spinning twists in multiple versions of the same tune. But that’s hardly news.
Instead, note Jimi’s underrated gifts as a vocalist. On gentler tracks like “Angel” he’s a captivating crooner, not a showy balladeer, but a charming, down-to-earth presence. On noisier tunes such as “Freedom” and Bob Dylan’s “Drifter’s Escape” Hendrix projects urgency without lapsing into cartoonish macho swagger. Like Dylan or Lou Reed, he didn’t possess a technically perfect voice, but was a wonderfully expressive singer who hit the notes he intended to hit, providing an earthy counterpoint to his supernatural fretwork.
Loose ends and all, Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision delivers more than two hours of fascination.
