On Tuesday March 9th, 2010, Jimi Hendrix released a new CD. 42 years after his 3rd studio record the demo version of what would probably have been his 4th studio recording arrived. The music was created mostly in 1969, the year after “Electric Ladyland” was put out. Hendrix was experimenting with sounds as usual and was even playing around with some of his well known classics.
The new cd contains some re-interpretations of well know Hendrix tunes such as “Fire”, “Stone Free” and “Red House”. There is also an instrumental cover of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love.” While they all are unique versions of these tunes for me “Red House” is the only song that equals the originals. The others, while interesting are missing something and feel incomplete.
The title track “Valleys of Neptune” sounds like a finished Hendrix tune that was waiting to be placed on an album. This one is classic Hendrix and wouldn’t have seemed out of place on any of his previous collections.
There is quite a strong bluesy feel to the music on “Valleys.” From the extended jam of “Red House” to Elmore James’ “Bleeding Heart” to “Hear My Train A Comin’”, Hendrix proved himself to be quite fluent with blues. In fact, Hendrix was a huge fan of Buddy Guy who was doing the feedback thing long before Hendrix ever thought about it and also he was influenced greatly by Guitar Shorty who was married to Jimi’s aunt and lived in Tacoma near the Hendrix’s. These men are both ultimate showmen and a lot of Jimi’s stage antics can be traced directly to both of them.
Unlike many posthumous releases where the music is not up to par, the sound quality is bad and the only idea is capitalising on the name of the deceased artist there is some really great music here. Some that is rough copy of unfinished ideas of what may have been and some that just isn’t up to Hendrix’s legendary status. This is to be expected, as if it had been a finished work it would have been released way back when. Having said that though, stating something isn’t up to Jimi’s incredible standard is like comparing one of Da Vinci’s unfinished paintings to the Mona Lisa. This is a look into the process of Hendrix building songs for an unrealised record.
This is better than many of the records coming out these days and the fact that it won’t be considered Jimi’s best doesn’t make it not worth owning. There is enough here to please anyone that enjoys good music and for Hendrix fans it is an absolute no-brainer.
