I
t’s as good as you’d hope for.
What you’ve got here are the 1965-66 studio sessions of R&Ber Curtis Knight and The Squires that had a young kid at the guitar named Jimi Hendrix. Newly mixed by Eddie Kramer, this collection gives you an illuminating peek into the developing sound and style of the man who changed guitar playing forever, so that “they’ll never play surf music again.”
Curitis Knight and Hendrix are teamed with Ed Gregory-Napoleon Anderson/b, Marion Booker/dr, Nathaniel Edmonds/key and Ray Lucas/dr, but what is intriguing here is that Hendrix composes an impressive number of the pieces. What that means is that what we came to know as theJimi Hendrix Experience did not occur in a vacuum, as the nascent Hendrix sound and vision is evident here. Yes, you have Chuck Berry-influenced riffs on””Welcome Home,” but your eyebrows are going to be raised on a “Foxy Lady” leaning “You Don’t Want Me,” an “If 6 Was 9” lick on “Station Break” and a “Stone Free” rollicking “Gloomy Monday.” A mix of current era rock and boogie a la “messin’ With The Kid” is found on”Gotta Have A New Dress” but rolling blues that would become Hendrix’s signature is already reaching green to maturity on “Don’t Accuse Me” and “No Such Animal.” What did the audience think in those days when they heard this guy? He sounds up to the moment half a century ago. Knock yourself out and get this one!
Sony Legacy
Experience Hendrix