Blues (Jimi Hendrix album)

Blues
Compilation album by Jimi Hendrix
Released April 26, 1994
Recorded 1966–1970
Genre Blues, electric blues
Length 72:17
Label MCA
Producer Alan Douglas, Bruce Gary (compilation)
Jimi Hendrix chronology
The Ultimate Experience
(1992)		 Blues
(1994)		 Woodstock
(1994)

Blues is a posthumous compilation album by musician Jimi Hendrix, released April 26, 1994, on MCA Records.[1] The album contains eleven blues songs recorded by Hendrix between 1966 and 1970. Out of these eleven, six were previously unreleased. The tracks include seven of Hendrix's compositions along with covers of famous blues songs such as "Born Under a Bad Sign" and "Mannish Boy". Most of the album's material consists of leftover studio tapes that Hendrix might have never intended to release.

Compiled by MCA and released in 1994, Blues was met with favorable criticism and multiple chart success, selling over 500,000 copies in its first two years of release. On February 6, 2001, Blues was certified platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America.[2] The album was re-released on Experience Hendrix Records in 1998, following the Hendrix family's acquisition of the musician's recordings.[3]

This collection was re-released again in October 2010 as part of the Hendrix family's project to remaster Jimi's discography.

Music

The opening song "Hear My Train A Comin'" (aka, by Hendrix, "Getting My Heart Back Together Again") is a Hendrix original that he often played live in concert, particularly in 1969 and 1970. The song was from a long lost master tape of Hendrix alone playing a 12-string acoustic right-hand guitar, strung for left hand and singing in a delta blues manner. This December 1967 live studio performance was filmed for, and included in the film See My Music Talking, and later included in the 1973 documentary Jimi Hendrix and accompanying soundtrack LP. The last song on Blues is a live version of "Hear My Train A Comin'", recorded on May 30, 1970, at the Berkeley Community Theatre, that had previously been released on the posthumous Rainbow Bridge album in 1971.

"Born Under a Bad Sign" is an instrumental jam of the Albert King number originally written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell (performed by Band of Gypsys). "Red House" is the original (mono) take from the European version of Are You Experienced, but minus the outro chat (previously unavailable in US & Canada).[4] Another take (stereo) from a different session was released on the US version of the 1969 compilation album Smash Hits. On this version Redding plays electric guitar tuned down to resemble a bass. "Catfish Blues" is from a Dutch TV show, Hoepla, which was recorded in November 1967.[5] Hendrix uses the first two verses from Muddy Waters "Rollin’ Stone" (which is based on older versions usually with "Catfish" in the title) and the last verse is from Muddy's "Still a Fool" itself based on "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie etc.

A sample of Catfish Blues.

"Voodoo Chile Blues" is another creation of Alan Douglas, recorded during the sessions that produced the finished track, "Voodoo Chile", for the critically acclaimed Electric Ladyland album. This track is made up of two different takes of the song that were edited and joined together in order to come up with one consistent track. "Mannish Boy" is actually a hybrid of Muddy Waters's "Mannish Boy" and Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man", it is a similar edited studio creation that combines several takes. "Once I Had a Woman" is a slightly longer edited version of a song recorded at the Record Plant in New York City on January 23, 1970 with musicians Buddy Miles on drums and Billy Cox on bass guitar. The band starts to jam during the second half of the long song and then a fade out follows. "Bleeding Heart" is a cover of the Elmore James number, performed here by Band of Gypsys. "Jelly 292" is actually take 2 of the song "Jam 292" (the name on the tape box) which appeared on the 1974 European-only LP Loose Ends. It is an uptempo jam based on Duke Ellington's "Dooji Wooji".[6] "Electric Church Red House" is a jam from TTG Studios in Los Angeles featuring a group introduction by Hendrix (lifted from another, different jam at TTG) and Lee Michaels on organ.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Blender[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA[9]
NME8/10[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
The Village VoiceA–[12]

In a 1994 review, Rolling Stone magazine was impressed by how Blues showcased Hendrix's ability to pay homage to his influences but also transcend them,[13] while NME said the compilation of lengthy blues jams was distinguished by his "definitive" style of electric blues and the digital remastering quality.[10] Writing for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger said the songs showed "the master guitarist stretching the boundaries of electric blues in both live and studio settings."[7] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau believed the ordinary blues concept and track selection were conducive to Hendrix's unique and eclectic style.[12] He later wrote of Hendrix's blues legacy in Blender:

"Though it's reductionist to define Hendrix as a bluesman just because he was black, he melded Chicago blues and country blues and interplanetary blues and bent blues like a supernatural. His sound was even thicker than mentor Albert King's, yet it could get as fanciful as prime Skip James."[8]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Hear My Train A Comin' (Acoustic version)" (Live)Jimi Hendrix 3:05
2. "Born Under a Bad Sign" (Instrumental)Booker T. Jones, William Bell 7:37
3. "Red House"  Hendrix 3:41
4. "Catfish Blues" (Live)Traditional, arr. Hendrix 7:46
5. "Voodoo Chile Blues"  Hendrix 8:47
6. "Mannish Boy"  Muddy Waters, Mel London, Ellas McDaniel 5:21
7. "Once I Had a Woman"  Hendrix 7:49
8. "Bleeding Heart"  Elmore James, arr. Hendrix 3:26
9. "Jelly 292[14]"  Hendrix 6:25
10. "Electric Church Red House"  Hendrix 6:12
11. "Hear My Train A Comin' (Electric version)" (Live)Hendrix 12:08

Chart history

Personnel

Musicians

  • Jimi Hendrix – guitars, vocals
  • Billy Cox – bass on "Born Under a Bad Sign", "Mannish Boy", "Once I Had a Woman", "Bleeding Heart", "Jelly 292" and "Hear My Train a Comin' (Electric)"
  • Noel Redding – bass on "Red House", "Catfish Blues" and "Electric Church Red House"
  • Mitch Mitchell – drums on "Red House", "Catfish Blues", "Voodoo Chile Blues", "Jelly 292", "Electric Church Red House" and "Hear My Train a Comin' (Electric)"
  • Buddy Miles – drums on "Born Under a Bad Sign", "Mannish Boy", "Once I Had a Woman", "Bleeding Heart"
  • Jack Casady – bass on "Voodoo Chile Blues"
  • Steve Winwood – organ on "Voodoo Chile Blues"
  • Sharon Layne – Piano on "Jelly 292"
  • Lee Michaels – organ on "Electric Church Red House"

Additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ Blues > Overview . All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  2. ↑ RIAA Searchable Database - Search Results - Blues Jimi Hendrix Archived June 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  3. ↑ Discogs.com - Blues (1998). Discogs. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  4. ↑ :Blues CD sleeve notes, MCA
  5. ↑ McDermott, John; Kramer, Eddie; Cox, Billy (2009). Ultimate Hendrix: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Live Concerts and Sessions. Backbeat Books. p. 77. ISBN 9780879309381. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 From The Benjamin Franklin Studios by Steve Rodham
  7. 1 2 Unterberger, Richie. "Blues - Jimi Hendrix". AllMusic. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (December 2005). "Back Catalogue: Jimi Hendrix". Blender. New York. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ Bernard, James (June 10, 1994). "Blues Review". Entertainment Weekly. New York (226). Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Blues". NME. London. January 4, 1999. Retrieved July 1, 1994. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  11. ↑ Evans, Paul; Brackett, Nathan (2004). "Jimi Hendrix". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 374. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (May 31, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  13. ↑ Rolling Stone. New York: 100. May 19, 1994. ...what sets this album apart is the way it illuminates the guitarist's debt to other bluesmen as well as his genius for pushing beyond those influences...
  14. ↑ "Jimi Hendrix ‎– Blues". discogs.com. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Jimi Hendrix – Blues". discogs.com. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  16. ↑ allmusic ((( Blues > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums ))). All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  17. ↑ "UK chart history - Jimi Hendrix Blues". www.chartstats.com. Retrieved 6 September 2011.

External links

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