Power!Power!Power!

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MUSIC
TONE AUDIO NO.53
Jimi Hendrix
People, Hell & Angels
Legacy, 200g 2LP or CD
A
nother year, another posthumous Jimi Hendrix
record cobbled together with unearthed rarities and
miscellaneous outtakes. Right? Mostly. People, Hell
& Angels, branded as the successor to 2010’s Valley
of Neptune, gathers material the guitarist recorded
between 1968 and 1970 outside of the original
Experience trio.
Unlike that on previous Hendrix compilations, the
fare here is advertised as complete even if several
of the songs come across as works in progress.
The other headline news relates to the sonics.
Quality Record Pressings
oversaw the analog release
and, even on CD, the dynamics,
headroom, and tonalities
shine. Audiophiles and Hendrix
aficionados accustomed to the
varying quality on collections
such as West Seattle Boy—aural
characteristics that, due to
the nature of the source material,
remain out of anybody’s
control—get an early Christmas
present.
The songs aren’t halfbad,
either. Now for the reality
check: All the hyperbole
and grandstanding doesn’t
change the fact that, in spite
of Hendrix’s visionary skills
and creative ambition, what’s
left in the vaults does not
approach the compositions
or arrangements found on
the groundbreaking Are You
Experienced and Axis: Bold As
Love. The title may be coined
by Hendrix, yet People, Hell
& Angels plays and feels like
a compendium—an intriguing
one, but one that nonetheless
cannot disguise its identity as
a patchwork array of ideas and
themes that constantly remind
listeners they’re not hearing a
finished product. Rather, they’re
experiencing several insiders’
ideas of what they think
Hendrix what have wanted.
Several tracks will instantly
ring familiar to devotees. Drawn
from Hendrix’s first session
with Band of Gypsys members
Billy Cox and Buddy
Miles, a searing version of the
loose blues “Hear My Train A
Comin’” rivals previous renditions.
Debuted at Woodstock,
“Izabella” is afforded a deeper
R&B groove than other editions.
And “Somewhere,” captured in
March 1968, differs in texture
from its predecessors and also
features Stephen Stills on bass.
Historical nuggets, all, and
each salt-and-peppered with
the legend’s still-unsurpassed
six-string bending and soulful
maneuvering.
Surprises, however, are
few. An exception is the funk
workout “Let Me Move You,” on
which Hendrix trades phrases
with former collaborator and
saxophonist Lonnie Youngblood.
A reminder of Hendrix’s
chitlin’ circuit roots, the performance
hints at what the guitarist
might have done had he
more religiously followed a jazz
and R&B muse. Ditto the hornsoaked
“Mojo Man,” on which
MUSIC
psychedelic juju speaks with
a Muscle Shoals accent.
As curiosity items go,
People, Hell & Angels is akin
to browsing at a flea market,
spotting what might be a
painting by a known master,
taking it to a professional for
an appraisal, and learning that
it’s a great forgery. The analogy
isn’t to suggest that anything
on this twelve-track affair lacks
authenticity, only that sketches
do not make a masterpiece.
—Bob Gendron
March 2013 55