Customer Reviews
discovering hendrix with the blues-brilliant +++++++++++++++ - By: Mrs. C. Casson, 20 Apr 2008 
HAVING NEVER OWNED A CD ON HENDRIX-ONLY REMEMBERED SEEING HIM ON TELLY BACK IN THE 70S/80S SMASHING GUITARS ON STAGE I DECIDED OUT OF INTEREST TO GIVE THIS CD A GO HAVING RECENTLY GOT INTO BLUES MUSIC WITH THE LIKES OF JOHN MAYALL,ERIC CLAPTON AND NINA SIMONE AND WOW WHAT AN ALBUM-EVERY SINGLE TRACK ON THIS ALBUM REALY DOES HOLD MY ATTENTION AND LIFT MY SPIRITS AND THIS REALY IS AN ALBUM THAT DESERVES TO BE HEARD WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE INTO THE BLUES OR NOT.
I CANT FAULT THIS ALBUM IN ANY WAY AND I WILL CERTAINLY ALMOST BE LOOKING UP OTHER HENDRIX ALBUMS IN THE FUTURE.
DONT HESITATE GO BUY IT NOW.
Buy this album - By: 346GNU, 08 Feb 2008 40 years of listening to Jimi. You cannot underestimate his influence on the blues. We needed the mantle to be passed on from Muddy, Buddy, BB, et al. Jimi did thisin spades. You may own all the 'legitimate' pre 18/09/1970 releases but you cannot fault the efforts of the foundation set up by his father, Al, to re-release and, simply release the unheard archive. Most of the tracksin this set, you will be familiar with, but that should not detract from the brilliance & innovation of his musical style. To call this album 'Blues' sells itself. The bookending of accoustic & electric renditions of 'Hear My Train a-Comin' is genius. Recorded at the start & end of his career ably demonstrates his influence. The former is intimate & shows off his versatility on the 12 string & his humour. The latter is the definitive version of the song and, possibly, his defining momentin blues. The rest of the album touches all the bases. Robert Johnson may well have sold his soul to the devil for the sake of his art. Jimi Hendrix was born with the gift & future generations of blues guitarists my find themselvesin direct negotiations to keep the flame alive.
Blues - By: Spider Monkey, 12 Jan 2008 'Blues' is a great collection of Jimi playing the style that infused all of his music. You get awesome performances of 'Hear my train a comin'in both acoustic & electric, as well other songs by him & covers of other blue numbers. 'Mannish Boy' & 'Catfish Blues' are superb & the blues version of 'Voodoo Chile' is out of this world & really good to listen to if you love the version on 'Electric Ladyland' although this one is shorter. Overall this is a good collection of tracks & is perfect to put on when you'rein the mood for some blues & only Jimi will do.
wot no machine gun? - By: Mr. Angus D. Rorison, 13 Mar 2007 
A fine, fine collection - probably impossible to please everyone.
For my part, I think its missing one of the gretaest ever slow blues - 'Machine Gun' from Band of Gypsys. Not a 'traditional' bluesin form but oozing deep, scary funky blues. Love this album though. Now go out & buy every Buddy Guy, Boubacar Traore & Funkadelic album out there!
Earth to Hendrix: Jimi.......Jimi?..............Where are you, man?...... - By: Wilf, 17 Feb 2007 Like the previous reviewer, I also am a fan of blues guitar music (a HUGE fan) & greatly appreciate the talents of Leadbelly, Lightnin' Hopkins, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, BB King, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Guitar Watson etc (and even one or two white guys !). And, entirely worthy of inclusionin this catalogue of blues brilliance, is Jimi Hendrix.
One of the most wonderful things about the blues is the fact that it provides such a good framework for its practitioners to develop their own styles & sounds, & to make their own unique contributions to the genre. Well, Jimi fits seemlessly into this tradition. Indeed, Jimi's contribution could be considered particularly interesting because on one hand, he is entirely steepedin traditional blues, while on the other hand, he personifies his own generation, his howling, screeching, wailing guitar (plus sustain & feedback off his speakers) being the very embodiment of the psychedelic experience.
Furthermore, Jimi,in my opinion, manages to communicate deeper & more intense emotionin both his guitar & voice than almost any musician, which, alongside his technical virtuosity, is quite simply the perfect combination for crying the blues.
As for this CD, its definitely a mixed bag - ranging from those that reveal their origins as warm-ups, jams & impromptu performances, to some old favourites, to some gems that would have been worthy of general releasein their own right. While some of the content is quite 'dry', others (like Mannish Boy, Voodoo Chile Blues, Once I Had A Woman & both versions of Hear My Train) are superb & there is even one track that I consider to be a genuine masterpiece! Born Under A Bad Sign!! This track is not only a great classic, but the result of Jimi's treatment is a classic cover version. (Cream's cover of the same song -also brilliant- is an interesting comparison).
Allin all, I consider this release to be a very worthwhile contribution to the body of Jimi's published music, & well worth adding to your Hendrix or blues collection. Why only 4 stars? Because this CD doesn't contain my favourite version of Hear My Train A Comin' (the Hawaii rendition, which is a serious contender for my-all-time-No.1-favourite-blues-track) & because some of the material serves best as 'wall-paper'. Of course, how many other artists could stand up so well to having their every recorded note picked over so thoroughly?!
Finally, one of the great pleasures of having been listening to Hendrix for 15 years is that, through much of this time, there has been a steady trickle of previously-unreleased material coming through (such as the Rainbow Bridge concert & First Rays Of The New Rising Sun). This has had the effect of sustaining fans with new material (and has included some of his very very best work), even though he left us all those years ago. This CD is such a release, & anyone who likes the blues or any of Jimi's music will get something from it.
"Music is Magic, Magic is Life" -JH-
