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    • November 10, 2010 12:48 AM CST
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    • Wow! This sounds great. When I first heard about this project my initial reaction was "Oh no, they're recycling Jimi again." But the way you describe it sounds very interesting.

    • November 9, 2010 11:43 PM CST
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    • Originally posted on No Depression.


      Very few artists have recorded as much worthwhile music in as short a time period as Jimi Hendrix. Beginning his solo career in 1966, by the time of his death in in September 1970 Hendrix had already released four albums that can only be described as classics and had wowed audiences throughout the United States in Europe. When he died, he left a vast vault of recordings in varying degrees of completion that have made up countless albums beginning with 1971's Cry of Love and going through to Valleys of Neptune from earlier this year. While the early posthumous albums have been successful among fans and collectors, they have also been harshly criticized in some circles for providing only abbreviated snippets of longer songs and containing controversial overdubs. Enter West Coast Seattle Boy, the new four-CD and one-DVD box set from Legacy and Experience Hendrix which will be released on November 16. The set attempts to correct the aforementioned problem while also providing fans with alternate takes of released material, live recordings, studio jams, home demos, and early recordings showing Jimi's prowess as a backup musician.

      It is the latter which comprises the set's first disc. This disc displays Hendrix backing up several soul and R&B artists, most notably Little Richard and the Isley Brothers. While the Isley Brothers tracks are a far cry from the legendary group's best work, the numbers by Little Richard will offer those listeners only familiar with his seminal '50s work a completely different, and decidedly more soulful, view of the man's music . Even without Jimi, this disc would make a fine collection of mid-'60s R&B and it is the numbers by artists like Ray Sharpe, Rosa Lee Brooks, and Jimmy Norman that truly make up the heart of the disc. In fact, there are songs in which Hendrix's presence is nearly indiscernible and you could be listening to any good studio guitarist. But there are others where he gets a brief moment in the spotlight and we know from the first notes that it can't be anyone else.

      This initial disc may be the most interesting to fans of forgotten '60s recordings, but the least interesting to Hendrix aficionados. Whichever category you fit into, it is a good look at the beginning of Hendrix's career and a glimpse into why he was so great in the first place. Unlike so many of today's self-proclaimed "guitar gods," Hendrix paid his dues on the road and in the studio with seasoned veterans prior to striking it out on his own and it is that experience that made his playing among the best ever.

      The second disc comes closer to the Jimi we all know and love, kicking off with an alternate take of the classic rock staple "Fire," before delving into lesser-known material. Among this material is "Little One," an instrumental recorded for Electric Ladyland featuring Dave Mason on sitar, a hard rock comedy track titled "Calling All the Devil's Children," which finds Hendrix portraying a minister, and a wonderful alternate take of "Mr. Bad Luck." Also included are the initial backing tracks of "Are You Experienced" and a slower version of "Castles Made of Sand" featuring only Jimi and drummer Mitch Mitchell. These numbers were very interesting to me and displayed beyond any doubt how far ahead of his time Hendrix was. In fact, these backing tracks aren't too far detached from what a new generation of Seattle musicians would be doing a few decades later when they created grunge.

      The best parts of disc two, though, are the six demos Hendrix recorded solo inside his hotel room in March 1968. While I had long suspected that "Long Hot Summer Night" would make a damn good folk song, I was surprised that "1983 (A Merman I Shall Turn to Be)" also makes the transition very well. Neither are as good as the finished studio versions, but that is to be expected. Perhaps the best of these demos are an emotional cover of Dylan's "Tears of Rage" and Jimi's own "My Friend," which ranks as his best song lyrically.

      Disc three is something of a mixed bag, although the good far outweighs the unnecessary. Near the beginning of the disc, the listener is treated to a seemingly spontaneous medley of "Room Full of Mirrors" and "Shame, Shame, Shame" and an amazing cover of Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog Blues." We also hear several very promising unreleased songs such as the metal-like "Messenger," the Curtis Mayfield-inspired "Mastermind," and an instrumental simply titled "Untitled Basic Track." But just as the disc shows glimpses of Hendrix at his best in the studio, it also displays the worst of his musical excesses. A case in point is the 20-minute-plus jam with jazz organist Larry Young that shows flashes of brilliance at points, but for the most part, is simply aimless jamming.

      The third disc also contains several live recordings, including a pre-Woodstock version of "The Star-Spangled Banner"/"Purple Haze" medley and three outtakes from the legendary Band of Gypsys shows on New Years Eve '69 that extends onto to the next disc. While the former bunch do not measure up to the Woodstock versions, they still make for great listening and the latter numbers once again reiterate the need for a set of the complete Band of Gypsysrecordings. The best among these is a scorching fourteen-minute version of "Stone Free" that opens the set's final disc.

      The remainder of the final disc explores the direction Hendrix was heading in his final months. The best tune on the disc, and perhaps the entire set, is the beautiful instrumental "Burning Desire" which is hard-rocking in its brilliant delivery and jazz-like in its complexity. The great material continues with the blues-rocker "Lonely Avenue," and the uncompleted "All God's Children." We also get to hear the last instance of Jimi as a backup musician as he adds guitar to Arthur Lee and Love's "Everlasting First," released here for the first time in it's complete form. The set ends with an acoustic home demo of "Suddenly November Morning" from the legendary "Black Gold" sessions. The tune ranks as one of the box's most intriguing numbers and one which had the potential to be a true classic.

      The fourth disc was my personal favorite and while the songs on it were never completed and therefore can't warrant a comparison to Jimi's four original albums, having listened to the entire set and hearing the alternate takes of classic numbers and the way Hendrix worked in the studio, it is hard to not draw the conclusion that he was just starting to reach his peak in the late summer of 1970. While we may never know what Hendrix would have released in '71, I am almost certain that it would have been his masterpiece.

      The music on the four discs enhanced my already immense level of respect for Hendrix's music and, likewise, the DVD which accompanies the set enhanced my respect for Hendrix as a person. The documentary Voodoo Child features photographs and footage of Jimi as funk legend Bootsy Collins narrates, allowing Hendrix to "speak" in his own words through interviews and never-before-seen writings. The film shows a man confident in his talents but, at the same time, very humble regarding his success. I would highly recommend the film to anybody who likes Hendrix's music and wants to know more about the man behind it.

      The biggest question is whether this set is meant for the completist or the casual fan. I would actually say that the largely successful intention was to win over both camps. While the completist will certainly want to have it in their collection, there is also surprisingly little here that wouldn't also appeal to those with little knowledge of Jimi's posthumous catalog. This isn't the place for beginners to star there collection by any means, but this is something they will want to pick up somewhere along the way. It is perhaps the most personal glimpse yet of Jimi in the studio and also offers a fascinating view of how his music continued to evolve until his tragic death.

    • November 9, 2010 3:56 PM CST
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    • Each locale in the world is different so I kind of feel that the decision of glass or plastic is and should be optional. A lot of people don't realize but the make up of the vessel that your drink is in can kind of alter the taste of the liquid. Glass and ceramics are the best for taste as opposed to plastic or aluminum. But then, I leave in a fairly civilized area of the world, I guess. Not that it doesn't happen on occasion but Seattle really doesn't see a lot of violence in 21 and over places.

      Mike Humsgreen said:

      In Britain I've had a few friends and aquaintances "glassed", also in Essen there's a rock club called Turok where on some of the heavier nights people lob their empties from the balcony above. And in the club I worked at they had a net to catch the things so that they wouldn't fall on the people below. In general plastic is so much cooler in a rowdy place. Plus when the stuff breaks on the dance floor, the mess it makes stops fun for a long time.


      Rockin Rod Strychnine said:
      Where do you live that people get hit in the head with glass bottles? I only saw that happen once and it was really a bad dive bar.

    • November 9, 2010 1:17 AM CST
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    • In Britain I've had a few friends and aquaintances "glassed", also in Essen there's a rock club called Turok where on some of the heavier nights people lob their empties from the balcony above. And in the club I worked at they had a net to catch the things so that they wouldn't fall on the people below. In general plastic is so much cooler in a rowdy place. Plus when the stuff breaks on the dance floor, the mess it makes stops fun for a long time.

      Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

      Where do you live that people get hit in the head with glass bottles? I only saw that happen once and it was really a bad dive bar.

    • November 8, 2010 8:06 PM CST
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    • Rubber Gloves in Denton, TX. It's a big, sweaty black room with a tiny arcade upstairs and a giant metal "Pharmacy" sign over the bar. It's situated away from the main square in an old train switchyard next to Morrison's Corn Kit factory. I still don't know what a Corn Kit is. On summer nights, they'd leave the back loading door behind the stage open, but it never really helped with the heat of 300 crazy kids' bodies slamming against each other. After the show you could sit and wait for the trains to pass, running alongside or throwing shit at them as they raced by. All of my best rock n' roll memories are from seeing a show or playing at Rubber Gloves.

      rubberglovesdentontx.com

    • November 8, 2010 6:28 PM CST
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    • Where do you live that people get hit in the head with glass bottles? I only saw that happen once and it was really a bad dive bar.

      Mike Humsgreen said:

      I like clubs that have a kind of coridoor shape with no barriers in front of the stage. The worst club I know is the Astoria in London because it cuts the audience off from the stage so badly with barriers even though the stage is as wide as the club. The Highbury Garage is so much better, saw Guttermouth there and it was a class act because the audience could interact with the band, like in the Underworld but without being able to fall over the stage.

      Toilets should be cold and basic but enough of them. Also if you could soundproof them and play folk music with whistles then that would kick arse. I think the Panic Room in Essen pipes forest music or something there.

      Keep the drinks in plastic beakers with no glass bottles. Glass gets broken on people's heads and on the floor and isn't pretty.

      No comfy seats, it's a club for rockin out and not lounging. Plus I remember working in Octogon in Bangor (no garage music unless you are counting that British urban shite) that comfy seats got messed on and torn up easily. The retarded clientel didn't realise that the cushions they were sleeping on had been vomited on 3 times in one week.

      Clubs don't need windows but if you could have some kind of food then that would be cool. Like hot dogs or something. Also what sucks in Germany is that unlike in Britain there is no law obliging clubs to serve free water. And if you have a shitfaced friend or are self in need of rehydration then free water is a must.

    • November 8, 2010 6:26 PM CST
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    • Agreed. The Funhouse in Seattle is the same way with the juke box, but they turn it off between bands and the sound guy usually puts in a CD that doesn't gel with the music that's on stage. John Carlucci suggested a DJ and I think that's a great idea. I hired one for my show witht the Woggles back in 2005 and it really made a difference.

      MikeL said:

      BTW, a really cool jukebox can make the place a real draw. There's a place here in Pittsburgh called Gooski's; it's not much more than a neighborhood bar where bands play on weekends, but they have the coolest jukebox in the city, full of punk, post punk and garage rock classics, along with a smattering of glam rockers.

    • November 8, 2010 2:33 PM CST
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    • I like clubs that have a kind of coridoor shape with no barriers in front of the stage. The worst club I know is the Astoria in London because it cuts the audience off from the stage so badly with barriers even though the stage is as wide as the club. The Highbury Garage is so much better, saw Guttermouth there and it was a class act because the audience could interact with the band, like in the Underworld but without being able to fall over the stage.

      Toilets should be cold and basic but enough of them. Also if you could soundproof them and play folk music with whistles then that would kick arse. I think the Panic Room in Essen pipes forest music or something there.

      Keep the drinks in plastic beakers with no glass bottles. Glass gets broken on people's heads and on the floor and isn't pretty.

      No comfy seats, it's a club for rockin out and not lounging. Plus I remember working in Octogon in Bangor (no garage music unless you are counting that British urban shite) that comfy seats got messed on and torn up easily. The retarded clientel didn't realise that the cushions they were sleeping on had been vomited on 3 times in one week.

      Clubs don't need windows but if you could have some kind of food then that would be cool. Like hot dogs or something. Also what sucks in Germany is that unlike in Britain there is no law obliging clubs to serve free water. And if you have a shitfaced friend or are self in need of rehydration then free water is a must.

    • November 8, 2010 9:31 AM CST
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    • BTW, a really cool jukebox can make the place a real draw. There's a place here in Pittsburgh called Gooski's; it's not much more than a neighborhood bar where bands play on weekends, but they have the coolest jukebox in the city, full of punk, post punk and garage rock classics, along with a smattering of glam rockers.

    • November 9, 2010 2:22 PM CST
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    • Mel of the Phantom Surfers here. I built this instrument for my pal Zac of Dengue Fever, and Mojo Magazine is having a contest to name it! How cool is that. I am asking all my friends to enter (it is a UK contest, but enter anyway, mates!) to ensure that the pool of good (read un-lame) names is high. Name away, everyone!

      http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/2010/11/dengue_fever_need_you_to_name.html

    • November 8, 2010 10:22 PM CST
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    • Sweet as bro. Have fun!

      Petulant Child said:

      great I have never really played with feedback before!! I hope this guitar is still there when I go to get it!! thanx for the help!

      Mardy Pune said:
      You'll be able to tweak it so can control when the feedback kicks in or not. If you want it to feedback the whole time you'll be able to set it to do that to if you want.


      Petulant Child said:
      so it will always feed back with the pedal plugged in and its just a matter of tweeking it so that i like it?

      Mardy Pune said:
      Rats are cool pedals. I reckon you'll be fine. You'll learn how to control the feedback by setting the gain levels on the rat and amp and work where you can stand to be able to control the feedback; proximity to yer amp will have a big bearing on the amount of feedback you'll get and how you can control it.


      Petulant Child said:
      I have a rat pedal and a peavy trans tube amp thats about 9 years old

      Mardy Pune said:
      Hollow bodies are great for feedback or bad for feedback depending on which way you look at it. Personally I love the feedback you can get out of a hollow body. What sort of pedal/amp setup are you going to use with it?

    • November 8, 2010 7:36 PM CST
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    • great I have never really played with feedback before!! I hope this guitar is still there when I go to get it!! thanx for the help!

      Mardy Pune said:

      You'll be able to tweak it so can control when the feedback kicks in or not. If you want it to feedback the whole time you'll be able to set it to do that to if you want.


      Petulant Child said:
      so it will always feed back with the pedal plugged in and its just a matter of tweeking it so that i like it?

      Mardy Pune said:
      Rats are cool pedals. I reckon you'll be fine. You'll learn how to control the feedback by setting the gain levels on the rat and amp and work where you can stand to be able to control the feedback; proximity to yer amp will have a big bearing on the amount of feedback you'll get and how you can control it.


      Petulant Child said:
      I have a rat pedal and a peavy trans tube amp thats about 9 years old

      Mardy Pune said:
      Hollow bodies are great for feedback or bad for feedback depending on which way you look at it. Personally I love the feedback you can get out of a hollow body. What sort of pedal/amp setup are you going to use with it?

    • November 8, 2010 5:08 PM CST
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    • You'll be able to tweak it so can control when the feedback kicks in or not. If you want it to feedback the whole time you'll be able to set it to do that to if you want.

      Petulant Child said:

      so it will always feed back with the pedal plugged in and its just a matter of tweeking it so that i like it?

      Mardy Pune said:
      Rats are cool pedals. I reckon you'll be fine. You'll learn how to control the feedback by setting the gain levels on the rat and amp and work where you can stand to be able to control the feedback; proximity to yer amp will have a big bearing on the amount of feedback you'll get and how you can control it.


      Petulant Child said:
      I have a rat pedal and a peavy trans tube amp thats about 9 years old

      Mardy Pune said:
      Hollow bodies are great for feedback or bad for feedback depending on which way you look at it. Personally I love the feedback you can get out of a hollow body. What sort of pedal/amp setup are you going to use with it?

    • November 8, 2010 4:21 PM CST
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    • I have a knockoff of a Gibson 137 (anyone ever heard of a Crestline?) that I've been using with the natural crunch of a new Vox combo (VOX AC30VR it's a 30W 2x12 transistor with a tube to warm it up). I have a HiWatt that I use on special occasions. The sound is god-like in perfection.

    • November 8, 2010 4:18 PM CST
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    • so it will always feed back with the pedal plugged in and its just a matter of tweeking it so that i like it?

      Mardy Pune said:

      Rats are cool pedals. I reckon you'll be fine. You'll learn how to control the feedback by setting the gain levels on the rat and amp and work where you can stand to be able to control the feedback; proximity to yer amp will have a big bearing on the amount of feedback you'll get and how you can control it.


      Petulant Child said:
      I have a rat pedal and a peavy trans tube amp thats about 9 years old

      Mardy Pune said:
      Hollow bodies are great for feedback or bad for feedback depending on which way you look at it. Personally I love the feedback you can get out of a hollow body. What sort of pedal/amp setup are you going to use with it?

    • November 7, 2010 9:52 PM CST
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    • Rats are cool pedals. I reckon you'll be fine. You'll learn how to control the feedback by setting the gain levels on the rat and amp and work where you can stand to be able to control the feedback; proximity to yer amp will have a big bearing on the amount of feedback you'll get and how you can control it.

      Petulant Child said:

      I have a rat pedal and a peavy trans tube amp thats about 9 years old

      Mardy Pune said:
      Hollow bodies are great for feedback or bad for feedback depending on which way you look at it. Personally I love the feedback you can get out of a hollow body. What sort of pedal/amp setup are you going to use with it?

    • November 8, 2010 6:46 PM CST
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    • quelle sensation !

    • November 8, 2010 2:15 PM CST
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    • GENIAL !

    • November 8, 2010 2:10 PM CST
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    • Scopitone N°14 - SHEETAH ET LES WEISSMULLER


    • November 8, 2010 6:24 PM CST
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    • really like the Dead Boys, during the same year I got into Velvets, Television, MC5, New York Dolls etc

    • November 8, 2010 5:08 PM CST
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    • Yes, scales. There should be all kinds of blues and country (yes, country) tabs out there.

      "One day I was listening to a DJ play Presley's 'Blue Moon of Kentucky' - I turned the radio up and shouted, 'That sounds just like us playing!' At last someone was recording country music with a beat. That's what Rockabilly music, or Rock & Roll was to begin with - a country man's song with a black man's rhythm. I just put a little speed into some of the slow Blue's licks." -Carl Perkins

      All the 60's garage guys learned from early rock and rollers and blues guys (Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, etc). Learn those and songs and you'll know half the stuff from the Beatles, Yardbirds, Animals...and the list goes on

    • November 8, 2010 3:04 AM CST
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    • I 'veen been playing guitar for many years.I own a hollow body,a peavey t-60 and a gibson sg 1961 reissue.So now its time for my surf guitar.At the beggining i was sure about tha jaguar.I said there is no question,i am just gonna get a jaguar.But the mosrite idea occured to me.They are pretty expensive but here's the deal.

      I live in greece,and there is a really bad greek singer,eurovision style.And in his video clips he holds a jaguar man.And he doesn't even play it! 
      I mean he pretends to play it,but there is no sound.
      Everyone knows him here and everyone knows that he holds this guitar.So its difficult for me to get on stage with it.And then comes the mosrite.Ventures,ramones, many great bands.So i would like an opinion if anyone here ows one.

      Thanks.

    • November 8, 2010 3:01 AM CST
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    • I just noticed several free tracks by Dan Melchior& Das Menace over at the Free music archive http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Dan_Und_Melchior_Das_Menace/ - a few from his upcoming album Catbirds & Cardinals plus some "unreleased rarities." Not to mention the live on WFMU songs I'd already taken advantage of.

      Thanks, Dan!