Customer Reviews

Early Years

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

1968 is early Hendrix?? This cd duplicates what's found in "Live at the Scene Club" which duplicates what's found in "Live in New York, 1968" which duplicates what's found in "Woke up this Morning and Found Myself Dead". Worth maybe three bucks for a drunk Jim Morrison's "F**k her in the A*s!" and another dollar for a unique version of 'Red House' Look in the used record bin for these instead.

This material has appeared in several forms since it first surfaced years ago. It is drawn from an early March 1968 jam session that Hendrix recorded at a club in New York City as he was taking a break from recording Electric Ladyland. The rest of the band has never been authoritatively identified, although Johnny Winter's name gets tossed about quite a lot. The one other person who is clearly present, aside from Hendrix, is Jim Morrison of the Doors. Alas, Morrison is the main problem on this disc and the reason that this session gets so little respect.

The disc starts out with an unusual arrangement of Hendrix's Red House (set to a Crossroads riff) and proceeds through solid, if somewhat clunky, versions of Woke Up This Morning and Bleeding Heart. Hendrix is playing very well, although he seems to be a bit cautious--as if he is trying to feel out what this band is capable of. Unfortunately, Morrison's presence becomes known about this point and his lyrics quickly shift from typical blues cliches to obscene spewings (let's just say that whoever dubbed one of these tracks as Uranus Rock had listened very carefully to Morrison's improvised vocals). Morrison seems to amuse Hendrix but the Lizard King also appears to destabilize the rest of the jam and prevent it from consolidating and then soaring as one would expect. After a great start on the Beatles's Tomorrow Never Knows the band settles into a less than great groove based on Cream's Outside Woman Blues and eventually comes to a close with a bit of Sunshine of Your Love. The sound quality is decent, given that Hendrix recorded the jam with a 1968 portable reel to reel machine.

Bottom line: I'd say "get it" if you have any interest in Jimi Hendrix other than in his greatest hits. Regardless of the many flaws, it is still a fascinating and honest glimpse of Hendrix jamming after hours in a small club in a situation not fully under his control--and he has some great guitar moments amidst the chaos. Just don't expect anything polished.

I got "Woke Up This Mornig and Found Myself Dead" (same material as The Early Years) on disc for 6 bucks and it was worthy every penny and then some. The version of Red House is great. The second guitarist, be he Johnny Winter or who-ever, not only keeps up with Hendrix, but compliments him in a most rocking manner. The recording quality ain't all that good, you really have to listen carefully to hear everything. As far Morrison is concerned, when was he not drunk? He does not scream for long, and I find I find him quite amusing. He tries to break into a Doors tune, but Hendrix will have none of it. This was probably not a recording that Hendrix ever wanted to have released; I think he siezed any chance he could to put himself on tape, no matter who he was with. If you are not a really big fan of his, you should not buy this album. If you are a big fan, then you already have one of it's many incarnations. He was really jamming that night, and having a lot of fun.

this cd is very good and and is worth the jam from track 5 - 8. This album is more of a hendrix blues stuff so people who only like his most popular songs wont like it probably. A problem most people have with this album is Morisons messed lyrics, with him just rambling on about him getting some girl in the but, i find it kind of amusing but it is pretty vulgar.so all in all this is a cd for people who love jams or love blues or are collectors of Hendrix and must have everything, as i must.

This CD is the third repackaging I have seen of this notorious after-hours 1968 gig at the Scene in NYC. The first couple of tracks are listenable, the rhythmically altered version of "Red House" even good, but things go downhill in a big way after Jim Morrison of the Doors gets on stage and screams drunken obscenities into the microphone. If you are 15, this might seem 'cool', but if you've made it past 16 you've probably passed the age where you'll take much pleasure in this and will more enjoy Eminem's more aesthetically developed obscenity. You'll grow out of that soon enough, too. A friend of mine had this gig on LP when we were 15 and I bought a different repackaging of the identical gig on CD a few years ago. I bought it mostly for its version of "Red House" and because I'm a big Hendrix music enthusiast. Unless you're really big on Jimi's music and are willing to shell out money for only one or two worthwhile tracks, take a pass on this CD. It should be noted that Jimi's guitar gets increasingly out of tune as the gig progresses. He was having a drunken, silly good time at the show, but it's doubtful he would have wanted this released. And, remember, he was having a drunken, silly good time, but he's dead. A musical role model he might be, but a personal one he probably ain't.

as much as I Respect Jimi Hendrix this disc is a clunker.yeah there's some good Guitar work here but the title is very Mis-Leading.also Why would he Record with the Overrated Jim Morrison? only for Collectors.nothing worth Mentioning.

I can't believe why the Hendrix estate decided upon releasing this horrible lil' thing. The performance is sluggish, the sound quality is crude, the set list is incongruous, and even the singing is pretty poorly delivered. Besides, I don't understand why Hendrix would want to gig with a drunken Jim Morrison in the first place, considering the fame he acquired with the JHE at this time. Don't let the title fool you ---the album title is joke in itself---, this CD is for collectors only. Nuff said!

Jimi Hendrix is probably the most electrifing guitarist that ever picked up the instrument! The man for ever moved the high water mark in the industry.