Customer Reviews

Jimi Hendrix - The Lyrics

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

 

 

This is yet one more addition to the long list of missed opportunities the "author" & cohorts have committed.

There are typos on nearly every single page, which a professional proofreader should/would have spotted.

Also there are many lyrics with no written verification in Jimi's own hand, so we're left with the "authors" translation which, of course, are full of typos or "misheard" words.

It's a shame more than a few trees had to give their very all for this one.

On the positive side, the layout is nice, even though it features many already seen photographs, and some unpublished ones as well.

I think the book has value if you enjoy seeing reproductions of Jimi's lyric writing - stuff in his own hand. I also enjoyed the many nice photos. I am irritated at the poor quality of the printed lyrics - lots of mistakes. Example: Burning of the Midnight Lamp. At one point the printed lyrics say "About the surface in the wishing well, and a couple lines later the word "bale" appears instead of bell. If you look across the page at Jimi's very legible handwritten version you will see "about the circus in the wishing well" and also "someone to toll my bell" - not bale! My recollection was that Jimi sang the words circus and also bell. There are many other similar mistakes. So I believe the printed lyrics are worthless. I bought a used copy and I am happy with the photos of Jimi and his original lyrics. I'd be upset if I paid full price for the book with all those incorrectly printed lyrics. A revision is in order.

I like the look and feel of this book. Loads of excellent photos, page after page of lyrics, wonderful paper used, all lovingly assembled. In the past, I haven't really searched out the written lyrix to Jimi's tunes very often, and in reading these, I came across a few surprises. That's not really surprising, because many tunes were released after his death and of those, no doubt some had only a working vocal track that probably would have been re-recorded had he lived. As an example, the lyrics to Hey Baby. So I found myself pulling out disc after disc to listen intently to hear the words I'd missed previously. In some instances, the words in my mind sounded closer than those in the book. Some of the book lyrics are reproductions of Jimi's handwritten lyric sheets, so those are about as definative as it gets. Also, I have a nit to pick and that is how Amazon portrays Janie Hendrix as a co-author. If I remember right, the book gives her credit as compiler.

The bottom line is hinted at above - reading this book will motivate you to play the music and listen to the words. That's not a bad thing! In fact, the sum total Experience of it all is most excellent. Where did those Easter Eggs get off to?