Customer Reviews

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're a fan of Hendrix, it's nice to have this little rarity on CD, as the original promotional vinyl is long out of print. The addition of the extended medley is very nice as well, as I believe it is longer than any previous version in circulation. If you are more of a casual fan, though, this release is probably not for you.

As for Three Little Bears, it certainly seems out of place on a Christmas release. My guess is that the Hendrix family is making good on their promise to eventually re-issue all of the studio tracks that were originally released on the LPs War Heroes, Cry of Love and Rainbow Bridge. The song probably isn't "good enough" to be re-issued on a studio compilation, so it has been tacked onto a single release. Again, nice to have if only to round out your collection, but the track sounds better in its original place alongside other outtakes found on the War Heroes LP/CD.

Lastly, the inclusion of a photo of Jimi in a Santa suit on the inside cover, originally taken for New Musical Express magazine in England to promote the December 1967 release of Axis: Bold As Love, was a nice touch.

Not bad. I would say that this item is for hard-core Jimi fans like myself. An interesting oddity - nice to have on CD. I have the original on vinyl but don't dare play it for fear of scratching it - now I can pop in the CD whenever I want.

This CD is a brief little snippet of Hendrix and the Band of Gypsys at play whilst rehearsing for their immortal Fillmore shows of December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970. Thirty years later, it's still a gas to hear Jimi's huge throbbing guitar sound tear into Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night, Taps, and Auld Lang Syne. The first version was later released by Reprise as a promo single. The second, "extended" version is really the first with a longer, more elaborate ending grafted on from another take. Very nice and it sounds like they had fun recording it. Jimi's variations on these chestnuts got my jazz piano-playing mother in-law (who would run from Purple Haze in a hearbeat) listening closely and saying "interesting" as she tapped her foot. Three Little Bears, previously unissued on any U.S. CD, rounds out the disc for no particular reason. It's a harmless little ditty recorded during the Electric Lady Land sessions that sounds as if Jimi wrote it about ten minutes before the session and is already forgetting the lyrics. Bound to make you smile if you're not a grinch.

This CD features two versions of Jimi Hendrix and the Band of Gypsies jamming on Christmas songs. It is a loose jam session where they play instrumental versions of "Little Drummer Boy", "Silent Night", "Auld Lang Syne" and "Taps" (although "Taps" is not listed on the CD). The extended version here features more of "Silent Night" tacked on the end, that seems to be grafted from a different take. If you are a fan of Jimi's feedback drenched guitar playing, you should get a kick out of this. The other song here is the Electric Ladyland outtake "Three Little Bears". As Jimi himself says during the song, it has silly lyrics, but his guitar playing is great. It is an inconsequential, but fun song.

Yule love it! Perhaps the most unusual Christmas recording ever made --- yes, even more wacky that those singing cats, barking dogs and cooing babies. Hendrix, along with bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles, recorded this doozy in a Manhattan rehearsal studio in 1969. Don't anticipate polished perfection, but rather a red-and-green (and sort of purple) haze. For this is Jimi jammin' with close friends, on a Christmas medley that not only marked the upcoming season but a new decade. The bonus here is "Three Little Bears," a track recorded with the Experience in May 1968 and excluded from "Electric Ladyland," and now available in the United States for the first time in early 25 years. For inquiring minds: Jimi as the Bearded One? The photo was taken for an English newspaper who used it on its cover to promote the December `67 release of "Axis: Bold As Love."

Short but sweet. Nobody outdoes Jimi when it comes to guitar work. If you're a Hendrix fan, don't hesistate; add this single to your collection.

When you're tired of Bing Crosby and Mannheim Steamroller on Christmas Eve, you have a choice - Jingle Bell Jimi. Buy it, if only for the album cover!

it's not for everybody but the feeling&vibe that Jimi&the crew hit here is tight for me.it's mainly for folks wanting to collect any released music from Jimi.it's another CHapter into the Great Mind of Jimi Hendrix.

I first heard the Drummer Boy track 3 days ago in a bar. It was late and we were all full of cheer. I was overjoyed to hear a Xmas Jimi track. I am buying this just find to that space in my head every Xmas. Sure the CD doesn't have much, but $6.49 is not much these days either, and iTunes doesn't have it.

It is very strange that when the radio stations carry a 3hr special of the life and music of Jimi Hendrix the stations NEVER play the tunes on this cd !!!, And once again we have been deprived of some very cool music that is on this cd., for the price it is well worth it ,and must be added to any music collection before it disapears again !