Customer Reviews

West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology (4 CD/ 1 DVD Collectors Box)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If the bootleggers had released a set of this quality, fans would be raving about it, but as a mainstream commercial product, it's getting mixed reviews. Let's take this set in the spirit in which it was intended: as an official bootleg for completist Hendrix fans. This is not a place to start discovering Hendrix. If you're a young person new to Hendrix's music, start with the 4 albums released during his lifetime("Are You Experienced", "Axis:Bold As Love", "Electric Ladyland" & "Band of Gypsies"), then check out some of his live albums("Woodstock", "Monterey", "Winterland", "Berkeley"). Here's a rundown of what you get. I won't extensively analyze the "Disc One" of Hendrix's early recordings as a sessionman, since it's not my area of expertise. They're of variable sound & musical quality, some featuring Hendrix more prominently than others. The best tracks are "Testify" by The Isley Brothers and "My Diary" & "Utee", both by Rosa Lee Brooks.

Here's what you get on the remaining CD's:

Disc Two:

1.Fire(a new remix of the released recording. Longer and with a cold ending)

2.Are You Experienced?(an alternate backing track attempt. For fans only)

3.May This Be Love(new remix of the released recording, with a double-tracked vocal throughout)

4.Can You See Me?(an unreleased mono mix of the released recording. For all you Mono-maniacs)

5.The Wind Cries Mary(live in Stockholm 1967.Previously released on the 4-CD set "Stages")

6.Love or Confusion(new mix with alternate vocals)

7.Little One(original instrumental version by Hendrix[guitar & bass] Dave Mason(sitar) & Mitch Mitchell(drums). In 1987, Noel Redding created a modified version of this track, inserting his own bass playing and writing and recording a lyric, and the song became "There Ain't Nothing Wrong With That", released on "Noel Redding-The Experience Sessions". Fans will aprreciate hearing the original, undoctored instrumental, which had no Noel Redding involvement)

8.Mr Bad Luck(the first-ever stereo mix with the original 1967 bass & drums. The recent "Valleys of Neptune" Cd contained a stereo mix, but with 1987 re-recorded bass & drums)

9.Cat Talking to Me(the original instrumental version. Intended to be a vocal number for drummer Mitch Mitchell. In 1987, Mitchell wrote a lyric and sang it and re-recorded the drumming(for release as a vinyl B-side & download track in 2009), but here you get the undoctored instrumental)

10.Castles Made of Sand(an alternate backing track. For fans only)

11-16. Previously unreleased home recordings of "Tears of Rage","Hear My Train a-Comin', "1983(A Merman I Shall Turn to Be)", "Long Hot Summer Night", "My Friend" and "Angel"(experience Hendrix is seriously bending the truth to refer to this version of "Angel" as "previously unreleased", since it has long been available on the CD "Jimi By Himself:The Home Recordings",included with a book called "Voodoo Child:Jimi Hendrix The Illustrated Legend"

17.Calling All The Devil's Children(a popular bootleg track recorded at TTG Studios, but here running approximately 25 seconds shorter than bootleg releases)

18. New Rising Sun( a superb instrumental with Hendrix playing all instruments. Here it is presented at its' complete 7:24, versus the 3:21 edit heard on the deleted "Voodoo Soup" CD)

Disc Three:

1.Hear My Freedom(a track long offered by bootleggers, but here, for unknown reasons edited down from 7:25 to 5:23)

2.Room Full of Mirrors

3.Shame Shame Shame

(Tracks two and three, still with the 1987 re-recorded bass & drums, as on the bootleg "Studio Haze", but now presented as one continuous piece, and not separated into two separate tracks[via fade ups and fade-outs] as they had been on bootleg releases)

4.Messenger(a highly polished backing track recorded at TTG Studios, which had everything, except a lyric and vocal, which Hendrix never added)

5.Houng Dog Blues(a jam on the Elvis Presley hit, similar to, but longer than, the BBC attempt)

6.Untitled Basic Track(the title says it all)

7.Star Spangled Banner(Live at The L.A. Forum 1969. Original 1960's mix)

8.Purple Haze(Live at The L.A. Forum 1969. Original 1960's mix)

(the mixes for tracks 7 & 8 were created for an unreleased 1960's live abum. Otherwise, the same performances as on "Disc Four" of "Lifelines")

9.Hendrix/Young(the jam with organist Larry Young, now presented at 20:56 length, versus the 10"32 edit on "Nine to The Universe" or the 14:26 edit heard on bootleg releases. The liner notes stop short of claiming that this 20:56 version is complete.)

10.Mastermind(written and sung by rhythm guitarist Larry Lee, at studio sessions by the 6-piece "woodstock" line-up a few weeks after the Festival)

11.Message to Love(a 1970 Hendrix/Eddie Kramer mix with the song at its' full length. All later mixes(even ones by Eddie Kramer, such as on the "Purple Box" 4-CD set) are missing part of the second verse, thanks to producer Alan Douglas, who chopped out(and threw out) a section of the 16-track tape in 1975)

12.Fire(Band of Gypsies Fillmore East Dec.31,1969, 2nd Show)

13.Foxy Lady(Band of Gypsies,Fillmore East Dec.31,1969,2nd show)

(tracks 12 & 13 have incendiary soloing by Hendrix!)

Disc Four:

1.Stone Free(Band of Gypsies,Fillmore East,Dec.31,1969,2nd Show. another superb performances)

(incidentally, Experience Hendrix now have quality tapes for these Band of Gypsies tracks and they are newly mixed)

2.Burning Desire(a backing track attempt, different from, but similar to, the attempt heard on the mail-order "Burning Desire" CD)

3.Lonely Avenue(Hendrix & Buddy Miles & a percussionist, but no bassist, in a track which has appeared on bootlegs)

4.The Everlasting First(By the group "Love", with Hendrix playing as a sessionman. a new mix, presenting the song at a longer length than what was previously heard)

5.Freedom(an alternate backing track. For Fans only.)

6.Peter Gunn/Catastrophe(a filler track when it was released on 1972's "War Heroes" album. It still is filler, now presented in a newly remixed unedited version. Hendrix would have been appalled at the idea of this being released)

7. In From The Storm(an early mix made while Hendrix was still alive. It differs significantly from the posthumous mix released on "The Cry of Love" & "The First Rays of The New Rising Sun")

8.All God's Children(a rough and rambling backing track attempt. No doubt, Hendrix would have started all over again, and not built on this take if he had lived longer)

9.Red House(Live at Berkeley, 1st Show. Why dish up the first set one track at a time? Why not a release of the whole first show?)

10.Bolero

11.Hey Baby(New Rising Sun)

(When "Hey Baby" was presented on the posthumous "Rainbow Bridge" album, we were hearing only the second half of the recording. The widely bootlegged, but never officially released "Bolero" was the first half of the recording. Now the two tracks are presented, newly remixed, as a continuous piece)

12.Suddenly November Morning(from a home songwriting tape commonly refered to as "Black Gold". This is a very roughly performed acoustic songwriting tape and the song has some ideas later incorporated into "Drifting")

I hope that this info helps you to make a decision. I'm a Hendrix fan(having seen him play in 1967 when I was 11). I can't get enough Hendrix, and if you feel the same way, then this box set is for you

Four audio discs-45,71,71,73 minutes each approximately. The DVD is approximately 90 minutes. The sound overall is very good to excellent, depending on the recording source. The attached 54 page booklet has many color and b&w photographs of Hendrix in the studio and on stage. The entire booklet is taken up with track by track information that helps put this music in a better perspective. The discs are snapped in, inside a folding long box of substantial cardboard,and the DVD slips into a paper sleeve by itself.

As even casual fans know, there have been more posthumous Hendrix releases (most of them strictly money making product to cash in on the Hendrix name), than when he was alive. Without a doubt these money spinners left something to be desired, and the same could be said for this new collection. But this set is different because it lays out Hendrix' music from his professional beginnings (1964), through to his incendiary playing (into 1970) with his own sidemen. And with no "new" Hendrix material (the "Black Gold" stuff, the complete Chas Chandler tapes, the Stephen Stills/Johnny Winter/Hendrix tracks, or maybe all the jams with jazz organist Larry Young for instance) being released, the majority of tracks in this set have been heard in different form, on previous live or studio releases. Because of overly familiar material, this set is closer to a 3 1/2 star rating. But on these discs are many scorching performances that haven't been in widespread (legal) release before. The 90 minute DVD adds depth, with Hendrix' life in and out of music. By using not only his music, but personal effects belonging to Hendrix, and his own words (but not his voice), you get some sense of who he was and what he became.

While the collector might groan at the track listing, many others (like me) will find that Hendrix magic throughout these discs. Besides, this is the first collection that traces Hendrix' beginnings as he climbs from sideman to white hot revolutionary electric guitar player, all in one nice, neat box set. But be forewarned, there's a number of fairly weak tracks throughout this set-you have to pick and choose. As Hendrix redefined the electric guitar he continued to refine his own sound, which is evident as you listen to the music on these discs. I suppose you could look at this set as an "unreleased" history of Jimi Hendrix. And that's fine-the more good Hendrix material in his prime the better. But I too, am getting a bit tired of the same tracks more or less, being regurgitated.

On the first disc, beginning with Hendrix as sideman in groups for soul/r&b artists like The Isley Brothers, Don Covay, Little Richard, The Icemen, and others, you begin to hear Hendrix formulating his own sound and approach to the guitar. On the bandstand night after night, or in the studio, Hendrix absorbed everything he heard, and began adapting and incorporating those sounds with his own ideas to forge his own style. And that style sometimes led to him being fired for stealing the limelight from the artist he was backing.

Tracks like "Testify", "Mercy, Mercy", "Move Over and Let Me Drive", and "(My Girl) She's a Fox", are good examples of Hendrix stepping out while still trying to contain his playing in deference to the "name" artist he was backing. The first disc of his early playing is just a sampler of Hendrix before he revolutionized guitar playing. There's many more tracks of Hendrix as sideman still locked away somewhere that haven't seen the light of day for many years, if at all. For instance, I own the Capitol Records vinyl album titled "Get That Feeling Jimi Hendrix Plays and Curtis Knight Sings", which is of course a Curtis Knight album with Hendrix backing him. But you wouldn't know it from the cover-a full color photo of Hendrix in concert, and on the corner, "File Under Jimi Hendrix". Even back then the record companies were shameless in their marketing ploys. But it proves my point about unreleased music that could have been used to fill up a CD.

The remaining discs, through unreleased live, studio, and home recordings, place Hendrix in the spotlight. Yes,as always, there's a number of familiar songs. But taken together this music paints a good overview of Hendrix' short career as an innovator on the guitar. From early stereo ("Fire") and mono ("Can You See Me?") mixes, live tracks ("The Wind Cries Mary", "Purple Haze", "Star Spangled Banner", a tough "Red House" as examples), we hear Hendrix in all his ear-shredding glory. Alternate songs ("Love Or Confusion", "Castles Made of Sand", "In From the Storm"), and promising songs ("Freedom", "Lonely Avenue", "Burning Desire" among others), coupled with home recordings ("Tears of Rage"), all show Hendrix continuing to forge his sound into something new and unique-always searching, never content to remain static.

Personal favorites like "The Everlasting First" (here titled "Everlasting First") with Arthur Lee and LOVE, is heard in a longer, complete (though alternate) recording. Likewise, the finished song "Mr. Bad Luck" is seeing the light of day. As is "Cat Talking To Me", from around the time of Hendrix' second album.

This is the first time a true attempt has been made to present Jimi Hendrix' music from his early sideman days, through his few years as an innovator on the electric guitar. But Janie Hendrix/Sony missed a great opportunity to release some new music-and they're sitting on quite a bit of it. Hopefully more releases will be coming in the near future, with some of the many unreleased live and studio tracks that are known to exist-many in good sound. While the albums released in his lifetime, with his approval, are still the best way to hear his genius, collectors aside, this collection can't really sit alongside those first few albums-it's good-if you like familiar tunes.

Sorry guys, I wanted to write a glowing review of this new collection. I've been listening to it all evening. It's good, but nothing like I expected or what it could have been.

I am a sucker for Hendrix material. I will buy anything - like this box set. It is an anthology of his career from the earliest beginnings to the very end. There are a few gems on here, and a lot of songs of lesser quality. I am still glad I bought it, but I'm a Jimi addict. I'll buy anything with his name on it. If you are a long time collector then you probably already have most of the material in this set and I know the boots are almost as good sound quality as these discs.

1) the DVD is Jimi in his own words - I've taped it twice on television. No extra material - 90 min of documentary. I wish they had filled up the DVD with concert footage. There is plenty of it. This documentary is excellent, but no reason to buy the box set. It's on cable a couple of times a month.

However, the documentary itself, Jimi in His Own Words is excellent. Easily the best doc on Jimi in a long time. It's all his own words and you get a deeper insight into the man he was. Also has many rare photos of young Jimi when he was a kid.

2) Disc 1 - the biggest disappointment - Jimi's early years. It's only 45 min long. Discs of early Jimi have been circulating on the net for years - and the sound quality almost as good as these new discs. Why only 45 min? There is lots more material. Why not include Curtis Knight or Lonnie Youngblood? Those showed him playing much more than the cuts on this disc.

You really don't hear much of Hendrix's guitar on these rhythm and blues tracks. They could have EASILY filled up the other 35 blank min of this disc just as other underground Early Jimi discs have. WHY???? I am really puzzled and pizzt.

3) Discs 2 & 3 - most of these are alternate recordings of his hits. It seems like many of the recent Hendrix releases have contained alternative mixes of these same songs. Yes, he often did 20 takes or more of a song. How many of them do we have to hear spread out among bunches of discs? The same songs over and over with slightly different versions. It's getting boring.

There are a few good acoustic cuts, which begs the question of why no official release of just Jimi Alone on solo guitar? Plenty of material exists, I've made a full cd of his acoustic and solo electric playing. Why can't they?

Why did we need 3 more songs from the Band of Gypsys New Year's concert? The first album was magical - but the two disc Live at the Filmore showed how new the band was and how unrehearsed many of the songs were. These three tunes did not make the cut on the first 3 cds of Filmore music so why did they make it here?

There are many concerts that deserve to be released - like official cds of Royal Albert Hall and Maui's Rainbow Bridge concert. I don't understand how these tunes (and Red House from Berkeley) were chosen over other, and most collectors think better, songs from other concerts.

4) disc 4 - I like some of these late in his life gems but they can best be described as "bottom fishing". Several of these are just riffs and practice sessions from home. Some of these were selected because their version was the "last time" Hendrix personally touched the tapes. The songs were later completed by Mitch or Noel and Eddie Kramer, but these mixes were the very last time Hendrix worked on them.

Overall, there are just enough gems to get most collectors to fork over the sixty bucks for this box set. I got it simply because as a Hendrix Addict I HAD TO HAVE IT. But, I won't recommend it to any but the most hard core Hendrix collector. It's not for the new listener, IMHO.

As I write this I realize that I won't be happy until the Hendrix estate puts up a large website with songs we can download for 99 cents. I would download different takes of my favorite songs and full concerts that are hard to find. This dribbling out of "alternate takes" and mixes is getting old. I would probably buy much more in downloads. I would love to burn up my credit line downloading rare songs from an authorized Hendrix site. (Janie, are you listening??)

There are some very fine reviews posted here concerning the musical contents of this 'new' HENDRIX release. However;I'd like to approach this review from a psychological perspective. As an avid fan of Jimi's music for the past 40 years, there has always been a certain conditioned response in my brain when a 'new' posthumous Hendrix album was released. There seemed to be this myth perpetuated in the early 1970's that Jimi was burned-out, depressed, at the end of his creative streak, or just a general 'down' kind of vibe.

Maybe I let Alan Douglas brainwash me into thinking that albums like Crash Landing and Midnight Lighting were good? In fact, most of the posthumous Hendrix releases from the 70's, 80's, and 90's always left me with a bitter sweet impression. There was always some amount of depression in listening to music that Jimi would still have wanted to hone, fashion, and complete to his liking.

West Coast Seattle Boy is different in that everything sounds so good. It's positive. Here we have a diverse cross section of Jimi's career...and not just another greatest hits collection. Here, for the first time, is a collection of the best of Jimi's early years.

Immediately following Jimi's death, there seemed to be an endless chain of LP's featuring previously released material. (How many incarnations of albums from Curtis Knight, Lonnie Young, Little Richard, and the Isley Brother's have flooded the market since 1970?)

This new set just feels right, looks right, and more important... it sounds right

This box set is not as good as the purple box set released in 2000, and it basically serves the same purpose...alternate and unissued tracks. There are a handful of gems scattered about across the 3 audio discs, so I'm glad I have it (I do consider myself pretty much a Hendrix "completist"). The thing that bothers me the most about this set is that "alternate recording" is quite often a misleading and inaccurate description; "UNFINISHED" recording is more appropriate. Several of these tracks have no vocal, or no bass and drums...BORING! It's like listening to the finished, previously released recording with something missing--I don't find much value in that, particularly if the remaining instrumentation is basically the same as on the finished versions. Just pointless, IMO.

The pre-1967 stuff is much more miss than hit. A lot of these songs are pretty weak tunes, and Hendrix's input is often inaudible, or at least inconsequential. If he's technically on the recordings, OK, I can see the rationale in including those tracks, but I probably won't give most of them a second listen.

A few tracks are indeed finished alternate recordings, and some are stellar--esp. Red House. I enjoyed the "jam" tracks overall...some of them get a little tired, but at least they're "finished" jams and are not missing anything.

The DVD is very good...my only complaint about that is the packaging. Someone had the BRILLIANT idea of slipping the DVD inside a cardboard sleeve built into the "book" portion of the box. Well, way to go, guys, because when I pulled out the DVD, THERE WAS DRIED GLUE ALL OVER THE DISC!! And it was the side of the disc that the player reads, of course!! Took me about a half-hour to get that crap off (I used a damp washcloth). GREAT PACKAGING IDEA. I hate those "book" box sets because the holders of the discs ALWAYS eventually peel off and fall off the cover. I MUCH prefer the box design of the 2000 set. And of course, we pay top dollar for this shoddy design. OK, enough griping...all that is secondary to the music, but I had to say my piece--lol.

Anyway, not a total disappointment, there are some treasures on here, but overall it's a step down from the 2000 box, which had more exciting material, IMO.

There has been a lot of reviews from this new CD of Jimi Hendrix and I want to set the record straight.

What you get is 15 songs, 1.1 hours of music.

I gave it a 4.2 (Total song star ratings divided by number of songs) star rating if I pretended to hear the songs for the first time.

Yes there are 5 songs that maybe considered throughways BUT the rest are very good variations of Jimi Hendrix songs with actually some new ones.

HERE IS A REVIEW TAKING STRAIGHT FROM THE BOOKLET TO GIVE YOU INSIGHT IF YOU SHOULD GET IT:

Fire [Anthology Version] - 1967 - "This alternate version presents the original 4 track recording of each instrument [before the mix reductions] in their full length and features Mitch Mitchell's superb drumming in stereo."

Love Or Confusion [Anthology Version] - 1967 - "Previously Unreleased Alternate Recording. Both Chas Chandler and Jimi viewed this as a song that held significant promise. The group even showcased it by way of a BBC Radio performance just 5 days after completing the song at Olympic Studios."

Room Full Of Mirrors [Anthology Version] - 1969 - "Previously Unreleased Recording. Rocki Dzidzomu (Percussion). Additional bass and drum (Buddy Miles) recording, Air Studio London, May 6, 1987 by producer Chas Chandler."

Shame, Shame, Shame [Anthology Version] - 1969 - "For this recording Jimi was joined by percussionist Rocki Dzidzomu. He adopted a faster tempo and blended 'Shame, Shame' - itself a variation of 'It's Too Bad'...to create this unique melody."

Mr. Bad Luck [Anthology Version] - 1967 - "Previously Unreleased Alternate Recording. ...was a Hendrix original whose roots traced back to the guitarist's 1966 performance in Greenwich Village as Jimmy James & The Blue Flames... Aka 'Look Over Yonder' South Saturn Delta (MCA)-1997."

May This Be Love [Anthology Version] - 1967 - "Previously Unreleased Alternate Recording. This alternate version features Jimi doubling his lead vocal track throughout while making his rhythm guitar part more prominent in the stereo image."

Are You Experienced [Anthology Version] - 1967 - "Previously Unreleased Recording. Listed originally as 'Title 4' on the Olympic tape box, this is Jimi's extraordinary initial take... The longest version (6:06)."

Tears Of Rage [Anthology Version] - 1968 - "Previously Unreleased Recording. Recorded in Jimi's hotel room, New York, March 1968 when he purchased a Teac reel to reel tape machine. Jimi is joined by Paul Caruso, an old friend from his Greenwich Village days, on harmonica and backing vocals."

Hear My Freedom [Anthology Version] - 1968 - "Previously Unreleased Recording. Unknown organist (believed to be Lee Michaels) with Buddy Miles on drums. ...adding cowbell and additional percussion."

Hound Dog Blues [Anthology Version] - 1969 - "Previously Unreleased Recording. Chris Wood (Traffic) (Saxophone), Jerry Goldstein (piano) cut this rollicking, high velocity interpretation of Big Mama Thorton's classic later popularized by Elvis Presley."

Lonely Avenue [Anthology Version] - 1969 - "Previously Unreleased Recording. Buddy Miles (drums), Percussion (Unknown) was one of a handfull of recordings the guitarist made in November 1969 absent Cox and Mitchell...completed this uptempo blues based original during during this session."

Burning Desire [Anthology Version] - 1970 - "Previously Unreleased Recording. Buddy Miles (drums). This take, the fifth and final made during this January 16, 1970 session stands out as the closest Jimi ever came to realizing a finished master for this song. I only have a live version."

In From The Storm [Anthology Version] - 1970 - "Previously Unreleased Alternate Recording. Emmeretta Marks (Backing vocals). While Jimi would create this mix on August 20, an approved final mix was never completed before his death the following month."

Bolero [Anthology Version] - 1970 - "Previously Unreleased Recording. Juma Sultan (Percussion). The original July 1, 1970 multi-track master had been inexplicably cut apart in 1976...in recent years, Experience Hendrix has been able to restore many of those original multi-track tapes..."

Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) [Anthology Version] - 1970 - "Previously Unreleased Recording. Was first issued in 1971 as part of 'New Rising Sun'. The song remains a popular favorite among his fans and a sterling example of the new creative direction Jimi had set in motion at Electric Lady Studios in 1970."

BOTTOM LINE: Yes this CD maybe for Jimi Hendrix completist, BUT if you are you don't have a choice but to get it. :-)

Jimi Hendrix must have been the hardest working man in show business. Considering he was only producing music for just over three short years, the volume of unreleased material is staggering. This new collection contains various works in progress, unfinished songs, alternate mix's, live recordings and loose jams. Each track has been remastered to loving perfection by Jimi's longtime engineer Eddie Kramer, and the sound quality is brilliant. The box set offers you the opportunity to be a fly on the wall in the studio while Jimi works his magic. While many of these recordings reveal Jimi's creative process in the studio, they also offer insight into the man himself. Moments of introspection, love, frustration, and humor; joyfulness, anger, sadness and just plain fun. The first disc contains some of Jimi's work as a backing guitarist for the likes of Little Richard, Don Covay, King Curtis and The Isley Brothers. These recordings are an opportunity to hear some of the many influences that helped shape Jimi's future sound, and there is some fun moments here as well. There is also a documentary DVD included that offers Jimi's life story through his own words, and has some wonderful moments and insights. The home demo recordings offered in this collection are what makes this set worth owning. Although most collectors have these recordings already, here the remastering has really improved the sound quality. These demos offer such a unique perspective into the artist as a soul, and allow us to share a private moment with Jimi. When I listen to these recordings it is clear that Jimi Hendrix was even better than any of us ever knew. Now that Sony/Legacy are involved in distributing the Hendrix catalog, we fans can expect many quality releases in the years to come. Highly recommended.

I laughed at some of the reviews I have read of the set.First off if you are new to Jimi's music this is not for you.There are the 3 studio l.p.'s Jimi made in his short lifetime and the Band of gypsy's Plus the excellent First rays of the new rising sun l.p.Now with that out of the way what more could you ask for.Jimi only recorded as Jimi for 3 years.It is now 40 years later .After the crimes of the Alan Douglas years wiping out the original players with people like the drummer for the knack. Experience Hendrix has done a wonderful job of putting things back in order.People have got to understand how can you expect anything more than the experimental jams and outtakes which are outtakes because Jimi put out what he thought was the best take.To be able to find recordings of Jimi 40 years after his death is a incredible feat in itself.How can anyone say I expected more from this set.Unless Jimi comes back reincarnated no one cane make a INCREDIBLE BOX SET. If you want an incredible box set buy a box and put his studio albums in it and call it a day.Yes some may think Experience is cashing in on Jimi but if they did not release recordings such as this box others would be screaming out Why.I am of the group who believes that hearing any Jimi that I have never heard before as I said 40 years after his death is a thrill to me .To hear some of his early takes on his classics and his years backing up others before he made it on his own is all part of the package of understanding Just who Jimi was and just how amazing he was .I applaud Janie Hendix for giving us more even if it is not prime Jimi.I also applaud Experience Hendrix for the many C.D'S that they put out through the Dagger records series to fulfill us Hendrix fans who can never get enough takes of Castles made of sand ,Voodoo child ,Dolly Dagger Burning Desire...........................keep them coming until the vault is empty which 40 years later seems like never will.

I remember the first time I saw Jimi Hendrix on television. I was 11 years old, living in a small town in Pennsylvania called Tamaqua. MTV or VH1 had a lunchtime classic rock show during the summer, and I caught a video for Hendrix's title track to the outstanding 1967 debut album, Are You Experienced?

The whole thing was riveting, his psychedelic bad-ass look, the swirling backwards guitar, the highly suggestive drug-laced lyrics. I couldn't take my eyes off the TV.

A few years later, I picked up both "Essential Jimi Hendrix" albums on cassette, giving me a nice sampler of his career. It's truly amazing how much music he put out over a short period of time (early 1967 through his death in September 1970). Hendrix was a true perfectionist, and he often recorded take after take to get a song right. He left a career's worth of unreleased material behind, and in the past 40 years, the music has come out in various posthumous collections, some good and some not so good.

Ever since the Hendrix family gained control of his back catalogue, the releases have been much more tastefully done, including thorough liner notes and rare photos to go along with the unreleased tunes.

Just in time for the holiday season comes West Coast Seattle Boy, a four-disc retrospective of unreleased and alternate tracks encompassing Hendrix's entire career. Disc 1 of the box set comprises Hendrix's work as a sideman for various R&B and soul acts such as the Isley Brothers and Little Richard. Since I read the Jimi quotient was pretty low on most of these recordings, I opted for the more consumer friendly single-disc version, which gives a nice overview of the box set.

Some of these songs, although officially unreleased, have been bootlegged heavily through the years. And some of the alternate takes aren't all that different from their released counterparts.

Four tracks, sans overdubs, from Are You Experienced appear, including the 15 millionth version of "Fire," an early hit which I've never been all that fond of anyway. "Fire" and "Love or Confusion" aren't very different at all, and I'm not quite so sure why "Fire" was included, since yet another version of it was released earlier this year on the excellent Valleys of Neptune release.

"May This Be Love" is slightly altered, with double-tracked vocals throughout augmenting the lovely tune. The real find among the Are You Experienced? tracks is the instrumental backing of the title track, where you get to hear how it sounded when the band laid it down and before they flipped the guitar passages and solos backwards. Pretty cool stuff indeed.

Much of the rest of the album is quite outstanding, with several hot jams, including the organ driven "Hear My Freedom" and the eight-minute instrumental "Burning Desire."

There's a stunning demo of Bob Dylan and the Band's "Tears of Rage", recorded with Hendrix on guitar and vocals and good friend Paul Caruso on harmony vocals and harmonica.

Also included is a slower, early take on "Room Full of Mirrors" recorded in late 1968, before the Jimi Hendrix Experience had broken up. ("Mirrors" wouldn't be released until after Hendrix's death, in many posthumous albums). "Mirrors" rolls right into a rough jam called "Shame Shame Shame" and it's well worth the price of admission.

Another find is the melding of an unreleased instrumental "Bolero" into "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun), one of Hendrix's final recordings in 1970. "Hey Baby" would appear on its own on various releases, but Hendrix apparently meant to pair it with "Bolero" as the songs flow into each other seemlessly.

It's great having another Hendrix release on the market, but I'm beginning to wonder if there's anything left in the vaults. The version of "Mr. Bad Luck" is pretty much the same one found on "Neptune" and "In from the Storm" has a few subtle differences but not much.

For die-hard fans who have a little more money to spend, check out the four-disc box set edition of the album. I'm sure there are a few more revelations included, especially if you want to hear how Jimi sounded before he became a megastar.

Ok, so if you are a Hendrix fanatic and have to get this new release but the pockets won't hear of it, simply purchase the single cd without the dvd. I will start by saying that I only own the three studio albums, the BBC sessions, Monterey Pop, Woodstock, the Blues album, Band of Gypsies, and Live at the Filmore East; so perhaps the album sounds that much more impressive to me because I don't have all the other albums out there which have a lot of this material on them. That being said, the 15 track single cd release of "West Coast Seattle Boy" is fantastic! I won't bother giving you the run down on all of the tracks because other people have already done so. I will say, however, that if you are really broke but want to hear what it's all about, this overview seems to have much of the best material on it. There is nothing from the first disc, which consists of Jimi before he went to England and got Experienced. What you get is perhaps an excellent summation of the best material from the other three discs. And the recordings sound superb. The one warning I will give you before you make the purchase is that when you hear the last recordings Hendrix did before he passed it might make you sad. What's done is done, but if only the man had a few more years. Genius.