The Hendrix Remasters

I knew about the Jimi Hendrix remastering project for a while now, but I didn't know they were out until a week or two after release. I guess I expected the same level of hoopla that the Beatles remasters received. The fact that I didn't find it means that either Hendrix's staying power is weaker than I thought, or I just didn't look hard enough for press material.

In any case, they're out, which means that I had to pick up a couple of the albums, as well as do the usual research to get better acquainted with Jimi.

Said research brought up back my typical feelings of excitement, confusion, and despair. Let's start with the confusion part. Like many classic rock acts, Hendrix's discography is more complicated than it needs to be. The only records to come out during his lifetime were the three albums he made with the Experience, and one live album made near the end of his life. However, he spent a boatload of time in the studio during '69 and '70, working on material for new, post-Experience albums. His untimely death meant that Jimi would never have control over how this music would be used, and sure enough, the people in charge of his recordings would mine this collection throughout the 70's (and even the 80's) to create a ridiculous amount of posthumous records. There have also been various legal battles throughout the years, as one group or another tried to gain control of the Hendrix estate.

Today, members of his family have created Experience Hendrix, who, as far as I can tell, have full control over all of Jimi's music, and who are most definitely in charge of these remasters.

Much like The Beatles CD releases from the 80's, these Hendrix remasters attempt to create a cohesive, standard collection of his studio recordings. This collection consists of the three Experience albums, as well as two posthumous releases. The first of these is First Rays of the Rising Sun, which was actually created over a decade ago, and is the family's attempt to create the album Jimi was working on before his death. These tracks were all released in some form on the first three posthumous albums created back in the 70's, but those are no longer recognized, with First taking their place in the Hendrix canon. The other is Valleys of Neptune, which is a brand new attempt at recreating and the releasing the material Jimi worked on in 1969, immediately after finishing up with the Experience. . All in all, the catalog is fairly neat these days, and since the remastering project is only five albums large, it isn't too pricey to collect.

Now for the excitement. For ten or eleven dollars (only slightly pricier than a modern music release), each remaster gives you a CD, a documentary DVD, a hefty booklet with a lot of great photos and lyrics, and a hefty cardboard digipak case to hold it in. It's a fairly nice package that arguably gives you more than any of the Beatles remasters, and for less money. Okay, so those albums also come with exactly the same stuff, but the documentaries are shorter and relegated to on disc Quicktime files.

In regards to the quality of the supplemental material, the booklet contains the usual cock sucking essay by a nostalgic music critic, but the lyrics and photos more than make up for the revisionist Hendrix history. The DVD, on the other hand, is great all around. A number of Jimi's associates take turns reminiscing about the recording of the album, and we get to go into the engineer's booth to take a listen to individual parts of each song, learning how they were recorded and mixed, giving you a glimpse into the creation process that few bands ever reveal. Some of the interview segments don't feel entirely honest or thorough, but these are still useful, since you can still learn a lot by what they don't say.

Since I'm not an audiophile, my opinion on the sound quality isn't going to be worth much, but for my ears it's better than expected. Everything is crisp, and I have no trouble hearing the dynamics (which really do add something special to these tracks). That covers my usual gripes in regards to mastering. There might be some compression for the sake of loudness going on; after listening to Are You Experienced, I immediately switched to Sgt. Pepper in mono, and found it to be a hell of a lot quieter at the same volume.

And now for the despair: as is typical of the internet, no one is happy with these remasters, or the way in which Experience Hendrix has handled anything. I see some nicely made, well priced releases, and an official website boasting an impressive number of interviews and official bootlegs for free listening. However, for the old timers who were live for Hendrix's work, and the younger fans who can use the power of anonymity to pretend to be both audiophiles and Hendrix historians, none of this is good enough. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that Jimi created hundreds of unreleased tracks and thousands of live recordings in his short career, making it likely that no one can agree on just what is and isn't worth releasing. But that still doesn't excuse the fact that haters won't let something as simple as acknowledging that their worldview is just one of many get in the way of their scorn. The bottom line is that if you're a new fan who hasn't bought past Hendrix releases, there's nothing wrong with these remasters. And if you truly are an older, experienced fan, the best thing you can do in a review is describe the music and why you like it. Not everyone has the desire, time, or money to track down whatever rare or definitive version you put your stamp of approval on. Share your interest in the music first, and let the reader decide for themselves how deep they want to dig.