There’s a tremendous irony arising from the plethora of posthumous Jimi Hendrix releases following his unexpected death in 1970. The early Alan Douglas productions, a steady stream of shoddy bootlegs, the MCA repackages in 1993 (followed closely by the first Experience Hendrix releases in 1997 and their own Dagger series) as well as the deluxe packages of the newly-introduced Experience Hendrix/Legacy Recordings partnership, to a great degree reflect the restless creative urge of the guitar icon. That said, it’s hard to resist the temptation to ask when is enough enough, particularly when it comes to ostensibly official releases. The answer might be that the rediscovery of an artist as influential as Hendrix is bound to occur over the passage of time anyway, so it’s reasonable to anticipate that cyclical phenomenon and meet it with the utilization of new technology and the inclusion of new content. Then, too, there is the inevitable question: can there ever be truly definitive releases of an artist with the expansive talent of Jimi Hendrix?
Are You Experienced: Perhaps it says something about the legitimacy of the previous Experience Hendrix series that no undiscovered music is added on to the titles expanded for the 2010 release. Perhaps it’s even true that updated liner essays might not add any new insight into music so ground-breaking for its time, it remains remarkably innovative as cultural fashion comes and goes. The Jimi Hendrix Experience debut, however, retains the elusive virtue of sounding different, unexpectedly, on a re-hearing: what comes through in the new millennium is a firmer debt to r&b roots, as on "Fire," and a greater prominence of the man’s reflective side in "Waterfalls.".
Axis: Bold As Love: Hindsight is 20/20 and retrospection even more acute, so if this reissue of Hendrix’ second studio album confirms anything, it is how wilful and deliberate an artist he was even at this early stage of his career. Contrary to any perception manager then Chas Chandler was manipulating him, Jimi refused to merely replicate Experience and instead conceived and executed an even more vivid, yet more reflective set of songs. Written in a lighter vein, these songs are nevertheless streaked with the defiance of the times, so "If 6 Was 9" perfectly balances "Castles Made of Sand." Notwithstanding the artwork here, the music itself refuses to become dated.
Electric Ladyland: The ‘Making of’ DVD’s packaged with the cd’s in triple-fold digipaks is particularly useful on Hendrix’ most-ground-breaking album. Derek Taylor’s original liner notes focus more on Jimi the human being rather than Jimi the artist and if ever there was a curiosity piece worth detailed insight into the creative urge. it’s this one: this album deserves its cache as one of rock’s greatest works, so much so the apparent dearth of truly great songs now seems deliberate on Hendrix" part; as he spaces "Crosstown Traffic," "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" and "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return," the flow of music is so vividly of a piece, "All Along the Watchtower" resounds even more forcefully as perhaps the finest Dylan cover ever, not to mention the finest piece of production and arrangement this musician ever crafted.
Smash Hits: A microcosm of the newly-debuted series, this compilation adds only some new photos, no new music, to the previously released version, and as such supports the criticism of (yet another) reissue series relying so heavily on previously issued material. But the corollary argument might be there that there’s a potential audience of music lovers who, when they are introduced to his genius even by such a superficial means as this, will very likely turn as rabid in their collecting of his music as those first bowled over by him in 1967.
First Rays of the New Rising Sun: Ostensibly the complete version of the album Hendrix was assembling at the time of his death, this collection of tracks suggest that Hendrix might’ve done well to scale back his ambition as a means of bringing focus to his growing eclecticism. "Roomful of Mirrors: would thus become a linchpin of personal expression, not to mention a clarifying hard rock touchstone of an album with such heightened R&B tones contained in "Dolly Dagger" and Izzabella," (which would also benefit by the absence of "Astro Man"). Ultimately, though, the ‘what if’s?’ that arise from such hindsight become a source of pleasure rather than frustration.
