[rating=9.00]
Ostensibly completing the trilogy started with two previous compilations, Valleys of Neptune and People, Hell and Angels, Jimi Hendrix’s Both Sides of the Sky contains thirteen tracks recorded between 1968 and 1970, ten of which have never before been released. A handful of cuts with the ill-fated Band of Gypsys provides the foundation for a collection that otherwise features an array of guests as well as the original lineup of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The latter, including drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, appear on one of the blues-oriented numbers here, a fiery take “Hear My Train A Comin’.” Markedly different than that slow twelve-bar, “Mannish Boy” dramatically introduces this set, sonically and otherwise, its opening instrumental flourishes suggesting how remarkable it is this recording, with drummer Buddy Miles and bassist Billy Cox, dates back close to four decades. The economy with which the pair collaborate with Hendrix no doubt explains how the trio was able to nail “Lover Man” when the preceding Experience lineup could not.
Continued archiving of the Hendrix vault such as this LP may have as many detractors as proponents,a point potentially fueled by the (re)appearance here of the somewhat familiar “Power of Soul.” Yet the producers of Both Sides of the Sky, biographer John McDermott and engineer Eddie Kramer (along with the Jimi’s sister Janie), ultimately render criticism moot with more novel inclusions that reside next to this selection, itself significantly different in structure than the composition debuted at the Gypsys’ Fillmore East New Year’s shows a month prior to this date.
For instance, this performance of “Georgia Blues,” features the guitar icon’s former bandmate Lonnie Youngblood’s squall of a sax solo. And Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock,” with Stephen Stills on vocals and organ (and Hendrix on bass), was recorded the same day in 1969 as the former Buffalo Springfielder’s modified-blues “$20 Fine.” Both Sides of the Sky also carries the distinction of a complete take documenting Jimi with the late blues great Texas native Johnny Winter: “Things I Used to Do” was once available only in part on a now out-of-print box set, and while it does to some degree intimates the proverbial scraping of the bottom of the vault, the sound of the ‘West Coast Seattle Boy’ playing blues here is also revelatory on a purely practical musicianly front: the contrast is quite clear between his inimitable style of playing and the albino’s slide.
Other content here is exactly that which makes well-produced archive titles in general worth owning, not just Jimi Hendrix’. In its muted, moody atmosphere, “Jungle” hearkens favorably to previous instrumentals such as “Villanova Junction,” circa Hendrix’ Woodstock Festival appearance, while the similarly subdued “Sweet Angel,” illuminated with the soft glow of vibes, predates the haunting ballad included so prominently on The Cry of Love: sans vocals, the alluring melodic changes of the composition become much more apparent.
Upon initial listening, the weak links in this release appear to be the last two. But “Send My Love to Linda” and the provocatively-titled closer “Cherokee Mist,” ultimately whet the appetite for more exhumations from the Hendrix archive. The former is clearly in its early stages, but nevertheless memorable for its hard-charging coda and although there’s no understating how gimmicky the sitar sounds on the latter cut, it does offer insight into the great guitarist’s creative process(es).
Mike Berkosky’s cover portrait of Jimi Hendrix on Both Sides of the Sky radiates a ghostly glow that, on first glance, appears most striking for its ever-so-subtle revelation of the boyish side of the man’s persona. But this colorful image also denotes the creative vigor at work in most of the music in this package.
