Valleys Of Neptune – Jimi Hendrix

If you’ve read this site extensively you’ll have heard me say this one or twice before (If you’ve read this site extensively, both ‘thank you’ and ‘what on Earth are you doing?’) regarding posthumous releases. They’re seldom the artists best work, they only serve to dilute the legacy of the now departed creative, there’s usually a reason it was left in the can during their lifetime, that reason is usually, it’s a thin unfinished version of better stuff already available, parp parp, prattle fart, here comes more of Steve’s generalisations about money grubbing in the music industry…

And yet… Jimi Hendrix. James Marshall Hendrix to his mother. The father of rock guitar the way it should be to everyone who’s records you love. Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Randy Rhoades, Tony Iommi, Joan Jett they all worship Jimi. He’s the rock Icon with more posthumous releases than legitimate during his lifetime records. He seems to be an industry in and of himself. There are 4 albums worth of material he put out while he walked among us that bare his name. The three Experience albums and the Band Of Gypsies one.

This? I bought this seven inch single release one fine day in 2010. It’s essentially a lengthy studio out take and yet it buries most other guitar music released in that year. It’s easy breezy vocal over a lilting roll of a guitar line takes a more beguiling form the more it tumbles into the track. It was advertised (as they always are) as ‘Never before released new recordings’.

Essentially I bought it because I’d gone all the way to the record store and nothing else was calling out to me and I didn’t want to go home empty handed. When I got it in and played it I was reminded that even Jimi noodling about on a 50 year old forgotten demo is more thrilling than any amount of 2010’s latest Indie or Metal.

And so I’m committing to the theme week to follow all other theme weeks. Welcome to Jimi Hendrix Week.

Y’all dig?