Jimi Hendrix: Valleys of Neptune
Jimi Hendrix: Valleys of Neptune
Also In The News
|
At least 63 people have been killed in a stampede at a temple in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, local police have said. |  |
Friday, 05, Mar 2010 03:45
By Matt Gardner
Sony, out March 8th.
In a nutshell.
He may be long gone, but his musical legacy isn't.
What's it all about?
All aboard the money train! It's hard not to be cynical about this, truth be told. It's what all the fans want, but they don't want to admit why it's been released. Janie Hendrix - Jimi's sister - decided to ride the wonga express, by many accounts. Cynical yes, but the fact it's after the Universal deal finished is perhaps a major talking point. Nonetheless, most of the tracks are previously unreleased. A veritable goldmine of new stuff, to be fair.
Who's it by?
Rolling Stone's One Guitarist To Rule Them All, is our Jimi. It's not easy to argue with a man who had such an understanding of the guitar, as well as mind-bending distortion, never-before-heard special effects and riffs that will live on to be some of the greatest ever recorded by man (listen to Third Stone from the Sun and tell me the main riff isn't the most elegant piece of guitar work ever. Go on, I dare you).
His fate was sealed in the classic rock and roll way: died early, without so much as a peaking in his abilities. The man just seemed to get better and better, though his three releases with the Jimi Hendrix Experience were still anchored to debut album Are You Experienced, which remains his best ever effort - with the help of a couple of Brits, naturally.
Ah, you all know enough about him anyway. On with the show.
What the others say
"We are thrilled to review Jimi Hendrix's new album for 2010, Valleys Of Neptune. But what is especially thrilling is to come right out with the startling fact that one of the best albums of 2010 was recorded 40 years ago." - MusicRadar.com
"The fact that this climax comprises the closest thing to a substantial recording on the album is an indictment of a release that one suspects would not have made the stores had the Hendrix estate not wished to offer a bone to new label Sony following the end of their distribution deal with Universal." - BBC Music
So is it any good?
What do you think? Of course it is.
While the review scene for Valleys of Neptune is quite sparsely populated at the moment, there are two distinct camps forming: that this album is a perfect tribute to Jimi, at the hands of the great man himself; and, of course, the inevitable "Really? Jimi was this average?".
The natural reaction of most people would be that the latter opinion is garbage. Instincts, in this case, should be trusted: Jimi is on banging form. I suppose the backlash or wholesale agreement is borne out of the fact that it's so hard to deconstruct and, in effect, understand. So much is happening at any one time that simply finding a starting point to talk about it is a mountainous challenge.
Valleys of Neptune isn't a short album by any means, clocking in at 61:40 for 12 tracks, meaning that the average offering is over five minutes long. You're getting your money's worth, though it must be said that a lot of this is much more relaxed than other offerings. Well, relaxed if you're Jimi Hendrix.
Title track Valleys of Neptune, the first single from the album, is a great example of this approach. It's one of the lesser tunes from the offering, though saying that it's not good as a result of this comparison is pretty wrong. Essentially, it's very subtle Hendrix; it's probably the most structured song on the entire album and while it doesn't suffer for it, you keep on expecting it to break down at some point and give way to a crazy solo. This never happens, though you don't feel bad. It's just a warm-up for the rest.
A lot of this album is actually comprised of warm-ups to live performances, though you'd never know it. While the production quality isn't top notch, you'll never even attempt to care. Take the cover of Cream's Sunshine Of Your Love. It's like the song never needed lyrics... Jimi instead bangs out riff-based words on the guitar, doing two musicians' work effortlessly. He played the cover loads when on tour out of the band's admiration of Eric Clapton and co, and it shows. He doesn't top the British maestro, yet for technical skill, it's ten out of ten, especially the grinding halt at the end.
In terms of the album's play-through, it's Bleeding Heart where Jimi first impresses the listener. There's a solo that never seems to end, painting pictures left, right and centre. Meanwhile, Hear My Train A Comin' is a broody yet relaxed bass-heavy power ballad which gets down the title's mood to a tee; consider it a psychedelic version of the Chemical Brothers' Star Guitar, except you don't need Michel Gondry's accompanying video to spell the surroundings out to you.
Of course, the other members of the Experience do their part. The lilting bass of Noel Redding is comfortably matched with the impossibly quick drumming of Mitch Mitchell, who is probably one of the most underrated percussionists in history. Not many people would be able to understand Jimi's guitar work, never mind match it with their own instrument. It just slots together like Lego bricks; it's wonderful.
There are a couple of points worth making in defence of the non-believers, though; the demo-esque version of Fire isn't up to scratch when compared to the tightness of the original from the debut album. Similarly, Red House doesn't quite cut it in light of the first recorded version, though its long and winding display of solos and bouncing riffs would still have made it a classic if the original never made it to the press.
The rest? Well, it's just bloody brilliant. I'll leave the rest to be discovered; we'll be here all night otherwise.
Ultimately, you come out of the experience without feeling bad. While his sister undoubtedly considered the cash cow that this album would be, you'll soon realise that there is a reason why these tracks had to be released. Jimi Hendrix is still the king of guitar, despite being given a good run for his money by Eric Clapton and Duane Allman, and this album is yet another stunning epitaph to the legend.
While it may not quite be Are You Experienced or Axis: Bold as Love, it certainly gives Electric Ladyland a run for its money. Needless to say, this would've been solid gold if released back in the day.
You're bound to get a lot of revisionist reviewers who will be keen to slate this effort, but it's futile. If you like anything done by Jimi, just buy it. If you don't, just buy it. If you've already bought it, just buy it again.
9.5/10