Interestingly, Jimi Hendrix was still recording material after the release of the amazing third final major 1968 album release Electric Ladyland. This album though is one of the most important releases of such material, issued by Jimi Hendrix’s estate after his sad passing at age 27 back in 1970. Opinions on such things can differ amongst fans, but this is still Jimi Hendrix material. This is the third in a posthumous release of a major album series after Valleys Of Neptune (2010) and People, Hell and Angels (2013). Let’s jump back in time and take a listen to this album, which should be a very interesting listening experience indeed.

Mannish Boy begins with hi-hats, fluid guitar parts and excellent harmonies. Jimi sings nicely on this tune, and this gradually leads into a fury of Fender Stratocaster playing. It does sound really good, and Jimi Hendrix sings with heart and soul here. Seemingly, his music is progressing after the Electric Ladyland album to something quite different. There are some dual harmonies and guitars, followed by some interesting playing and performing throughout. Jimi’s guitar playing is interesting, and even though he did not officially release an album after 1968’s Electric Ladyland, he still made some impressive music to listen to on this song. Jimi Hendrix and crew played with some impressive chops, and the rhythm section throughout is also just as fantastic to listen to. The mixture of gritty wah-wah guitar, good vocals, fuzz bass and punchy drumming make for an excellent and artistic listening experience from start to finish. Jimi certainly was a wonderfully talented musician, and he plays some neat solos towards the end of this song. A very good listening experience from start to finish. It ends with fuzz bass and the band quickly finish up afterwards.

Lover Man begins with some assertive guitar work, and the rest of the band quickly follows Jimi. This is a fantastic listening experience that sounds upbeat, and euphoric and is based on Blues style loving for the ladies out there. This has some really awesome guitar work by Jimi Hendrix, and the soloing on this song is very nicely played indeed. The drumming and bass guitar are also energetic, and the whole tune is a real winner. It sounds superb, having said that. The descending riff section in the second half is super cool, and the song returns to a very solid and powerful musical song section. This track has some really powerful and amazing guitar work. It ends with psychotic guitar soloing and rolling drum beats to conclude. Excellent.

Hear My Train A Comin’ begins with some heavy guitar work after Jimi’s vocals that is sensationally good, and quite Bluesy as well. It quickly leads into a dirty, gritty song that sounds really good, to this very day. It is an extended piece of over seven minutes long, which is a lengthy listening experience. Still, this is a different listening experience. To be fair, this music is not as good as earlier Jimi Hendrix pieces, but it is still very much from a unique musical place. In retrospect, Jimi’s best works were what had been put onto albums during his lifetime. Sure, it is a nice idea for these retrospective releases to occur but Jimi did not release an album from 1968 onwards for certain reasons. This has a very loud, euphoric and well-played guitar solo towards the midsection here, which sounds really quite good, to be fair. Jimi plays like a madman here, and the rest of the group supports him excellently. The guitar solo is not a million miles away from Funkadelic territory around this time, and the musical changes throughout are interesting. A good tune to listen to and very different and descriptive guitar playing is here. Some top-notch guitar work is on this song, even though it is fairly average music. Such is the power of the mighty Jimi Hendrix, his guitar work was a sensational thing to hear and to experience. The second half is slower and more emotional, but still impressive in the usual Jimi Hendrix fashion. A great piece of music to listen to, this leads back into the main song section and has some typical Hendrix lyrics about lovemaking and leaving town. Towards the end, this gradually wraps up to a different-sounding conclusion that is very neat. The drumming in particular is stunning at this point. This gradually leads to a suspenseful conclusion, which evolves into a psychotic and punchy finish. A good listen, perhaps not a great listen.

Stepping Stone begins with a guitar imitation of horses galloping, and hi-hats enter. Drum rolls follow, and this tune gets going nicely. It is a strange and Poppy song that lacks the original magic of Jimi Hendrix’s music that originally existed during his lifetime. Jimi sings well here, but this sounds rather ordinary and routine musically as a song. This is genuine proof that the passing of Jimi and the authority for others to make musical decisions on his behalf is not a good thing in general. This is a fairly ordinary tune to listen to, although the musicianship and guitar work is surprisingly good. The solo section at the end of this song is quite good, and it gradually speeds up to quite a psychotic conclusion. Different but fairly average, it fades out at the end.

$20 Fine begins with some fuzz-laden guitar and launches quickly into another fairly ordinary piece with Stephen Stills singing on it. It is a fairly ordinary-sounding musical effort that is neither good nor inspiring. It seems that Jimi Hendrix himself was running out of steam towards the end of his life, and despite the intention to make good music here, this is not all that good. It sounds like a fairly ordinary effort as a piece of music and certainly is worth skipping. Jimi plays some okay-ish guitar parts on this song, but this is not magical to listen to. It just sounds like an average song by a lesser band. Jimi Hendrix could do better than this, and he was probably aware that was the case. This is a drag to get through. In any case, Jimi Hendrix does play well, although the material on this album is fairly average. An organ solo is present in the second half of this song, and this is matched by guitar work. Towards the end are some more verses, with this song lacking energy, consistency and a genuine wow factor. Very dull music, and it ends with a slowed-down conclusion and organs going on. Fairly boring.

Power Of Soul begins with some delayed guitar parts and launches into another standard-sounding Jimi Hendrix sort of song. Again, there is nothing overly special about this particular song. Sure, Jimi himself recorded a ton of unreleased material during his lifetime, but this is not of a good standard. Jimi Hendrix does sing nicely on this song, and there is some fantastic drum work on this song, but nothing to really be worth hearing. Jimi Hendrix’s best moments were on the albums already released to the public at this point. Whilst this song is an overall improvement, this is still the case on this album. Jimi’s singing is very soulful and reassuring regardless, and he sounds very much unique in Rock Music history in his musical delivery. “With the power of soul, anything is possible,” sings Jimi Hendrix. He was probably correct there. The second half of the song has some interesting guitar work and Jimi singing about various Psychedelic imagery. A good listen with drug references in it, oddly enough, this is one for the 420 crowd out there. This is okay, but Jimi had done better than this beforehand. A good and refreshing listen regardless, for all its flaws. It ends with some good backing vocals and a quick conclusion.

Jungle begins with some warped, wah-wah guitar parts. Hi-hats enter and this gets quite interesting to listen to. This lengthy intro launches into a strange and rather odd-sounding piece of music. This is okay listening, but lacks the magic and twists and turns that were prevalent in Jimi’s officially released music. One has to feel sorry for Jimi Hendrix, but all the same, this is not the best effort by such a talented musician. In the second half, this changes completely with some intricate drum rolls and a different-sounding mid-tempo riff section. Again, nothing too special going on here. This is fairly easy to get bored by, which is a sad thing in itself. Jimi delivers an okay song, but not the best one can hope for. It begins to wrap up with punchy drumrolls and palm-muted guitar work. A short and unnecessary instrumental.

Things I Used To Do begins with some super strange and odd-sounding guitar work that is somewhat informed by the Blues and launches into a weird tune with slide guitars present. This is okay, but is very unusual Jimi Hendrix territory at hand. It is a refreshing listening experience at hand. This is much closer to classic Blues Music than anything else on this album, and Jimi sounds really excellent and amazing when he does such a style. The guitar playing throughout is amazingly frenetic. This track is a very good listen compared to what came earlier on. A great piece of music, and something that makes this album come alive a bit more than expected at this point. A good slide of Blues Music and Rock, Jimi Hendrix is a true guitar legend, through and through. It ends after nearly four minutes in length.

Georgia Blues is exactly that, an average-sounding Blues Music piece by Jimi Hendrix. The guitar playing is really good, even if this is not pioneering nor revolutionary musically in any way. The music has some organ, nimble bass guitar and drumming to match it. Lonnie Youngblood sings on this tune, and the guest appearance is welcome here on this seven-minute-plus long piece. This extended Blues jam is incredibly good, and the sounds and singing in particular are quite thrilling to listen to. An excellent listening experience, although Jimi himself made a better impression on his own songs without too many overt guest appearances. Still, this is very good music to listen to, even though this song is more about the guest rather than Jimi Hendrix himself. The second half has some very good guitar work by Jimi Hendrix, matched by the rest of the band in a solo section. This does sound much like captivating and enjoyable listening. Some excellent saxophone soloing eventually enters here, making this tune come alive more than you’d expect. This is a better song than other tracks on this album, and it is very uplifting musically to listen to. The saxophone wails away nicely, and this tune sounds very, very good for what it is. A really top-notch listen. Towards the end, the vocals resume and this Blues-centered tune gradually wraps up in a superb way. Better than expected, this wraps up very well in a classic Bluesy way. Excellent.

Sweet Angel begins with some sweet-sounding chords and launches into a straightforward and rather off-sounding piece by Jimi Hendrix. This sounds less fun than you’d expect from Jimi. Sure, his guitar chops are quite good here, but that is about it. The sounds and support aren’t very different in retrospect to what he had on his solo albums. Jimi rarely changed over the years, and despite the fact he was an excellent musician, these latter Jimi Hendrix tracks aren’t as exciting nor revolutionary as the earlier ones. Therefore, this is only okay as a result, not absolutely fantastic. It is sad that Jimi never really moved on from being in 1966 mode as a musician. This track is not dissimilar to the Axis: Bold As Love album material, without lyrics of course. The playing and musicianship are solid, even if the material present is not. In any case, this is an interesting listening experience. The second half of this tune sounds different, and this could have been shortened, once again. The guitar playing is really good to hear, even if this instrumental isn’t hugely impressive. It wraps up just before four minutes in length with a quick fade out.

Woodstock begins with some interesting drums and launches into an organ-driven piece, again sung by Stephen Stills. It is a straightforward piece of music that sounds nothing like Jimi Hendrix and the music that he made during his lifetime. It’s not as good as one would think. It is not an outright failure, it just sounds like average music rather than something absolutely sensational. In any case, this song is okay but is proof that towards the end of his life, Jimi Hendrix was floundering in his quality of music and musical understanding. The drumming on this number is really great, having said all that. There is an organ solo rather than a guitar solo on this tune, which is definitely not a Jimi Hendrix quality song staple. A good ode to the famous festival that was hugely inspirational for many people in the music scene back in 1969, this is Hippie central lyrically. Sadly, the music does not really match the song at hand. A bit of a drag to get through, there is some neat bass guitar work in the second half of this song, which is cool. No guitar solos are here, which is totally weird and unlike Jimi Hendrix. Towards the end is an extended jam section with rolling drumbeats, organ, bass guitar and zero electric guitar. It gradually wraps up after five minutes. Weird.

Send My Love To Linda begins with wah-wah guitar riffing, and has some unusual scales, for a change. Even so, this is a good song but obviously not a great song by this point. It is a different listening experience, however. A moody listening experience, but more of the same, it seems that Jimi Hendrix had lost some of the musical focus that he had earlier on in the days of The Jimi Hendrix Experience by the time of these recordings. Some interesting guitar work is present throughout, but that is about it. This sounds much more like a bootleg than anything special or outstanding here. Drums enter, and this tune gets going into a loud and searing guitar solo instrumental section that is quite good. The music present is good, but certainly lacking the magic and consistency of the three main albums that Jimi released during his lifetime. This is rather sad, but this is a mixed-up afterthought of what Jimi Hendrix represented as a guitarist and musician. Fortunately, it wraps up after four and a half minutes in length, but this could have been quite a bit shorter.

Cherokee Mist is the last song on this compilation. It is also very long at over seven minutes in length. It begins with some low-end drum rolls and some frankly awful Jimi Hendrix guitar work. Immediately, you should hit stop by this point in time. Some Electric Sitar follows, which is also pointless to listen to. In any case, this music is not very music nor inspiring and the melodies are awful. Jimi gets going into a messed-up-sounding piece of music with feedback-laden whammy guitar work that honestly, is bad. This drags the album down from average to mediocre, just upon listening to it. Yoko Ono’s efforts are likely the only thing worse than this from this time. In any case, the music here just is not that good to deserve listening. It sounds like drug-addled stupidity, and it goes on for way too long as an instrumental. You will shake your head at this pathetic attempt at music-making. Hit stop, breathe deeply and go and put on The Beatles instead. In the second half, the wailing feedback-laden whammy guitar work finally stops. This is followed by a really poor instrumental section that sounds very uninspired and tuneless. It seems that Jimi Hendrix could have done much better, and understandably, he would have admitted the same thing. A big drag of a tune to get through, the melodies in this tune are quite frankly horrible. The feedback is also not needed here. Towards the end, if you are still here, you will not forgive yourself for hearing this poor tune. It wraps up slowly with hi-hats, Electric Sitar playing and a gradual muting of the sounds of this tune. This is not recommended listening, at all. It wraps up with some weird sounds, and this album finally finishes. A poor effort.

This album is not a recommended listening experience. Most of the songs here are okay at best, and the last track, in particular, is a difficult and horrible listen to get through. This is not the best side of Jimi Hendrix’s music out there. This is purely only for Jimi fans, and nobody else out there. Therefore, this is quite a failure of music quality, and many would agree. Should you listen to this album? No, unless you are an absolutely huge fan of Jimi Hendrix’s music. Otherwise, don’t bother.

A fairly poor listening experience.

4/10