Jimi Hendrix: Valleys of Neptune

Label: Sony

It’s been nearly 40 years since we lost Jimi Hendrix, but his vaults have still not quite been emptied. Fans, quite rightly, treat posthumous releases with some suspicion, but Valleys of Neptune is no cynical attempt to cash in on the Hendrix name. What I like about the record is that it’s not only a nice collection of unreleased tracks (well, kind of unreleased, more on that later) but it also represents an interesting period in Hendrix’s career, when he was getting tired of the trio format and exploring the blues more. At several points on the record Hendrix goes off into some stellar jams — it’s exhilarating stuff, perhaps signaling some of the fissures in that band at the time. The material is not entirely new – hardcore Hendrix enthusiasts discovered many of these tracks years ago — but they’ve been cleaned up and remastered by engineer Eddie Kramer, who worked with Hendrix, and several others. We get new versions of “Stone Free,” “Fire” and “Red House,” a fine instrumental of “Sunshine of Your Love,” and some new tracks that may not make us forget the classics but still make nice additions to the Hendrix canon. Overall, with 60 minutes of music, Valleys of Neptune was put together with care and intelligence, and it works cohesively as a record. Still, if you are new to Hendrix or are only familiar with his FM-radio staples, you should start with his back catalog, rereleased this week as well: Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland, all beautifully restored with bonus DVDs. (James)