About "People, Hell and Angels" by the cult virtuoso guitarist: concept, idea, tracks, influence
Album Jimi Hendrix "People, Hell and Angels" went out in 2013 year. It includes recordings that have not been published before. The musician conceived this release as a continuation "Electric Ladyland" - the legendary album, which was the last for the group "Experience". The essence of this disc was to correct the alleged mistakes of previous albums. That is why "clean" versions of the tracks were used, which delighted many fans.
Idea, content
Unique Gift Hendrix was that he reinvented and combined familiar idioms into a new sound, drawing on various traditional sounds. Much of the record is steeped in blues, which is the root of Hendrix's greatest music and the starting point for his otherworldly, blatant rock transformations. A striking example is "Hear My Train a Comin'", recorded since "Experience". Hendrix knew that Cox and Miles it will come to a completely different result, and he was clearly inspired by this scorching performance that goes from trip-funk to bold blues before your eyes.
The tracks featured on this record have not been released before. Hendrix and some members of his group worked on the compositions, in particular Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. The idea was simple: Hendrix saw this album as a continuation "Electric Ladyland" - a beautiful 1968 release. Most of the entries are dated 1968 and 1969 for years. Some of them were born within the walls of the Electric Lady studio.
Recorded at sunset in the 60s «Bleeding Heart» shows exceptional results. As, however, "Hey Gypsy Boy" is a slow blues track that is presented without any overdubs! Masterfully using his vocals, Hendrix gives the song a low-key, sinister edge with a slippery lead guitar.
List of tracks
The blues appears not only in the style, but also in the title of three tracks. «Earth Blues» sounds here in an incendiary interpretation without overdubs and with a significantly different text. This version contains only Hendrix, Cox and Milesand her infectious refrain "Love, love, love" is Jimi in his most recognizable and best form!
"Easy Blues" far from funky «Earth Blues». It can be said that this is a jazz exercise in improvisation, recorded during a session on August 28, 1969 with a group with which Hendrix performed at Woodstock: Larry Lee rhythm guitar, Mitch Mitchell on drums Billy Cox on bass as well Gerardo Velez and Yuma Sultan on drums.
Completes the album "Villanova Junction Blues", which was also played at Woodstock.
«Earth Blues»
"Somewhere"
"Hear My Train a Comin'"
«Bleeding Heart»
"Let Me Move You"
Isabella
"Crash Landing"
"Villanova Junction Blues"
No audio:
- "Inside Out"
- "Hey Gypsy Boy"
- Mojo Man
- "Easy Blues"
The composition received special attention in the circle of critics. "Crash Landing": to this day, there are disputes regarding how the changes (if any) this song suffered.
Release and critical reception
"People, Hell and Angels" saw the light of day in the spring of 2013. The release was warmly received by critics. Shortly after the release in the magazine "Rolling Stone the following note appeared:
“Obviously, Hendrix plays at the highest level! His virtuosity, as always, is on top!”
Some reviewers described the novelty as "one of the best works in the twilight of Hendrix's career and life." Publicist Robert Christgau called the release a "quality legacy", emphasizing the splendor of the tracks "Somewhere" and "Let Me Move You"where the saxophonist is involved Lonnie Youngblood.
Conclusion
"People, Hell and Angels" is not by nature a great starting point for future fans of the cult guitarist, but is a collection of songs that, with the exception of one or two, do not feel "unfinished". The album is about Hendrix the Seeker, picking up more complex and elaborate funk, bluesy and truthful sounds. The sound quality on most of the tracks is so pure that these songs sound like they were recorded yesterday. For this special respect and praise to the mixing engineer Eddie Kramer and mastering engineer Bernie Grundman. As with virtually every posthumous release by an artist, there are moments so inspiring that it's hard to believe the music hasn't been released for so long.
