Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A-Comin' - Non-Album Tracks (1969)

It's been a while since I've posted any Jimi Hendrix, but I've got a lot more from him to post. Before I get to live, acoustic, and other material, I first want to continue my series of albums containing songs not on the studio albums released in his lifetime.

I've already posted an album of non-album tracks from his "Are You Experienced?" through "Electric Ladyland" period. This album covers late 1968 (after "Electric Ladyland" was released) through about April 1969, when the Experience broke up. This also only covers studio work with the Experience, as Hendrix already started doing some music with Buddy Miles and others in early 1969. (The next album in the series will cover everything between the end of the Experience and the start of the Band of Gypsys later in 1969.)

This time period was a difficult one for Hendrix. He wasn't getting along well with bassist Noel Redding, musically or otherwise, but it took him a while before he got around to breaking up the Experience. He also didn't seem to know how he wanted to follow up the great "Electric Ladyland."

Even so, Hendrix was constantly coming up with new material. In fact, even though this covers only a six month period, I had a hard time cutting this down to something that could fit on a vinyl album in that era. Those that didn't make the cut include the instrumentals "Crying Blue Rain" and "Noel's Tune," as well as an early version of "New Rising Sun" and a remake of "Red House."

I did include a Noel Redding song - "I Don't Mind" - even though I don't think it has Hendrix playing on it, because each of the Experience albums typically had a Redding song on it, and I think this is one of Redding's few good songs. "Cat Talking to Me" also has vocals from drummer Mitch Mitchell, surprisingly enough.

In my opinion, the highlight of the album is "Hear My Train A-Comin'." He played the song many times in concert, and also attempted in many times in the studio, but never released any version of it in his lifetime. It's debatable which studio take is best, but they're all gond and I figured it makes sense if he released it early on so people could better appreciate it when he played it in concert so often.

Normally, I don't include the same song on multiple albums. But my earlier stray tracks collection has "Stone Free" on it, and this one does too. That's because the Experience rerecorded the song in early 1969. The thinking was that the song only came out as a B-side in late 1966, so lots of fans missed it, but it was a really good song, so the new version was going to be an A-side off the new Experience album. Of course that never came to be, since the Experience didn't release another studio album before breaking up.

These six months were a transitional time for Hendrix, and this album clearly isn't an all time classic like "Electric Ladyland," but I still think it's got a lot of good stuff on it. And, in my opinion, it makes a lot more sense to listen to Hendirx by grouping his songs into time period rather than the scattershot approach of many later archival albums.

By the way, this album is 49 minutes long. That would have been very long for the era, but still doable. For instance, "L.A. Woman" by the Doors in 1971 was 50 minutes long.

01 Stone Free [1969 Version] (Jimi Hendrix)
02 Shame, Shame, Shame [It's Too Bad] (Jimi Hendrix)
03 Lover Man (Jimi Hendrix)
04 I Don't Mind (Noel Redding)
05 Midnight [Instrumental] (Jimi Hendrix)
06 Gloria (Jimi Hendrix)
07 Hear My Freedom (Jimi Hendrix)
08 Peace in Mississippi [Instrumental] (Jimi Hendrix)
09 Cat Talking to Me (Jimi Hendrix with Mitch Mitchell)
10 Hear My Train A-Comin' (Jimi Hendrix)
11 The New Rising Sun [Instrumental] (Jimi Hendrix)

https://www77.zippyshare.com/v/kE8c0Or0/file.html

The album cover comes from a cool picture included in the archival release "Valleys of Neptune." I just added the text to it.