Track Listing

1. Hear My Train A Comin'
2. Born Under A Bad Sign
3. Red House
4. Catfish Blues - Jimi Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix Experience
5. Voodoo Chile Blues - Jimi Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix Experience
6. Mannish Boy
7. Once I Had A Woman
8. Bleeding Heart
9. Jam 292 - Jimi Hendrix Experience
10. Electric Church Red House
11. Hear My Train A Comin'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1705 in Music
• Released on: 1999-07-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 72 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
After the disorganised and often unlistenable Alan Douglas-produced reissues in the 1970s and '80s, MCA has been releasing the vast Hendrix archives in an intelligent and methodical manner. Blues is a perfect example, making the case that--on top of everything else--Jimi Hendrix was one fine blues guitarist. Combining the fluid lines of B.B. King with the spikiness of Hubert Sumlin and the crying tone of Elmore James with his usual synapse-frying intensity, Hendrix manages to both honour the music tradition while remaining uniquely himself. These studio outtakes and warm-ups (plus one previously released track, the magnificent "Hear My Train a Comin'") include a playful "Mannish Boy", the slow burn of "Once I Had A Woman" and a metallic "Bleeding Heart". --Steven Mirkin

CD Description
When the American expatriate James Marshall Hendrix made his triumphant return to the United States with ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?, he'd just smelted British pop psychedelia, R&B, Bob Dylan and Cream into a gleaming rock and roll alloy. Nothingquite looked or sounded like the musical melting pot that was the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Yet the American release of ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? differed from the British version in one significant respect: "Everybody was scared to relase `Red House' in America", Hendrix recalled, "because they said `America don't like blues, man!'"
Yes, it's hard to believe,but the Experience's original rendition of Jimi's epic "RedHouse" (recorded in London on December 13, 1966) appears stateside for the very first time on this superb compilation of Hendrix rarities (including 8 previously unreleased tracks), simply entitled BLUES.
BLUES is probably the best packaged, richest sounding, most coherent post-mortem release from the Hendrix archives. Fleshed out by Michael J. Fairchild's detailed, informative essay, BLUES portrays Jimi Hendrix as a classic bluesman, a devout student of the tradition from down home delta stylings to sophisticated urban forms. Framed by his poignant 1967 acoustic 12-string rendition of "Hear My Train 'A Comin'" and a stirring 1970 trio performance,these 11 rough and ready tracks illustrate Hendrix's deep spiritual connections to his blues roots, and his daring experimental take on the shape of future blues to come.
Thus you have a moody studio outtake of his autobiographical "Voodoo Chile Blues" and a ruminative "Born Under A Bad Sign" (in which his Albert King tribute evolves with raga-like complexity). Hendrix's "Catfish Blues" is a powerful evocation oftribal elders Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, while his abstract chord changes and soaring, strident leads on the shuffling "Jelly 292" are an affectionate parody of classic urban blues lines such as "After Hours" and "Sweet Home Chicago". Taken as a whole, Jimi Hendrix's BLUES is the portrait of a great American original who was (like Stevie Ray Vaughan ageneration later) just beginning to scratch the surface of his awesome talent.

Customer Reviews

This kid could play...
As a big fan of blues guitar of all styles, I am sorry to say I never rated Hendrix very highly - too much psychedelic mucking about and not enough real guitar-playing. I borrowed this album from a friend and listened with a fair amount of scepticism. I'd heard a lot of Hendrix before, right? Well, this album blew me away. It's not all perfect by any means, but this guy can play the blues! Although the melodic lines and some of the textures are recognisably Hendrix, this is blues playing at its best that stands comparison with anything I've heard by B B King, the early Eric Clapton etc. If you like the whining and screaming of a well-played electric guitar over a solid, slow 12-bar backing, you won't be disappointed with this. In a nutshell - I'm not a great Hendrix fan, but I like this album very much and I will be buying my own copy.

Earth to Hendrix: Jimi.......Jimi?..............Where are you, man?......

Like the previous reviewer, I also am a fan of blues guitar music (a HUGE fan) and greatly appreciate the talents of Leadbelly, Lightnin' Hopkins, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, BB King, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Guitar Watson etc (and even one or two white guys !). And, entirely worthy of inclusion in this catalogue of blues brilliance, is Jimi Hendrix.

One of the most wonderful things about the blues is the fact that it provides such a good framework for its practitioners to develop their own styles and sounds, and to make their own unique contributions to the genre. Well, Jimi fits seemlessly into this tradition. Indeed, Jimi's contribution could be considered particularly interesting because on one hand, he is entirely steeped in traditional blues, while on the other hand, he personifies his own generation, his howling, screeching, wailing guitar (plus sustain and feedback off his speakers) being the very embodiment of the psychedelic experience.

Furthermore, Jimi, in my opinion, manages to communicate deeper and more intense emotion in both his guitar and voice than almost any musician, which, alongside his technical virtuosity, is quite simply the perfect combination for crying the blues.

As for this CD, its definitely a mixed bag - ranging from those that reveal their origins as warm-ups, jams and impromptu performances, to some old favourites, to some gems that would have been worthy of general release in their own right. While some of the content is quite 'dry', others (like Mannish Boy, Voodoo Chile Blues, Once I Had A Woman and both versions of Hear My Train) are superb and there is even one track that I consider to be a genuine masterpiece! Born Under A Bad Sign!! This track is not only a great classic, but the result of Jimi's treatment is a classic cover version. (Cream's cover of the same song -also brilliant- is an interesting comparison).

All in all, I consider this release to be a very worthwhile contribution to the body of Jimi's published music, and well worth adding to your Hendrix or blues collection. Why only 4 stars? Because this CD doesn't contain my favourite version of Hear My Train A Comin' (the Hawaii rendition, which is a serious contender for my-all-time-No.1-favourite-blues-track) and because some of the material serves best as 'wall-paper'. Of course, how many other artists could stand up so well to having their every recorded note picked over so thoroughly?!

Finally, one of the great pleasures of having been listening to Hendrix for 15 years is that, through much of this time, there has been a steady trickle of previously-unreleased material coming through (such as the Rainbow Bridge concert and First Rays Of The New Rising Sun). This has had the effect of sustaining fans with new material (and has included some of his very very best work), even though he left us all those years ago. This CD is such a release, and anyone who likes the blues or any of Jimi's music will get something from it.

"Music is Magic, Magic is Life" -JH-

Blues
'Blues' is a great collection of Jimi playing the style that infused all of his music. You get awesome performances of 'Hear my train a comin' in both acoustic and electric, as well other songs by him and covers of other blue numbers. 'Mannish Boy' and 'Catfish Blues' are superb and the blues version of 'Voodoo Chile' is out of this world and really good to listen to if you love the version on 'Electric Ladyland' although this one is shorter. Overall this is a good collection of tracks and is perfect to put on when you're in the mood for some blues and only Jimi will do.