Better Late Than Never: Jimi Hendrix: Valleys of Neptune

SteveK on Hendrix’s long-long-long-awaited new album–

Jimi Hendrix: Valleys of Neptune

Certain musicians die, and then their recording careers suddenly explode.  This happened with Elvis, Tupac, Jimi Hendrix of course, Frank Zappa, John Lennon and many others.  Most of the time, these posthumous works come out within a few years of the musician’s demise.  A couple of notable exceptions have albums come out regularly, for decades after their untimelies.

Jimi Hendrix is one such exception to the rule, having had 11 releases come out since his death.  ‘Valleys of Neptune’ is the latest in a long line of living dead music from the original Seattle Guitar God.

To sum up this album, let’s discuss what “posthumous” releases are generally made up of: previously recorded tracks that were left off of previously released albums.  That means these songs were, originally considered to not be good enough for release.  But when you’re talking about the caliber of material created by a musical artist like Hendrix, what wasn’t considered “good enough” then is still a hell of a lot better than a lot of the Rock music that gets put out today.

The songs of ‘Valleys of Neptune’ are either previously unreleased material, or formerly only on bootleg or inferior-quality resurrections.  A lot of them are also new versions of previous Hendrix releases, such as the opener “Stone Free”, as well as “Fire” and “Red House”  There’s also a fantastic instrumental cover of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” That just seethes Hendrix.

This is top of the line material; whether you’re a new or returning fan, ‘Valleys of Neptune’ is quintessential Hendrix, and well worth the 13 year wait since his last posthumous release.

Jimi Hendrix: Valleys of Neptune

Sony

Steve’s Rating: 10/10

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