In the span of his brief career, Jimi Hendrix only produced three
albums. Yet since his death, his estate has re-packaged hundreds of
recordings hoping to cash in on the guitar virtuoso's legacy. Now
comes
Valleys of the Neptunes, a collection of recordings from the final days
of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Music critics have been reluctant to
embrace the album because so many of his posthumous releases have been
throwaways. However, this effort is turning heads. It offers a number
of previously unreleased tracks making it "not quite a lost album, but
darn near close." Here's what critics are saying:
- Terrific, Raw Production, writes Greg Kot
at The Chicago Tribune: "The tracks are blissfully free of the overdubs
and other studio manipulations that mar many of his posthumous
recordings. Instead, we get a you-are-there document of Hendrix in the
last volatile days of his great power trio with bassist Noel Redding
and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the Experience."
- Rivals Electric Lady Land, writes Ted Drozdowski
at Gibson: "The ultimate gauge of any new Hendrix album, live or
studio, is whether it achieves a level of quality comparable to the
four albums he released during his lifetime and provides new insights
into his creative processes. Valleys of Neptune succeeds on both counts."
- Don't Get Too Excited, writes Darryl Sterdan
at the Toronto Sun: "This is not The Great Lost Hendrix Album. Mostly,
it's a mishmash of odds and ends from 1969. There are jams and covers,
new renditions of old favourites, and a few works in progress... Bottom
line: If you're a stone-cold Hendrix freak, pony up. You won't get
burned. But if you're just a casual fan, remember something else Jimi
used to sing: 'You try to gimme your money, you better save it, babe /
Save it for your rainy day.'"
- A Snapshot of the Band in Its Prime, writes Brian Robbins
at Jam Bands: "What we have here are some of the final sessions that
the original Jimi Hendrix Experience (Hendrix, Mitchell, and Redding)
recorded - and some clues as to where Hendrix was headed after the
Experience melted down in 1969... Valleys of Neptune treats us to a
locked-in-and-grooving Experience - plus, we catch some glimmers of
where Jimi might have headed in the years to come. On the whole, the
album feels right - and without the man himself here, that's about as
good as it's going to get."
