- Format: MP3
ATM 236-237
- This 2CD set collects what’s available of the private recordings Jimi made in the Spring of 1968. Some other material certainly exists, such as the tape that was offered on eBay several years ago (a short sample of that has gone around and that is included here). So like most of these collections, this one will have to be upgraded someday.
- Most of the apartment recordings (one exception noted below) are stereo and appear to have been recorded during the period March-April 1968.
- Order of the different recordings is uncertain.
- Disc 1, tracks 1-8: This is the "old" apartment tape, commonly referred to as "The Drake Hotel Demos"; The officially released version is used for the central portion of the recording. The mono collectors' source is used at start and end where the official stereo version is incomplete. A similar composite has been available on ATM 072-073 "Healing Power", but the mono mix was denoised on that one. Here it's unaltered, and moreover is a slight upgrade over the previous one. One more comment on the mono source: It seems to be one channel of the stereo source, rather than an average of both channels. However, there's enough vocals in the guitar channel and vice versa that we still hear both. Oddly, there is a short portion in the middle of the source where the tape seems to go to real stereo (that portion isn't used in this composite).
- Disc 1, tracks 9-13: Next come 5 tracks that previously appeared on ATM 063-064 "On the Road (To Electric Ladyland)", but are upgraded here. This is a mono source, but it's not known if this is the way it was recorded. It's a puzzling recording; there are no vocals at all, and no ambient noises that would give clues about where this was recorded. There are also cuts between all the songs. Is it a studio recording or an apartment recording? The complete lack of vocals and noises might argue for the studio, and could be a demo session similar to the one on 22 february 1969 from the Dagger Records CD "Hear My Music". Even though there's no definitive evidence for it being an apartment recording, it's certainly meant to serve the same purpose: As a solo demo for trying out in-development musical ideas. So it was included even though it may turn out to be a studio recording. Those familiar with these 5 tracks recall that there is severe back-and-forth panning during "South Saturn Delta" and the first part of "Three Little Bears". It seems extremely unlikely that there is anything "official" about this effect. This is a mono source and the panning is simply switching the balance from one side to the other; it doesn't amount to real mixing in any sense. It also distracts quite a lot from Jimi's playing, so it was removed from these two tracks.
- Disc 2, tracks 1-9: This is the sample of the eBay tape from several years ago - the so-called "10.000 Dollar Tape". Unfortunately we don't have the whole thing yet, but hopefully we'll hear it someday soon. The version here combines the short 9-minute sample that went around some time ago, with the longer versions of "Our Lovely Home" and "My Friend" first heard on JA 039 "Out In The Sun".
- Disc 2, tracks 10-12: Also recorded during March-April 1968 period, this is mostly a recording of Paul Caruso and another man trading good-natured insults with each other. Jimi is there too, and makes occasional comments, but he stays in the background while the other two talk. There is also another person in the room ("three coons in the room and a whitey"). The recording is often referred to as "The Paul Caruso Abuse Session" or "Rag Session", and starts with a loose attempt at "All Along The Watchtower" and ends with "Bright Lights, Big City". Those songs are given separate tracks.
- Disc 2, track 13: Known by various names (most commonly "Room Full Of Mirrors Poetry Recital"), this is the recording of Jimi talking over songs by Eric Burdon from the LP "The Twain Shall Meet". During the recording, portions of 3 songs from that LP appear: "We Love You Lil", "No Self Pity", and "Orange and Red Beams". The tape speed was corrected by synching to those songs. Most copies going around run too slow, making Jimi appear stoned (maybe he was) or sleepy. Also, most other copies have been de-noised; This one is unaltered. In addition to Jimi speaking, he also plays along with "Orange and Red Beams" during the last two minutes of the tape, continuing after the song fades out. This recording is often dated around Feb. 1969, perhaps due to the mention of a "room full of mirrors" by Jimi during the recording. However, the lines he quotes bear little relation to the song of that name. In fact, there are features that suggest this was recorded in Spring 1968 rather than nearly a year later: 1) Burdon's LP appeared in late 1967. It seems unlikely that Jimi would have been dwelling on it over a year later. 2) This tape is a stereo home recording very similar to the others we have from this period. 3) Unlike the mention of a "room full of mirrors" that isn't really very similar to the song, lyrics are quoted from "Somewhere" that match very well the song that was recorded in Spring 1968. Therefore this recording seems likely to originate from the Spring '68 period, and so is included in this collection. This recording follows directly after the Caruso recording on the earliest known sources. It's likely that this is just a reflection of the ordering on an early transfer and doesn't indicate actual recording order, but the order has been preserved just in case.
- The so-called "10.000 Dollar Tape" is a Reel to Reel Tape that was offered for sale on e-bay mid-2002 for $10.000, and later aquired by Experience Hendrix. The Sample tape featured here was made and distributed for demonstration purposes only, so it just consists of fragments of the full tape; Brief snippets of songs that fade in and out, and start and stop abrubtly. The Complete tape is currently not in circulation.
- Refer to Jimpress issue 74, p.31-35 & Jimpress issue 76, p.55-59 for additional info regarding the "10.000 Dollar Tape" Sample.