RADIO ONE

I like Hendrix, indeed, I like him a lot, especially his live releases of which I have quite a few in my collection. Some may be more legit than others and to find out, I decided to peruse PA's Discography of Jimi's works.

I've noticed that this album had a single rating and of 5 stars. Left somewhat puzzled as I purchased this CD on release over 20 years ago, but for some reason I've let it go then. Why? Probably it didn't appeal that much in comparison with more cherished performances. Anyway, I was able to listen to these tunes again - if only for the sake of retiring that puzzle.

The record company Rycodisc were known to having re-released numerous works by Frank Zappa, including the uncut version of "Hot Rats", something that didn't fit the original LP format. Ryko have also published some "riskey" and questionable works on the side till they went out of business. This piece sits somewhere in the middle, kinda scraping the bottom of the Hendrix barrel.

The title "Radio One" refers to a live in studio broadcast by the BBC, probably around 1968. The songs are pretty compact versions of early Hendrix hits. No sign of stretching out no Band of Gypsys here. One may wonder if the band were asked to keep things radio friendly?

Some tracks were sung by other than Jimi - for better or worse. You can be the judge. The CD would suit collectors more than people with a library of Hendrix's early works. It's not a bad performance at all, only superficial when compared with other releases.