Don McLean – Live At Manchester (1975)

Famed for — and ultimately defined by — his perennial “American Pie,” singer/songwriter Don McLean was born October 2, 1945, in New Rochelle, New York. After getting his start in the folk clubs of New York City during the mid-’60s, McLean struggled for a number of years, building a small following through his work with Pete Seeger on the Clearwater, a sloop that sailed up and down the eastern seaboard to promote environmental causes.

Still, McLean was primarily singing in elementary schools and the like when, in 1970, he wrote a musical tribute to painter Vincent Van Gogh; the project was roundly rejected by a number of labels, although MediaArts did offer him a contract to record a number of his other songs under the title Tapestry. The album fared poorly, but Perry Como earned a hit with a cover of the track “And I Love You So,” prompting United Artists to pick up McLean’s contract. He returned in 1971 with American Pie; the title track, an elegiac eight-and-a-half-minute folk-pop epic inspired by the tragic death of Buddy Holly, became a number one hit, and the LP soon reached the top of the charts as well.

The follow-up, “Vincent,” was also a smash, and McLean even became the subject of the Roberta Flack hit “Killing Me Softly with His Song”; however, to his credit — and to his label’s horror — the singer refused to let the success of “American Pie” straitjacket his career. Subsequent records like 1972’s self-titled effort and 1974’s Playin’ Favorites deliberately avoided any attempts to re-create the “American Pie” flavor; not surprisingly, his sales plummeted, and the latter release even failed to chart. After 1974’s Homeless Brother and 1976’s Solo, United Artists dropped McLean from his contract; he resurfaced on Arista the next year with Prime Time, but when it, too, fared poorly, he spent the next several years without a label.

McLean enjoyed a renaissance of sorts with 1980’s Chain Lightning; his first Top 30 LP in close to a decade, it spawned a Top Ten smash with its cover of Roy Orbison’s classic “Crying,” and his originals “Castles in the Air” and “Since I Don’t Have You” both also reached the Top 40. However, 1981’s Believers failed to sustain the comeback, and after 1983’s Dominion, he was again left without benefit of label support. McLean spent the remainder of his career primarily on the road, grudgingly restoring “American Pie” to his set list and drawing inspiration from the country market; in addition to a number of live sets and re-recordings of old favorites, he also returned to the studio for projects like 1990’s For the Memories (a collection of classic pop, country, and jazz covers) and 1995’s River of Love (an LP of original material). (by Jason Ankeny)

And here´s a great broadrecording from 1975:

The shutdown of Megaupload; and other cyberlockers such as Filesonic and Fileserve becoming pale shadows of what they once were, music fans will once again recall the immortal words of Don McLean.

But the lyrics to McLean’s Bronco Bill’s Lament are no less poignant and apt for these times:

Well you may not recognize my face, I used to be a star,
A cowboy hero known both near and far.
I perched upon a silver mount and sang with my guitar,
But the studio of course,
owned my saddle and my horse…

All the voyeurs and the lawyers who can pull a fountain pen,
And put you where they choose,
With the language that they use,
And enslave you till you work your youth away,
Oh god how I worked my youth away.

Thanks to Otto who shared these tracks on the net in 2010.

Recorded live at The Hardrock Concert Theatre, Manchester, UK; May 25, 1975;
Excellent FM broadcast.

Personnel:
Don McLean (guitar, vocals, banjo)

Tracklist:
01. Bronco Bill’s Lament 3.22
02. Empty Chairs 3.38
03. La La Love You 4.25
04. American Pie 10.03
05. Homeless Brother 4.16
06. Respectable 4.04
07. The Legend Of Andrew McCrew 6.20
08. Babylon 5.00
09. This Little Light Of Mine 2.58
10. Vincent 4.04

All songs written by DonMcLean

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Charlie Mariano – October (1976)

Carmine Ugo “Charlie” Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and soprano saxophonist.

Mariano was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Italian immigrants, Giovanni Mariano and Maria Di Gironimo of Fallo, Italy. He grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, enlisting in the Army Air Corps after high school, during World War II. After his service in the Army, Mariano attended what was then known as Schillinger House of Music, now Berklee College of Music. He was among the faculty at Berklee from 1965–1971. Mariano moved to Europe in 1971, settling eventually in Köln (Cologne), Germany, with his third wife, Dorothee Zippel.

He played with one of the Stan Kenton big bands, Toshiko Akiyoshi (his then wife), Charles Mingus, Eberhard Weber, the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble, Embryo and numerous other notable bands and musicians.

He was known for his use of the nadaswaram, a classical wind instrument from Tamil Nadu.

Mariano had six daughters, including four with his first wife, and musician Monday Michiru with his second wife. He had six grandchildren and two great-granddaughters. He died of cancer on June 16, 2009. (by wikipedia)

A ’77 session with onetime Charlie Parker imitator Charlie Mariano now as immersed in Asian and Indian music as he ever was in bop. He’s working with a European rhythm section that includes keyboardist Rainer Bruninghaus and bassist Barre Phillips. There are some compositions that reflect Mariano’s jazz background, while others have everything from classical strains to Asian scales and instruments. (by Ron Wynn)

Personnel:
Rainer Brüninghaus (piano, synthesizer)
Udo Dahmen (drums, percussion)
Trilok Gurtu (tabla, percussion, drums)
Charlie Mariano (saxophone, flute, nagaswaram)
Hansgeorg Meuser (electric bass)
Barre Phillips (acoustic bass)

Tracklist:
01. Aszù (Brüninghaus) 8.10
02. Nagaswarup (Mariano) 7.47
03. Earth (Brüninghaus) 2.47
04. Out Of The Jungle (Dahmen) 4.18
05. To An Elfin Princess (Mariano) 7.26
07. 7 Up (Meuser) 5.26
08. Back Of J. (Phillips) 2.53
09. Down The Kaveri (Mariano) 4.41

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Paul Butterfield Blues Band – The Resurection Of PigboyCrabshaw (1967)

The 1968 edition of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band featured a larger ensemble with a horn section, allowing for a jazzier feeling while retaining its Chicago blues core. They also adopted the psychedelic flower power stance of the era, as evidenced by a few selections, the rather oblique title, and the stunning pastiche art work on the cover. Butterfield himself was really coming into his own playing harmonica and singing, while his band of keyboardist Mark Naftalin, guitarist Elvin Bishop, drummer Phil Wilson, electric bassist Bugsy Maugh, and the horns featuring young alto saxophonist David Sanborn was as cohesive a unit as you’d find in this time period. Butterfield’s most well-known song “One More Heartache” kicks off the album, a definitive blues-rock radio favorite with great harmonica and an infectious beat urged on by the top-notch horns.

The band covers “Born Under a Bad Sign” at a time when Cream also did it. “Driftin’ & Driftin'” is another well-known tune, and at over nine minutes stretches out with the horns cryin’ and sighin’, including a definitive solo from Sanborn over the choruses. There’s the Otis Rush tune “Double Trouble,” and “Drivin’ Wheel” penned by Roosevelt Sykes; Butterfield wrote two tunes, including “Run Out of Time” and the somewhat psychedelic “Tollin’ Bells,” where Bishop’s guitar and Naftalin’s slow, ringing, resonant keyboard evokes a haunting feeling. This is likely the single best Butterfield album of this time period and you’d be well served to pick this one up. (by Michael G. Nastos)

Personnel:
Elvin Bishop (guitar)
Paul Butterfield (harmonica, vocals)
Gene Dinwiddie (saxophone)
Keith Johnson (trumpet)
Bugsy Maugh (bass, vocals on 07.)
Mark Naftalin (keyboards)
Dave Sanborne (saxophone)
Phil Wilson (drums)

 

Tracklist:
01. One More Heartache (Tarplin/Rogers/White/Robinson/Moore) 3.42
02. Driftin’ And Driftin’ (Brown/Williams/Moore) 9.10
03. Pity The Fool (Malone) 6.06
04. Born Under A Bad Sign (Jones/Bell) 4.11
05. Run Out Of Time (Dinwiddie/Peterson/Butterfield) 3.05
06. Double Trouble (Rush) 5.42
07. Drivin’ Wheel (Sykes) 5.59
08. Droppin’ Out (Butterfield/Zimmerman) 2.21
09. Tollin’ Bells (Dixon) 4.22

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Mantovani And His Orchestra – Latin Rendezvous (1963)

Annunzio Paolo Mantovani  (15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980), known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was “Britain’s most successful album act before the Beatles…the first act to sell over one million stereo albums and [have] six albums simultaneously in the US Top 30 in 1959”.

Mantovani was born in Venice, Italy, into a musical family. His father, Bismarck, served as the concertmaster of La Scala opera house’s orchestra in Milan, under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. The family moved to England in 1912, where young Annunzio studied at Trinity College of Music in London. After graduation, he formed his own orchestra, which played in and around Birmingham. He married Winifred Moss in 1934, and they had two children: Kenneth (born 12 July 1935) and Paula Irene (born 11 April 1939). By the time World War II broke out, his orchestra was one of the most popular British dance bands, both on BBC radio broadcasts and in live performances.

He was also musical director for a large number of musicals and other plays, including Noël Coward’s Pacific 1860 (1946) and Vivian Ellis’s musical setting of J. B. Fagan’s And So to Bed (1951).[4] After the war, he concentrated on recording, and eventually gave up live performance altogether. He worked with arranger and composer Ronald “Ronnie” Binge, who developed the “cascading strings” effect (also known as the “Mantovani sound”).[5] His records were regularly used for demonstration purposes in stores selling hi-fi stereo equipment, as they were produced and arranged for stereo reproduction. He became the first person to sell a million stereophonic records. In 1952, Binge ceased to arrange for Mantovani but the distinctive sound of the orchestra remained.

Mantovani recorded for Decca until the mid-1950s, and then for London Records. He recorded in excess of 50 albums on that label, many of which were Top 40 hits. His single tracks included “The Song from Moulin Rouge”, which reached Number One in the UK Singles Chart in 1953;[2] “Cara Mia” (with him and his orchestra backing David Whitfield) in 1954; “Around the World” in 1957; and “Main Theme from Exodus (Ari’s Theme)” in 1960. In the United States, between 1955 and 1972, he released more than 40 albums with 27 reaching the “Top 40”, and 11 in the “Top Ten”. His biggest success came with the album Film Encores, which attained Number One in 1957.

Similarly, Mantovani Plays Music From ‘Exodus’ and Other Great Themes made it to the Top Ten in 1961, with over one million albums sold.

In 1958, Mantovani and his family bought a holiday home in Bournemouth in Durley Chine Road, and then in 1961 acquired a new property in Burton Road (now part of Poole). He moved, finally, to a new home in Martello Road in Poole.

Mantovani starred in his own syndicated television series, Mantovani, which was produced in England and which aired in the United States in 1959. Thirty-nine episodes were filmed.[7] Mantovani made his last recordings in the mid-1970s.

He died at a care home in Royal Tunbridge Wells Kent. His funeral was held at the Kent and Sussex Crematorium and Cemetery on 8 April 1980.

The cascading strings technique developed by Binge became Mantovani’s hallmark in such hits arranged by Binge as “Charmaine”. Binge developed this technique to replicate the echo experienced in venues such as cathedrals and he achieved this goal through arranging skill alone.

Author Joseph Lanza describes Mantovani’s string arrangements as the most “rich and mellifluous” of the emerging light music style during the early 1950s. He stated that Mantovani was a leader in the use of new studio technologies to “create sound tapestries with innumerable strings”, and that “the sustained hum of Mantovani’s reverberated violins produced a sonic vaporizer foreshadowing the synthesizer harmonics of space music.” His style survived through an ever-changing variety of musical styles prompting Variety to call him “the biggest musical phenomenon of the twentieth century”.

From 1961 to 1971 David McCallum Sr was leader of Mantovani’s orchestra. At this time, his son David McCallum Jr was at the height of his fame, prompting Mantovani to introduce his leader to audiences with the quip, “We can afford the father but not the son!”

Mantovani is referred to by name in The Kinks song “Prince of the Punks”. He also had a big influence on Brian May, Queen guitarist.

He is also mentioned in the song “Paradise Place” by Siouxsie and the Banshees and in the song “Nainen tanssii tangoa” by the Finnish rock band CMX.

During his lifetime, Mantovani did not always get respect from his fellow musicians. When George Martin first suggested overdubbing Paul McCartney’s recording of Yesterday with strings, McCartney’s initial reaction, according to Martin, was that he didn’t want it sounding like Mantovani. Martin therefore used a more classical sound, employing a string quartet.

Much of his catalogue has reappeared on CD. There are also many compilations. A large number of CDs are available containing unauthorised recordings, billed as Mantovani or Mantovani Orchestra, for example the CD titled “The Mantovani Orchestra” released in 1997 contained a track from the 1980s Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Cats”, which would have required posthumous conducting on the part of Mantovani. There have also been CDs released under the Mantovani name of recordings made by others while Mantovani was still alive.

Following Mantovani’s death in 1980, the Mantovani Estate continues to authorise numerous concerts worldwide and recordings using original and newly commissioned arrangements. (by wikipedia)

And here is one of his countless albums … I guess he was a music maniac like James Last-

Enjoy the beautiful sound of Mantovani  & his Orchestra !

Personnel:
Mantovani And His Orchestra

Tracklist:
01. Malaguena (Lecuona/Banks/Hansen) 3.52
02. Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Farres/Davis) 2.41
03. Be Mine Tonight (Lara/Skylar) 3.16
04. Cielito Linda (Santos) 1.54
05. La Paloma (Yradier) 2.47
06. Siboney (Morse/Lecuona) 3.20
07. A Garden In Granada (Baer/Vasilescu/Lewis) 3.40
08. Perfidia (Tonight) (Dominguez/Leeds) 2.59
09. Andalucia (The Breeze And I) (Stillman/Lecuona) 2.33
10. La Golondrina (Serradell) 3.51
11. Maria Elena (Barcelata/Russell) 2.44
12. España (Chabrier) 2.36

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Sergei Prokofiev – Peter And The Wolf (Herbert von Karajan – narrated by Peter Ustinov) (1959)

Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67, a ‘symphonic fairy tale for children’, is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children’s story, while the orchestra illustrates it. It is Prokofiev’s most frequently performed work, and one of the most frequently performed works in the entire classical repertoire. It has been recorded many times.

In 1936, Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by Natalya Sats, the director of the Central Children’s Theatre in Moscow, to write a musical symphony for children. Sats and Prokofiev had become acquainted after he visited her theatre with his sons several times. The intent was to introduce children to the individual instruments of the orchestra. The first draft of the libretto was about a Young Pioneer (the Soviet version of a Boy Scout) called Peter who rights a wrong by challenging an adult. (This was a common theme in propaganda aimed at children in the USSR at the time.) However, Prokofiev was dissatisfied with the rhyming text produced by Antonina Sakonskaya, a then popular children’s author. Prokofiev wrote a new version where Peter captures a wolf. As well as promoting desired Pioneer virtues such as vigilance, bravery and resourcefulness, the plot illustrates Soviet themes such as the stubbornness of the un-Bolshevik older generation (the grandfather) and the triumph of Man (Peter) taming Nature (the wolf).

Prokofiev produced a version for the piano in under a week, finishing it on April 15. The orchestration was finished on April 24. The work debuted at a children’s concert in the main hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow Philharmonic on 2 May 1936. However, Sats was ill and the substitute narrator inexperienced, and the performance failed to attract much attention.[1][3][4][5] Later that month a much more successful performance with Sats narrating was given at the Moscow Pioneers Palace. The American premiere took place in March 1938, with Prokofiev himself conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Boston with Richard Hale narrating. By that time Sats was serving a sentence in the gulag, where she was sent after her lover Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky was shot in June 1937.

Peter, a Young Pioneer, lives at his grandfather’s home in a forest clearing. One day, Peter goes out into the clearing, leaving the garden gate open, and the duck that lives in the yard takes the opportunity to go swimming in a pond nearby. The duck starts arguing with a little bird (“What kind of bird are you if you can’t fly?” – “What kind of bird are you if you can’t swim?”). Peter’s pet cat stalks them quietly, and the bird—warned by Peter—flies to safety in a tall tree while the duck swims to safety in the middle of the pond.

Peter’s grandfather scolds him for being outside in the meadow alone (“Suppose a wolf came out of the forest?”), and, when he defies him, saying: “Boys like me are not afraid of wolves”, his grandfather takes him back into the house and locks the gate. Soon afterwards “a big, grey wolf” does indeed come out of the forest. The cat quickly climbs into a tree, but the duck, who has jumped out of the pond, is chased, overtaken, and swallowed by the wolf.

Peter fetches a rope and climbs over the garden wall into the tree. He asks the bird to fly around the wolf’s head to distract it, while he lowers a noose and catches the wolf by its tail. The wolf struggles to get free, but Peter ties the rope to the tree and the noose only gets tighter.

Some hunters, who have been tracking the wolf, come out of the forest ready to shoot, but Peter gets them to help him take the wolf to a zoo in a victory parade (the piece was first performed for an audience of Young Pioneers during May Day celebrations) that includes himself, the bird, the hunters leading the wolf, the cat, and grumpy grumbling Grandfather (“What if Peter hadn’t caught the wolf? What then?”)

In the story’s ending, the listener is told: “If you listen very carefully, you’ll hear the duck quacking inside the wolf’s belly, because the wolf in his hurry had swallowed her alive.”
Performance directions

Prokofiev produced detailed performance notes in both English and Russian for Peter and the Wolf. According to the English version:

Each character of this tale is represented by a corresponding instrument in the orchestra: the bird by a flute, the duck by an oboe, the cat by a clarinet playing staccato in a low register, the grandfather by a bassoon, the wolf by three horns, Peter by the string quartet, the shooting of the hunters by the kettle drums and bass drum. Before an orchestral performance it is desirable to show these instruments to the children and to play on them the corresponding leitmotivs. Thereby, the children learn to distinguish the sonorities of the instruments during the performance of this tale. (by wikipedia)

And here´s a nive version with the great Peter Ustinov as narrator and Herbert von Karajan as the conductor of The Philharmonia Orchestra.

What a nicy musical fairy tale !

Personnel:
Peter Ustinov (narrator)
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The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan

 

Tracklist:
01. Peter And The Wolf (Prokofiev) (Part 1) 14.23
02. Peter And The Wolf (Prokofiev) (Part 2) 14.34
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03. Toy Symphony (Haydn) 11.01

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Dave Mason – California Jam II (1978)

One of the best performances from this memorable event was delivered by Dave Mason, who was then riding the crest of one of his most successful albums, Let It Flow which had been released the previous year and spawned no less than three charting singles, including “We Just Disagree,” his biggest hit to date. By this point in his career, Mason had established quite the pedigree, having been a founding member of Traffic, a traveling member of Delaney & Bonnie’s road band and having recorded and shared the stage with some of the most high profile Los Angeles musicians, including Mama Cass Elliot and Crosby, Stills and Nash, who all helped champion his music.

By 1978, when this performance was recorded, Mason had assembled a well-seasoned band that featured his longtime guitar playing partner, Jim Krueger on second guitar and one of the era’s most talented keyboard players, Mike Finnigan, who had played on countless sessions, including Jimi Hendrix’s classic Electric Ladyland album, on which Mason also contributed (Mason played the acoustic guitar on “All Along The Watchtower” and Finnigan played organ on “Rainy Day, Dream Away”). With the tight rhythm section of Gerald Johnson and Rick Jaeger on board, Mason’s band was a force to be reckoned with.

Personnel:
Mike Finnigan (keyboards, vocals)
Rick Jaeger (drums)
Gerald Johnson (bass, vocals)
Jim Krueger (vocals, guitar, vocals)
Dave Mason (vocals, guitar)

Alternate front + backcover:

Tracklist:
01. Introduction 0.55
02. Feelin’ Alright (Mason) 5.04
03. Pearly Queen (Winwood/Capaldi) 4.08
04. Let It Go, Let It Flow (Mason) 3.34
05. Look At You, Look At Me (Mason/Capaldi) 7.12
06. We Just Disagree (Krueger) 3.20
07. So High (Rock Me Baby And Roll Me Away) (Williams/Conrad) 5.09
08. Taking The Time To Find (Mason) 6.25
09. All Along The Watchtower (Dylan) 2.27
10. Gimme Some Lovin’ (S.Winwood/M.Winwood/Davis) 10.05
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11. California Jam II (1978) (complete show – uncut version) 49.45

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Jimi Hendrix – Rainbow Bridge (1971)

Rainbow Bridge is a compilation album by American rock musician Jimi Hendrix. It was the second posthumous album release by his official record company and is mostly composed of recordings Hendrix made in 1969 and 1970 after the breakup of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Despite the cover photo and subtitle Original Motion Picture Sound Track, it does not contain any songs recorded during his concert appearance for the 1971 film Rainbow Bridge.Rainbow Bridge is a compilation album by American rock musician Jimi Hendrix. It was the second posthumous album release by his official record company and is mostly composed of recordings Hendrix made in 1969 and 1970 after the breakup of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Despite the cover photo and subtitle Original Motion Picture Sound Track, it does not contain any songs recorded during his concert appearance for the 1971 film Rainbow Bridge.
Continuing in the vein of The Cry of Love, the first official posthumous Hendrix album, Rainbow Bridge explores new guitar styles and textures. All the songs, except for a solo studio version of “The Star Spangled Banner”, are written by Hendrix and mostly performed with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox on bass.
The songs on Rainbow Bridge represent material in various stages of development and were never finalized or approved for release by Hendrix. Four of the songs on the album, along with the ten songs from The Cry of Love and three from War Heroes, were planned for Hendrix’s follow-up album to the live Band of Gypsys, released in March 1970. These songs were later included on Voodoo Soup in 1995 and First Rays of the New Rising Sun in 1997, which were attempts at completing the double album Hendrix was working on at the time of his death.

Despite the title, Rainbow Bridge was not a soundtrack to the film of the same name but rather a compilation of one live song and studio recordings from a number of sources between 1968 and 1970, including some for his planned but unfinished double album First Rays of the New Rising Sun. “Look Over Yonder” began as “Mr. Bad Luck” while Hendrix was performing in Greenwich Village, New York City, with his group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in the summer of 1966. The version included on Rainbow Bridge was recorded by the Experience in 1968.[5] Two songs by the Band of Gypsys, “Room full of Mirrors” and “Earth Blues” date from 1969, although the latter has subsequent drum overdubs by Mitchell. “The Star Spangled Banner” is a 1969 solo studio recording by Hendrix. The remainder of the songs were recorded with the “Cry of Love” group (Mitchell and Cox) in 1970: “Dolly Dagger”, “Pali Gap”, and “Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)”. “Hear My Train A Comin'” is a live recording from the first show on May 30, 1970, at the Berkeley Community Theatre. An edited version appears in the 1971 concert film Jimi Plays Berkeley.
The album was the second to be produced by Eddie Kramer and Mitch Mitchell, with John Jansen assisting. It was released in October 1971 in the US, and the following month in the UK where it reached numbers 15 and 16 respectively in the album charts. “Dolly Dagger” with “The Star Spangled Banner” as the B-side was released as a single in the US in October 1971. It appeared at number 74 in the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. In 2014, the original Rainbow Bridge album was reissued in both CD and LP formats.
According to Setting The Record Straight by John McDermott with Eddie Kramer, Izabella and Stepping Stone were pulled from the track listing in the final stages and replaced with the live version of Hear My Train A Comin’ from Berkeley. Izabella and Stepping Stone were instead used the improve the next posthumous release War Heroes per Mike Jeffery. Bleeding Heart was also considered but ultimately used on War Heroes. In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone magazine, Tony Glover wrote favorably of the songs on side one, particularly the “really majestic version” of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. Robert Christgau said in a retrospective review that The Cry of Love (1971) had highlighted Hendrix’s abilities as a songwriter, but Rainbow Bridge showcased his guitar playing:
Rich stuff, exploring territory that as always with Hendrix consists not merely of notes but of undifferentiated sound, a sound he shapes with a virtuosity no one else has ever achieved on an electric instrument. (by wikipedia)

Back when Rainbow Bridge was originally released, it was actually among the best of the posthumous Hendrix releases. Billed as “the original motion picture soundtrack” (it wasn’t, really), it was a mix of excellent, finished studio tracks and a couple of live tracks. Despite this, it’s understandable why it didn’t appeared in the digital realm until 2014 (officially, at least).

Once the estate went back to the Hendrix family in the ’90s, three of the tracks from Rainbow Bridge were used on the album First Rays of the New Rising Sun, which had previously only existed as Jimi’s hand-written track listing. The remaining tracks were orphaned out on various box sets and compilations. So while all the tracks on Rainbow Bridge have been made available elsewhere, it’s nice to finally have it assembled the way the original LP was, with excellent remastered sound (not just for the old-timers who had the LP the first time around, but for others who don’t necessarily want to shell out for the box set needed to gather these tracks). Highlights include overlooked gems like “Pali Gap” and Jimi’s rarely heard studio version of “The Star Spangled Banner,” which is made of multi-tracked guitars and basses. (by Sean Westergaard)

Personnel:
Billy Cox (bass)
Jimi Hendrix (guitar, vocals) backing vocals
Mitch Mitchell (drums)
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Buddy Miles (drums on 04., background vocals on 02.)
Noel Redding (bass on 06.)
Juma Sultan (percussion on 01., 03. + 06.)
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background vocals:
The Ghetto Fighters (Albert Allen and Arthur Allen) on 01.
The Ronettes (Veronica Bennett, Estelle Bennett, Nedra Talley) on 02.

Tracklist:
01. Dolly Dagger (Hendrix) 4:45
02. Earth Blues (Hendrix)  4:20
03. Pali Gap (Hendrix) 5:05
04. Room Full Of Mirrors (Hendrix) 3:17
05. Star Spangled Banner (studio version) (Smith)  4:07
06. Look Over Yonder (Hendrix) 3:28
07. Hear My Train A Comin’ (live) (Hendrix) 11:15
08. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) (Hendrix) 6:05

Recording details:
Tracks 1, 3 and 8:
recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York City, July 1, 1970

Track 2:
recorded at Record Plant Studios, New York City, December 19, 1969 and Electric Lady Studios, July 1970

Track 4:
recorded at Record Plant Studios, November 17, 1969 and Electric Lady Studios, July 1970

Track 5;
recorded at Record Plant Studios, March 18, 1969

Track 6:
recorded at TTG Studios, Hollywood, October 22, 1968

Track 7:
recorded at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, California, May 30, 1970 (first show)

 

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