JIMI HENDRIX — War Heroes (review)

JIMI HENDRIX — War Heroes album cover Album · 1971 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Sean Trane
Last album that most expert consider valid, exploiting recorded material finished in an acceptable manner that Jimi would’ve (maybe) released. These tapes were found at the Electric Lady studio, and even feature three tracks with Noel Redding on bass, the rest being handled by either Jimi or Billy Cox.

What to say of the music, except that we are in a typical Hendrix mode and sonically, this is much wilder than Cry Of Love, but also much less refined and sometimes the rawness is chilling my spine. Indeed guitar bonanza tracks like Midnight or Tax Free are almost blues-derived jams that soar, with some great drumming, pedestrian bass and searing guitar histrionics. Exactly the type of track that inspired Italy’s Garibaldy or Germany’s Guru Guru in their early days. Beginnings is somewhere between the jam and the song and might be the most interesting for progheads with its tempo changes. At other times, some tracks are song format such as the almost-finished Bleeding Heart or Highway Chile or the work-in-progress cute 3 Little Bears or Izabella. And then there is the useless but aptly-titled Peter Gunn “Catastrophe” obviously included as a filler, just like that unjustified Stepping Stone version.

As I said above, if you care for Hendrix’s career, but don’t want to do with exploiting products, War Heroes is (with some rare exceptions) the last album chronologically that you should venture in. In this regard, avoid the next two, Crash Landing and Midnight Lamp, where a producer erased the bass and drums to record them anew. So three starsd is well paid for such an album. All I can say from those three legit posthumous releases is that I see no evidence that Jimi was to start in a jazz or funk mode. WH, CoL and RB are well in the line of Electric Ladyland.

Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

6 Eclectic Fusion
KROKOFANT
Buy this album from MMA partners
Spring In Stockholm Live At Konserthuset, 1959 Cool Jazz
GERRY MULLIGAN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple vol.3 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple, Vol.1 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikołaj Trzaska / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten / Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple Vol.2 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

FASCINATING RHYTHM - The Amazing Keystone Big Band feat. Neima Naouri
THE AMAZING KEYSTONE BIG BAND
snobb· 1 day ago
Alicante
RENAUD GARCIA-FONS
js· 1 day ago
She's Forty with Me
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Tall Tillie's Too Tight
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Rhoda Scott Ladies and Gentlemen - special guest : David Linx
RHODA SCOTT
snobb· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed