User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 12
  2. Negative: 1 out of 12
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  1. Dec 30, 2013
    8
    Great album, my favorite tracks are Hear my train a comin' and Hey Gypsy Boy although i preferred the other versions on "First rays of the new rising sun". I enjoyed the other recordings as well.
  2. Jul 4, 2013
    10
    I was shocked the first time i heard the album. Album of the year! It forces me to open a beer and enjoy the rest of the album. How much we miss you!!
  3. Apr 12, 2013
    8
    This album is what I would consider to be an awesome surprise to the Hendrix fans. Even though it does feel out of place from time to time, you need to remember that the tracks are all recorded on a separate occasion and probably for a different album at the time, so it does feel as if it is a bit everywhere.

    I myself got the LP in the mail today, gave it a spin, I decided not to listen
    This album is what I would consider to be an awesome surprise to the Hendrix fans. Even though it does feel out of place from time to time, you need to remember that the tracks are all recorded on a separate occasion and probably for a different album at the time, so it does feel as if it is a bit everywhere.

    I myself got the LP in the mail today, gave it a spin, I decided not to listen to this album on spotify, but to get the full fledged impression i'd get if you'd buy the album, needless to say, I was not disappointed. The album is great, catchy and everything you could really ask for from a artist that has been dead for about fourty years.

    Reason I am giving it a 8/10 is because it feels "loose" and some of the songs don't really fit in with the major "sound of the album." Like I said, they all were recorded on different occasions.

    Get this album!

    Must listen track: Izabella.
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  4. Mar 18, 2013
    2
    Inferior Versions Of Already Released Songs For Completists Only

    1. Earth Blues John McDermott, Hendrix catalog manager said in his book Ultimate Hendrix this song was “loose” & non-cohesive, being ultimately abandoned. Now he’s changed his opinion to calling it “stripped-down funk.” Interesting change of heart when it comes time to put together a “new Hendrix album.” The studio
    Inferior Versions Of Already Released Songs For Completists Only

    1. Earth Blues John McDermott, Hendrix catalog manager said in his book Ultimate Hendrix this song was “loose” & non-cohesive, being ultimately abandoned. Now he’s changed his opinion to calling it “stripped-down funk.” Interesting change of heart when it comes time to put together a “new Hendrix album.” The studio version mixed by Jimi was released on First Rays Of The New Rising Sun. This version is inferior and just a demo that lacks the overdubs Jimi later added to the version released on First Rays.

    2. Somewhere Jimi’s guitar work shreds on this song but listening to the song carefully, it’s easy to notice the amateurish “cut and paste” work by Eddie Kramer. During the breaks after Jimi’s verses, you can hear how his vocals were inaccurately pasted into this song, most noticeably at the break around 3:00, his vocals don’t match up and aren’t in time. The vocals are from an entirely different take of the song, which isn’t a problem itself, but Kramer’s mixing of the song is horrible. Jimi’s guitar breaks out of the field of sound field in places because it was a studio rehearsal, not a “new studio recording,” as advertised. A version that is actually “in time” was released on the Jimi Hendrix Experience Boxed Set in 2000 in better quality.

    3. Hear My Train A Comin’ Studio versions of this song have been released nearly a half-dozen times on releases by the Hendrix estate, including their last “new Hendrix studio album,” Valleys of Neptune, just a couple of years ago! The song was released twice on the single disc Blues release, again on the Martin Scorsese Blues album, on The Jimi Hendrix Experience Box-set, etc. This version is inferior and NOT a studio version, but from a practice run-through session they are mis-labeling as a studio version. This recording is of the first time Jimi got together with Buddy Miles and Billy Cox to practice songs. Keywords being “first time” and “practice.” Jimi’s vocals distort in places.

    4. Bleeding Heart Released as a SINGLE off of the Valleys Of Neptune album they released just a couple of years ago and they release it again already, two times in a row? Another studio version was released on South Saturn Delta. Here we get an inferior studio rehearsal.

    5. Let Me Love You One of the “new” songs on the album and Jimi doesn't sing a word in the song. This is actually a Lonnie Youngblood song that Jimi just plays guitar on. A good song though.

    6. Izabella The definitive studio version was released on First Rays of The New Rising Sun. An alternate version from this same recording session was released on The Experience Hendrix box-set in 2000, and another version on the Burning Desire album. The version we have here is far inferior to the already released versions.

    7. Easy Blues This is a purely instrumental song released on the Nine To The Universe album. Experience Hendrix claims that this “new extract” is nearly twice as long as the Nine To The Universe release, which is untrue. The Nine To The Universe release was 4:30 and this version is 5:57, a mere 90 seconds more instrumental..

    8. Crash Landing Released album Crash Landing, with original instrumentation replaced. Here we get the original version, but Jimi’s vocals have been pasted from another take, and one beat behind, not in time! How did this pass quality control? John McDermott (catalog manager) said how horrible this song was in his book Ultimate Hendrix, stating this song was “uninspired.” Now they want to release it as a “newly found gem,” McDermott changes his position to “it’s really good.”

    9. Inside Out Another early instrumental version of Ezy Ryder, no vocals. They released two more early Ezy Rider jams on “new studio album,” Valleys Of Neptune, and the Fire CD single from that same album just a couple of years ago! More Ezy Rider jams were released on Hear My Music & Burning Desire albums. More alternate versions of recently released early versions of songs?

    10.Hey Gypsy Boy Released on the Midnight Lightning album with Alan Douglas overdubs, here we have the original version as Jimi intended it, which is nice to hear.

    11.Mojo Man Yet another song that Jimi has no vocals on. A Ghetto Fighters song with Jimi guest appearing on rhythm guitar. And when I say “rhythm guitar,” I means exactly that because there are not even any guitar solos by Jimi on this song.

    12.Villanova Junction John McDermott, Hendrix catalog manager said in his book Ultimate Hendrix this song was “disjointed,” but in a recent interview flip-flopped saying it was “a sweet way to bring the record to a close.” This is merely a 1 minute & 45 second excerpt of this instrumental that fades out in the middle of the jam. A 5 minute version of this was released on the Burning Desire album.
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  5. Mar 5, 2013
    9
    I enjoyed this album immensely, Hendrix continues to impress 43 years after his death. They cleaned up the audio so it's crisp and clear and feels like your in the same room as the Experience.
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Q Magazine
    Aug 21, 2013
    60
    This fourth is no less essential for fans than the previous three. [May 2013, p.117]
  2. Classic Rock Magazine
    Jun 6, 2013
    70
    There's enough here that's new to renew your love of Hendrix. Yes, there's blood in the stone yet. [Apr 2013, p.94]
  3. The Wire
    Apr 24, 2013
    90
    The posthumous tracks that have emerged are among the best of Hendrix's late work. [Apr 2013, p.50]