From http://www.electricroulette.com/2007/12/in-defence-of-j.html :
In Defence of 'Jimi Hendrix: The Complete PPX Studio Recordings'
Jimi Who was Jimi Hendrix? To many - both during his life, and in the decades which have followed his tragic death - Jimi Hendrix was a blank canvas. A text to be exploited. The 'tumultuous 60s' made flesh. A black man. A bluesman. An electrified, acid-munching rock-god. An Uncle Tom. An RnB sideman who sold his Soul to the white devil for $$$ and empty pyrotechnics. A potent symbol of Black Power, a man who could stand up next to a mountain and chop it down with the edge of his hand. An American. An honorary Englishman. An ex-paratrooper who wrote the most powerful anti-war music of his or any other generation. A mass of contradictions and conflicting personalities. Who was Jimi Hendrix? Pretty much whatever you wanted him to be.
'Jimi Hendrix: The Complete PPX Studio Recordings' (SPV, 2000) presents one version of the Hendrix narrative, or at least one specific part of one specific narrative. There are so many strands to the Hendrix story that one would imagine that we've covered the lot of 'em by now, but the PPX Recordings suggest yet another sub-plot, another role for him to play. Indeed it is a role Hendrix plays very well, but it is a role which critical rock orthodoxy has largely chosen to ignore.
The PPX Recordings are badly packaged, clumsily thrown together and poorly annotated. Across 6 CDs we have a bewildering ragbag collection of live tracks, demos and re-worked demos, RnB covers, brief instrumentals and endless anonymous jams, all drawn from two separate periods in Jimi's life; pre-mega success in 1965 as RnB guitar sideman to Curtis Knight & The Squires, and mid-mega success in 1967 upon returning to New York to jam with his old buddies. Prior to being spirited away to the UK and psychedelic stardom by Chas Chandler, Hendrix had signed to small-time hustler Ed Chaplin's PPX Recordings. This would result in a whole buncha legal action that I ain't gonna even claim to be interested in, but whatever the ins and outs of the whole affair, a whole mess of PPX cash-in odds and sods have slowly crept out over the years on vinyl, CD, semi-authorised bootlegs etc and 58 of 'em wound up being compiled here. For all I know there could be hours and hours more of this stuff, I guess you'd have to ask somebody. Most of the music on here is uncredited, there is nothing to indicate the dates of the recordings, who played on them, where they were recorded, why they were recorded etc etc, the art-work sucks, the names of the tracks just seem to have been made up at random, there's take after take of the same 'song' and all in all the box-set (if you can call a flimsy cardboard sleeve a box) is a cheap piece of garbage that doesn't give Hendrix - OR THE MUSIC - the respect / attention / care that it deserves.
And because this music is (a) recorded terribly, (b) presented carelessly, (c) doesn't sound like 'All Along The Watchtower', generally people just haven't really given a damn about it. Infact, it's been treated as a bit of an embarrassment. Shit, who wants to hear Jimi plodding through another aimless wah-wah instrumental, or churning out who-gives-a-damn chicken 'n' grits versions of 'What I'd Say?' This isn't the Hendrix we know, right? Where are the production values? The stick-it-to-Clapton guitar heroics? The electrified, dandified acid-rock pyrotechnics? Motherfugger'd played this garbage at Woodstock the cat would been booed right off the goddamn stage. This music is a stain on the Hendrix canon. It isn't fit to be considered Hendrix music. I bet he hated playin' this unsophisticated crap. Why don't we just forget the whole sorry affair, huh, and get back to listenin' to 'Electric Ladyland'.
...so why am I so evangelical about The PPX Recordings?
The fact is simply that there are a handful of tracks contained on these six CDs that if you didn't know Hendrix was playing on them - though his playing is so wonderfully distinctive that this is highly unlikely - and you heard 'em in a club, you'd be like : "Wow. This sure is some excellent, rough-ass, breakbeat powered psychedelic funk-rock. That rolling bass. That wild, wig-out wah-wah geetar. Man, this is really good. Gotta be mid-late 60s. A bit Baby Huey & The Babysitters. A bit Black Merda. Hidden in the crates of some Texas record store for 40 years. Yeah. Probably by some band with a name like 'Joe Thunder and The Thunderstorm Soul Band', who put out one 45 in 1966. Wonder if it's ever turned up on a Cherrystones compilation at some point. Think I'll ask the DJ. Dude, who's this by? Jimi Hendrix? No, seriously, who's this track by? Jimi Hendrix? You gotta be kiddin' me! It's Hendrix on guitar? Who's singing? Curtis Knight? What LP is this from? This is brilliant!"
Basically what I'm saying is you gotta re-contextualise this shit. This ain't 'The Wind Cries Mary.' You gotta forget about all that. This is music by an LSD-fuelled psyche-soul band, a proto-Funkadelic, bass/drums/guitar, live, loud, messy sometimes, but coming with some seriously heavy fonk, loadsa bottom-end and buckets of furious fuzz. Sure, it lacks the polish of Hendrix's big bucks stuff. Sure, some of it ain't arranged all that well. But check out the grooves. These is some cookin' jams. If you'da come across these tunes on some Jazzman / Quantic / Andy Votel compilation you'd sho' nuff dig 'em the most, and they'd be the equal of half the shit on there. To judge 'em by the standards of Hendrix's canonised material is unfair. Let's not patronise this music by dismissing it as 'just gut-bucket funk' or 'just chicken 'n' grits RnB' just 'cos it don't fit into some white-rock version of Who Hendrix Is.
The PPX Recordings have been neglected because Hendrix fans are generally fans of acid / heavy rock, and thus have found little to enjoy here. (One only has to consider the poor standing of his 'Band Of Gypsys' LP, a flat-out funk-rock monster, a really stunning album, to see what effect this bias / prejudice has had on the reputation of his funk-orientated output....but that's for another time) Fans of funk and psyche / garage curios, on the other hand, will find tons to dig here, and if you're anything like me will actually revel in the sheer amount of material on offer - however varied in quality. It is a crying shame that it has been packaged badly, and that more quality control was not exercised (there is alot of PPX material that simply doesn't merit having been released) but this should not distract from the great tracks sprinkled among the rubbish. It's time we seriously re-evaluate this particular version of the Hendrix narrative, because there is music here which does his reputation proud. There is stuff on here I dig so much that even if he'd never done anything else, he'd still be a hero. This is Jimi Hendrix: The Obscure Psychedelic Funk Band Guitarist. This is my Jimi Hendrix. Paul Fuzz
(A good 80% of the PPX STUFF is sub-standard, and some of it is recorded so badly it is rendered unlistenable. Here's my pick of the best tracks.)
Get That Feeling: Heavy bottom end, kicks off with a blast of fuzz guitar and a short break, evolves into a mid-temp RnB jam with lashings of wah-wah, could easily be the 103rd Watts Street Band. Good 'James Brown did it, Aretha Franklin did it' typea vocals.
Simon Says: RnB dance-instruction stomper w/ crackin' fast break up front.
Strange Things: Evil Bo-Diddley groove powered by over-amped farfisa organ, loadsa fuzz and that Sonics strychnine hammer-horror riff - always a winner.
Love, Love: Heavily wah-wah'd mid-temp vocal funk, fat rolling groove. A stand-out song, and one of the few PPX tracks to be compiled elsewhere.
Hornets Nest: Sounds, brilliantly, exactly like it's title. Insane, manic 'I'm A Man'-ish fury, super fast and packed with buzzing organ. Ridiculous.
Flashing: Big, up-tempo drum & break up-front.
Oddball: Leisurely instrumental groove, tons of fuzz-bass.
Happy Birthday: Another high-light. Opens with furious burst of distorted wah-wah freakery, before exploding into a serious mid-tempo drum & bass break, a real rolling groove and daft lyrics literally about having a birthday. Aces.
Future Trip: Pretty much sounds like the wild coda to an RnB version of 'Day Tripper' (covered elsewhere).
Mercy Lady Lay: 9 minute instrumental wah-wah work-out. Very early-Funkadelic. A mess, but entertaining with it.
Level: A near-perfect version of a groove attempted a number of times across the 6 CDS, a mid-tempo wah-wah instrumental which doesn't outstay it's welcome, rolls along nicely, would impress any fan of this sorta thing.
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All in all, a somewhat odd, rare collection of Jimi Hendrix.
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Tracklisting:
The Authentic PPX Studio Recordings Vol.1 - Get That Feeling (30:23)
1 Get That Feeling (5:18)
2 How Would You Feel (3:10)
3 Hush Now (5:10)
4 No Business (3:15)
5 Simon Says (3:12)
6 A New Dress (3:10)
7 Strange Things (3:19)
8 Welcome Home (3:31)
The Authentic PPX Studio Recordings Vol.1 - Flashing (31:50)
1 Love, Love (5:13)
2 Day Tripper (3:16)
3 Gloomy Monday (3:31)
4 Fool For Your Baby (2:49)
5 Don't Accuse Me (3:56)
6 Hornet's Nest (3:40)
7 Flashing (3:43)
8 Oddball (3:02)
9 Happy Birthday (2:20)
The Authentic PPX Studio Recordings Vol.3 - Ballad Of Jimi (39:29)
1 UFO (2:54)
2 You Don't Want Me (Instr.) (3:02)
3 Better Times Ahead (2:33)
4 Future Trip (2:27)
5 Wah Wah (Instr.) (1:19)
6 Everybody Knew But Me (1:32)
7 Mercy Lady Day (Instr.) (8:37)
8 If You Gonna Make A Fool Of Somebody (2:43)
9 My Best Friend (Instr.) (2:27)
10 The Ballad Of Jimi (2:25)
11 Second Time Around (Instr.) (9:08)
The Authentic PPX Studio Recordings Vol.4 - Live At George's Club (39:19)
1 Drivin' South (Instr.) (6:10)
2 Ain't That Peculiar (3:22)
3 I'll Be Doggone (2:34)
4 I've Got A Sweet Little Angel (4:42)
5 Bright Light, Big City (3:09)
6 Get Out Of My Life Woman (3:39)
7 Last Night (Instr.) (3:13)
8 Sugar Pie, Honey Pie (2:56)
9 What'd I Say (3:58)
10 Shotgun (5:15)
The Authentic PPX Studio Recordings Vol.5 - Something On Your Mind (42:25)
1 California Night (Live) (5:05)
2 Level (Studio, Instr.) (2:49)
3 I Feel Good (Live) (2:59)
4 Left Alone (Live) (2:21)
5 Knock Yourself Out (Studio, Instr.) (5:58)
6 Something On Your Mind (Live) (5:30)
7 I Should've Quit You (Live) (3:31)
8 Hard Night (Live, Instr.) (4:15)
9 I'm A Man (Live) (4:53)
10 Instrumental (Studio, Instr.) (4:46)
The Authentic PPX Studio Recordings Vol.6 - On The Killing Floor (41:41)
1 On The Killing Floor (Live) (3:45)
2 Money (Live) (3:59)
3 Nobody Loves Me (Live) (3:46)
4 Love (Studio, Instr.) (8:28)
5 You Got Me Running (Live) (3:53)
6 Mr. Pitiful (Live) (3:06)
7 Torture Me Honey (Studio, Instr.) (6:39)
8 Sleepy Fate (Studio, Instr.) (2:51)
9 Satisfaction (Live) (4:57)
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