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Jimi Hendrix Get That Feeling and Flashing
Year Of Release: 1996
Label: PPX Studio Records
Set of early Hendrix with Curtiss Knight recorded at PPX Studios and relesed in a wide variety of different albums
Tracklist:
01. Get That Feeling [5:18]
02. How Would You Feel [3:11]
03. Hush Now [5:12]
04. No Business [3:17]
05. Simon Says [3:13]
06. Gotta Have A New Dress [3:11]
07. Strange Things [3:20]
08. Welcome Home [3:32]
09. Love, Love [5:17]
10. Day Tripper [3:17]
11. Gloomy Monday [3:32]
12. Fool For You Baby [2:51]
13. Don’t Accuse Me [3:57]
14. Hornet’s Nest [3:41]
15. Flashing [3:44]
16. Oddball [3:02]
17. Happy Bithday [2:21]
Curtis Knight –lead vocals
Johnny Star – drums
Jimi Hendrix – all other instruments and additional vocals
Get That Feeling Released :1965
Tracks 1-8
Before Jimi Hendrix went to London to become a solo recording star, he had recorded some material with journeyman soul singer Curtis Knight and signed a contract with record executive Ed Chalpin. When Hendrix became an international superstar in 1967, this contract backfired on him badly, as Chalpin leased recordings of the Knight sessions to Capitol Records that did not in any way reflect what Hendrix had evolved into as a solo artist. Eight of these tracks were issued at the end of 1967 on Get That Feeling, which -- despite featuring only a picture of Hendrix, in all his 1967 glory, on the cover -- only features him as a guitarist session man, with Knight actually handling the vocals. It was not clear exactly when this material was recorded (there are no liner notes), but likely it dated from mid-'60s sessions shortly before Hendrix went solo, and/or jam sessions never intended for release. It was the beginning of contractual headaches for Hendrix and his managers vs. Chalpin that would last for the rest of Hendrix's life. Its controversy also helped ensure that in Hendrix histories, the music on the album itself is overlooked and rarely discussed in depth. It's actually listenable, although generic, 1960s soul/R&B/rock, with Hendrix playing well but much more conventionally than he did on his own recordings. You can hear hints of his full-blown psychedelic style, as on the wah-wah effects on "Hush Now," while "How Would You Feel" is an obvious rewrite of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." The recording quality and mix, even by 1967 standards, isn't that good, although it's not truly terrible. If this had only come out as a bootleg years after Hendrix's death, it would probably be considered an interesting artifact, if of somewhat limited appeal to most listeners. As an entry into Hendrix's legitimate discography, though, it has to be considered peripheral at best, exploitative and unrepresentative of his music at worst.
Flashing Released 1967
Tracks 9-17
Flashing is the follow-up to Get That Feeling: Jimi Hendrix Plays, Curtis Knight Sings released on Capitol as well and the reason why the Band of Gypsies live album eventually came out. These Ed Chalpin masters are different from the live tapes recorded at the New Jersey nightclub in 1965, material that comprises the albums Birth of Success, What I'd Say, and Early Jimi Hendrix, Vol. 2 released on EMI's MFP imprints in Europe. The material here was recorded in July and August of 1967, with three tunes recorded in 1966 and one from 1965. As Jimi Hendrix performed "I Saw Her Standing There" with Little Richard on the unreleased live tape by Walter DeVenne, the legendary mastering engineer, Curtis Knight and Hendrix give "Day Tripper" a go -- though they both sound pretty out of tune. The 1965 track "Don't Accuse Me," on the other hand, isn't bad, with snarling Hendrix guitarwork and a bluesy R&B groove. Though there are no revelations, as on Band of Gypsies, or underground gems like Jimi Hendrix Live at the Los Angeles Forum, 4-25-70, hearing Hendrix improvise on instrumentals like Curtis Knight's "Hornets Nest" or Ed Dante's title track "Flashing" (with its vocal snippet, "I got that feeling," almost a reference to the previous album) is more satisfying than hearing Moods or Rare Hendrix. "Happy Birthday" has some excellent Hendrix wah-wah and gives a taste of future "Voodoo Child" sounds. "Odd Ball" is another Ed Dante instrumental which has some future "Machine Gun" riffs from Hendrix lurking, waiting in the wings. For true fans, this is all so essential. It will be interesting to see if and how Experience Hendrix compiles this material along with the music he recorded with the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, and Lonnie Youngblood. Hendrix fans will always be seeking the holy grail, so these early albums are of value in understanding his master's guitar voice.
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