The Essential Jimi Hendrix

I wouldn't usually write about a record I'd only listened to once, but in this case I'm at least slightly acquainted with most of the music on it; and unavoidably know some of it very well. In Chepstow a couple of weeks ago I picked several records out of a crate on the floor of a charity shop of which this was one: a 1978 double-LP Hendrix compilation. It cost me rather less than the £6.30 price sticker on the cover from a prior sale.

As with any compilation I'm more in agreement with some of the editorial choices than others: we have 'Purple Haze' here but not 'Foxy Lady'; 'Little Wing' but not 'Spanish Castle Magic'; 'Burning of the Midnight Lamp' but, sadly, not 'Crosstown Traffic'. It also ventures beyond the three Experience records, with the last couple of tracks on Side C and all of Side D taken from some of the many of his posthumously-issued albums like The Cry of Love, Rainbow Bridge, and so forth. These, by and large, are songs I heard back in my student days, courtesy of a friend's cassette recordings of them, but hadn't since encountered until the Saturday before last.

The copy I found also came with a bonus 7", with the fake catalogue number "JIMI 1", including a ropey live version of Van Morrison's 'Gloria'. Alas, this doesn't show the great man in anything like his best light, and it's not hard to see why it hadn't been released before '78, for all the flood of prior records cashing in on his name. In the gatefold there's a biographical outline by Don Menn, and a piece about Hendrix's "Guitars, Amps and Devices" reprinted from an issue of Guitar Player Magazine. I think Hendrix looks a little sad & tired in the cover picture.

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All Wrapped Up

Here's another of the compilation cassettes I bought this summer, having taken home a Denon twin-deck hi-fi cassette player from the local charity shop. All Wrapped Up is a 1983 compilation of singles by The Undertones, with Side One filled with A-sides, and B-sides on Side Two. A cassette must be the least desirable medium for such an arrangement, with a long rewind required if one just wants to hear the hits repeatedly. The Undertones were unapologetically provincial and anti-fashionable, with their songs sharply-written slices of life that pointedly avoided any mention of politics, or of the then-continuing violence in their native Derry. My favourite tracks are the obvious choices: 'Teenage Kicks', 'Jimmy Jimmy', 'Here Comes the Summer', 'My Perfect Cousin' & 'Wednesday Week'. Their later singles showed increased sophistication but lack the some of the straightforward charm of their earlier work. The B-sides, not unexpectedly, are mo

In Heat

Having acquired the soubriquet "the walrus of love", Barry White thereafter became something of a figure of fun, something that misled me (and presumably others) into disregarding his music. Only within the last few years have I begun to pay it more attention. After picking up a copy of his '74 album Can't Get Enough last summer, which I loved, I sought out some of the music by his protegés Love Unlimited. From a Discogs seller I ordered well-used copies of Under the Influence of... ('73) and In Heat ('74) for only £6.25. The only unappealing thing about In Heat is its awful title. The songs and the singing are strong; the arrangements rich & warmly enveloping. As one would expect from White, the thematic focus is firmly fixed on amatory matters. The opening number 'Move Me No Mountain' (the only one on the record not written by White) offers a refreshing rebuttal to the kind of lyrical hyperbole in songs like 'Ain't No Mountain High E

Bananas Are Not Created Equal

I knew Jay Berliner's name from his contributions to Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady , so when I saw this curiously-titled LP at the local charity shop I was intrigued, and bought it even though I had no idea what kind of music it might contain. This was after the days when one could still buy records there for a pound apiece, but I don't think I paid more than a fiver for it. The music turned out to be an all-instrumental blend of funk, soul & jazz. Berliner's virtuoso lead guitar is only one of many attractions here. The band of first-rate session musicians behind him are all uniformly excellent too, and, crucially, sound like they're having a blast. Cornell Dupree's supporting guitar work, while less showy than Berliner's, is beautifully-judged, and the rhythm section is terrific. Arranger/conductor Wade Marcus was no slouch either, judging from the way everything comes together. Two of the funk

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