By Brett A. Mejia ’13
THE ROUNDUP
9/10
“People, Hell, and Angels,” Jimi Hendrix’s newest album debuted March 5.
That’s right a new album.
The late guitar legend left all of us one final gift with the release of his of the collection.
Hendrix died too young in 1970 and only made a presence in the music world for a short time, but it is what his music was able to produce that will make him live forever as a music god.
His inventive and new style of the electric guitar allowed for a never before heard style.
Let me just begin by saying how I enjoyed listening to the guitar-playing legend. I thought that the era of the guitar was over, but when I heard the first track “Earth Blues,” it gave me a feeling of joy and happiness.
With only having about six years of a professional career, Hendrix produced only four studio albums, “People, Hell, and Angels” being the fourth, and countless live albums in the years between 1965-1970.
The album features 12 unreleased tracks with Hendrix experimenting with different instruments and sounds such as the saxophone and percussion.
The diversity of sound makes this album stand out from the other albums because it is not solely focused his guitar.
The album gives off a rock ‘n’ roll, blues feeling that really complements Hendrix’s voice and the instruments that are being played.
To hear Hendrix play the blues on such tracks as “Easy Blues,” “Izabella” and “Villanova Junction Blues” was simply outstanding and amazing because I have only ever really imagined Hendrix as an artist of the rock n roll genre and not the blues.
There is not much criticism I can give this album other than some of the grainy and high pitched sounds that the electric guitar produced. Some of this is likely due to old recording technology.
But for an album that was performed by a man who has been deceased for 43 years, I still think it beats any modern day rock albums because of how inventive and creative it is.
All the songs sound completely different than one another and I think this adds to the diversity of the album and shows a different side to Hendrix and his music.
I recommend this album to everyone. Any fans of Hendrix and any music lovers, in general, should own “People, Hell, and Angels” because it brings back the renaissance of a legend and the true meaning of rock n roll and the blues.
