Here’s some good news for you Torrent rats: A combination of 11 different Jimi Hendrix demos and bootlegs have now been digitally released on Dagger Records. While audiophiles aren’t being graced with the option of FLAC versions, they should be pretty happy settling for high-resolution, 320 kpbs, MP3 versions of bootlegs like Hear My Music and live sets from shows at the Oakland Coliseum and The Isle of Fehmarn. So if necromancing the guitar god on Xbox isn’t enough, just utilize your high-speed Internet connection to purchase digitized copies of Hendrix working through instrumental versions of classics like “Ezy Ryder” and “The Star Spangled Banner”.
Janie Hendrix, CEO of Experience Hendrix, the family company responsible for managing the legend’s image and music estate, told Rolling Stone that her family combed the vaults to make more material available to fans that wanted to delve even deeper into her father’s musical musings. She acknowledged the recordings’ sometimes poor quality, but insisted Dagger was the only way to go about releasing it.
“I used to see a lot of bootleg albums and I, too, was one of the victims of high prices and shabby product,” she said, “Obviously, not all of the material is of the commercial and sonic quality of the core titles, so Dagger was devised as a means to market these recordings honestly to offer new insights into Jimi’s creative process for those who are most interested.”
Only four albums are currently available for purchase, but here is a complete listing of future digital releases, and a video from Hendrix’s last performance ever — a 1970 live set at the Isle of Fehmarn.
Jimi Hendrix at the Open Air Love & Peace Festival on Sept. 6, 1970
Jimi Hendrix bootlegs/demos on 320kpbs MP3:
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At The Oakland Coliseum
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At Clark University
Morning Symphony Ideas
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live In Ottawa
Jimi Hendrix: Baggy’s Rehearsal Sessions
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Paris 67/San Francisco 68
Hear My Music
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At The Isle Of Fehmarn
Burning Desire
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Paris/Ottawa 1968
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At Woburn
