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Just As Profound As Jimi Hendrix!!!

Good Music Lover | New York | 09/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"WARNING! YOU MAY FIND THIS REVIEW TO HAVE SOME SPOILERS--I HIGHLY RECCOMEND YOU LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM!!!



Believe it or not, this album is truly a masterpiece! It was very maturely, and innovatively done, and will be appreciated by both lovers of classical and Jimi Hendrix (and, of course, good music!) It is by far one of the greatest albums I've ever listened to. The album is a mix of acoustic and electric string instruments (traditional, no adulterating guitar) and it has a very classical/asian sound overall. The whole album has a very full, robust, bassy tone, unlike the Led Zeppelin tribute (which sucks! Both of them--DON'T SUBJECT YOURSELF TO THEM!) which is all-acoustic and nothing but weak, squeaky, violin. This album has both cello and double bass (bowed, of course) I believe. Their are three highlights, and they are:



1.) Third Stone From the Sun

2.) Bold As Love

3.) Castles Made of Sand



Third Stone From the Sun is, by far, the most classical sounding, and, at the same time, mind-blowing, track (it will leave you in a stupor). The original track, which is largely trippy sound-effects, is rendered well. This is also, without question, the most electric track on the album, as, not long into the song, there emerges an unreal slur of distortion from the bowed electric instruments...sigh...and what a glorious ending...



Let's move on to my next favorite...Bold As Love...



This track immediately follows Third Stone (that track placement is just beautiful!) Throughout the song, there's one guy in the backround who, as my friend described it, is just sawing away on the violin. Eventually it bursts into a screeching electric solo. The rendition of the "fireworks" ending is not only note-for-note, but the sound is bent and distorted exactly the way it is in the original. It's the icing on top of the cake my friends, and it's a real treat!



Castle's Made of Sand is, as are the previous two, amazing. It has a very unique, asian-sound to it. Everything is adapted, including the psychedelic intro and outro (and it just sounds so mind-bending when done on the violin!) It sounds like they're using an esraj or dilruba (two exotic, unconventional indian instruments, which are like bowed sitars--both are very similar to each other) for the little solo in the middle and on the five/ten second intro/outro. It's definitely not a violin, and it sounds very, very asian. They also add a little twist to the end by hitting the notes really high (you'll hear what I'm talking about!)



Those are, in my opinion, the three most profound adaptations. That's not to say the others aren't! They extend Little Wing, making it almost six minutes long--adding some really warped string effects! There's a cry-baby violin at the end of up-from the skies. Stone Free is definitely one of the heaviest (sounds like someone's striking and bowing the the electric cello or double-bass every few seconds in the backround!), especially with the elctric violin solo!



I do, however, have one bone to pick. Manic Depression was completely changed! They took away the sound and made it sound like some tribal Native American dance--which isn't bad, but it's not upbeat like the original. I wish they'd done as good a job on this song as they did the others as it's one of my top picks for Hendrix songs. Don't be afraid of this album, it's not a disgrace to Jimi Hendrix. The opposite in fact. It's worth your money, and it deserves five big stars. It's surprisingly unpopular, which is a shame...Ironicaly I didn't even buy this album. A guy I knew burned it for me, but I like it so much that I'm gonna order it tonight! Heh. Well, happy listening!



(...)"

Imagination with Hendrix runs wild!!! Well worth getting.

Narut Ujnat | San Diego, CA USA | 05/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If your like me, your music tastes run the gamut. I can listen to opera, jazz, funk, rap and then rock without missing a beat. I just plain love music.I especially love Jimi Hendrix. I saw this CD in a used bin and I thought I'd give it a whirl. Wow. This isnt some warmed over version of Jimi's music. It is a string quartet interpretation of Jimi's music. While an ardent fan will of course recognize the songs, my friends who have not been, ahem, musically educated think that this is a new classical album. When they are confronted with his Jiminess they are surprised and often pleasantly so.Highlights for me include "Manic Depression", "Purple Haze" and "The Wind Cries Mary (I think the it is the standout track)."
Overall, if you like classical music, and Jimi Hendrix, I think you will like this collection. It is imaginative to say the least, and stands as a fine work of classical style art. Also, it confirms to me that Jimi Hendrix was a fine music composer who stands with the all time greats!"

Not as "revelating" as it could have been

ygghur | Rome, Italy | 07/02/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you go through the series of String Quartet tributes to various artists you really wonder if the compiler was a psycho, there is no logic at all, one would expect either giving more relevance to intrinsic artistic value or simply choosing the most successful artists in a hope to sell well. On the contrary you have a random selection which leave you bemused. However, there are a few interesting ones and by this I mean when the sheer beauty of the songs should be matched, one thinks, by the adaptability to a String Quartet format. The Jimi Hendrix one was obviously one of the more interesting on paper, if only to prove once again that he wasn't merely the greatest rock guitar of all times but also a rather dignified musician who could have given the world other masterpieces had he not succumbed to excessive drug use. Especially interesting for those familiar with the relatively famous jazz "treatment" given to some of his songs by Gil Evans, an experiment in some cases very successful. The problem with both is that, of course, you can't help but miss Jimi's guitar and you are sometimes frustrated by thinking what could have been The String Quartet WITH Jimi Hendrix or, in the other case, what were like the endless jams that Jimi played with John McLaughlin or what could have been the much-talked collaboration with Miles Davis. But I'm beating about the bush, so to talk about this album I'll just say that the choice of tracks is inevitably good, even if I resent the absence of any tracks from Electric Ladyland, that the playing is good and at times inspired, that the songs that translate better are the ones originally less centered around Jimi's solo (the standout for me is Bold as love) and that the arrangements are a little bit sedate. All in all, not a must for Jimi's fans but a tasteful addition to a slim discography (that is if you take out the posthumous albums)."