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South Saturn Delta

Jimi Hendrix - South Saturn Delta Audio CD

A fair review of the Jimi Hendrix "South Saturn Delta" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Jimi Hendrix reviews here, or go back to the Jimi Hendrix tabs.

Band: Jimi Hendrix
Title: South Saturn Delta
Rating:

Release Date: 1997-10-07
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Look Over Yonder 2: Little Wing [#] 3: Here He Comes (Lover Man) [#] 4: South Saturn Delta [#] 5: Power of Soul [#] 6: Message to the Universe (Message to Love) [#] 7: Tax Free 8: All Along the Watchtower [#] 9: Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice 10: Midnight 11: Sweet Angel (Angel) [#] 12: Bleeding Heart 13: Pali Gap 14: Drifter's Escape [#] 15: Midnight Lightning [#]

a dissapointment except pali gap
the title track is ambitious but falls short. a lot of the other tracks are already available elsewhere or i heard a lot in the live releases already, like tax free, message to love, Angel,lover man(rock me baby), power of soul.

all along the watchtower isnt much different to the recorded version. little wing is just Angel again.

the only one i thought was fun was pali gap.

can you rent cds? just hear it twice and return it but copy pali gap :).

hodge podge collection of songs....some better takes left off
There is a much better and more complete version of "Midnight Lightning" available for one example, as well as "Look over Yonder" and "Lover Man" and even "Message of Love"
Some songs are just retreds that have previously been relesased on now out of print albums like 1971's "ainbow Bridge" that contained "Look over Yonder" and "Pali Gap" "Pali Gap" shoud have went on the previois release "First Rays. This CD was supposed to show the progression of Jimi's thoughts and works from 1967-1970, but they use some inferior takes of some of the songs. . . " and the song "My Friend" taken off that CD and put on here, oh well.
Other previously released songs are: "Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice", From 1973's "Loose ends" and a german version of "Smash Hits" both no longer inprint, smash hits is but not with that track on it. Also "Drofters Escape" was also on 1973's Loose Ends album.
"Tax Free" "Bleeding Heart" and "Midnight" all 3 songs were on 1972's "War Heroes" album.

It's a decent album, has no continuity, nor to me does it truly trace Jimi's progession of songwriting and production skills, but is more of a collection of songs, songs once agian re-hashed and re-released agian. . . . . maybe this time they will stay in print so we can get on to more great gems still in the studio vaults that havent yet seen the light of day.

.

Classic Hendrix
It was a wonderful addition to the Hendrix cannon. I was so glad when this album was released. You'll enjoy some "demos" of Hendrix classics and some deep unreleased cuts. It's just nice to hear some new cuts from such an amazing musician. . . even if it's not a total earth shaker. This is NOT a greatest hits collection. But, if you love Jimi's music, this is a chance to see deeper into what his musical process was like.

Top Tracks: Sweet Angel, Power of Soul.

Jimi most mediocre

However, 'South Saturn Delta', a posthumous release of senseless studio jamming, should have been left in the archives or have been issued with a warning. I regard Jimi Hendrix as one of the greatest artists of the golden age of rock; his debut album 'Are you experienced' is one of the great debut albums of the age, 'Live at Monterey' is one of the definitive rock performances of all time, and 'Axis: bold as love', 'Smash Hits', 'Band of Gypsys' & 'Electric Ladyland' rank among the finest rock albums of all time. I bought this album to complete my Hendrix collection. Sadly, that's about where it ends - the album completes my collection but never gets listened to.

The music consists rambling permutations and combinations of Hendrix motifs that seem to come from nowhere and go nowhere. The end result is boring, completely unsatisfying, and detracts from the meteoric CV of the master. This is a sleeping dog that should have been left lying.

Some seriously fantastic outtakes
Basically, this music proves that, if you strip away the distortion, the feedback, the burning guitars, and the onstage stunts, Jimi could've easily made a career as a pure blues guitarist. Rarities, and good ones at that . The album's horn-powered instrumental title song is a fine example; as is "Here He Comes (Lover Man)", taken at a blistering pace and equipped with a classic guitar solo; studio versions of "Power of Soul" and "Message to Love" are among Jimi's most fascinating and underrated tracks, with him eschewing his signature distortion almost entirely and still doing some of his best work. That's another thing this album proves - Jimi's technique was remarkable. It wasn't all smoke and mirrors. There's even an Elmore James cover, "Bleeding Heart" - how hardcore is that? I do think bits of this are unneeded, though. For instance, "Tax Free" is just Jimi soloing for five minutes against an inconsistent backdrop that actually uses a Doors tune, "Five to One", as the basis for one part's rhythm. There's nothing wrong with the playing, of course, but given the song's lack of a melody or even theme I get the feeling that nobody intended to release it. Instead, I think Jimi and a few friends sat down, got really high, and just played stuff. It could've worked as the basis for a song, for sure. But as an independent tune? No. The other guitar solos, "Midnight" (with a slightly distorted blues riff) and the funky "Pali Gap", are much better. But I'm not a great fan of the avant-garde "Stars that Play with Laughing Sam's Dice". It's a great title, but a dated song. It was only issued as a b-side - the flip, "All Along the Watchtower", is only available in its single mix, and while it's not terribly different from the well-known album version, that's okay because it's still "All Along the Watchtower", if you get what I mean. That said, I don't see why they included it. Anyway, for those interested there are also a couple demos - a good instrumental take of "Little Wing", and a bizarre "Angel", which starts halfway through the first verse and contains none of the gorgeous psychedelic guitar of the more well-known First Rays version. To my ears, the best track is the Delta blues of "Midnight Lightning", little more than Hendrix and an electric guitar, and it's one of his best guitar performances, too. This is only really of interest to the big fans, like me, but if you are a big fan and you've touched on all the essentials, this is a nice follow-up buy.

You can see a complete list of all Jimi Hendrix discography, or go back to the Jimi Hendrix tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.