Freak Out Blues


Freak Out Blues features jams mostly with the Band Of Gypsys lineup, though there are a couple of Electric Ladyland demos, and solo stuff as well. Starting with an small sound byte by Jimi, explaining what his new album (Axis:Bold As Love) is all about, it then goes into a solo version of Midnight Lightning that is similiar to the one on South Saturn Delta. Voodoo Chile, an outtake from Electric Ladyland, is the version found on the Blues CD; Rainy Day Try Out is an early version of another Electric Ladyland tune; Red House, another track from the Blues and the Variations On A Theme CDs, is here in its complete form; Bleeding Heart is Jimi solo, no vocals, on what sounds like some of the backing guitar that would end up on the War Heroes track of the same name. After that, the CD goes into a number of jams featuring the Band Of Gypsys lineup, including the full (minus Jimi explaining to Buddy how he wants the song to start) Blue Suede Shoes jam (originally found on Loose Ends, including the spoken comments by Jimi), and here called Police Blues.

Sound is pretty good, just a little hissy though, with one or two tracks a bit muffled in spots. And Midnight Lightning comes from a scratchy LP. But despite that, there is lots of good stuff, including the 3 unedited tracks from Blues, and these make for a pretty decent release.

Catalog #: GH001