line up 1 (1971)

- Alex Boggs -- vocals, lead guitar 

- Bob Gray -- bass 

- Raff Witkin -- drums, percussion 

 

- none known

Genre: rock

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Title:  Tribute To Jimi Hendrix

Company: Gold Award

Catalog: MM69

Year: 1971

Country/State: US

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: French pressing

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 5238

Price: $30.00

Genre: rock

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Title:  Tribute To Jimi Hendrix

Company: Sonic

Catalog: 9013

Year: 1971

Country/State: US

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: German pressing

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 1091

Price: $30.00

First off, recognize there's a full scale cottage industry specializing in Jimi Hendrix tributes.  This are literally hundreds of Hendrix tribute LPs on the market, most of them pretty terrible.  Against that backdrop this is probably one of the better genre offerings ...

Here's what the LP liner notes have to say: "Alex Boggs is a young man "with hair down to his knees" (as the man said), that sings and plays a wailing guitar under the name, The Purple Fox.  His sidemen: Bob Gray, bass, and drummer: Raff Witkin: both came up from New Orleans to join The Fox in St. Louis about a month after Jimi Hendrix's untimely death.  Their understanding of the Hendrix idiom is uncanny.  Their drive and the Fox's blues inflections could possibly fill the void left by Jimi."

So much for the liner notes.  The truth of the matter is that this is another one of those cash-in LPs issued by budget labels such as Alshire and Cadence.  In this case Gold Award was a label apparently established by David Leonard Muller (who'd previously made millions as the man behind Alshire Records and such yard sale specials as the 101 Strings and London Philharmonic Orchestra instrumental LPs).  Apparently hoping to make a quick profit by cashing in on Hendrix's recent death, Muller hired a bunch of studio unknowns running them through a mixture of Hendrix covers and a series of jam session originals.  Picking the most obvious Hendrix songs to cover, there wasn't much to be said about the trio's largely rote performances of 'Fire', 'Purple Haze' and 'Are You Experienced'.  All were competent and routine, though Boggs' voice grates on my nerves.  Credited to Muller, originals such as the instrumental 'Acid Test' and 'Patch of Grass' and 'Git Some' were clearly written and performed  to mimic Hendrix's unique style.  Elsewhere, worth hearing if only for the fact it was incredibly cheesy (love the police sirens) was 'Gittin' Busted'.  All told not bad for a cheapy exploitation LP, but then "Tribute To Jimi Hendrix" wasn't exactly the year's most original enterprise ...

"Tribute To Jimi Hendrix" track listing:

(side 1)

1.) Fire   (Jimi Hendrix) - 3:03

2.) Purple Haze   (Jimi Hendrix) - 2:53

3.) Acid Test (instrumental)   (Muller) - 2:55

4.) Are You Experienced   (Jimi Hendrix) - 3:46

5.) Patch of Grass   (Muller) - 2:48

6.) Foxy Lady   (Jimi Hendrix) - 3:10

(side 2)

1.) Hey Joe   (Roberts) - 3:23

2.) Git Some (instrumental)    (Muller) - 3:12

3.) The Wind Cries Mary   (Jimi Hendrix) - 3:01

4.) Crosstown Traffic   (Jimi Hendrix) - 2:18

5.) Gittin' Busted   (Muller) - 4:02

6.) Requiem for Jimmy   (Muller) - 1:51 

Curiously, the LP doesn't seem to have been released in the States, though it did see Canadian, German, French and English releases.