In advance of this Friday’s (11/09) special 50th anniversary reissue of Jimi Hendrix’s classic Electric Ladyland album, Jim Kerr spoke with pioneering rock engineer and producer Eddie Kramer as well John McDermott, the Executive Producer of the Jimi Hendrix estate.
The reissue comes with the full blessing of the estate, who struggled for years to gain control of Jimi’s archives. Now that the tapes are properly managed, the people who knew Hendrix’s vision the best, like Kramer, are able to preserve it and continue to expose it to new generations in the highest quality presentations.
The Electric Ladyland reissue comes in a variety of configurations, including a single CD/double LP package, all the way up to a 3CD & Blu-Ray/ 6LP & Blu-Ray deluxe box set.
Features on the expanded packages include demos & outtakes, Kramer’s brand new 5.1 Surround Sound mix, a full length “Making Of” documentary, an unreleased live performance at the Hollywood Bowl, a 48-page book of Hendrix’s handwritten lyrics and writings, never before seen photos (taken by the multi-talented Kramer), and the original concept artwork- a photo taken by Linda McCartney in Central Park.
For all details go to the official Hendrix site.
Multiple shots of Kramer’s amazing photography adorn the Q walls and Jim tells Eddie of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant’s recent reactions to seeing themselves in Kramer’s candid photos. Many show them writing or recording some of their most pivotal music.
Jim and Eddie also discuss how he broke with tradition- Kramer’s willingness to step out of the role of a “proper studio engineer” to directly collaborate with visionary artists like Hendrix and Led Zeppelin was unprecedented at the time. It led to the creation of radical, never even attempted sounds and recording techniques. Kramer literally changed the job description for all recording engineers that came after.
Kramer describes to Jim the process of creating the new Electric Ladyland 5.1 Surround Sound mix, going back to the original analogue tapes and rediscovering the tricks and risks they took to make the music so powerful. He’s confident that Jimi would be wowed by how this remastered album sounds.
McDermott also reminds us to look forward to the return of the Experience Hendrix Tour, which is set to hit the area in the Spring:
Thursday March 28th at the Theater at Westbury
Friday March 29th at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark
And Tuesday April 2nd at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre
This year’s lineup is another eclectic group of all-star guitarists that have found their own distinctive voices on the instrument, inspired by Hendrix’s bold creativity and talent.
To listen to Jim’s conversation with Eddie Kramer and John McDermott check out the Jim Kerr Anytime podcast right below: