JIMI HENDRIX
Jimi Hendrix and the Making of Are You Experienced
by Sean Egan
Askill Publishing
ISBN 978-0954575052
234 pages
Paperback
2014
No, this is not a sequel. Not volume two. Not a condensed abridged version.
In 2002, author Sean Egan was commissioned to work on a book on Jimi Hendrix as part of the Vinyl Frontier series. Egan had worked on rock books including volumes on The Animals (Animal Tracks) and The Rough Guide Guide to the Rolling Stones (and had since added the Rolling Stones and the Making of Let It Bleed to the Vinyl Frontier series in 2007). For the series, the choice was the making of the Jimi Hendrix Experience album Are You Experienced. (Note: The book was published in the U.S. by A Capella Press, and issued in the U.K. as Not Necessarily Stones, But Beautiful by Unanimous Ltd.).
Since 2002, there has been much more information on Hendrix that has emerged, Egan has compiled more interviews with those who knew Hendrix, and Egan himself has improved as a writer. Thus, the “updated and expanded” edition of Jimi Hendrix and the Making of Are You Experienced.
Per Egan, “the new edition has additional quotes from my previous interviews with Brian Auger Vic Briggs, Eric Burdon, Roger Mayer, Noel Redding and especially Keith Altham. I’ve also added quotes from a subsequent interview with Kathy Etchingham.”
In addition to the expanded interview material, “I’ve updated where relevant and corrected errors.” All in all, “there’s very few paragraphs that haven’t been changed in some way. I’ve tweaked, honed and polished on a fairly large scale.”
In reality, there is very little difference between the two volumes. Yes, Egan has cleaned up some of the grammatical structure of some paragraphs, cleaned up some of the errors in the first printing, and corrected some of the minor factual inaccuracies. But he really hasn’t added much to the equation for Hendrix completists to add this volume to their collection.
On the other hand, for those who don’t have the first edition, Egan does take us on a well documented exploratory journey of the evolution of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and their debut album Are You Experienced.
After a quick tracing of Jimi’s career pre-London, he takes us to London and gives us a clear look at his arrival in London, his acceptance, and the formulation of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He details recording sessions, the process of getting a record contract, the marketing of Hendrix, and even discusses the critical reactions to the release. This makes it an essential chapter in the library of books on Jimi’s life and music.
The publisher’s don’t make it easy to distinguish the original volume from the new book, as they use the same cover art and same size (8.7”x5.5”) format, only adding a line noting “Updated and Expanded.”
The book has been expanded from 212 pages to 234 pages as Egan has inserted some tidbits from his interviews. For example, providing Kathy Etchingham and Eric Burdon’s perspectives of manager Mike Jeffery as he was introduced into the Hendrix fold. And expanding the story of “Hey Joe” composer Billy Roberts, with additional comments from Keith Altham, Noel Redding and Kathy Etchingham. As mentioned, while welcome additions, not much more than mere tidbits of extra material adding very little to the story already told.
And one thing we really miss with the new edition is the 12 glossy pages that contained 22 photos of Jimi Hendrix and the Experience members completely omitted here.
by Sean Egan
Askill Publishing
ISBN 978-0954575052
234 pages
Paperback
2014
No, this is not a sequel. Not volume two. Not a condensed abridged version.
In 2002, author Sean Egan was commissioned to work on a book on Jimi Hendrix as part of the Vinyl Frontier series. Egan had worked on rock books including volumes on The Animals (Animal Tracks) and The Rough Guide Guide to the Rolling Stones (and had since added the Rolling Stones and the Making of Let It Bleed to the Vinyl Frontier series in 2007). For the series, the choice was the making of the Jimi Hendrix Experience album Are You Experienced. (Note: The book was published in the U.S. by A Capella Press, and issued in the U.K. as Not Necessarily Stones, But Beautiful by Unanimous Ltd.).
Since 2002, there has been much more information on Hendrix that has emerged, Egan has compiled more interviews with those who knew Hendrix, and Egan himself has improved as a writer. Thus, the “updated and expanded” edition of Jimi Hendrix and the Making of Are You Experienced.
Per Egan, “the new edition has additional quotes from my previous interviews with Brian Auger Vic Briggs, Eric Burdon, Roger Mayer, Noel Redding and especially Keith Altham. I’ve also added quotes from a subsequent interview with Kathy Etchingham.”
In addition to the expanded interview material, “I’ve updated where relevant and corrected errors.” All in all, “there’s very few paragraphs that haven’t been changed in some way. I’ve tweaked, honed and polished on a fairly large scale.”
In reality, there is very little difference between the two volumes. Yes, Egan has cleaned up some of the grammatical structure of some paragraphs, cleaned up some of the errors in the first printing, and corrected some of the minor factual inaccuracies. But he really hasn’t added much to the equation for Hendrix completists to add this volume to their collection.
On the other hand, for those who don’t have the first edition, Egan does take us on a well documented exploratory journey of the evolution of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and their debut album Are You Experienced.
After a quick tracing of Jimi’s career pre-London, he takes us to London and gives us a clear look at his arrival in London, his acceptance, and the formulation of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He details recording sessions, the process of getting a record contract, the marketing of Hendrix, and even discusses the critical reactions to the release. This makes it an essential chapter in the library of books on Jimi’s life and music.
The publisher’s don’t make it easy to distinguish the original volume from the new book, as they use the same cover art and same size (8.7”x5.5”) format, only adding a line noting “Updated and Expanded.”
The book has been expanded from 212 pages to 234 pages as Egan has inserted some tidbits from his interviews. For example, providing Kathy Etchingham and Eric Burdon’s perspectives of manager Mike Jeffery as he was introduced into the Hendrix fold. And expanding the story of “Hey Joe” composer Billy Roberts, with additional comments from Keith Altham, Noel Redding and Kathy Etchingham. As mentioned, while welcome additions, not much more than mere tidbits of extra material adding very little to the story already told.
And one thing we really miss with the new edition is the 12 glossy pages that contained 22 photos of Jimi Hendrix and the Experience members completely omitted here.
