Jimi Hendrix/Curtis Knight - PPX Sessions

Am I the lone ranger in diggin this collection of Jimi and Curtis Knight? This is the material that got Hendrix noticed, and has all kinds of great tunes that were only available on bootleg stuff for the longest time.

I also enjoy hearing it for the RnB style material that was popular at most clubs and night spots at the time - its a look back at bar bands of the mid 60s! Curtis passed away in 2000, but he had some decent moments on vocals, and lets Jimi pretty much do his own thing. Jimi really seemed to enjoy working with Curtis, as they did so over more than just a few dates.

Not to mention it was the source of the legal debate that kept the Hendrix estate in court for years and years. Why they felt that it would hurt the sales of the Experience records I have no idea, but both parties felt that they had exclusive Jimi rights. Not that Jimi cared! lol

I know its not the psychedelic sound that most hendrix fans are used to, but it says alot about his roots! Some great songs on this one, anyone else heard it, like it?

 

man, i love this collection!!!......so much so, that i've drifted away from my other Jimi albums in favour of it!

it has soul, it has feeling - it's got a funky feel to it that's polished in a different way than Jimi's solo work - i'm also fond of curtis' vocals

some of the songs in the collection have a great message - seems like an obvious Jimi influence to me, and the covers, although goofy sounding at times, are some happening interpretations and just so "now" for the era in which they were recorded

man, i think i'll go listen to some now!

 

where can you find it

 

It was given to me as a gift, and has several CDs worth of studio work and live recordings Jimi did with Curtis.

Some of these songs I had heard on Loose Ends, Early Classics, and other strange releases I had picked up. The PPX Sessions CD has a ton more than I had heard before, good stuff!

 

i located mine thanks to the corporate gods of Ebay

 

..when i was in germany in 82 , i recorded onto cassette a 10 album boxed set of music recorded in european clubs[germany and england]. if i am not mistaken this stuff was 1963? to 1966?i still groove to it with regularity.Lots of haunting instrumentals.

 

The PPX sessions seems to log most, or all, of the stuff he did with Curtis. I do believe it to be in that time period, and its a mix of live and studio, instrumental and vocal, and with Jimi doing some of the singing.

I do not know the venues of the live stuff, it may say but i havent looked! lol

Curtis is kinda cheesey in a 6o's way to me, but he does some decent RnB vocals, and was a good platform for Hendrix to work his chops out with. The material on the PPX is much better than the Woke Up This Morning and Found Myself Dead bootleg from the Scene club that is well known to Jimi fans.

I have a couple strange european Lps of Hendrix, and often they have the best of the best from the PPX sessions, but ten Lps is considerable! Jimi has such a large catalogue of songs, and they get renamed alot too, there is no telling what you have... but I would love to hear what you have there!

 

i think curtis' vocals were a perfect match for jimi's style during that time - i feel their work together encapsulates that era where mainstream r&b was gaining more of of an "edge" to its sound - also makes me wonder how much curtis influenced jimi's later style/workings

overall, a great collection i can't ever seem to hear enough of!

 

love, is where you find it
people looking, high and low

so dont talk about your neighbor
cause he's your friend, if he need be
circumstance will make you brothers............

summer of love sessions!!!! this is so strange....i have had this album for about 5 years now, and today i hear others speaking of it- twice!!!! I really was beginning to think i was the only one who knew about it. I think this is so kick ass....its rootsy, raw, groovin, soulful, progressive.............just one of the best albums, period.

 

wow, i've never heard of it referred to as the summer of love sessions - what are the tracks on your album? i'd hate to think i'm missin out on some of those groovy sounds!

 

hmmm....lets see...

1. Love (instr.)
2. Hush Now (instr.)
3. Gloomy Monday
4. Happy Birthday
5. Ballad Of Jimi
6. Level (instr.)
7. Love Love
8. Future Trip
10. No Buisness
11. Odd Ball (instr.)
12. Flashing (instr.)
13. Day Tripper
14. U.F.O.

do you have these same tracks?? If they are different, what do you have? I dont wanna miss out, either!!

 

heya, dollydagger!

sorry it took a while to get back to you - what a crazy world! lol ....anyway, here's the track listing for the ppx sessions collection i've got:

(CD-1) Get That Feeling
1. Get That Feeling
2. How Would You Feel
3. Hush Row
4. No Business
5. Simon Says
6. Gotta Have A New Dress
7. Strange Things
8. Welcome Home

(CD-2) Flashing
1. Love, Love
2. Day Tripper
3. Gloomy Monday
4. Fool For You Baby
5. Don't Accuse Me
6. Hornet's Nest
7. Flashing
8. Oddball
9. Happy Birthday

(CD-3) Ballad Of Jimi
1. UFO
2. You Don't Want Me (Instr.)
3. Better Times Ahead
4. Future Trip
5. Wah Wah (Instr.)
6. Everybody Knew But Me
7. Mercy Lady Day (Instr.)
8. If You Gonna Make A Fool Of Somebody
9. My Best Friend (Instr.)
10. The Ballad Of Jimi
11. Second Time Around (Instr.)

(CD-4) Live At George's Club
1. Drivin' South (Instr.)
2. Ain't That Peculiar
3. I'll Be Doggone
4. I've Got A Sweet Little Angel
5. Bright Light, Big City
6. Get Out Of My Life Woman
7. Last Night (Instr.)
8. Sugar Pie, Honey Pie
9. What'd I Say
10. Shotgun

(CD-5) Something On Your Mind
1. California Night (Live)
2. Level (Studio Instr.)
3. I Feel Good (Live)
4. Left Alone (Live)
5. Knock Yourself Out (Studio Instr.)
6. Something On Your Mind (Live)
7. I Should've Quit You (Live)
8. Hard Night (Live Instr.)
9. I'm A Man (Live)
10. Instrumental (Studio Instr.)

(CD-6) On The Killing Floor
1. On The Killing Floor (Live)
2. Money (Live)
3. Nobody Loves Me (Live)
4. Love (Studio Instr.)
5. You Got Me Running (Live)
6. Mr. Pitiful (Live)
7. Torture Me Honey (Studio Instr.)
8. Sleepy Fate (Studio Instr.)
9. Satisfaction (Live)

honestly, i've had a hard time putting any other hendrix on the stereo since i got this - i'm always reaching for the ppx stuff!

 

yeah! Thanks sister! I will be on the lookout for this....gotta have it!

 

I haven't listened to this in a loooooong while... Seems like a good time to dust it off..

 

you won't regret it, baby!....can't you just feel the power of Love flowing through your veins while Curtis croons and Jimi wails?

 

I finally found a user on soulseek who shares the complete sessions! I'm very curious, they're coming in right now

Edit: Damn, the third one, Ballad of Jimi is missing.

 

I found the summer of love sessions with Dolly's tracklist as well, as soon as I have them I'll look if it are the same or different versions.

 

That was when Hendrix played with a band called Knight and the Squires. He was managed and produced by Ed Chaplin, but when he became huge with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Chaplin took Hendrix's company to court. It caused all sorts of problems, and Hendrix had to do an album for Chaplin to settle the legal battle; that was 'Band Of Gypsys', the live album from the Fillmore East. Hendrix also jammed with them a few times, but was never a key figure in the band - he wasn't regarded as anthing special before Chaplin saw that he could make some money off of him.

The stuff Hendrix did with them shouldn't have been released - it stands for everything bad about the music industry.

 

Are you kidding me? What makes The Experience more valid than the Curtis Knights RnB? This recording is Jimi getting his roots together, cutting teeth on common cover songs just like every other guitar player ever! Its just a different style of music, and no less relevant to Hendrix's evolution as a player. Plus the tunes have a great groove.

To hear Jimi in this recording will shed new light on the concept that he wasnt a regular player in the group myth... you dont let someone sing and play lead guitar at your live gigs AND in the studio sessions if they arent a part of the band!



The real legal prob was that both Chaplin and Chandler had "exclusive" rights to Jimi, which Hendrix himself didnt give a damn about. Curtis was an army buddy of Jimis, and if you want to hear Hendrix having fun, then this is a great CD of a great guitar player doing RnB and blues.... If you only want to hear him feedback and play psychedelic music then I would suggest a different album.



But to say it shouldnt be released is kinda ridiculous... why deprive Hendrix fans the chance to hear him play - no matter what it is?

Besides, if it results in Band of Gypsys, whats the problem?

 

What I am saying is that Ed Chaplin wasn't interested in music - he was interested in money. Hendrix had a very minor role in Knight and the Squires, and the legal problems all built up to his untimely death in 1970. Okay, so I was wrong when I said that it shouldn't have been released - we have a right to hear it, but he did very little with them. In fact, I'd be surprised if he played on all of the songs that it says he does - how can we know for sure?