Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
is a wonderful little two-song single to see out the millennium.
Experience Hendrix
was able to unearth these one-off studio jams and present them in their full glory. The first cut captures
Jimi Hendrix
and his
Band of Gypsys
during rehearsal for the famous New Year's Eve 1969
Fillmore
concerts that would eventually become
. A loose medley of
"Little Drummer Boy"
/
"Silent Night"
"Auld Lang Syne,"
this track clearly illustrates the heavy chemistry between
Hendrix
and his co-conspirators
Buddy Miles
and
Billy Cox
. The second cut,
"Three Little Bears,"
is another one-off jam, this time with the original
Jimi Hendrix Experience
(
Noel Redding
Mitch Mitchell
), during sessions for
Electric Ladyland
. It's more on the
psychedelic
R&B
side of things, but nevertheless remains another charming curio from a man who was easily one of the most revolutionary musicians of the century. ~ Matthew Greenwald