There have been a large number of tributes to the great
Jimi Hendrix
, generally ranging from spotty to awful, but here's one that actually works.
Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix
is the first to appear under the auspices of
Experience Hendrix
, the Hendrix family's umbrella company for all things
, and despite a couple misfires and hints of nepotism, it's very well done. Many of the artists stick pretty close to the originals with success, like
Chaka Khan
's reading of
"Little Wing"
featuring
Kenny Olson
(
Kid Rock
) on guitar, or
Lenny Kravitz
's version of
"Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)."
Eric Clapton
's take on
"Burning of the Midnight Lamp"
is a bit stiff, but features some great guitar work, and the all-star group
Carlos Santana
put together for
"Spanish Castle Magic"
Stanley Clarke
,
Tony Williams
Corey Glover
) is good, but a bit lackluster.
Earth, Wind & Fire
turn
"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"
into a
Little Axe
tune, featuring some nice guitar from
Sheldon Reynolds
.
Reynolds
is co-producer on the album, along with his wife,
Janie Hendrix
, and here's where the nepotism creeps in.
is the only individual involved in more than one track, and a couple of them are probably the weakest tracks on the album. There is a brief snippet (43 seconds) of
Hendrix
's friend
Velvert Turner
playing guitar, with organ and vocal overdubs by
. It's a nice thought to include
Turner
in the comp, but the track is a throwaway.
Devoted Spirits
, which features
George Duke
, is another
project that does a decent instrumental version of
"Who Knows,"
but the canned applause added to this studio track is completely unnecessary.
Sounds of Blackness
make an attempt at updating
"Castles Made of Sand"
with a
contemporary R&B
sound and some added African lyrics, but they only use the chorus of the song, leaving behind
's achingly beautiful lyrics and then incorporating part of the chorus to
"Angel."
solo is nice, but the arrangement of the tune just doesn't really work. Ultimately, those are minor quibbles because the tracks that really work are so good that some CD programming makes for a fine album.
Prince
reinterprets
"Red House"
with great
gospel
-esque backing vocals and a monstrous guitar solo.
Bootsy Collins
and members of the
P-Funk
crew also take a few liberties and add some new lyrics to
"Power of Soul"
to great effect, making the tune their own.
Sting
does an absolutely fantastic job with
"The Wind Cries Mary,"
but it's
John McLaughlin
who steals the spotlight on that track.
"May This Be Love"
by
Eric Gales
is beautifully handled (with
Gales
playing all the instruments), and
Musiq
"Are You Experienced"
is equally well done, with two turntablists using
Are You Experienced
on vinyl to substitute for guitar. The album ends on another definite highlight, with a blistering live medley of
and
"Third Stone from the Sun"
performed by
Stevie Ray Vaughan
himself never even attempted to perform
live, and
Vaughan
absolutely nails it. There are some flubs in his performance, but the amount of feeling he plays with easily overcomes them. Overall,
is a keeper for
fans, and one of the few various artist tributes that actually succeeds much more than it fails. ~ Sean Westergaard