Jimi Hendrix - People, Hell and Angels [2LP]

People, Hell and Angels opens a window onto the music Jimi Hendrix was chasing after Electric Ladyland, twelve previously unreleased studio recordings pressed on two 200 gram LPs.

Released in 2013, the collection draws mostly from sessions in 1968 and 1969, when Hendrix was reaching beyond the Experience lineup and testing new collaborators. Much of it features Billy Cox and Buddy Miles, the rhythm section that would become the Band of Gypsys, and the material points toward the ambitious follow-up album he never got to finish.

Earth Blues opens with a loose, funky swagger, and Somewhere features Stephen Stills on bass alongside Miles on drums. Hear My Train a Comin', a song he returned to again and again, stretches out into a raw, searing blues workout, while Let Me Move You, a fiery soul romp with saxophonist and singer Lonnie Youngblood, shows how at home Hendrix was in R&B territory.

The playing is loose and exploratory, with Hendrix's guitar tone ranging from liquid and lyrical to fuzzed-out and ferocious, often within the same song.

For anyone who has worn out the core albums, this set offers a thrilling glimpse of roads not taken, and the heavyweight double vinyl gives these long-lost sessions the presentation they deserve.