Crash Landing

In the '70s, there was no shortage of posthumous Jimi Hendrix releases. Reprise and other labels knew that Hendrix's fans were an incredibly loyal and devoted bunch, and they knew that serious collectors would snag any Hendrix LP they could get their hands on. One of those posthumous releases was Crash Landing, which Reprise assembled in 1975. The LP's best-known tracks include "Message to Love" and "With the Power," both of which find Hendrix leading his Band of Gypsies power trio. Also enjoyable is a remake of the famous "Stone Free." But despite the presence of some gems, Crash Landing isn't essential -- this record is strictly for collectors, and they are the ones who will want to hear such rarities as "Captain Coconut" (a psychedelic instrumental) and "Peace in Mississippi" (which is also instrumental and is the heaviest thing on the album). Listening to "Peace in Mississippi," it isn't hard to see why Hendrix has been described as the first heavy metal artist -- he was certainly a major influence on such early headbangers as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Budgie and Deep Purple. Novices would do well to skip this LP and start out with essential titles like Are You Experienced?, Electric Ladyland and Axis: Bold as Love, but those who are seriously into Hendrix will find that Crash Landing isn't a bad record to have in their collections.