For the first time ever, the Linda (McCartney) Eastman photo, in full color, will grace the cover of Electric Ladyland, true to Jimi Hendrix’s original vision. The photograph of The Experience and children was taken at the statue of Alice In Wonderland in New York’s Central Park and was Hendrix’s own choice of imagery for the album’s cover image.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Jimi left us 48 years ago today.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
A few comments about this Deluxe Electric Ladyland , which I received on the day of release this past Friday.
First the 5.1 mix is terrific , I have been listening to this album since I first heard it in its entirety around 45 years ago , and have listed to it hundreds of times over the years , I have never heard it sound better than the high resolution 5.1 that is on the Blu-ray . Absolutely stunning and worth it to me for that alone.
After reading some bad reviews I was a little worried that the remaster of the stereo would not be up to snuff but I listened to the cd and found no problem whatsoever , sounds great to me. The bad reviews mostly centered on a clipping issue , I still am not sure what the hell clipping is but I did not hear any problems at all. I'm very happy with the stereo remaster.
The bonus content is also cool , although I doubt I will listen to the disc with the demos and alt recordings too much I found it to be an interesting listen. The live show that is included is on the rough side audio wise as it came from a bootleg recording but still well worth a few listens.
The packaging is also well done in my opinion , it is almost the size of a vinyl album cover and has photos and many notes . hand written by Jimi as the process of making this album went along. I enjoyed reading through it all.
The reason that this interested me in the first place was the fact that it was remixed in 5.1 surround and presented on blu-ray, I have the equipment to take advantage of that and am not disappointed in the least. I'm curious to see what others think of it.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Clipping = distortion. Running the levels too high when making the master recording. Distortion on digital recordings/masters is particularly nasty.
Disappointing, if true, and indicative of not enough care being taken on the stereo version.
From what I've read, the original mid-'80s CD release (very hard to find) is still the best stereo digital version. There was even a "hidden remaster" done in the late '80s (with no notation in the booklet--only a little code on the center of the CD gives it away) that introduced a lot of noise reduction technology that tamed the tape hiss but unfortunately made it very dull sounding.
That’s the thing nobody seems to be sure that it is true. I think it sounds really good , but I am not an audiophile . I know one of the negative reviews I read this dude ran some wave editing software and claims that the clipping is there. The guy who did the remaster , Bernie Grundman is supposed to be one of the best , and has not admitted to clipping on the remaster as far as I know.
With 21% of the Amazon reviewers giving it 1 (out of 5) and 32% rating it a 2 or 3, I think I'll pass...
Some very poor reviews on the Steve Hoffman forum as well.
The problem with including live shows is that as I said earlier Hendrix played hardly any of the album live- nothing at all beyond the two singles.
I'm still hoping to get some input from someone who has actually heard it , I'm especially interested in any thoughts after someone has heard the entire thing ,the 5.1 mix , the demos & alt takes , the live show and other extras which include the photos , notes hand written by Jimi and the documentary. Amazon reviews are not reliable , almost all of the people giving 1 star reviews are only talking about the supposed "clipping" issues on the stereo remaster. This deluxe set it so much more than just that.
^Well at 50 quid a go everything should be good. The Beatles' one is twice the price, granted, but the reception has been so much better. Not that I have any of these sets.
I've got the new Deluxe Edition of Electric Ladyland. So far I've only played the 5.1 mix (and the At Last...The Beginning doc) along with the Making Of Electric Ladyland: The Early Takes. I think the 5.1 mix is very good (but with a lot of changes which keep it from replacing the original stereo mix for me), and the demos/early sessions are charming in their simplicity. The photos and new liner notes (including handwritten lyrics by Hendrix himself) are also great to have. Heard that the "new remaster" on the CD is too loud so I'll stick with the 1997 version and the Hollywood Bowl concert is 'bootleg quality'. So I'll give the new set 3 1/2 stars out of five.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
May I draw you attention to a post at SH Forums, post #3743 on page 150:
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thread...69994/page-150
There's no mention of any "Frankenstein" overdubs.
I did not know that an audience recording of the Hollywood Bowl concert had been around before the release of the Ladyland Box Set. Decided to play it and it's a fine performance by Jimi & Co. (especially given what had been taking place during the show as described by the notes for the disc). Despite the rough sound quality, the show is a worthwhile addition to the Ladyland Box.
I didn't read the review, but, apparently, Rolling Stone gave this release five stars, FWIW.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Did you listen to the LPCM high res stereo mix on the blu ray? This is coming to me for xmas, and being surround-incapable, that's my main interest.
Anyone who has listened to the stereo mix in high res and can levy an opinion - - much appreciated!
(lately, I've been overwhelmingly busy writing up the Complete Jan Akkerman box, which I submitted yesterday after working on it for two weeks - 14,000 words as it's more a career retrospective, with capsule reviews of every release in the box...which is a stunner! But now I can start spending time with box sets that have been arriving. I'd listened to the beatles white album, but only a couple times).
John Kelman
Senior Contributor, All About Jazz since 2004
Freelance writer/photographer
Interesting how was remastered Burning of the Midnight Lamp. Original version is horrible.
Eh. Haven't A/B'd it to the CD but not a drastic improvement for sure. Not sure about the "clipping" everyone's talking about on SHforum but its definitely hot level.If anything it just shows the source wasn't that great to begin with. Now the Beatle mixes!
Those are the shit!
I'm a bit late to the party with this one, but I finally tracked a shelf copy last week.
For my thoughts on the contents and audio quality, from a newbie's point of view, you're invited to visit my blog review just published:
https://momentstransition.wordpress....-edition-2018/
From what I saw online, the mastering on this newer version wasn't great. I have the late 90s 'Experience Hendrix' remaster.
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