From the existential euphoria of "I Don't Live Today" to the elusive beauty of "Little Wing" to the psychedelic blues of "My Friend" to the otherwordly "1983 (...A Merman I Should Turn to Be)", the lyrics of Jimi Hendrix remain among the greatest in the pantheon of rock, infused with the same inventiveness, virtuosity and courage that informed his guitar playing.

Now, all of his lyrics have been gathered in one collection. Jimi Hebdrix: The Lyrics, is an extraordinarily personal book, compiled by Janie L. Hendrix. It includes numerous examples of Jimi's handwritten lyrics, often scribbled on hotel stationery, as well as photos of Jimi accompanying every song.

Here are all the words to the Hendrix classics you've rocked along to for years: "Purple Haze", "Foxey Lady", "Voodoo Chile", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Are You Experienced?" "Dolly Dagger", and much, much more, all of them lovingly illustrated. Jimi Hendrix: The Lyrics will give you a glimpse of the lyrics behind the songs, a songwriter whose words were just as searing as his solos.

There are typos on nearly every single page, which a professional proofreader should/would have spotted.

Also there are many lyrics with no written verification in Jimi's own hand, so we're left with the "authors" translation which, of course, are full of typos or "misheard" words.

It's a shame more than a few trees had to give their very all for this one.

On the positive side, the layout is nice, even though it features many already seen photographs, and some unpublished ones as well.


Beautiful Package   January 14, 2004
Mad Dog (TimbuckThree, Tennessee)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful

I like the look and feel of this book. Loads of excellent photos, page after page of lyrics, wonderful paper used, all lovingly assembled. In the past, I haven't really searched out the written lyrix to Jimi's tunes very often, and in reading these, I came across a few surprises. That's not really surprising, because many tunes were released after his death and of those, no doubt some had only a working vocal track that probably would have been re-recorded had he lived. As an example, the lyrics to Hey Baby. So I found myself pulling out disc after disc to listen intently to hear the words I'd missed previously. In some instances, the words in my mind sounded closer than those in the book. Some of the book lyrics are reproductions of Jimi's handwritten lyric sheets, so those are about as definative as it gets. Also, I have a nit to pick and that is how Amazon portrays Janie Hendrix as a co-author. If I remember right, the book gives her credit as compiler.

The bottom line is hinted at above - reading this book will motivate you to play the music and listen to the words. That's not a bad thing! In fact, the sum total Experience of it all is most excellent. Where did those Easter Eggs get off to?