* UFOS seemed to follow Jim around, and his life was even saved one night by an angelic-like being who arrived in a spaceship.
* Jimi had numerous prophetic dreams and out of body experiences.
* He knew about the existence of a race of beings living inside our earth.
* Jimi was telepathically tuned to his close friends and kept in touch with them via ESP.
* Hendrix realized the signifiance of color and sound in the performance of his music in order to elevate consciousness.
* Jimi knew exactly when he was going to leave the physical plane and predicted his passing in the words of a song.

The student of all things Hendrix must sort conflicting information at times, for example, regarding the details of Jimi's death, but Starchild is not really all that controversial. It's a pity that Curtis didn't take the time to dig a little deeper, to document the months prior to Jimi's departure for England in '66. Jimi played and recorded with Curtis Knight and the Squires, but he also played with his own band which was named Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. This was the band seen by Chas Chandler, the man that took Jimi to England and did more than any other to get his career going. I'd be interested to know much more about Jimi's musical development while playing with these two bands - more about the people involved and more about the technology. For example, some credit Frank Zappa with educating Jimi on the subtleties of controlling feedback, which Jimi then took to new levels. It would be interesting to have more views on this exciting period of Jimi's music.

In summary, this is a worthwhile source for the hardcore Hendrix reader, but if you just want one book, you could consider the encyclopedic Electric Gypsy, or (better in my opinion) Musician, bu Keith Chadwick.


ITS MORE THAN JUST ROCK AND ROLL   March 7, 2001
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

JIMI WAS MORE THAN JUST 'SEX, DRUGS, AND WILD MUSIC'When you think of Jimi Hendrix you no doubt think of Woodstock, pot, acid and wild living.But by reading this book by a member of one of Jimi's early bands, it becomes obvious that this "dude" had a great spirit, a great soul. He believed in LOFTIER THINGS, had many metaphysical experiences (including out of body trips) and claims an angelic-like UFO being saved his life (UFOs were said to follow him whereever he played). I learned so much from reading this book that I had never heard of before.Jimi was a very special being...he even hinted that he had come from another space and time to preach the gospel of love to earth. He did his job and in the blink of an eye he was gone. An unfortunate -- but prophetic -- event ended his life here on terra firma. Find out the inner workings of this miracle musician.


The Soul Of A Genius   March 1, 2001
Steven Sean Casteel (Ventura, CA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

When Jimi Hendrix experienced his first big break playing at popular clubs in London in 1967, where he was seen and heard by numerous British rock stars such as Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Pete Townsend, one of the first reactions was that Hendrix seemed to have landed from outer space, sent here to show mere Earthlings new things about the electric guitar and its limitless possibilities. What began as a simple metaphor, attempting to describe just how innovative and revolutionary Hendrix's playing was, might have also contained some quite literal truth.

Author Curtis Knight was a longtime friend of Hendrix, being one of the first to give Hendrix some work when the future superstar was down on his luck in New York and couldn't even pay the rent on his hotel room. The two remained friends up until Hendrix died in London in 1970 at age 27, and Knight believes that Hendrix's spirit still watches over and communicates with him from the Other Side.

In the course of their years together, Hendrix often discussed his own paranormal experiences with Knight, who dutifully reports many such stories in "Jimi Hendrix: Starchild." For one thing, Hendrix believed that UFOs used to follow him around and that his life was even saved by an angel-like being who arrived in a spaceship and helped him survive being trapped in a freezing van in the middle of a killer snowstorm. Hendrix reportedly had numerous prophetic dreams and out-of-body experiences. He claimed to know that there was a race of beings living inside the Inner Earth. Some say that Hendrix was telepathically "tuned in" to his close friends and was able to communicate with them mentally.

All of which makes for very interesting reading of course. The book also contains many photos, including several of Hendrix and Knight together.

The spiritual/metaphysical side of Jimi Hendrix has managed over the years to surface somewhat in his lyrics, but Knight's detailed examination of the way Hendrix believed in and interacted with the supernatural contains revelations that go way beyond any mere analysis of the words Hendrix sang as he poured out his heart with virtuoso guitar playing. If you're a fan of Hendrix and his music, or simply interested in the paranormal in general, Knight's "Jimi Hendrix: Starchild" will give you new insights into both the genius and the soul of one of rock's greatest luminaries.