''Voodoo Soup'' is a posthumous compilation album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

musician

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

, released in the United States on April 11, 1995, by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. It was one of the last Hendrix albums produced by Alan Douglas, who was also responsible for the posthumous Hendrix releases ''

Midnight Lightning ''Midnight Lightning'' is a posthumous compilation album by American rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix. It was released in November 1975 by Reprise Records in the US and Polydor Records in the UK. It was the second to be produced by Alan Douglas and T ...

'' and ''

Crash Landing A crash landing (emergency landing) is an unplanned landing by an aircraft. Crash Landing may also refer to: Film and television * ''Crash Landing'' (1958 film), an American film featuring Gary Merrill * ''Crash Landing'' (1999 film), a Chin ...

'' in 1975.

Background

''Voodoo Soup'' was Douglas' attempt at presenting Hendrix's planned fourth studio album. The first attempt in 1971, ''

The Cry of Love ''The Cry of Love'' is the first posthumous album of music by the American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Recorded primarily in 1970, it features new material that Hendrix was working on for his planned fourth studio album b ...

'', produced by drummer

Mitch Mitchell John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in ''Billboard (mag ...

and

Eddie Kramer Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a South African-born recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, L ...

(with a credit to Hendrix), was then out of print (last released on CD in 1992; re-released in 2014). After Experience Hendrix, a family company, gained control of his recordings, ''

First Rays of the New Rising Sun ''First Rays of the New Rising Sun'' is a compilation album credited to American rock musician Jimi Hendrix, issued in April 1997 on MCA Records. Featuring songs mostly intended for his planned fourth studio album, it was one of the first rele ...

'' was released in 1997 as another attempt to realize the album Hendrix had planned. Since then, ''Voodoo Soup'' has remained out of print.

Critical reception

Reviewing for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' in 1995, music critic David Browne said that, unlike other assorted compilations of Hendrix's music, ''Voodoo Soup'' coheres and sounds "as fluid and cohesive as a preconceived record, without a bad song in the bunch". ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' magazine called it a valuable release in Hendrix's discography, in spite of Douglas's questionable decision to overdub newly recorded drums to some songs, while a reviewer from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' said the overly detailed liner notes cannot change the fact "it's opened my ears to the near God-like genius of Jimi Hendrix".

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' said in his review that the compilation's mostly exceptional songs suggest Hendrix was considering a variety of paths in his music before dying in 1970. ''

Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...

'' magazine's Parke Puterbaugh applauded the recording quality and concluded, "What's most impressive about ''Voodoo Soup'' is how contemporary – or, rather, timeless – Hendrix's music sounds a quarter-century later. His creative intensity and musical vitality tower above anything else ever attempted, before or since, in popular music." ''Voodoo Soup'' was later praised by Hendrix biographer

Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...

, who claimed it "more than earns its place in the pantheon of great Hendrix albums" as it "brought the Hendrix studio quartet -finally!- to a satisfactory conclusion".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

was more critical in a retrospective review: "For most fans, the re-recorded drum tracks by the drummer of the Knack was the most unforgivable sin, yet the album is also poorly sequenced and lacks several important tracks."

AllMusic review AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the data ...

/ref>

Track listing

Personnel

*Jimi Hendrixguitars, vocals *

Billy Cox William Cox (born October 18, 1941) is an American bassist, best known for performing with Jimi Hendrix. Cox is the only surviving musician to have regularly played with Hendrix: first when both were in the Army, then in 1969 with the interim g ...

bass guitar *

drums *

Juma Sultan Juma Sultan (born April 13, 1942) is a jazz musician, most often recording as a percussionist or bass player. He may be best known for his appearance at the Woodstock festival of 1969 at Bethel, New York, playing with Jimi Hendrix. He currently pl ...

percussion *

Buddy Miles George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–19 ...

drums on "Ezy Ryder", "Message to Love" *

Noel Redding Noel David Redding (25 December 1945 – 11 May 2003) was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and guitarist/singer for Fat Mattress. Following his departure from the Experience in 1969 a ...

bass guitar on "Peace in Mississippi" and "Midnight" *

Bruce Gary Bruce Gary (April 7, 1951 – August 22, 2006) was an American musician who was best known as the drummer for the music group the Knack. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards as a stage performer, producer, and recording artist. Born in Bur ...

re-recorded drum track on "Room Full of Mirrors" and "Stepping Stone" *Alan Douglasproduction *Mark Linettengineer *Joe Gastwirtmastering

Charts

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1995 compilation albums Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios Albums produced by Alan Douglas (record producer) Compilation albums published posthumously Jimi Hendrix compilation albums MCA Records compilation albums