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A Professor Stoned Compilation 2020

CD 1:
Studio S2, London, UK; 30 January 1967
00. Hey Joe
00. Rock Me Baby (incomplete)

BBC Broadcasting House, London, UK; 13 February 1967
01. 'A Brand New Sound' [Interview]
02. Hey Joe
03. Stone Free
04. Love or Confusion
05. Foxey Lady (take 1, incomplete)
06. Foxey Lady (take 2)

BBC Broadcasting House, London, UK; 28 March 1967
07. Killing Floor
08. Fire
09. 'Electronic Excitement'
10. Purple Haze

BBC Playhouse Theatre, London, UK; 6 October 1967
11. 'Introducing the Experience' [Interview]
12. Burning of the Midnight Lamp
13. Hound Dog
14. Little Miss Lover
15. Catfish Blues
16. Driving South (take 1)
17. Driving South (take 2)
18. Jammin - w.Stevie Wonder
19. I Was Made to Love Her - w.Stevie Wonder
20. Ain't To Proud To Beg - w.Stevie Wonder

Studio 2, London, UK; 17 October 1967
21. 'Alexis Korner Introduction'
22. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
23. 'Rhythm and Blues World Service'
24. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
25. 'Traveling with the Experience'
26. Driving South

CD 2:
BBC Playhouse Theatre, London, UK; 15 December 1967
27. Radio One
28. 'Interview with Tony Hall'
29. Spanish Castle Magic
30. Wait Until Tomorrow
31. Day Tripper
32. Hear My Train A Comin (take 1)
33. Hear My Train A Comin (take 2)

Bonus Material:
34. Manic Depression - 1967-04-17, BBC TV

1967-08-24 'Top of the Pops' BBC TV
35. 'Intro by Simon Dee with false start'
36. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp

1967-11-10, 'Hoepla' (TV Show), Vitus Studio, Bussum, Netherlands
37. 'Introduction #1'
38. Foxy Lady
39. 'Introduction #2'
40. Catfish Blues
41. Purple Haze

The BBC have licensed their Hendrix recordings for two official releases: "Radio One" (1988) & "BBC Sessions" (1998). In both instances, 2nd generation tapes were mistakenly sent and used, probably because the BBC has them on file as the master recordings. These tape dubs were made back in the day and were subjected to heavy processing which included EQ, compression, stereo re-channeling and sometimes reverb. As a result, they have obvious lesser fidelity. However, the original mono tapes of all radio sessions (or at least quality copies thereof) still exist and were used for two early 90s BBC radio specials. The producer of these shows, Richard Skinner, has been the only one so far who cared enough to dig a little deeper in the vaults and he played nearly all material in uninterrupted form on his shows, which has allowed fans to hear the real deal on two rare Westwood 2CDs.

So thanks to Mr. Skinner, this compilation rectifies the tape source problem for the most part and also restores the sessions in nearly uncut form. Plus, you get to hear the complete Stevie Wonder jam and a 6-minute interview. Nearly all tracks here are sourced from a digital clone or a transcription disc that was derived from the 1st generation mono mastertapes*. The only sources I'd say are sonically compromised would be Tr. 26 & 33 which come from the processed 2nd generation tapes (the latter with additional reverb) and the January 1967 session which was not archived by the BBC; it survives only as a partial but not completely awful off-air recording.

I have carefully remastered every track in my mastering studio. Considering these are direct-to-mono recordings, it's no surprise the instrumental and tonal balances are often uneven and some work to make them shine is definitely required.

[* The whereabouts of Tr. 10 & 27 are actually unknown, but they seem to be copies of the unprocessed 1st generation tapes. Tr. 27 does not have the EQ/compression/reverb that can be heard on the 2nd generation source and Tr. 10 actually sounds slightly better than a verified 1st generation source on the 1991 Westwood 2CD, which has slightly lesser quality overall than the 1992 WW set.]

Audio Sources Supplied & Research by JWB
More research & Mastering: PS

Sources:
- Hendrix At "The Beeb" (2◊CD, Comp, Transcription) Westwood One Radio Network ñ Show# 92-48 USA 1992 > all tracks minus the following:
- BBC Classic Tracks (2◊CD, Comp, Transcription) Westwood One, USA 1991 > 06,16
- BBC Radio (2xCDR, Comp) For Trade Only FTO 008-009 2004 > Tr. 10,11,27,28
- BBC DAT Masters (2xCDR) no label - 2007 > Tr. 25,26,33
- 'off-air radio recording on reel to reel found at car boot sale' > Tr. 00
- various BBC Transcriptions (used to fill out intro's/outro's)