Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix is a 1993 album recorded by various artists in tribute to Jimi Hendrix. The artists were drawn from many genres of popular music. Contributors include his classic rock contemporaries Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, legendary blues man Buddy Guy, classical violinist Nigel Kennedy, alternative pop/rock bands Belly and Spin Doctors, hip hop artists P. M. Dawn, among others. According to the liner notes, the "artists were encouraged to not only record one of their own personal favorites but to also place their stamp on Jimi's songs." Several artists recorded radically different interpretations, particularly, P. M. Dawn, The Cure, Nigel Kennedy and Pat Metheny. Some artists, on the other hand, recorded versions that were rather similar to the originals.
The band M.A.C.C. is made up of Mike McCready (guitarist from Pearl Jam), Jeff Ament (bassist from Pearl Jam), Matt Cameron (drummer for Soundgarden and later for Pearl Jam), and Chris Cornell (singer of Soundgarden and later Audioslave). The cover of "Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun)" is their only known recording. All four members of this group had previously worked together on the Temple of the Dog project.
"Surprises At Every Turn"
You don't have to be a fan of every contributor to this tribute album to enjoy the effort and end results that were achieved. You don't even have to be a tremendous Hendrix fan. What you get is an eclectic set of interpretations of the songs of a very talented individual. Of course, it helps if you can play guitar, which I suspect is why the strongest tracks involve Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Vernon Reid (Living Colour). Even so, this collection goes a long way to proving just how far ahead of his time Jimi Hendrix was. Maybe that's why his music doesn't sound as dated as some others from that era, and maybe that's why this compilation of talent works so well. By A Customer
"Clear a space in your CD case for this one!"
Move on over, let P.M. Dawn, Beck/Seal, the Cure, Body Count, Buddy Guy et al., take over. An eclectic tribute album of Hendrix's greatest tunes featuring rockers, rappers and R&B artists. The Cure's cover of "Purple Haze" or Body Count's "Hey Joe" or P.M. Dawn's "You Got me Floatin' is worth the purchase price alone. Even if you didn't grow up with Henrix as a staple diet for your rock n roll body, this offering is a fourteen course meal of his musical buffet. One is left with the feeling that this collaborative group of muscians, aside from their own creative interpretative presentations, have given great reverence to a man and his music that has enormous staying power. Two thumbs and eight fingers up! By silverstone@bearvalleylodge.com (Bear Valley, CA)
Stone Free is as good of a tribute recording as you will find. You can take any style of music and change it's genre to make a new sound but this CD was able to keep the vibe and make it fresh. All the performers were able to put their mark into the heart of each song. When I first heard The Cure doing Purple Haze, I thought "this won't work" but now I find it has all the colors and textures that Jimi was famous for. Jimi was always the first to explore new ways to get the "Love" into his music so it would be appropriate to let these artist do the same. Buddy Guy just belts out Red House, Clapton nails Stone Free just as the rest give their all to create a total package. I can listen to this entire CD and not want to stop. Jimi would play music with everyone he could so he could keep creating new ideas and in many ways that is what he has done here. I can imagine all these great musicians working with him and coming up with this experience. Jaco, Beck, Chrissie, Buddy and Jimi all jam'n up good times sure works for me. By El Basso (Lincoln, NE USA)
Track listing & Personnel:
01. Purple Haze - The Cure
02. Stone Free - Eric Clapton/Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards/Tony Thompson
03. Spanish Castle Magic - Spin Doctors
04. Red House - Buddy Guy/Billy Cox
05. Hey Joe - Body Count
06. Manic Depression - Seal/Jeff Beck
07. Fire - Nigel Kennedy
08. Bold as Love - The Pretenders
09. You Got Me Floatin' - P.M. Dawn
10. I Don't Live Today - Slash/Paul Rodgers/The Band Of Gypsys
11. Are You Experienced? - Belly
12. Crosstown Traffic - Living Colour
13. Third Stone From the Sun - Pat Metheny
14. Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun) - M.A.C.C.
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