Jimi Hendrix, "Crash Landing" (Reprise, 1975)

No artist's musical legacy has been mined and contorted quite as much as James Marshall Hendrix, who left so much material in the can when he died that it continues to emerge 36 years later.

Recent releases from Experience Hendrix LLC, the family-run entity that holds the rights to his music, have been presented in basically their raw form. "Live at the Isle of Fehmarn," for example, is a document of Jimi's final concert, and it's far removed from what you'd considered a polished sound.

That suits most Hendrix enthusiasts just fine, as they'd much rather hear a low-fidelity recording than some of the stuff that's been perpetrated in Jimi's name over the years.

In 1975, Alan Douglas - Hendrix's producer at the time at his death - committed what many still consider the ultimate sacrilege when he put together an album for Reprise Records called "Crash Landing." Douglas took Jimi's unfinished tracks and embellished them with over-the-top sound effects and/or new accompaniment by studio musicians whom Hendrix never had met.

The result, according to the liner notes on Reprise's CD reissue, "was a seamless blend of original and updated material ... an enduring testament to the genius of Jimi Hendrix."

Either that, or it was a good way to cash in on his legacy.

At least two songs on "Crash Landing" are somewhat legitimate. "Message to Love" and "With the Power" are better known for their appearances on the live album "Band of Gypsys," and the same rhythm section, Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, plays on these recordings. But for some reason, Douglas chose to embellish the opening of the former with a percussionist playing a loud wooden block; on the latter, he has a field day with studio effects, panning guitars and voices all over the stereo mix.

Those two tracks at least maintain their integrity to a degree. The rest of the album pretty much grafts Jimi's vocal and guitar tracks onto playing by studio pros who do a competent enough job but seem to lack the spirit of musicians who actually interacted with a living, breathing Jimi.

The liner notes' reference to a "seamless blend" is ludicrous, as listening to the CD through a pair of cheap headphones clearly reveals the sonic differences between the actual Hendrix tracks and the parts recorded half a decade later. Douglas did his best to compensate by employing whatever trickery he could think of, but his efforts weren't quite enough to qualify as "seamless."

The most egregious example is a song titled "Stone Free Again," which appears to be Jimi's vocal from the original "Stone Free" accompanied by a slickly polished backing track. Granted, the sound quality of the 1966 version - Jimi's first solo songwriting composition, and the B-side to his first single, "Hey Joe" - is decidedly primitive, as the vocal track shows. But it's a lot more listenable than the Douglas update.

Other songs suffer along similar lines. The title track features a higher-quality Hendrix vocal, but it's marred by other voices - namely, three ladies who attempt to add a touch of ersatz soul. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," an alternate version of "Earth Blues," is drenched in so much echo and reverb to render it almost unlistenable despite the worthiness of the composition.

The most interesting song on "Crash Landing" is the set closer. "Captain Coconut" appears to have started life as nothing more than Jimi messing around with his Stratocaster and some effects pedals, playing some Spanish-style riffs before Cox breaks in with a bass riff as Hendrix continues his experimentation. Douglas embellished this only by adding percussion.

Despite its questionable pedigree, "Crash Landing" hit No. 5 on the charts and led to a similar project, "Midnight Lightning," the following year. The record-buying public must have wised up by then, the follow-up stalled at No. 43.

These days, copies of "Crash Landing," are not that easy to find, as the album looks to stay perpetually out of print now that Experience Hendrix has control of Jimi's catalog. To many of his fans, that's just as well.