Stone Free: Tribute To Jimi Hendrix CD

Producers include: Robert Smith, Bryan "Chuck" New, Nile Rodgers, Eddie Kramer, Ernie-C.
Compilation producers: Jeff Gold, Eddie Kramer, John McDermott, Michael Ostin.
Engineers include: Bryan "Chuck" New, Gary Tole, Eddie Kramer.
Includes liner notes written by John McDermott.
A portion of sales from STONE FREE: A TRIBUTE TO JIMI HENDRIX will go to establish musical scholarships in Jimi Hendrix' name.
Personnel: Robert Smith , Buddy Guy (vocals, guitar); Will Calhoun (vocals, kazoo, piano, drums); Chris Barron , Chris Cornell, Corey Glover, Doug Wimbish, Gail Greenwood, Ice-T, Paul Rodgers, Seal (vocals); Pat Metheny (guitar, keyboards, Synclavier, programming, drum programming); Perry Bamonte (guitar, keyboards); D-Roc, Eric Schenkman, Ernie C., Thomas Gorman, Jeff Beck, John Etheridge , Mike McCready, Nile Rodgers, Slash, Vernon Reid (guitar); Sagat Guirey (acoustic guitar, bottleneck guitar); Nigel Kennedy (violin, viola, piano); Johnnie Johnson (piano); Richard Hilton (keyboards); Chris Gorman (drums, percussion); Tony Thompson , Beatmaster V, Jack DeJohnette, Rupert Brown, Aaron Comess, Matt Cameron, Ray Allison, Jim Copley, Boris Williams, Buddy Miles (drums); John Powe, Demetrius Peete, John Clay, Shawn Powell (background vocals).
Recording information: Comforts Place, London, England; Conway Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Hit Factory, New York, NY; Olympic Sound Studios, London, England; Power Station, New York, NY; Quad Sstudios, Nashville, TN; Real Wor; Streeterville Studios, Chicago, IL.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Eric Clapton; Living Colour; Nigel Kennedy; Body Count; Buddy Guy.
A confused tribute album more worthwhile as a curiosity than as an album, Stone Free gathers several artists with nothing in common other than the fact that they have recorded a Hendrix tune. Some of the results are surprisingly good (Belly's "Are You Experienced?," in particular), but most of it is cringe-inducing (Spin Doctors and Body Count) or predictably rote (Eric Clapton and the Pretenders). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Award Winner

Rolling Stone (2/24/94, p.56) - 3 Stars - Good - "...STONE FREE demonstrates an incredible love and respect for Hendrix's music--the performances bring us closer to what keeps that music alive and send us back to Hendrix's recordings...."
Q (1/94, p.105) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...This Hendrix tribute will, undoubtedly, annoy many of his boringly excited fans. So much the better...."
Musician (3/94, p.91) - "...The peers and disciples assembled for STONE FREE: A TRIBUTE TO JIMI HENDRIX aren't just saluting the composer--they're celebrating the whole artiste, a daunting venture indeed...the folks who don't play by the book provide a bigger rush....Tanya Donnely suggests an anxious kid, exploring strange new ground..."