Nothing much needs to be said here about Jimi Hendrix and his impact and influence on the rock and funk music scenes in the more than fifty years since his death. Anyone intersted in a Hendrix "starter pack" has more than enough options available via the many compilation albums released to cash in on his fame, with the best overall career survey probably provided by the
Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix disc from 1997. But nearly thirty years before that, the first bona fide Hendrix compilation album hit the market. Consisting almost entirely of
Are You Experienced?-era Hendrix cuts, with no material from sophomore Experience album
Axis: Bold As Love,
Smash Hits represented the first real attempt to collect Hendrix's essential material into one release. While not in any way definitive due to the omission of any
Electric Ladyland-specific material, it has nevertheless become a classic. Here I'm going to take a look at two compact disc versions of the album, the original 1987 Reprise CD release, and the much later 2000
Experience Hendrix CD remaster.
Note: It needs to be acknowledged that the original U.K. and U.S. versions of Smash Hits are different, with a different set of song selections presumably curated to better fit their target markets. The version of Smash Hits being reviewed here is the U.S. version. The 1987 CD includes two additional bonus tracks, "51st Anniversary" and "Highway Chile," which are not covered here.
