Rare Jimi Hendrix bootleg catalog has gone digital. Here is the announcement: Experience Hendrix LLC today announced that releases on its official 'bootleg' Dagger label are now available for digital download for the first time in the company's history. Dagger Records was founded in 1998 by Experience Hendrix to provide fans of the legendary guitarist with exciting, never before released studio recordings, home demos, rare interviews and unforgettable live performances. Each album in the acclaimed series provides new insights into Jimi's remarkable creativity.
Experience Hendrix LLC CEO Janie Hendrix encapsulated the label's history, "With my late father's blessing, Dagger Records was devised as an avenue to fulfill the requests of the 'deep' Jimi collectors and worshipers for recordings beyond the 'core releases' such as Electric Ladyland, Are You Experienced and the recent Valleys of Neptune. Dagger material is certainly of great historical significance but might not have been recorded most optimally, a situation that mandated the establishment of a specialty imprint to ensure that consumers are treated as fairly and as honestly as possible."
Prior to Dagger's founding, an underground market existed for Jimi Hendrix recordings that was rife with expensive, poorly annotated bootlegs, often of questionable quality. Dagger releases offer inspired live performances and revealing home and studio recordings that are highly valued by Hendrix cognoscenti. As has been the case with physical releases since its inception in 1998, Dagger's digital assets will be available exclusively at www.jimihendrix.com Dagger's digital catalog of 11 albums is offered in high resolution (320kpbs) MP3 format that are DRM free.
Janie Hendrix recalled, "Before we were able to get back the rights to Jimi's music, I used to see a lot of bootleg albums and I, too, was one of the victims of high prices and shabby product. It really made no sense [considering] that we have a whole vault full of Jimi Hendrix material to not make much of it available to enthusiasts on our own terms in a transparent way. Obviously, not all of the material is of the commercial and sonic quality of the core titles so Dagger was devised as a means to market these recordings honestly to offer new insights into Jimi's creative process for those who are most interested. Our alliance with Sony Legacy launched very successfully with the release of Valleys of Neptune and the re-issue of classic Jimi Hendrix Experience titles earlier this year so it seemed like the appropriate time to take the Dagger catalog into the digital domain."
Dagger Records Catalog releases to date:
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At The Oakland Coliseum
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At Clark University
Morning Symphony Ideas
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live In Ottawa
Jimi Hendrix: Baggy's Rehearsal Sessions
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Paris 67 / San Francisco 68
Hear My Music
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At The Isle Of Fehmarn
Burning Desire
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Paris/Ottawa 1968
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live At Woburn