Benji Kirkpatrick
Album: Hendrix Songs
Label: EDJ
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.benjikirkpatrick.com

With typical bad timing, this CD arrived for review just in time to miss the publicity opportunity to profile Benji's UK tour for this special project. As one of the founder members of Bellowhead, Benji's personal dynamism and firebrand flamboyance have always been an integral element in the big-band's stage presence, so it comes as no surprise to learn that Jimi Hendrix made a strong impression on the 12-year-old Benji, via a tape of the BBC Sessions CD. He then proceeded to fast-track the acquisition of an electric guitar - but after a short though intense practice run, Benji realised the inevitable, the futility of trying to emulate Hendrix!

He also soon quickly realised Hendrix's skill as a songwriter, which is (equally inevitably) so often overlooked by listeners dazzled by the supercharged brilliance of his guitar work. And thus, Bendrix Songs is Benji's homage to Hendrix, a key inspiration whose influence, 45 years on from his death, continues to be felt today throughout a surprising number of branches of the musical world. Benji has taken the conscious decision to not play electric guitar at all on this project, instead accompanying himself on bouzouki, banjo or mandolin as he delivers a series of stripped-down solo performances of 12 of Hendrix's (arguably) greatest songs (three out of the four charting A-sides plus a judicious selection of album cuts).

Benji's diction is impeccable (you can decipher every word!), while he clearly has a feel for the soul of the songs too. He captures the essence of Hendrix's imagery and reveals the sometimes unexpected poetic vision within the songs, while observing their pure character and laying it bare outwith the trappings of psychedelia that adorned Hendrix's original recordings. The tenderness of The Wind Cries Mary and May This Be Love are especially well realised in this respect, although Little Wing might be considered mildly undersold here by comparison. Hear My Train A-Comin' is perhaps the least predictable choice, but Benji keeps well on track here in a fiery reading. Benji also makes some interesting interpretive decisions in matters of tempo, notably in going against expectations by recasting Hendrix's driven Crosstown Traffic as a plaintive ballad and his slow-burn twelve-bar Red House as a funky uptempo number, while the slinky Foxy Lady has an altogether more animated strut to her step than Hendrix's cautious, wary animal.

Benji's trademark nifty string virtuosity is still much in evidence on the instrumental breaks, but the lyrics remain the focus and Benji feels no need for any distractingly showy fingerwork here. Benji has unquestionably done the memory - and music - of Hendrix a service by presenting his songs in this light, and placing emphasis on their gentler side and the more sensitive aspect of the man's creativity.

David Kidman