Smoke And Mirrors, The Leela Fiasco Review

The sleek packaging of this release cons one into a false sense of professionalism because as soon as the first song has started it is clear that the recording and production are just not up to much. This is not a reflection on the musicians nor much of the music. Perfectly adequate playing, imaginative soloing and some nice chunky riffs are just not given a chance to be heard maximally. The recording venue is listed as "The Greenhouse Wilmington". Hmmm ... very possibly it was a greenhouse!

However, the density of the mix does contribute partly, causing extended ruminating passages to smack of Dark Magus / Agharta. Diluted to only guitar, bass and drums, this perhaps hints more at where Hendrix might have ended up if he had got jazzier than he was already. However, Hendrix would have had better material and even in the light of the band philosophy evolving from "live" studio recorded improvisations, that's no excuse for muddy reproduction, plus these instrumental pieces don't sound like much more than just a jam.



More song structure and another engineer would have made all the difference.