Alan Douglas

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Lore & Background

Douglas's first project, 'Crash Landing,' became the center of immediate controversy due to his production decisions. The liner notes revealed that Douglas employed several session musicians who had never met Hendrix to re-record or overdub guitar, bass, drums, and percussion on the album. This process erased the contributions of original band members like Billy Cox, Buddy Miles, and Mitch Mitchell, fundamentally changing the feel of the songs while retaining only Hendrix's vocals and guitar parts. The goal was evidently to finish works that were either incomplete or recorded as demos. Douglas even added female backing vocals to the title track. A specific incident involved the track 'Captain Coconut,' which did not exist as a single Hendrix recording; it was a concoction created by assistant engineer John Jansen from three unrelated tracks. When legendary engineer Eddie Kramer discovered this, he strongly criticized Jansen and ordered him to stop, yet Douglas released the track regardless.

In Their Own Story

In late 1973, the international label prepared an album titled 'Loose Ends' containing eight tracks, six of which were considered incomplete or substandard. The only two finished songs on that unreleased US project were a heavily re-mixed stereo version of 'The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice' and a cover of Bob Dylan's 'The Drifter's Escape.' Reprise Records refused to issue it in the USA due to concerns over the track quality. Douglas was then brought in to sift through the vast archive from 1969 and 1970. He selected material recorded with Billy Cox on bass, paired with either Mitch Mitchell or Buddy Miles on drums, and on one occasion with Rocky Isaacs. Despite the presence of original rhythm sections on these tapes, Douglas chose to replace them in the studio. The resulting album, 'Crash Landing,' peaked at number five in the US and 35 in the UK, achieving the highest chart positions since 'The Cry of Love.' It also reached number five in Canada and placed 38th in that country's year-end chart.

Reader's Guide

When exploring the Alan Douglas era of Jimi Hendrix releases, listeners should be aware of the specific personnel changes introduced during the production of 'Crash Landing.' The original lineup on tracks like those featuring Buddy Miles (drums) and Billy Cox (bass) was often supplemented or replaced by session musicians added in 1975. Key figures brought in by Douglas included Jimmy Maelen for percussion, Jeff Mironov for guitars, Allan Schwartzberg for drums, and Bob Babbitt for bass on multiple tracks. Vocal support came from Linda November, Vivian Cherry, and Barbara Massey. To understand the historical context, note that Douglas's work stands in contrast to the earlier posthumous releases which relied more heavily on existing Hendrix recordings. The track 'Captain Coconut' serves as a prime example of Douglas-era fabrication; it was not a genuine recording by the artist but a composite created without the artist's participation or approval.

Did You Know?

• Alan Douglas was hired in late 1973 to evaluate hundreds of hours of unused Hendrix material.
• 'Crash Landing' was the first Hendrix album produced by Douglas, released in March 1975 (US) and August 1975 (UK).
• The track 'Captain Coconut' was not recorded by Hendrix; it was a concoction made by assistant engineer John Jansen from three other unrelated tracks.
• Engineer Eddie Kramer strongly criticized the creation of 'Captain Coconut' and told Jansen to stop, but Douglas released it anyway.
• Douglas added female backing vocals (Linda November, Vivian Cherry, Barbara Massey) to the title track of 'Crash Landing'.