Can Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin Jam Tape Be Saved?

Jimi Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer is certain he can use AI to save a recording of Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin playing together. He just has to find the tape first.

In a new interview with The Vinyl Guide podcast (audio below), Kramer discussed the possibility of rescuing old material using the technique that recently brought the Beatles‘ “Now And Then” to fruition.

“When one uses the phrase ‘AI,’ it’s not really – it’s really advanced digital manipulation,” the producer said. “Now the technology has become so evolved that here’s a cassette tape of John [Lennon] playing piano, and now they’re able to isolate the voice.”

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He continued: “We’ve always had something similar; maybe not quite as good … As the technology has expanded now, we’re able to become quite clever about the quality that remains thereafter. And if it requires some quote-unquote AI manipulation? OK, that’s fine.”

Kramer pointed out that he had plenty of experience rescuing Hendrix’s performances from low-quality tapes. “I’ve done it before, but now it’s going to be on a much higher level,” he said. Asked if it meant more Hendrix material was “around the corner,” he replied: “There are tapes that I would love to get my hands on with John [McDermott] and Janie [Hendrix] and say, ‘Hey, maybe we can do X or Y.’ … I would hesitate to use ‘around the corner’ because that corner could be quite lengthy, [but] hopefully, yes.”

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Kramer’s thoughts then turned to the stories of an impromptu jam between Hendrix, Morrison and Joplin. Most tales revolve around an event in 1968, but the focus of those is Morrison’s drunken behavior leading to an attack by Joplin, which resulted in all three musicians fighting on the floor of a small club.

Kramer indicated he was thinking of a different occasion, when a more musical performance had taken place. “That’s possible,” he said. “It was at the nightclub that became Electric Lady Studios. Originally it was called the Village Bar, and then it became … the Generation nightclub, which Jimi used to go down and jam a lot in. Then it became the Electric Lady.”

He concluded: “Somebody has got a cassette somewhere. Tell them to contact me, and we’ll fix it.”