Velvert Turner was apparently a friend of
Jimi Hendrix's, and the
Hendrix vibe on the album
Velvert Turner Group is almost overpowering, right down to the fish-eye photo on the back cover.
Turner's got great guitar tone and a playing style quite similar to
Jimi. The songs are also similar to later-period
Hendrix, circa
First Rays of the New Rising Sun, but with some keyboards added. In fact, "Three O'Clock Train" starts out with a riff very close to "Izabella," then sounds more like "51st Anniversary" in the body of the tune. The really shocking thing, though, is how much
Turner's voice sounds like
Jimi. It's jarring, right down to the same vocal inflections. But it doesn't sound like imitation, it just sounds like they came from the same places. The songs are good, although not the equal of
Hendrix's, but some of the guitar playing is great, with some good feedback and panning effects to boot. It's certainly derivative, but
Jimi left so few official albums that this will be a welcome sound to
Hendrix fans. ~ Sean Westergaard