PLAYLIST NEW ALBUM RELEASES TIMELESS FEEDBACK.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: ``Smash Hits''

PERENNIALLY VOTED rock's best and most influential guitarist, it's hard to believe Jimi Hendrix cut just three studio albums and spent a mere four years in the spotlight.

But because he recorded a massive amount of initially unreleased material and ran tape on numerous concert dates, the Hendrix catalog is annually sliced, diced and spliced.

Thankfully, the late guitarist's family now controls the Hendrix archive and the result has been a top-notch reissue program in conjunction with Universal Music.

The latest release is the remastered ``Smash Hits,'' consisting of FM radio favorites recorded by the brilliant Hendrix trio between 1966 and 1968, the year the album was first issued in the United Kingdom. The essential original dozen tracks include ``Fire,'' ``The Wind Cries Mary,'' ``Red House'' and ``Manic Depression.''

We asked Andy McKaie, senior vice president of artists-and-repertoire at Universal, to cut through the ``Purple Haze.''

Q: Why should I replace my 1968 British vinyl with the new package? The remastering by Eddie Kramer is fantastic. And we found photos from the original photo session so there are extra shots you haven't seen before. We didn't monkey with it. We made it sound better than ever and retooled it to make it flow better on CD. Q: You and I saw Hendrix perform. What do you remember?

He would pace the stage, judge the distance between guitar and amp, work out exactly where the feedback and overtones would start, and then suddenly strike a chord. He understood the dynamics of the Fender Stratocaster through his stack of Marshall amplifiers along with the ambience of the venue and used all those elements in his playing. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Hendrix had impeccable taste yet took this mix of influences somewhere entirely new. How did he do it?

He had an encyclopedic knowledge of blues, funk, jazz, and rock 'n' roll riffs and melded them into something unique and otherworldly. He gave everything he played his own very inventive twist. Nobody has been able to take music that far again.

CHECK THESE OUT (other new releases):

MILES DAVIS, ``In a Silent Way'': The most subtle, melodic and seamless of Davis' rock-era sessions, with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin and Tony Williams.

HEPTONES, ``Cool Rasta'': Delicious reggae from the golden age; the rhythm section on the title track alone is a TKO.

SOUNDTRACK, ``24 Hour Party People'': Smart set of Brit post-punk starring Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays.

Next Tuesday: ROLLING STONES: ``ABKCO Remasters''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) Mitch Mitchell, left, Jimi Hendrix and Noel Redding.

(2 -- 3) no caption (CD covers)