I've always wondered about those old guys that walk around the beach with their hi-tek metal detectors. They've always got their pastel khakis pulled high upon swollen belly, straining cloth cleaving their ass like some sort of sadomashochistic truss, plaid golf shirts barely concealing their dangling, varicose- rotted male tits, their eyes staring intently into their headphones, waiting for the call.

Why? They spend a thousand bucks for equipment that will surely never pay for itself, and go about, collecting the forgotten treasures of the rest of us, imagining the stories that a particular wristwatch from Ocean City could have told, or the tale of a silver bridge found in the sweet sands of Cape May. Somehow though, I can imagine that these forgotten relics from a stranger's life must hold some sort of strange appeal, which finally brings us to our boy of the hour, boy of the century, boy of the guitar, Jimi Hendrix.

South Saturn Delta is made up of the forgotten relics of Jimi's distressingly short recording life. Producers Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer and John McDermott strapped on another pair of headphones entirely, but sought the same thing-- the relics among the sand. What they bring us has its fair share of still- ticking watches from another century, shining like gold. But for every truly valuable find, there are also a few bottlecaps and broken bracelets. Sure, we probably all agree that even Jimi's worst work deserves chronicle due to his legendary rock- martyr status, but let's look at this reissue as what it is before all else-- an album that you might want to actually listen to.

Tracks like "Look Over Yonder," "Power of Love" and "South Saturn Delta" shine with the promise cut short by Jimi's demise, clearly prepared to jump full- bore into even more groundbreaking projects melding blues, jazz and rock in ways that had never been considered. Though he surpassed anyone before him, these tracks drip with creative balances of some of the best jazz and blues musicians of Hendrix's era and Jimi's uniquely inspired guitar. Indeed, these songs (and numerous others) capture some of Jimi's work with clean production and are clearly able to stand alone as posthumous classics. (You've heard "Little Wing," haven't you?) Those of us listening for the music as opposed to the historical significance will have plenty to keep us happy, though the album is marred by a few dubious inclusions like "The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice" and Jimi's beatbox version of "Sweet Angel."

South Saturn Delta plays a pragmatic role in the Jimi canon, but lacks the continuity that pushes albums like Band Of Gypsies and Are You Experienced? into must- have status. It's a patchwork of Jimi's lost relics, but Delta competently documents his studio savvy, his desire to break new ground, and his passion to rewrite the rules for guitar. Not bad for a pair of headphones on a hot summer's beach.

-James P. Wisdom