If you're a fan of Hendrix, it's nice to have this little rarity on CD, as the original promotional vinyl is long out of print. The addition of the extended medley is very nice as well, as I believe it is longer than any previous version in circulation. If you are more of a casual fan, though, this release is probably not for you.

As for Three Little Bears, it certainly seems out of place on a Christmas release. My guess is that the Hendrix family is making good on their promise to eventually re-issue all of the studio tracks that were originally released on the LPs War Heroes, Cry of Love and Rainbow Bridge. The song probably isn't "good enough" to be re-issued on a studio compilation, so it has been tacked onto a single release. Again, nice to have if only to round out your collection, but the track sounds better in its original place alongside other outtakes found on the War Heroes LP/CD.

Lastly, the inclusion of a photo of Jimi in a Santa suit on the inside cover, originally taken for New Musical Express magazine in England to promote the December 1967 release of Axis: Bold As Love, was a nice touch.

Not bad. I would say that this item is for hard-core Jimi fans like myself. An interesting oddity - nice to have on CD. I have the original on vinyl but don't dare play it for fear of scratching it - now I can pop in the CD whenever I want.

This CD is a brief little snippet of Hendrix and the Band of Gypsys at play whilst rehearsing for their immortal Fillmore shows of December 31, 1969 and January 1, 1970. Thirty years later, it's still a gas to hear Jimi's huge throbbing guitar sound tear into Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night, Taps, and Auld Lang Syne. The first version was later released by Reprise as a promo single. The second, "extended" version is really the first with a longer, more elaborate ending grafted on from another take. Very nice and it sounds like they had fun recording it. Jimi's variations on these chestnuts got my jazz piano-playing mother in-law (who would run from Purple Haze in a hearbeat) listening closely and saying "interesting" as she tapped her foot. Three Little Bears, previously unissued on any U.S. CD, rounds out the disc for no particular reason. It's a harmless little ditty recorded during the Electric Lady Land sessions that sounds as if Jimi wrote it about ten minutes before the session and is already forgetting the lyrics. Bound to make you smile if you're not a grinch.

This CD features two versions of Jimi Hendrix and the Band of Gypsies jamming on Christmas songs. It is a loose jam session where they play instrumental versions of "Little Drummer Boy", "Silent Night", "Auld Lang Syne" and "Taps" (although "Taps" is not listed on the CD). The extended version here features more of "Silent Night" tacked on the end, that seems to be grafted from a different take. If you are a fan of Jimi's feedback drenched guitar playing, you should get a kick out of this. The other song here is the Electric Ladyland outtake "Three Little Bears". As Jimi himself says during the song, it has silly lyrics, but his guitar playing is great. It is an inconsequential, but fun song.

I am the biggest Hendrix fan on earth, but I was somewhat disappointed in this CD. For one thing it was 16 minutes long with basically two takes of the same three songs (Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night, and Auld Lang Syne). They also threw in the most God-Awful Hendrix tune of all time: Three Little Bears. I get depressed hearing the song, because you can tell halfway through that Jimi is wanting to trash the song, but evidently someone is coaxing him to finish his lyrics. He basically talks through the last few lines. I hate that song. I guess if you down a couple of drinks and sit back and just play the two takes of the above mentioned 3 songs, it is okay.