The archaeology of rock

On 18 September 1970, Harry Reasoner in New York told millions of people watching the ABC Evening News, "The Jimi Hendrix experience is over." The great guitarist had died earlier that day in London; and with his death the 1960s, and all the decade's excesses of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, had finally ended. Or so Harry Reasoner thought.

Today, Jimi Hendrix is back at the top of the charts with a new album, Valleys of Neptune. The release of his old recordings is the latest move by Experience Hendrix, an organization set up by the musician's family to preserve his legacy — and to make money, no doubt, as well.

What many people are now calling "rock archaeology" began in the mid-1990s with The Beatles and their Anthology. The three double CDs that came out of the project helped create a new generation of fans for the Fab Four and also made millions for Apple Records.

The next "find" from the great days of the rock age will be presented to the world on 17 May. It consists of old and "new" material from the finest hour of The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street. The package includes the remastered 1972 album on CD "with a bonus disc of 10 never-released tracks, a 64-page book, the double vinyl album, a set of four postcards in an envelope and a DVD containing excerpts from the documentary Stones In Exile" — and all for just for just £99.99.

These early years of the 21st century may not be great ones for music, but with the help of musical archaeologists we're able to go back to the golden age of the rock 'n' roll civilization and dig up its many treasures.