Took my awhile to understand what made Jimi so great. My first exposure was the Woodstock set, which I never really liked that much. Then I saw the Monterey Pop performance and I was blown away. What a talent! If you have never seen it, it is a must see!
Took my awhile to understand what made Jimi so great. My first exposure was the Woodstock set, which I never really liked that much. Then I saw the Monterey Pop performance and I was blown away. What a talent! If you have never seen it, it is a must see!
Took my awhile to understand what made Jimi so great. My first exposure was the Woodstock set, which I never really liked that much. Then I saw the Monterey Pop performance and I was blown away. What a talent! If you have never seen it, it is a must see!
Otis Redding won Monterrey Pop.
Funny I was reading about the festival after I posted and Otis is mentioned often as having put on a spectacular performance. I will have to check it out. But man that Hendrix set is one for the ages.
Took my awhile to understand what made Jimi so great. My first exposure was the Woodstock set, which I never really liked that much. Then I saw the Monterey Pop performance and I was blown away. What a talent! If you have never seen it, it is a must see!
I was just reading about how American critics didn't get Hendrix right away. From the John Perry's Electric Ladyland book I mentioned:
"When Jimi burst on them [American critics] at Monterey, six months later, he was unknown to most Americans as he'd been to English audiences [when he first arrived there]. Yet it was as though they were reviewing a different performer. Critics wrote of an "undignified", "psychedelic Uncle Tom" whose "gimmick laden" act was a "second-rate copy of the Who's destruction". Even his speech annoyed them with its "superspade jive". The shrewd reader may feel a common theme underlies all those responses...
"The liberal American press from Esquire to The Village Voice was perplexed by Hendrix in a way that the English never were."
That seems so weird to me because the first time I heard a Hendrix tune I was instantly hooked.
But yeah, other than Jimi's Star Spangled Banner, Woodstock is not the best place to start. If you watch the whole performance, there are other moments of brilliance (there always were), but the expanded band was new, scarcely rehearsed and tired from waiting all night to go on. Monterey is great, but I don't think his best live stuff was ever caught on film. Concerts, Hendrix in the West and Winterland are excellent records and worth checking out for live recordings.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Took my awhile to understand what made Jimi so great. My first exposure was the Woodstock set, which I never really liked that much. Then I saw the Monterey Pop performance and I was blown away. What a talent! If you have never seen it, it is a must see!
I was just reading about how American critics didn't get Hendrix right away. From the John Perry's Electric Ladyland book I mentioned:
"When Jimi burst on them [American critics] at Monterey, six months later, he was unknown to most Americans as he'd been to English audiences [when he first arrived there]. Yet it was as though they were reviewing a different performer. Critics wrote of an "undignified", "psychedelic Uncle Tom" whose "gimmick laden" act was a "second-rate copy of the Who's destruction". Even his speech annoyed them with its "superspade jive". The shrewd reader may feel a common theme underlies all those responses...
"The liberal American press from Esquire to The Village Voice was perplexed by Hendrix in a way that the English never were."
That seems so weird to me because the first time I heard a Hendrix tune I was instantly hooked.
But yeah, other than Jimi's Star Spangled Banner, Woodstock is not the best place to start. If you watch the whole performance, there are other moments of brilliance (there always were), but the expanded band was new, scarcely rehearsed and tired from waiting all night to go on. Monterey is great, but I don't think his best live stuff was ever caught on film. Concerts, Hendrix in the West and Winterland are excellent records and worth checking out for live recordings.
And, of course, Band of Gypsys.
I SAW PEARL JAM
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brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,297
Took my awhile to understand what made Jimi so great. My first exposure was the Woodstock set, which I never really liked that much. Then I saw the Monterey Pop performance and I was blown away. What a talent! If you have never seen it, it is a must see!
I was just reading about how American critics didn't get Hendrix right away. From the John Perry's Electric Ladyland book I mentioned:
"When Jimi burst on them [American critics] at Monterey, six months later, he was unknown to most Americans as he'd been to English audiences [when he first arrived there]. Yet it was as though they were reviewing a different performer. Critics wrote of an "undignified", "psychedelic Uncle Tom" whose "gimmick laden" act was a "second-rate copy of the Who's destruction". Even his speech annoyed them with its "superspade jive". The shrewd reader may feel a common theme underlies all those responses...
"The liberal American press from Esquire to The Village Voice was perplexed by Hendrix in a way that the English never were."
That seems so weird to me because the first time I heard a Hendrix tune I was instantly hooked.
But yeah, other than Jimi's Star Spangled Banner, Woodstock is not the best place to start. If you watch the whole performance, there are other moments of brilliance (there always were), but the expanded band was new, scarcely rehearsed and tired from waiting all night to go on. Monterey is great, but I don't think his best live stuff was ever caught on film. Concerts, Hendrix in the West and Winterland are excellent records and worth checking out for live recordings.
And, of course, Band of Gypsys.
It was interesting to me that Perry left Band Of Gypsies out of his book other than to make some brief comment about how that was a whole other thing. I think in a way he's right. And within that other venture is "Machine Gun" from Fillmore East which is a whole other universe unto itself, going to places previously untapped. That piece knocks the wind out of me every time.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Love Hendrix - that purple box set from the early 00s is amazing & one of my faves to listen to.
For sure! Worth every penny!
I was thinking about Hendrix this morning and the oft pondered notion of "what if he had lived". It's almost impossible for us Hendrix fans to not speculate on that "what if", and though I tend to try to avoid that kind of
speculation, I found this take by John Perry in his fine little book Electric Ladyland, interesting:
"There's another possibility to consider, although one rarely hears it
from critics. I've heard it voiced most often from people who actually
know Hendrix in the last years of his life. The suggestion is that Jimi
had done his finest work, exhausted the formula, and come to a creative
halt. In late period interviews he certainly sounded depressed,
lacking in direction. (Again, this is confirmed by people who met him
in the final London days.) One understands why critics wouldn't want to
be seen advancing such a negative opinion, but I think it does have to
be considered.
More importantly , it must be recognized that in his brief run
Hendrix left a completed legacy. He said what he had to say in the form
he wished. He invented a specific form of self-expression as
distinctive sounding now as in its own day. He arrived on the scene
with a perfectly realized first album, something very few artists
achieve. Even now, in a different century, he's still the most
influential electric guitarist, bar none. You never feel that given
more time he's have perfected his craft. The majority of his work seems
beyond improvement. As a player, and as a performer, it's hard to
imagine how he could have improved- a judgement from which you must draw
your own conclusions."
Rather than seen as a negative view, I personally find Perry's words as
both quite plausible and, if there is ever any possible consoling of the
early loss of that great musician, somewhat comforting.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
A bit off topic, but not. Nora Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix's grandmother, has had a cool modular housing unit that helps the homeless in Vancouver named after her, and this article talks about why.
What was so "trippy" (there's just no other way to put it!) about the U.S. version of Are You Experienced was that it kicked off with this song that was so far out of the norm, "Purple Haze", both lyrically and musically. And for me, there was the double knockout punch of "Manic Depression" which is still one of my very favorite Hendrix songs. That three note/ three note intro followed by Mitch;s rolling drums and Jimi's rocking riff flattens me every time!
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Comments
I worship at the altar of Hendrix. My son's middle name is Hendrix. But Otis fucking slayed it and blew those hippies away.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"There's another possibility to consider, although one rarely hears it from critics. I've heard it voiced most often from people who actually know Hendrix in the last years of his life. The suggestion is that Jimi had done his finest work, exhausted the formula, and come to a creative halt. In late period interviews he certainly sounded depressed, lacking in direction. (Again, this is confirmed by people who met him in the final London days.) One understands why critics wouldn't want to be seen advancing such a negative opinion, but I think it does have to be considered.
More importantly , it must be recognized that in his brief run Hendrix left a completed legacy. He said what he had to say in the form he wished. He invented a specific form of self-expression as distinctive sounding now as in its own day. He arrived on the scene with a perfectly realized first album, something very few artists achieve. Even now, in a different century, he's still the most influential electric guitarist, bar none. You never feel that given more time he's have perfected his craft. The majority of his work seems beyond improvement. As a player, and as a performer, it's hard to imagine how he could have improved- a judgement from which you must draw your own conclusions."
Rather than seen as a negative view, I personally find Perry's words as both quite plausible and, if there is ever any possible consoling of the early loss of that great musician, somewhat comforting.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Still sounds fresh!
What was so "trippy" (there's just no other way to put it!) about the U.S. version of Are You Experienced was that it kicked off with this song that was so far out of the norm, "Purple Haze", both lyrically and musically. And for me, there was the double knockout punch of "Manic Depression" which is still one of my very favorite Hendrix songs. That three note/ three note intro followed by Mitch;s rolling drums and Jimi's rocking riff flattens me every time!
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Lisbon '06 (x2)
Katowice '07
London '07 '09 (x2), '10
MSG NY '08 (x2)
Manchester '09 '12
Belfast '10
PJ20 Alpine '11 (x2)
Leeds '14
Even with the missing footage this is pretty cool
Agreed! I love that Maui footage, even with the wind issues.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"