Jimi Hendrix
Live At Woodstock
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Jimi Hendrix
Live At Woodstock
Experience Hendrix, 1999
RiYL: Led Zeppelin, The Who, Santana |
The bad news is that the performance itself, at least aesthetically speaking, is not one of Jimi's greatest and not nearly enjoyable as the Hendrix At The Fillmore East collection put out this spring. But it's still Jimi, and no buyer will be complaining too seriously.
There shouldn't be a need for a long-winded explanation/dissection of Woodstock. Still it is ever important to remember the setting for this festival.
It's the final summer of the 1960s and the greatest acts of rock and roll's most important decade were gathered by rookie promoters in upstate New York to play for a crowd of 400,000 first-generation hippies. Of course, after a weekend of peace, love and a shitload of rain, only 25,000 woke up to catch Jimi (the festival's highest-paid performer!) at 9 A.M. on the festival's final day.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience had broken up earlier that summer and the rock legend was moving into a new phase of his meteoric career. He formed the "Gypsy Sun and Rainbows" as a surrogate backing band. As the CD reveals, things start out predictably sloppy, considering the circumstances. But the band works itself into form by the time it gets up to the rocket-fueled "Spanish Castle Magic," where Hendrix just seems to be pouring riff after speedy riff on the barely woken crowd.
Follow that up with a decent "Red House" and the obligatory couple of blues standards and you've got yourself a smokin' show. Even the most ill-prepared band could pull out a good backing job for Hendrix on a blues standard. And the second CD ends up being twice as good as the first, replete with outstanding renditions of "Izabella," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and the oft-mythologized "Star Spangled Banner."
Has Jimi's electrified/horrified version of our nation's anthem become a cliché? It could be argued. But then again, the entire concept of Woodstock was pretty much burnt to the ground in the mid-90s. And the effect of this performance of the nation's anthem is an undeniably historic artistic statement. This song (as well as the set it centers) perfectly sums up the importance of the festival and still seems to transcend the event's tainted reputation.
BEN FRENCH | Ben founded NATN in the winter of 1998-1999 with fellow IU alums Troy Carpenter and Jonathan Cohen. During the day time, he's working for Nielsen Business Media, publisher of Billboard. Ben's favorite acts include Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys.