Yes, it's detailed in Kathy's book. It was her friend Angie who called her because she knew that she was the only person who could handle Jimi when he was in this state.
Kathy had to rescue two lady friends from Jimi's hotel room the day after he arrived in London, before the festival. According to her, he was feverish, looked grey and hitting the bottle, complaining of a cold. If she speaks the truth it's easy to draw the conclusion he was going through (heroin?) withdrawal. That might also help explain his reliance on booze and pills for the duration of the aborted European tour.
You answered my next question, Angie Burdon calling makes sense, can i assume she was in the same boat as Alvenia?
LA the month before was even better and we still haven't gotten a full reissue of that show (though SD Red House is better, the LA one is very good too). Don't understand the SD Foxy Lady omission either.
My first Hendrix album was the original Isle Of Wight LP, so I had a bit of a strange start to my relationship with Jimi. It was the one LP they had in the local shop, but I also had them order a compilation (the, in it's own ways quite weird, Story Of Jimi Hendrix, a German compilation with some unique edits of songs), so I soon had my impression "corrected". Actually as this was one of my earliest purchases and at the start of my serious interest in music I didn't have that much references to compare it with, especially not for music of that era (this was in the late 80s and I knew no one else my age that was interested in older music), so I just took what I heard at face value, and even though I thought some of the music was unecessarily elongated and quite meandering at times (by things like pant-splitting, as I would eventually learn), I also thought it all sounded very cool, even the radio interference, which I of course didn't understand what was (I got to experience it first hand years later when I bought my first Fuzz Face and went "Aha!" when Russian radio or whatever started coming through the amp). So what I think I am trying to say is that, even though this show is much maligned, that original LP has some qualities to it, and for me it holds a special place, I still view it with the innocent mind I had when I first heard it without knowing the circumstances and context of the full show.
By all means, post another show. This thread doesn't belong to me. I chose IoW because it was brought up recently, plus I think IoW is greatly panned for little reason. Many call it a "bad show," but could that simply be because Jimi's tone and his playing is unlike any other show that we have? I've come to believe so. To me, the really good songs border on genius. A bit about that tone: If you listen to Blue Wild Angel, as opposed to the Douglas-era IoW, you really hear what a strong, thick tone Jimi had that night. I'm tempted to say that it might very well be his best tone of any live show, at least to the extent that his tone at IoW was very modern by 1970 standards. It was forward-looking, and probably on accident. You don't get to hear this tone on the IoW Douglas release because its bathed in reverb. Now, the main problem with that tone is that there's always a feedback monster lurking beneath, and yeah, Jimi had to control that. Anyway, personally I'd rather hear IoW than say, Woodstock. Woodstock is quite a slog, there is a lot of crap playing (and yes moments of great brilliance), yet there's little excuse for Woodstock's failings. Frankly, I wonder if IoW gets the stink eye simply because of its period and the stories we've read. IoW isn't my favorite show, though. I'll get to the second half later. In the meantime, what are your fave shows then?
Almost impossible to say! Do we count complete if a show can be made complete from a number of sources. Do you mean complete songs or start/ between song / end chat? Excluding radio and TV performances but including the uncirculated ( therefore unconfirmed Hendrix involvement ) 12 may 65 show, we have approximately 145 live show recordings. This is not rehearsals or sets, simply based on venue per date. Berkeley would court as three otherwise, RAH 69 would go from 2 to 3 with the rehearsal. Some dates have 2 shows given there are 2 venues, for example 4 sept 67.
Hey, I've been to the IOW and been found sleeping in someone's garden! The owner was quite polite and assisted me to the road. I guess that's what you get if you're going to go to a beer festival at a pub and drink some ale called Skullsplitter.
I'm not the biggest Hendrix fan (as compared to other artists), but just last week I retrieved an old CDR I have from 1970-09-02 (Denmark). It's within eyesight to be listened to again soon. I wrote on it: "Jimi too faded" so this must be that show where he was beyond motor skills. I got into those last shows, not because they were last but because of the extended guitar workouts. I think I have a few from that September 1970 period (not including IOW). In general, my Hendrix listening really needs a swift kick in the ass. I lost my Monterey DVD and never caught up on the recent archive videos like Atlanta Pop.
This is one I need to revisit. It's been a while. I fondly remember the days of the Stages box, with Atlanta being my least favorite for the set. In fact, Stages would be a good set to cover in this thread, for both the excellent and the bad. Anything to get people listening to more Hendrix is a good thing. I certainly think the BBC stuff and TV shows should be included. After all, it's live, albeit in a controlled environment.
That's funny - Jimi's tone is what I don't like about Isle of Wight. Looks like he didn't like it either. Brittle, harsh. Shades of heavy metal, perhaps? WEM (Watkins Electric Music) supplied the audio; interesting story here: The Isle Of Wight Festival Sound |
Personally, i wouldn't say Monterey was his best recorded gig. At Monterey he was eager to impress, and it is impressive, but it's not as adventurous as some of the later gigs. IOW is a fascinating document and it includes some good moments, but i don't think any of the renditions are great.
The best show from that brief tour is K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen. There's a good, multi-source merge out there. I don't like the tone that the sound system produced at all. Like Jimi's playing, it sounds tired, rusty, lacklustre,... The whole gig sounds like he's going to cock it up at any moment (and he does so all the time). I feel so sorry for him that the thing was released.
I think Watchtower and Midnight Lightning are great. On the first he muffs the lyrics (as usual), but it's a strong performance with a sense of desperation to his vocals. ML is precious, as it's the only full live performance we have of the song. The guitar is a bit out of tune, but it always gets to me when Jimi screams: Feel like I got run over by public opinion and the past That sums up his state of mind at the concert, and also a big bother for him at that stage of his career.
Chuck in about 20 more. As I said, an almost impossible task given the initial brief! Some of the count are single song captured.
Berkeley was a great show, The Rainbow Bridge shows too but unfortunately the recordings are not not so good and are incomplete. Albert Hall is top notch, the video is good as well. When I listen to live shows I prefer to have it on video if possible.
That pretty much sums it up. It is a pretty shambolic performance, and while there are moments of impressive execution and inspiration, the concert is largely a mess. Considering it is a substandard show, I always found it very surprising that it was one of Experience Hendrix's first concert releases (the fact that it could be marketed and released both via CD and DVD likely played a large part in its release).
Definitely agree : Dolly Dagger.....very exciting live version....good playing from Mitch and Billy....maybe not so much Jimi but interesting nonetheless...
I have always been partial to 5 September 1967, Stockholm. My brother bought me my first bootleg when I was 13, and this was the show. (I think it had a couple '69 song performances tacked on -- it was called Pipe Dream, I think.) Anyway -- it's always been a favorite. Solid (if slightly reserved) performance. Great Sgt. Pepper opener -- lovely Wind Cries Mary, nice Midnight Lamp, etc. Good sound, too.
That was perhaps the first example of the double standards of Experience Hendrix. Eddie Kramer and John McDermott savaged the original Isle of Wight LP - which has the highlights - in their book . Then they a few years later released the whole concert, which they earlier felt was not good enough to compile a 35 minute LP from. Money talks.
You just beat me to it....Stockholm '67 was released on a bootleg outta nowhere around 1991 and it floored me....superb sound quality and amazing show....Sgt Pepper is incredible, as is I Don't Live Today.....it was released legitimately shortly thereafter on the Stages box set......and then disappeared. Monterey to me is his best gig......watch the video for the reason. My favorite shows lately are the Band Of Gypsys sets at the Fillmore....Buddy was a true talent and they made some great music together and the playing is SOLID.
Miami Pop for me. The official release sounds great and the performance IMO is the best official documented Experience show. Hendrix is inventive, excited and on fire. Talk From The Rock Room: The Jimi Hendrix Experience-'Might Even Give A Piece To You'-Miami Pop Festival 1968 Second choice for me would be the 12/31/1969 'Machine Gun' official release. Unofficial would be Baltimore 1970.
We got a few of the tracks back on the two box sets, but it's so short, it could've been stuck on the end of something else.
