Of course today, September 16th, marks the 49th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix's last live performance. You know, Hendrix sat in with Eric Burdon & War at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London, England, 1970. Two days later...well, yeah. Jimi's playing is actually pretty choice here. It's not his last concert. That happened on the 6th, but as far as his last recorded notes...? Yes.
I believe it was "exclusive" to the CD set that Amazon sold. I didn't even know any of the LP versions came with the bonus CD. Experience Hendrix has a habit of offering exclusives, usually numbered, in one place and making them widely available (unnumbered) later.
huh. Sites says its 11 GBP. That actually makes sense as perhaps Amazon does have an exclusive on having the Feb 68 CD available with the CD boxset. That way they technically can advertise the CD box as exclusive for the Feb CD. Meanwhile all the Vinyl boxsets had the CD too but the standard CD boxsets did not and Amazon just doesn't mention that about the vinyl boxsets..... I also remember reading somewhere else about other's vinyl boxsets having the CD as well.
January 21st, 1969, Strasbourg, France, Wakenhalle This one is probably the best show of the Euro '69 tour, by far...only too bad we don't have this show, so just kidding. Instead, we'll replace it with its 1968 counterpart, also in January... January 29th, 1968, Paris, France, "Musicorama", Olympia Look, I'll make it up to you. Here's a photo I snapped of Jimi's passport, right on the date of Jan. 29, 1968. This gave him the permission to work until the 31st, but I think he just partied until he headed back to the USA on Feb 1st. You know what everybody says, it's one of the best, because it is one of the best, one showing very much where the band was headed (or at least one of the more consistent). I don't even know anymore what year was their height. All of these shows in a row gives a unique perspective of the composite, by examining the wheels and gears. Anyway, the source is the Stages boxset, the EH release, Live 1968 Paris/Ottawa, and I think a 2nd gen source. This is the 2nd set of the night. If the 1st exists (and it might, right?), we don't have that at the moment. But this one...yeah, it is a rocking show from beginning to end...and it's not just the excellent SQ. "Killing Floor" - Probably the greatest version of this song captured on tape. Or not? It has that one section where things go south, from 3:11 to 3:18. But whatever, it doesn't distract from the rest of the song. The rest of it is perfect! Almost inhuman. 4:27 "Catfish Blues" - And right into it. The verse comes early and concise. Very much that BBC vibe. It also has that psychedelic vibe that epitomizes the mid-60s scene on both sides of the Atlantic. I mean, that first solo from 2:11 to 2:55 was blues of the highest class and order, yet it had enough kink in it to make it manic. Excellent. Jimi comes back into the third verse, with fantastic vocals, slowly tailing off at the end for a Mitchell solo. What a fine solo it is, too! Mitch shows us exactly why he was picked for the group and what he was like in top form. Here he sounds like one of the greats that many want to place him in. But look out, when Jimi comes back in at 5:55 its like lava pouring from the sky! The crowd goes wild at the whammy and wah work, so much that Jimi gives the crowd a "thank you" with the the guitar, right in the middle of the blues, without missing a beat. Indeed, the wah work that follows is even priceless. When they do that hippie swing, Jimi simply ignites! It's just beautiful stuff from beginning to end. It would almost make one want to weep. 8:43 <some of the best raps by Hendrix and crowd on any recording> "Foxey Lady" - Hendrix really stirs that guitar around before coming into full blown feedback. The crowd goes nuts! The band hits at the perfect time. If anything keeps this take out of the running, it's because Jimi didn't do as many fills in the verses as he would later do. Otherwise, it's as heavy and tight as you would want a take to be. And then with Jimi laughing aloud, evidently pointing the crowd...or some sort of tongue gesture. Anyway, I lied, it may be a top version all things considered. 5:47 <Noel's got a guitar for "Red House." Why didn't Noel just play the damn bass! No, I mean, that's super cool.) "Red House" - But hey whatever, it works. It works very well. Here, let's hear that again. Just what I thought: traditional...which means that it also could have been the take for the studio version. Holy **** at 2:05 to 2:12, right? Unbelievable! Good god, and he's even able to weave some feedback into that last verse. The bomb! All-in-all, it can't compete with the best of the long jam workouts; nevertheless, a great take is a great take. 4:36 "Drivin' South" - Swamp style. Driving to Louisiana. He's killing it with those arpeggios. I mean, they are playing it slower than it probably should be, but the band knows they're in such a groove as evident 2:02 to 2:09...but screw that part, because every lick he plays is with a master's touch. Like this other part: 2:25 to 2:37. Seamless! Even when Jimi wants the band to change, he doesn't drop his grip. Instead he creates a new riff. It's a 3:27 where the real magic begins to happen as the band changes on a dime and switches another gear. 4:01 brings a part so sublime it's difficult to define how keen it was. In such a long version there's even enough time for a small freak out section. Deftly controlled. Hey, and why not add a "string-popping" section - in fact, a duel between Jimi's percussive guitar and Mitch's beats. What is that from 7:09 to 7:11? Good god! As a guitar player I have no idea why he just did. Finally Jimi whips the band into a lather before they come to a close. Magnificent! The greatest live version ever. 9:05 <what a little jam in between songs!> "The Wind Cries Mary" - Softly go the waves and flutter of sweet notes as it all fades into vocals both soft and sincere. Hendrix handles the solo perhaps too strongly, or then again, the contrast is brilliant when Jimi tones it down once more, ebbing again into a verse. Quite a take of dynamics. It's the whole band really, they are able to really play with texture here. It may not be the best, but it should at least be in the running. A very good part of the show. 4:07 "Fire" - No, the band isn't anywhere close to being tired of playing this song. It's a by-the-books take, but not to its detriment. Confident and strong...where Jimi chuckles into the mic. Noel even does a "rock star" type yelp. Meanwhile, our hero keeps going about his business of being a bad ass. 4:00 <Mitch broke a snare head...and I believe Noel asked Jimi to play "You've Got Me Floating" (or maybe it was an audience member), but anyway, Jimi says that he forgot the words)> "Little Wing" - It's too bad Jimi is out of tune. Still, the sentiment of the song grabs you. Jimi pays care to stay away from the bum string, making a good take of it. The only tiny hicky on this evening's entire set, yet beautiful work. 4:04 "Purple Haze" - Love the whammy intro! Jimi freaks! And what's amazing is that Jimi's almost in tune! The result is Hendrix tuning on the fly, making for some sloppy goodness. So, it's loose, but there is nothing loose about Jimi in charge. All of those little solos are freakish, like this take, eventually going out of tune everywhere, like the band going down the drain in a purple stain of gelatin. Fake Paris lights, nothing is brighter than Jimi this night, playing with the heat of a million suns. 5:59 After all, like a celestial body, many light year away, Jimi passed 49 years ago, today, but we wouldn't know it, because to our eyes see that the star is still there; we're seeing what it looked like many, many years ago. Here's one of the many pictures I took at Jimi's grave. Note the kisses that women plant on Jimi's image. A beautiful man. Want to see some more photos? Other Hendrix Show Reviews: Official Hendrix Live Releases by @alchemy 2019-07-04 Isle of Wight Pt. I 08-30-1970 Isle of Wight Pt. II 08-30-1970 Monterey Pop Festival 06-18-1967 Winterland 10-10-1968 Winterland 10-11-1968 Winterland 10-12-1968 Winterland 10-12-1968 (Jimi Bat) Hollywood Bowl 09-14-1968 Vancouver 09-07-1968 Berlin 09-04-1970 (DTK) Royal Albert Hall 02-18-1969 Royal Albert Hall 02-24-1969 Flamingo Club 02-04-1967 Berlin 09-04-1970 Berlin 01-23-1969 Miami Pop 05-18-1968 (Former Lee Warmer) Fillmore East 05-10-1968 Madison Square Garden 01-28-1970 Denver Pop Festival 06-29-1969 Newport Pop Festival 06-20 & 22-1969 Stockholm 01-08-1968 Rome 05-25-1968 Bologna 05-26-1968 Zurich 05-30-1968 Zurich 05-31-1968 ”Miami Pop 05-18-1968 Gothenburg 01-08-1969 Gothenburg 09-01-1970 Stockholm 01-09-1969 Stockholm 05-24-1967 Stockholm 09-04-1967 Stockholm 09-05-1967 Stockholm 08-31-1970 Copenhagen 01-10-1969 Copenhagen 01-07-1968 Hamburg 01-11-1969 Cologne 01-13-1969 Munster 01-14-1969 Nuremberg 01-16-1969 Frankfurt 01-17-1969 Stuttgart 01-19-1969
Love the set list on this show. More variety than we usually get from shows of this period and its mostly blues.
I somewhat purposely didn't listen to Jimi today (yesterday since it is after midnight). His death is still one of the most what if? moments to happen in Rock music. Such a sad occasion that doesnt seem like something that should he "celebrated." I have also been avoiding his Woodstock performance for some reason. I can't even remember the last time I played it. I wanted to listen to it for the 50th Anniversary and skipped over that and have been enjoying the other performers. I will get to it one day and let my feelings known in this thread.
Yea, I'm more of a celebrate the birthday type guy myself. But without planning to I found myself listening to selected cuts from the RAH sound check via Rattlesnake anyway. I keep forgetting how much fun that sound check is.
I once had a splattered vinyl copy of that material with brief interviews between tracks, can't recall the source/s?
I did listen to it on Aug 19th, it has its rough patches (the middle part of the set is notably loose) but it's a lot better than its reputation.
No celebrating his death date here. It's more ~In Memoriam~ However, I think that after a certain amount of time - in this case almost 50 years - the dates like birthdays, date of death, certain performance dates, all become markers as a celebration of life. For most Hendrix fans, old or young, I think that time heals. But speaking of time, I wasn't born until 3 years after Jimi died, so what do I know? Nothing. I wasn't around for the shock and/or pain of it. It was weird, because when I went to visit Jimi's grave it was both a somber affair, as well as a celebration, as Jimi's words rang through my mind. I've been quoting this every since I read it, because it really hits home: "People still mourn when people die. That’s self-sympathy. All human beings are selfish to a certain extent, and that’s why people get so sad when someone dies. They haven’t finished using him. The person who is dead ain’t crying." Or, even less weighty, "It's funny the way most people love the dead. Once you are dead, you are made for life." The guy spoke a lot about death. If anyone had reconciled himself to it, at such a young age, it was Jimi Hendrix. It's my belief that he was ready to go whenever the time came. The moment arrived and he smoothed on out. Here's a few more at his gravesite, where at least his DNA resides. It's cool because a bunch of his relatives are buried around him. Yeah, I don't smoke much...but I was smoking, you know, "smoke," smoke...because that's what Jimi would have wanted. The entrance to the Jimi Hendrix park in Seattle. From my understanding it's close to where Jimi once attended school. My 13-year old daughter playing the piano in the Jimi Hendrix Park. The piano was surprisingly close to being in tune! I ended up playing some very rusty "Crosstown Traffic." It was fun. I think my daughter was playing the theme song to the TV show WestWorld. Heh. So, right, I'll be sharing some more photos, but more in the context of live Jimi Hendrix...along with some drawings that Jimi did of Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck.
None known. Was a rumor about Maui 1970 a couple of years ago, but nothing. Janie's probably to busy negotiating another deal, maybe Sony is out.
In the pipeline, yes. When it'll be released...that's the question. Maui has been supposedly ready for a number of years and speculated that maybe this'll be the year it'll finally come out. No word on that as of yet and it's getting near to the end of the year. RAH was also in preparation but the 50 year legal wrangling is still going on... Edit-What he said (without the Janie comments, I'll leave that to him )
We're due for an end of year release from EH. I would hope it's a live show (but I would take a studio release, too). Say, what's the consensus about those setlists in McDermott's Ultimate Hendrix book (now really out of date)? If it had a setlist, and doesn't circulate, is it assumed that the show exists in EH's archive, or are these just known set lists from what somebody wrote down...or a mix of both? For instance, in the book there is a set list from the first Paris show of 01-29-1968. There's also setlists from the Strasbourg '69 show, but I don't see that it's ever circulated. The book goes on and on like that. I missed a lot of years of reading the Hendrix zines, so I'm not sure what's been discussed. As posted way earlier in the thread, this is a good look at what circulates. I haven't found anything false in it, nor incomplete. Jimi Hendrix Website #6743 - Recordings live 1968
I'd say it's a safe bet EH has it in those cases. I (and others) spent quite a bit of time combing through that book looking for tidbits like that to see if there was info on things that had not circulated or were unknown previously to collectors. When they got to see all of the Good and Goldstein 1969 footage, it included black and while film (and sound) of some of the January European tour. I suspect this is where they got the Strausborg info at least. The Paris info could've come from a newspaper article that popped up later, who knows?
EH most definitely has at least some film of Strausborg, Vienna (x2),Berlin, RAH 2/18 and 2/24 along with an after hours jam at the Speakeasy after the 2/24/269 RAH gig. How much is unknown. I remember seeing in one of the legal documents concerning RAH the number of reels filmed from these shows and RAH was significant.
No known shows recorded from the summer of 1967 outside of Monterrey Pop. I can't complain because we have tons of Hendrix shows from his era, but I'm greedy. There was a thread on CTT that asked what was your dream Hendrix show to have. Most people stated SBD shows of audience tapes that we already have. But what would be your wishlist of shows, that to the best of our knowledge, were never recorded at all? At the top of my list would be any show from the Fillmore stand, June 20th-25th, 1967, right after the Monterrey Pop festival. Hendrix was flying high after coming back to The States. I could only imagine that he was on fire during these stretch of shows. Second, a complete show in Honolulu, August 1st, 1970. What little we have sounds amazing, if you can get passed the SQ. Having the whole show, even with dodgy SQ would be very cool. April 5th, 1968, Newark, New Jersey - Whether it's mere legend or not, to hear the show right after MLK was killed. Supposedly Jimi was off the chain, leaving the audience in tears. There are a few others I could mention, but how about your thoughts? @Purple Jim @kees1954
