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Jimi Hendrix - Live at Woodstock

Jimi Hendrix - Live at Woodstock

List Price: $19.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome
Review: This is an awesome video, although it lacks the songs being played in the original order as Hendrix did for his set at Woodstock. the guitar playing, the lyrics... all blend beautifully and this is my favorite Hendrix concert I have seen and watch it almost weekly.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice dvd to own if you like concert dvd's
Review: This is an excellent dvd, judged on it's own terms.

The only problem is, it is only around an hour and only contains about half of the songs that are included on the cd set of the same name... This dvd leaves off some of the best songs from the cd...

Having said that, it is worth it to actually see Hendrix play at Woodstock, and the sound is pretty damned good. There is just enough footage of the hippies and the festival itself to give a flavor of the event, but nothing to intrude on the music. If you want more of the flavor of the festival, rent the director's cut of "Woodstock". This dvd is nice because it doesn't have any documentary crap to interfere, it's just pure Jimi. Worth having.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gypsy Sun In The Garden
Review: This is certainly Jimi's most famous performance with the exception on Monterey in 1967. Again re-inventing himself he becomes the Gypsy Sun, psychedelic leader and captain of the rag-tag outfit of musicians known as the Rainbows. I've been to the concert site in Bethel several times and you can still feel the electricity Jimi and the other artists and 500,000 members of the Woodstock Nation created that famous weekend on Max Yasgur's farm 35 years ago. Although a lot of this concert is experimental jamming, Jimi absolutely goes into the stratosphere on the best version of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" I ever heard (or in this case heard AND saw!). Watching him take flight on the long solo is purely the sickest thing I ever heard. Nobody should be so gifted to make it look THAT EFFORTLESS! The blistering solo alone makes this trip to Yasgur's farm well worth the price of admission. Of course THE most famous moment of all is the bombastic rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," in which the Gypsy Sun made his very own. "Purple Haze," "Red House," "Izabella" and "Fire" are among the more well known numbers Gypsy Sun And Rainbows delivers to the remainder of the Woodstock Nation early that Monday morning. The only bad thing about the DVD is that it's not the complete set. However, it sure does deliver and never fails to take me "back to the Garden" and feel the real spirit of what it was like to wake up to the Gypsy Sun And Rainbows and take a soaring ride to rock n' roll's most famous event.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hendrix at his peak, Plus a great dental documentary
Review: This should be rated 10 stars for the music. Hendrix was never better. The band never tighter, and it is as exciting for me today as it was in 1969 when my brother and I made it into Yasgur's farm after working all weekend in Saratoga, to catch and stand in awe of this remarkable and prodigious artist. Jimi's guitar playing was incendiary and the film puts to bed the notion that he was some burned out hippie doing pyrotechnics instead of playing music. This is where Coltrane left off and the telepathy between Hendrix and Mitchell was extraordinary. They are reminiscent, or perhaps better, the extension of the trail blazed by Trane and Rashied Ali, and inspite of Buddy Miles firm grounding of the band in the blues, the point of the matter is that Mitchell and Hendrix were each other's colleagues in every respect of this extraordinary adventure, first as the Experience, and later as Rainbow whatevere it was Jimi was on about. "Twas all semantics there, the real dialogue took place in the music and you will see ample evidence of how tightly Hendrix, Mitchell and Cox were playing off each other. There are no real jams here, more improvisations on a theme, and Hendrix is twice the perceptive leader anyone, including Robert Fripp, could ever imagine being. He knows exactly whre he wants this to go and knows exactly where the edge of the ledge is so that he may freefall in perfect discipline and land on his feet. And his colleagues are hand in hand with him. Billy Cox established conclusively that he was the right bassist, and the rhytm guitarist and 2 percussionists filled out the rhythmic pallette Hendrix sought to create.

It's funny to watch the film, because the audience is a mix of those just too numb to figure their way out, people celebrating the joyous groove Jimi conjures, and those intent on every move he makes. It's a shame the camera man seemed so fascinated by Hendrix's dental work, although, I have to admit Jimi had beautiful teeth. But, you'd figure there might have been some interest in his actual guitar technique. More's the pity. SO, I'd rate the film 4 stars for the quality and 1 and 1/2 stars for missing the point that this was the greatest guitarist of the twentieth century playing with a conviction and drive like no one else before or after.

Nonetheless the sound is extraordinary, in fact, better than I remember it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a must for any hardcore fan
Review: This video fills in a huge gap in my collection. I'd seen the Woodstock movie and always wanted to see more of Jimi's performance. This release does not disappoint. The music is phenomenal, Jimi looks and sounds great. Not much of the usual naked hippies at the waterhole footage. 99.9% of the video is Jimi on stage.

My only (minor) complaints about this video is with the way it was editted and packaged. Contrary to what the Amazon description says, there are no liner notes included. In fact there is no real information other than the song list on the cover. This is especially disappointing since the audio CD of the same show includes a fantastic liner notes book (including shots of Jimi's hand written set list and words to a song about Woodstock). I found it a bit sad and confusing that the Hendrix estate would finally release movie footage that is obviously going to be consumed by hardcore Jimi fans and not bother to include any liner notes at all (again, especially since the audio CD has top rated notes). The audio CD liner notes provide some much needed background about the musician lineup (not the Experience, but a brand new first time in public line up - Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, the songs played, problems with the PA, problems faced when it came time to edit the tapes, etc..

Also disappointing was the fact that the DVD contains only 57 minutes from the original 140 minute set. The audio CD trims out two songs and some dead air to bring the set down to just under two hours. About 90 seconds of "Message to Love" are played over the opening titles and about 60 seconds of "Hear My Train Comin" are played over the closing credits. Several of the songs also appear out of sequence from the orignal set. I would have been willing to pay an additional $10 or $20 to have had the whole show intact.

That being said, I can't rave enough about the footage that is included. This was drawn from the original footage shot by Michael Wadliegh and company (of the Oscar winning Woodstock movie fame). Jimi played in the morning so it is shot in daylight and is vibrant with light and color. Jimi's playing is unbelievable and every guitarist will want to watch this for the great tight shots of his technique. Anyone who loves his music should find this to be a great historical document that is full of some great music (especially the jams: "Jam Back at the House", "Woodstock Improvisation", and "Villanova Junction").

Buy this and if you are a real fanatic, get the audio CD box set too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Best Hendrix Performance ever
Review: This video is 53 minutes of Hendrix. No ineruptions or interviews just all Hendrix. I would give it more but there is only 5 stars.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hendrix: Live in Woodstock captures Woodstock feel
Review: Well I just bought this DVD and not only is the audio/video quality very good considering the time and equipment used to capture this time, I find this DVD really showed me the true Hendrix as he was on stage.
The on-stage jams make you feel as if you were there.
I find this DVD does a great job of taking you back in time to
one of the most celebrated Rock moments, and the camera shots
are just stunning.
It's a short one, but priced appropriately.
This is a good buy, Hendrix fan or not....


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