Jimi Hendrix - The Jimi Hendrix Experience Live At Monterey: The Definitive Edition

The alien has landed

Half Hendrix performance, half re-hashed story of the world’s first rock and pop festival, this edition of Hendrix’s US “outing” comes bookended by the well-known tale of how Chas Chandler found him, brought him to the UK, then sent him back to the US to break everyone’s minds, as told through vintage interview footage seen before; the after-show recollections of the likes of Michelle Phillips are tacked on at the end – as if what you’ve just seen needs explaining. None of this diminishes the power of Hendrix’s performance. He dwarfs his guitar and the stage with more presence, confidence and showmanship than anyone who’s making (for all intents and purposes) their debut US gig could ever be expected to have. In front of a festival crowd, too. In one fell swoop he takes blues-rock as far as it can go, proving all other pretenders turgid fret-wankers, hands Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone back to him a mangled mess and gives Prince his entire Purple Rain-era look. After 40 minutes, all labels are out of the window, and Hendrix just embodies music. You could watch this for decades, and guitarists still won’t have caught up with him.

Experience Hendrix/Geffen | 1745517

Reviewed by Jason Draper
<< Back to Issue 344