Music
Store

But with this MCA release, you have to listen really hard in order to appreciate all the bnad's dynamics, such as what other musicians are doing and how they are relating to each other. Often times, Jimi will basically be playing a two-chord rhythm chug, which makes sense if someone else is soloing but otherwise sounds lousy. And Lo! Larry Lee is there in the background, almost totally edited out, and indistinguishable unless you are listening for it. Most of the percussion is waaaay in the background, apart from Mitch who is barely keeping time at more than one point and in his soloing sounds at the end of his rope.

The engineers also monkeyed around with the crowd noise a lot, which is irritating (the photos in the booklet are also blatantly manipulated). One reviewer below notes that most of the crowd had left, and if you listen closely you can easily hear the idiot editor almost randomly waving the volume knob on the canned crowd track. Pathetic. All in all a botched edit.

So I give it two stars for the crap production. The Experience Hendrix label has a 1999 two-disc release that I haven't listened to closely, but I suggest you favor that one and AVOID this MCA release. Not only that, the '99 release (called, "Live at Woodstock," this one is "Jimi Hendrix: Woodstock") actually has the tracks in order.


Jimi is spectacular, but this release is flawed.   July 19, 2002
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I'll keep it brief: every rock fan should hear this performance, as it is a virtuoso work. The big HOWEVER is that whoever re-mastered/re-mixed this performance PIPED IN MASSIVE CROWD NOISE DURING THE SONGS. It's total fakery; listen to Star Spangled Banner and you'll know what I mean. Jimi performed at Woodstock very early Monday morning. Most of the crowd had left and the few that remained were definitely vocal, but not to the levels that this CD portrays. I am replacing this with the new release and hope the same flaw is not there.


Classic live Hendrix, but.........   May 7, 1999
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

If you don't have this CD already, you should wait for the upcoming Experience Hendrix reissue. It will feature the complete Woodstock performance and will most likely be a 2-CD set like the wonderful BBC Sessions and Live at the Fillmore East.

This CD (or rather, the upcoming reissue) is a must-have for any Hendrix fan. It features one of his most famous and celebrated performances, the Star Spangled Banner. Hendrix also plays an old favorite or two (Fire, Purple Haze) and tries out some new material (Izabella, Beginnings) which would have showed up on his 4th studio album had he lived to complete it.

This is a monumental Jimi Hendrix performance and anyone who appreciates this great artist, or just loves great rock and roll, should have this performance.


One of Jimi's most famous performances   November 11, 2004
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is definitely not the best release of Hendrix's Woodstock live show, but this was the first of them. Anybody interested in Hendrix or virtuoso guitar playing in general must own this performance. Jimi left us very little of his studio works, and the main part of his impressive musical legacy is his numerous live performances. Here he plays his usual mix of popular hits, like "Fire" and "Purple Haze", some very emotional pieces, like "Red House" and "Villanova Junction", funky "Hear My Train A Comin'", one of his most famous pieces, "Star-Spangled Banner", and a live jam. As usual, live versions of songs differ much from their studio interpretations. I can't say that Jimi's or his supporting band's performance is absolutely flawless, but that's live show, and it is precious as it was played.

The "but" part of my review only concerns this release. As it's been stated in other reviews, it's been edited and altered somewhat, and there are better releases available now. My 5* rating only concerns the music, not the release.


Only part of the concert   April 12, 1999
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is not all of Jimi's Woodstock show (Experience Hendrix plans to reissue the entire set in the summer of '99) but that's not what's really missing on this release. In 1969 Hendrix was making a definite transition to a more "black power"-oriented music that would incorporate distinct elements of funk and R&B, not just the psychedelic blues-rock he had been playing since 1967. So at Woodstock he had the opportunity of debuting an expanded band that would illustrate this new direction towards polyrhythm. The band included hand percussionists and extra guitar. But this expanded sonic range was not mixed into the recording tape of the show, so essentially we are left with the Experience, what rock critics and fans wanted to hear. And I believe it's obvious listening to this recording. Jimi's guitar-work is choppier and less full than usual. Was this a mediocre performance in places or was he complementing instrumentalists who were mixed out of the performance, therefore leaving a blank space? I think the latter option is correct. That still leaves some great performances here, but the overall recording suffers from the neglect of the original on-site engineer.