Jimi Hendrix

source: Jimi Hendrix

This rock documentary was released almost three years after his death. It contains footage of several of his performances including Monterey and Woodstock. It contains testimonies from many of his fellow contemporary rock icons as well as personal family and friends. There is great energy from his concert footage. His guitar playing is beyond. The most iconic is certainly his national anthem in Woodstock. As for the testimonies, the most compelling is his military mate for me. His difference with that part of his history is interesting. The family and friends don't really add that much other than a bit about his decline. It's interesting to see who his people are but they aren't dishing much more than music and drugs. The famous people are interesting for being famous. All in all, this is a good obituary for the music legend.

It's a pretty simple set up, concert footage, then interviews. But as a look at Hendrix from the ear, it's great. Loads more could be said now, but for what it is, it's fine.

The Strength of this Documentary is that it was Made Only a Few Years After Jimi Passed On. But of course, the Filmed Performances, Mostly Shown in Near Entirety, are a Goldmine for Newbies and a Welcome Flashback for Die-Hard Fans. Many Headliners and Friends are Interviewed and Offer then Recent Recollections of Their Initial Introduction to Hendrix's Guitar Playing and Style and the Word is "Blew my mind." Nothing Like it Before, and as Pete Townsend of "The Who" says..."Jimi made the guitar an instrument". Seems Simplistic and Obvious but Before Hendrix the Guitar was Mostly an Ensemble Part with an Occasional "Lead" Spotlight. But, Jimi Hendrix Made it THE Spotlight, THE Instrument, THE Focus, Taking it to Unexplored Heights and Boldly Went Where No Guitarist had Gone Before. This is a Near Perfect Introduction and Reflection to a Humble, Insecure, Musical Genius, that was and is a Sign Post to that "Twilight Zone" Counter Culture Explosion of the Late Sixties. A Must Have Visual and Audio Timecapsule for Anyone Interested in Rock, Heavy Metal, Pop, Blues, Soul, and Psychedelic Music (Acid Rock). An Incredibly Insightful and Delightful Look at a Time and Place, and a Musician and Man, that will Never be Forgotten.

Jimi Hendrix (1973) *** (out of 4) This documentary was made and released three years after the death of Jimi Hendrix and it really shows what a masterful talent he was. When viewing this today people might not get its full impact because it features clips from various concerts that have since been released complete and on their own. With that said, it's important to remember that for a time this here was the only way to see much of this footage. Eric Clapton, Paul Caruso, Billy Cox, Pete Townsend, Mick Jagger, Little Richard and Lou Reed are just some of the people who talk about who Hendrix was and what he was able to do with his guitar. Through the interviews you really get a great sense of what other artists thought of his talent and it's interesting hearing them talk so shortly after his death. Many of the stories are very entertaining and especially the reactions from them in regards to the first time they saw Hendrix and his talent. We also get an interview with Hendrix's own father who discusses his sons early days and how he got to playing guitar to begin with. Overall this is a very entertaining documentary that tells you some good stories about the legend but the majority of the running time come from various concert and television performances. No matter how many times you watch him perform you really can't believe that he was actually human and pulling off all of this music. Fans of Hendrix will probably own many of these shows in a complete form but this documentary is still very good for those unfamiliar with the work of Hendrix or those who just want to kick back and enjoy the music.

The channel surfing gods must have been watching over me last night, as I came across this documentary on VH1 Classics under their 'RockDocs' format. As I tuned in, Hendrix was into his amazing "Wild Thing" version from 1967's Monterey Pop Festival and it had me hooked for the entire run. Jimi Hendrix was always a favorite of mine back in the Sixties, and when he died in 1970, I became fixated on his 'Electric Ladyland' album, seeming to find comfort in the ethereal strains of 'Moon, Turn The Tides...Gently, Gently', as if he were floating away to a far off better place. Besides the awesome live footage, the blast in watching this biopic has to be seeing rock gods speaking in reverenced tones of the guitar master. Were Mick Jagger, Lou Reed, Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton and Little Richard ever really that young? It was revealing to hear Townshend describe how he and Clapton talked about Hendrix and his music, and how they 'decided' that they liked him - as if it had to be a conscious choice. Other revealing insights came from some of the women in Hendrix' life who I didn't know about at the time, like Fayne Pridgon and Pat Hartley. Even feminist Germaine Greer got into the act, with observations on how his music impacted male audiences of the era. An interesting element that worked for the documentary was interspersing scenes of live music and interviews with televised segments from a Dick Cavett TV appearance, where Hendrix' low key manner seemed to belie his vulnerability. I never realized how insecure he felt about himself, and how malleable he was to the pressures of agents and hangers on, eventually leading to his tragic end. One of the Allen Brothers had an interesting twist on Hendrix' passing, stating that the singer might have been experiencing an alpha state in which he consciously decided to experience death, resulting in an 'alpha jerk'. A curious aside to the Dick Cavett appearance - sitting next to Hendrix on the guest couch was Robert Young. I wonder if Hendrix ever watched "Father Knows Best"? Above all though, it's the man and the music that make this rockumentary special. My personal favorites - "Wild Thing" and the amazing Dylan tribute "Like a Rolling Stone". Of course the Woodstock "Star Spangled Banner" version is on display in it's entirety, as are all of the song performances presented, making this picture a unique tribute to the rock legend. Had he lived, Hendrix would be sixty years old today, and oh, what music might have been.

... a nice sentiment about Hendrix. http://cchronicle.com/2010/07/jimi-hendrix-was-not-god Jimi closes his eyes with raised eyebrows that arch with heaven and steeples. His left arm reaching for breath and guidance from the angel; a purpled wing. My eyes now close with the aromas of someplace, of exploration and eruptions. From sleepy dreams and wisps of smoke that curl my hands, Purple Haze finds its way back. A piece of life in my corner of memories and favorites; my mantra of home to my heart. By the time of his Band of Gypsys, the sound that exhaled my Star Spangled Banner disappeared. Anthem maker and Bold as Love warrior, Jimi slipped under. He died September 18, 1970 from massive amounts of wine, vomit and suspicion. James Marshall Hendrix lay in London deceased and I accepted another, just like the ones before and the ones in line... and so on.

Jimi Hendrix chronicles the story of the man, the myth, the legend, the left-handed dude with a love of the blues and Bob Dylan, and who took rock and roll almost to another planet (just listen to some of the tracks off Electric Ladyland and see how he goes into music like the equivalent of a crazy science fiction writer). He was also, as described by Eric Clapton, "guillible", and susceptible to the leeches that lay around him that, by way of the drugs, led to his very sudden downfall. Had he lived there's no doubt he could have had an output that for his genre would be the equivalent of one of those great 18th century European composers or even 20th century Jazzmen. There's been so much written about him that he's been elevated to the status he's at today, so it's a welcome thing to see this documentary so soon after his death. Welcome, though also one can see the pain in some of the interviewees under the surface. Many on screen, his fellow ex-band-mates like Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell, and some of his own family and close friends, still have the memory of Jimi fresh in their minds, and so their recollections, both loving and even critical, comes at a time when there's still a lot to ponder. Through this and various concert clips (some well known like Woodstock and Monterey Pop clips, some more obscure like Band of Gypsies and Isle of Wight), and a superb interview conducted by Dick Cavett, portray Hendrix as a smart guy who could play a guitar like, as Townsend describes, "an instrument." In truth- and even for those who may just admire him as opposed to outright love and cherish his music- he was reaching into territory that was far surpassing anything done in the late 60s. He had the basics down for the best in blues (maybe my favorite scene in the film, maybe exclusive just to this documentary, has him in a white room playing a 'Train' type of blues song that is so invigorating to see what he comes up with, begging the cameras to keep rolling). He also was a kind of wild man about his imagination, and so didn't hold back with an audience. He appealed to white and black, rock and blues, soul and (as might be the case years later) heavy metal, and without ever making himself into a commodity - that was done after he was dead and buried. What A Film About Jimi Hendrix portrays is a confident man, at peace with himself, but as is described by those around him someone who had such extraordinary things about him that his few flaws made his undoing. And it is a near perfect treat for die-hard fans.

A recent visit to the UK allowed me to get lost among the shelves and stands of VHS, DVD and CD in a large HMV shop; however, my bank account did not allow me to get too, too lost, and after several hours I managed to emerge into the warm sunlight of high summer clutching a few bargains, among which were the irreplaceable Dame Edith Evans in her 1952 version of `The Importance of Being Ernest', some pieces I had not had by Jacqueline du Pré on CD, William Golding's classic `The Lord of the Flies' in a 1963 film version, and this British version of Jimi Hendrix, the man and his music. This 98 minute documentary is not really biographical in the normal sense, but rather a look at the musician in his concerts in the last few years leading up to his death, together with spoken contributions by people in the music industry and others close to him, as well as his own comments with archive footage from a TV interview carried out in the USA. Including live footage from concerts at Monterey and the Marquee Club (1967), Fillmore East and Woodstock (1969), and Berkeley and the Isle of Wight (1970), the documentary includes testimonies from such well-known musicians as Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, and even Little Richard, as well as by his fellow-musicians Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) and Billy Cox and Buddy Miles (Band of Gypsys), with spoken participations from Fayne Pridgon and erstwhile feminist Germaine Greer. The programme is rather marred by some shoddy editing, unfortunately, and at times the filming seems to give you the feeling that the cameraman was even more stoned than Hendrix himself. However, the end result is a satisfying run through some of his better-known material and lends insight to what made the man and the musician tick. Jimi Hendrix was a rather shy person, basically, and indeed was so pressed by the urgency of everyone in the music business around him that in the end he just could not handle the situation. A trusting man, naïve even, he was rather easily cajoled and misled into being something he might otherwise have avoided being. A similar situation led to the end of Janis Joplin, just a year later. However, on stage, Jimi Hendrix and his Stratocaster became fused into one electrifying element that shattered all notions on what a guitar could and could not do, and thus laid the stage for those who would follow – Clapton and Jagger – and influencing other rock bands of the time, perhaps Big Brother and the Holding Company being one of the most obvious examples. The post-Beatles era left an empty space searching for a new direction to take, and Jimi Hendrix was the man to do it; this ultimately led to such groups as The Who, The Cream, The Nice, Pink Floyd, and what was to become known as `New Age'. Live performance tracks included on this tape are: Purple Haze (two different performances), Hear my train a-comin', Rock me baby, Hey Joe, Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan), his hugely famous Star-Spangled Banner, Machine Gun (two different performances), Johnny B. Goode, In from the storm, and Red House.

I'm not even a Hendrix fan. I'm probably a cloth-eared nincompoop but his records always sounded like jam-session guitar paired up with atonal screeching. But when a musical documentary cold opens with Pete Townshend, I'm hooked. What follows are interviews with Hendrix himself, other musicians, a roadie or two, a former girlfriend, various hangers-on, and countless others. This is the 70s so most of them are higher than a kite, of course. We also get some tender reminiscing from his dad. Hendrix was basically a mild-mannered busker with other-worldly guitar-playing talent and a sharp sense of giving the audience a show. The concert footage captures just how dynamic a performer he was. Even as a non-fan I always enjoy this documentary. What a waste to have lost him so soon.