Customer Reviews

Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While there is SOME sloppy playing on this CD, it is a concert after all, and conditions were pretty poor from a technical standpoint from what I hear. Is spite of this, this contains some truly inspiring improvisation from the king of improv. If you are familiar with H only from radioplay, you are in for a treat, as Hendrix's genius as a live perfomer really shines forth on these tracks. Truly sounds like two guitars. Credit should also go to the band, who are totally in synch with H's playing. You can hear how Hendrix is getting real jazzy in his phrasing. God, what could have been.... My favorite track: Hey Baby.

Any Hendrix is good Hendrix, but listening to this disc, I felt that something was wrong that night. Hendrix spends a good bit of time apologizing for the sound, which is usually an indication that there are technical as well as performance difficulties. The remastering is good, although I understand that the DVD is not properly in sync, i.e. lips move before song is sung. Spared that, and taken on its own merits, Hendrix seems to have a bit of an attitude at the beginning which resurfaces in the face of whatever frustrations he must have encountered.
Pity too, since this line up of Mitch MItchell and Billy Cox were the perfect trio partners for him. The playing is all very good, but this performance does not match WOODSTOCK or BAND OF GYPSIES, or his moments at MONTEREY, all of which are far more satisfying. It is a marked improvement over his appearance on Dick Cavett, which has to be one of the most absurd, surreal and bizarre moments in TV history.
Anyway, the songs here on the double CD do not follow the sequence of their performance as you hear Hendrix say goodnight midway through the first disc. Hmmm. Although, come to think of it, it seems like the life went out of these performances about that time. The run through of ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER, SGT PEPPER, and a few others are just that: run-throughs. Hendrix could not have been that pleased with this show, but it still has the obvious historic importance of being his last, so there is merit to it. The liner notes tell you that Hendrix knew the times ahd changed significantly, and perhaps the relevance of wht he was doing and where he was going musically was weighing heavily on him. We'll never know. For the moment, we have this as a puzzling farewell.

This show is great, Jimi plays some of the greatest licks and riffs ever played on a guitar. Freedom, Red House, Dolly Dagger, Foxy Lady, Message to Love, Easy Rider, and In From The Storm are the best tunes from the show. I highly recommend getting the 2-disc set of this show.

To any Hendrix fan, especially anyone who has seen the film of the same name, this CD will be a real treat. Now we know how cut and choppy the film was! There are even two songs here that the film completely cut out, including a beautiful (HEY BABY)New Rising Sun. The band, although performing at 2:30 AM plays exceptionally tight, and Jimi is in great form..having fun even though exhausted! Of course, you must also get the film..if for no other reason than to see Jimi perform RED HOUSE. I defy anyone to find a better version! Watch as he starts out the song very shakily, even cursing at himself..but then slowly begins to find his way and nails every note brilliantly as only Hendrix could play. Awesome. Get this CD and the DVD.

Although not the complete available compilation of this concert, this CD is a must for any serious Hendrix collector, or for someone considering getting into his music and your'e not sure you want to put out the money for the 2 disk set. I think this has the best of the concert on it.
Eddie Kramer does a magnificent job of removing the sound quality problems from the original Polydor recording.
To get the full affect of this concert you have to see the DVD!!
Although Hendrix is not at his sharpest (it's 3:30AM), and he knew he was'nt having the greatest night, it is clear that he was heading into a magnificent new dimension of his music. Nothing else he ever recorded sound anything like it... That's what makes this concert so special. It's too bad that we never got to hear and see more of just where he was going with it. However, Jimi still gives it his all making it one of my favorites, and will be yours too...

A long time ago, a friend gave me this performance on VHS as a gift. And I like it, although it does leave a little to be desired. Of course, the CD would have better sound, and a DVD would have superior quality. So this will just be about the show as presented in the older format.

Before getting started, on The Who's "Thirty Years Of Maximun R&B" video, Pete Townshend spoke of this performance with mixed feelings. He was proud of The Who's Isle Of Wight performance, but commented on the condition Hendrix was in at the time. He said that as he walked onto the stage, he remembers looking at Hendrix, and thanking God that he was healthy. And if you pay attention to how Hendrix is acting on the stage, you can see he wasn't doing very well.

The sound is ragged throughout, but any live performance from that time, especially from an outdoor performance, will be such. And when the show starts, personally, I think it's awful. The band slowly picks up momentum, and by the time they are playing "All Along The Watchtower," it seems to smooth out a little, even though he forgets lyrics several times during the middle of the show. Watch his face, he is doing the exhausted, puffy-cheeks exhale, staggering around a little, and seems to be somewhere else while doing the show. This is a fractured, tortured performance, but he seems to still keep it going, and considering all that was going on, this is commendable.

He does show brilliance several times here, like when he starts to let his "Red House" solo take off. But, as Townshend said, "He was in such tragically bad condition, physically...," not like the performance he did the previous May, at Berkeley College, and even though this was loud and sloppy as well, he had some energy there, that is missing here. And what's with the gum chewing? Gum is one of those things that should have never been invented, it's bad enough seeing a cow chewing the cud, but on a person, it is the most unflattering thing there is. LOSE THE GUM, JIMI! YOU TOO, BILLY!

But you have to wonder what was going through his mind at this show, the previous four years were complete chaos; the British Invasion, the Summer Of Love, the riots at the Chicago Democratic Convention, Vietnam, the black eye given rock festivals at the Altamont Speedway, the pressure on him to continue blazing new trails, the marathon use of drugs, and the obvious toll it took on him, physically. Given all this, it's surprising he didn't just keel over on the stage that night. And even though he was alive and conscious, you still could call this his "deathbed" performance. At the end, he seems to be relieved that he could go somewhere, and crash.

If he would've just slowed down a little, who knows where he'd be today?

As usual with any performer that flies by the seat of his pants when playing live (unlike most of today's acts which rehearse their sets and perform the same things in the same way night after night), Jimi is hot and cold. He's clearly frustrated with his playing and certain tunes are at times both brilliant and also a letdown at others. Machine Gun is one example. The beginning is probably the best rendition of this tune I've ever heard him play - even better than Band Of Gypsies. However, he gets frustrated, takes a break during a drum solo, and comes back playing it somewhat different and almost constipated. His tone, however, is just thick and moving.

If you're a Hendrix fan or not, any live recording of his is worth 5 stars. He's just so imaginary, experimental, full of soul and feel, and his sound is incredible. His hands move so freely on the guitar that it's just soul stirring. Definitely the greatest guitarist of all time...without peer.

In a symbolic way, closing a full circle that has began 4 years earlier in Britian, Hendrix made his fairwell concert from England in the best fashion possible. Accompanied by two old buddies from the early days and days of fame and glory at Woodstock festival a year earlier, Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox on bass, Jimi made the best out of it, playing some very fine tunes, paying tribute to the country where he first rose to worldwide stardom and fame, and where, for substantial period of time, he was part of the people of Britian who embraced and loved him as if he was one of their own. Starting off with a tribute to Great Britian with his idea of God Save The Queen as he did the previous year at Woodstock with the American Star Spangled Banner, Hendrix continued with another tribute to Great Britian, this time to the Beatles with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. At 2:00am in front of 600,000 music fans and stoned hippies, Hendrix held no prisoners as he crashed the small island's night silence with an absolutely blazing performance, giving everything he got, as if he could sense this would be his last British concert. his usual repertoire followed next, including Spanish Castle Magic, Dylan's All Along The Watchtower, Machine Gun, Lover Man, Freedom, Red House and many more. Without a doubt, the 1970 Isle of Wight concert is one of the best ever recorded. Great re-mastered sound and a great cd to treasure, an historic landmark in Hendrix's magical career.

I love the man but this is definitely NOT his best. By all accounts, he was exhausted when he finally took the stage, he was beset by technical problems throughout his extended set, but the real problem here is Mitch Mitchell - usually a fine and vibrant drummer, here he is simply awful and why Hendrix allowed him to do not one, not two, but THREE drum solos I'll never know. Still there are several highlights here, the blues of Midnight Lightening is haunting, and the band offers up excellent versions of Dolly Dagger, Spanish Castle Magic, and the masterful All Along the Watchtower which make this worth having in your live Hendrix collection - but not before the BBC Sessions and Live at the Fillmore.

Few live recordings (even Hendrix's) are great all the way through, but this is a strong, satisfying performance. As some reviewers have noted, "Red House" starts off weak, as though Jimi is distracted, but when he really kicks in it soars. I prefer this to most of the "Band of Gypsys" live stuff from the Fillmore. it's a wild, furious rock trio at its best.