Hendrix in the West [Import]

Jimi Hendrix | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2011)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony Legacy
• ASIN: B0055IU3WW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,341 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Queen

2. Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band

3. Little Wing

4. Fire

5. I Don t Live Today

6. Spanish Castle Magic

7. Red House

8. Johnny B. Goode

9. Lover Man

10. Blue Suede Shoes

11. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

Editorial Reviews

Consisting of live material recorded at venues ranging from the Berkeley Community Theatre and the San Diego Sports Arena to the Isle of Wight Festival, Hendrix In The West captures the guitarist exploring new directions in sound during 1969-70. Robert Christgau, the Dean of American Rock Critics, called Hendrix's versions of "Red House" and, "Johnny B. Goode" on this album "definitive." Out of print in the US since 1974 and for more than two decades internationally, Hendrix In TheWest, has remained one of the most requested albums by fans to return to the commercial marketplace.

Hendrix In The West will be reissued as an expanded single disc featuring five additional, previously unavailable performances. The album's iconic cover features a classic Jim Marshall photograph of the guitarist and the twenty-four page book is filled with rare and previously unseen images captured by Marshall s distinctive lens.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good bet for a single live Hendrix CD September 13, 2011

By jlabel

Format:Audio CD

Amazon's price of $9.00 is very low considering the quality of the performances on this disk, newly mastered and finally released today on CD for the first time in the States. Originally released in 1972, In The West was the first Hendrix live album to showcase his work with both versions of the Experience as opposed to the Band of Gypsys. Back then, Eddie Kramer was given the daunting task of quickly recreating a Hendrix concert from a great variety of source material. The result was uneven, but some of the performances remain among the greatest examples of his amazing live work 40 years later ( Red House and Johnny B. Goode). With a single CD running nearly twice as long as a single LP, Kramer finally has achieved his goal with this remake, by filling the extra space with more great material, including Hendrix's best version of I Don't Live Today and a steller Spanish Castle Magic.

Other than the nice packaging job, great sound and low price there are two other notable changes from the original package. First is the exclusion of two first-rate performances culled from the 69-02-24 Albert Hall-London show. These songs, Little Wing and Voodoo Child: Slight Return, are probably the best versions ever recorded. They were incorrectly listed on the album cover as being from San Diego 69-5-31. These were replaced on the new release by the lesser quality but still excellent Winterland and San Diego versions. This makes perfect sense when you consider that the superior Albert Hall show has been in the works at Experience Hendrix for some time, and I expect due to the fact that it may ultimately be released in combination with a film, (like what was done with the 70-08-30 Isle Of Wight concert) I expect we will have to wait at least another year for that one.

The second main difference is the inclusion of several outstanding extra tracks from the San Diego 69-5-31 show, formerly released in the late 80's as part of the Stages live box. Indeed, San Diego was the highlight of this four CD set, the other 3 full concerts marred by poor sound or lackluster performance. Putting so many of these San Diego songs together on In the West may tell us that Experience Hendrix may have decided not to release San Diego 69-5-31 on its own any time soon. I am happy to have these newer versions even though they are edited in places. Finally releasing "In The West" on CD was a no-brainer considering the demand for live Hendrix, especially from younger fans who haven't heard much of the really great stuff beyond Monterey, Woodstock, Fillmore East and the sub-par Isle of Wight.

Today also marks the release of a 4-5 CD box of 3 nights at Winterland in 1968, a great gift to folks like me who have snatched up every Hendrix album over the years, including the stuff that never should have seen the light of day. For the non-hard core fans, the new version of Hendrix: In The West is a great way to expand your collection beyond the essential studio albums.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars At some point, we're going to run out of Hendrix tapes September 14, 2011

By o dubhthaigh VINE™ VOICE

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

.. but until such time, YIHAAAA! This guy could play. He wasn't just the best ever, he still is. It's like Trane or Miles. One might carp about this point or that, but you simply can not deny that such artists changed everything. The entire landscape. Hendrix's aura may have been romantically enhanced by dying young (and stupidly) but cast that aside and look at his work. Only Trane measures up in the way the man took a tradition, enhanced it in its own metre, and then took the entire trajectory elsewhere. It was in his finger work - the man had extraordinary hands, like Rachmaninoff - and it was in his intellectual commitiment and passionate devotion to his craft, to Music itself. A number of the tracks here I've had on Experience Hendrix Live releases, but they all sound better. There is more definition here, and as an assembly they give you a cross section of Hendrix's humour as well as his power. No doubt he must have been a charmer off stage. The genuine sincerity comes through in the music and that's not something you simply effect. A lot of what is on offer here is Jimi working in the lab - only it's live, with no safety net, no blowout wall. The results are astounding and inspiring. Coltrane's 4 disc Live in Japan, or his 2 stints at the Village Vanguard are the only comparisons that come to mind. If you are a fan of Jimi I'm preaching to the choir. If you're wondering what the fuss was all about - here you go. These efforts do underscore what a dirty rotten crime it was that he died at 27. But let's be honest, we should be grateful for what he offered all of us, and we can only stand in awe of where he might have gone with us, just like Coltrane.

39 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hendrix in the West - great album, ...but pricey January 10, 2009

By if6were9

Format:Audio CD

Unlike the other reviewer, I do not have every single Hendrix recording ever made ...but I have A LOT ... and this is one of the very best. Despite his low rating he agrees that the music on this CD is great. "In The West" is a collection of live performances originally released on vinyl not long after Hendrix's death. Because it was early, it contains some of Hendrix's very best live music. Most, if not all, of this material is now available on other concert CDs - so it a sort of a "best of" Hendrix live CD. Many hard core collectors will balk at paying such a high price for material they already have. Not me.

I remembered the original LP fondly and was happy to pay nearly $39 to get it again on CD. Others may think that too much to pay for 8 songs no matter how good they are, which I can understand. If you want a bargain, buy "Stages" (still available for about $60) which gives you 4 concerts from 4 years on 4 CDs (I highly recommend "Stages" too). But if you prefer a tighter set of great live Hendrix songs, this is it. In my opinion "In the West" is the best Hendrix live album. It is more upbeat, more fun, and rocks harder than "Band Of Gypsys". I love it.