Customer Reviews

Jimi Hendrix: Live At Berkeley

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

On May 30 of 1970, Jimi, Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox played two shows at the Berkeley Theater. This disc consists of the songs played at the second show. Parts of both shows have been available as a bootlegs for many years, some of them relatively low quality affairs, others reasonably good soundboard boots. Both shows had some excellent playing and perhaps the best known song from these performances is that of "Hear My Train a Comin'" from the first show.

Many collectors have questioned why Experience Hendrix has chosen to only release the second show, but I'll just express my gratitude that the second show has finally seen the light of day as a commercial release. We can for now only sit back and hope for the first show and maybe the soundcheck to be released as soon as possible. But for now, let's consider what we have here in this release of the second show...

Altogether, this disc clocks in at 67 minutes and change, with eleven tunes, all of them well known to Hendrix afecianados. They are presented here in the best sound yet - a significant step up from the best boots. To clarify further, the sound is actually very good given its era, with decent stereo separation, dynamics and clarity, and very good dynamic contrasts. Jimi's guitar is placed in the center, and if there is any gripe about the sound it might be that Billy's bass is down in the mix too far.

Sandwiched around the tune up, Jimi gives the little bit of intro that speaks volumes to me. '70 was not just a dark year in America's history due to unrest over Viet Nam and civil rights, but also a difficult year for Jimi. This was due to legal issues and conflicts with his management, all multiplied by his need to do new things and move on against the resistance that tried to keep him churning out the acid rock hits. But Jimi had moved beyond those days as is shown in the song selections and delivery at the Berkeley shows.

After the intro, a slightly rough around the edges Pass It On (Straight ahead), is followed by Hey Baby, a true sleeper of a tune that is given an excellent run-through here. It's such a gem, and it shows where a part of Jimi's musical future might have gone had he lived. In my opinion, this is one of the very best live recordings of this essential tune. Other highlights include Stone Free, I Don't Live Today and Machine Gun.

Of these, I Don't Live Today is very illuminating of where Jimi was at emotionally at the time. Interviews given around the time of the performance revealed Jimi to be eagerly anticipating his future, with many exciting plans, such as the possibility of playing with Miles Davis. But his forward look was tempered by the mood of the times and one can sense this by his introductory remarks to this classic acid-infected blues, when he says: "We'd like to do a thing that's what's happening today with a lot of people. And I'd like to dedicate it to all... all the cats that are trying to struggle that are gonna make it anyway." The word "anyway" has an emphasis that shows resolve in the face of adversity and in that way, this song encapsulates much of Jimi's last year. This is one of the better live versions of this tune, although I could have done without the profanity because it seems to dilute the song's impact. Jimi had often dedicated this tune to the American Indian, so the Berkeley dedication was surely a sign of the times.

The set is closed out with a fairly fast Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) again delivered with a classic intro, where Jimi says: "We hope you all got some kind of a feeling about this thing - the next thing we're gonna play and the last thing. It goes like this - playing to keep us alive. This is nothing but determination and so forth and so on, you know. Knowing that you're gonna get it together. Thank you, good night." The song is then delivered with more drive than any of the many versions I've ever heard. The themes throughout were consistent with how the music was delivered - with a purpose - that being to support each other during hard times and to not give up in the face of adversity. It's all just another example of how Jimi had become a crystal clear spokesperson for the people, a leader with a vision.

A portion of the Berkeley Community Theatre performance has finally been released after languishing in the vaults the last 30-odd years. Despite the fact that I've had an underground recording of this show for years, I've looked forward to the official release of this show.

And I wasn't disappointed. Eddie Kramer's remastering of the soundboard recording is superlative. Not to mention that this recording is one of the few professionally recorded concerts where Jimi and the band were firing on all cylinders. Jimi's guitar sound is bell clear and superb, aptly propelled by the rock-solid and organic bass playing of Billy Cox and Mitchell Mitchell's Elvin Jones-inspired percussion.

The highlights: the opening jam on "Pass It On" (aka "Straight Ahead", "Hey Baby" (New Rising Sun), "Machine Gun", and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)".

It's puzzling why Experience Hendrix didn't release the complete concert including the first set. I'd rate this as one of the best of the professionally recorded performances by Jimi Hendrix. Experience Hendrix made the right decision in releasing a "warts and all" DVD and CD set of the Isle of Wight Festival, why take a big step backwards and release only 1/2 of the Berkeley concert??

Nonetheless, this recording is essential. Further aural proof of the viruosity of Jimi Hendrix. Highly-recommended.

AS you can see in the video, Jimi was on fire at Berkeley, he certainly was not burnt out by touring. If he was, it doesnt show. I was never fond of the song 'Straigh Ahead' until I listened to this version, totally smokes. This was a show with a nice balance between old songs and new songs, and you can tell that Jimi is even enjoying playing some of his old hits. The best way to enjoy these shows is to go back in time and remember how a live concert was staged back then. Just a guitar, some pedals and the amps. Nothing like all the technial gizmos available today for guitar players. So you hear Hendrix tuning, getting out of tune, tunning again, having guitar problems, amps problems... It was all part of the gig back then. Do people sit around and complain how much better the Mona Lisa would be if Leonardo would have used photoshop? People taking out stars of this stellar release because of 'amp problems' and such just makes me mad. Now, why complaining about releasing only the second show? There is nothing wrong with that! This is a complete, unedited, never before released Hendrix show people! Stop complaining. Five stars.

I have all of the live Hendrix CDs and this is by far the best, both in having the best sound quality and the best performance by Hendrix.

Unlike the other CDs, Hendrix isn't audibly worn out, or bored with his material; he isn't tentative like in some recordings earlier in his career; and he isn't playing with an untried band.

While some of the other live CDs are better than others (Isle of Wight is probably the next best), none of them really comes close to this one.

Widely regarded as a masterful Hendrix concert, "Jimi Hendrix: Live at Berkeley" represents the first official release of Jimi's second (and superior) set on May 30, 1970. Having been a long time Hendrix collector, I've heard this concert on bootleg CD numerous times. Why it's taken so long to release is beyond me, but nonetheless, it's nice to have the concert with incredible sound. It's definitely a significant improvement over the existing bootlegs of the show (which are hard to come by these days).

Given that a companion DVD was released, I'm somewhat puzzled why Experience Hendrix did not include the 1st Berkeley performance as well. The completist in me would have liked to see the official release of the sound-checks recorded at the show as well. But, I am a rather picky collector -- for the normal Hendrix fan searching for the ultimate 'live' Hendrix, this show is the one to purchase.

Standout tracks for me include "Machine Gun", "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)", "Foxey Lady", and "Star Spangled Banner / Purple Haze".

Highly recommended for newbies getting into Hendrix as well as hard-core Jimiholics out there.

Since the days of this memorable recital that stirred up so many positive comments, many of us had firmly believed, we never would have the chance to listen it.

This recital found Hendrix in top form, in absolute domain of the musical form, surrounded of an outburst of volcanic energy, intense musicality and visceral expression.

"Machine gun" for instance, is a real tour de force piece, filled of forceful violence and unmatched virtuousness. "Purple haze" and "Star spangled banner" breathe not only the well outburst of energy but supported by a major level of profundity, which clearly may be noticed through the expansiveness of the sound, the creative twists where the lyricism is well torn apart to convey us to unvisited territories.

The restoration process is another highlight. A full rounded sound without distortions, bubbles or distortions.

If you are a hard fan of this supreme exponent of the guitar, you really should not miss this anthological album, that must be regarded as one of the top five resurrected rock albums ever.

Another emblematic achievement of the prince of guitar, whose sound has not been able to be unsurpassed until now although all the technological advances since then.

A collector item.

In my humble opinion this is perhaps the best live album Jimi ever did. The sound is great, the groove is great and this album, recorded only a few months after Live at the Fillmore (on New Years' Eve) really gives us a chance to talk about one aspect of Jimi that is rarely discussed -- namely, how well his sidemen performed.

Stone Free is the first song of the Fillmore two disc set and five months later Jimi cut the same song with a different drummer on Berkeley. Mitch Mitchell played his part in a way that completmented Jimi -- contrast this with the bombastic, hard driving sound of Buddy Miles playing the same song. Jimi's guitar is all but drowned out in the first half of Stone Free on the Fillmore CD.

Jimi needed the jazz touch of a drummer like Mitchell as opposed to the rock'n'roll sound of a Buddy Miles. His rhythyms (and the way he liked to change them) and the melodic structure of many of his songs cry out for more color from the percusssion and for the bass to provide more of the time keeping.

This is a great album and it is hard to believe such good sound came from a recording made in 1970.

STRAIGHT OUT, I CAN NEVER GET ENOUGH JIMI, ESPECIALLY LIVE JIMI! Jimi was one of the greatest musicians of the 20th Century and the 21st for that matter. His creativity was limitless and just when you think he couldn't invent any more tones to his guitar, he does. I have alot of live Jimi CDs and LPs and I listen to them all. Why? Because Jimi never stopped re-inventing his material on stage. Every version of "Voodoo Child" is something special from the studio version on "Electic Ladyland" to "BBC Sessions" to The Royal Albert Hall to Woodstock to Berkeley, etc., etc., etc. Jimi never let his audience down (well...except for the few times he stormed off stage in a huff...my mother saw that at Anaheim Convention Center on Feb. 9, 1968). Listen to the short little rockabilly riff he plays right in the middle "Voodoo Child" on this CD and then to top it off he completes the songs coda by reprising the intro riff...the first time I've ever heard him do that. Jimi was in fine form on this night! He works one song right into the next but still leaves room for his off the wall stage patter he was known for ("yeah we'd like to dedicate this next one to the girl back there with the red underwear on, the one with the metallic knee caps"). If anyone was having a bit of trouble in the band that night, it seemed to be drummer Mitch Mitchel. I counted twice where Mitch looses control of the beat and confuses Jimi and Billy briefly. The big Boo-Boo you'll hear in "Pass It On." But with that small nick aside, this CD is another great document of a great Jimi Hendrix concert.

This was my first Hendrix album. I bought it because my dad said that a Hendrix live album would work better than Greatest Hits, and I love this!
The first song, not counting the intro, is Pass it On, one of the best performances of the show, he tears through that thing! Next things mellow out a LOT for Hey Baby (New Rising Sun), another favorite of mine. Lover Man isn't really all that good, but I do like the energy. Stone Free is better than the original, but I don't see what the big deal about it is.
The show-stealer has to be Hey Joe, which he sings in a slower, bluesy tempo and throws in a lot more emotion than the original. I Don't Live Today is another example of how he improves upon his studio work. Live Today was probably my least favorite tune on Are You Experienced, and this version isn't perfect, but it's better.
Next up is Machine Gun, a long, antiwar tune that definetly doesn't feel like it extends eleven minutes. I love the bassline, too. After this, we've got a great rendition of Foxey Lady, one of Are You Experienced's highlights. My least favorite performance, Star Spangled Banner, follows. I don't think it's unpatriotic, I just find it annoying. Thankfully, we recover with a blazing reduex of Purple Haze. He also extends Voodoo Child (Slight Return) to nearly eleven minutes AND throws in a new section, "We've got to keep on groovin'..." that I absolutely love, not to mention a mind-blowing guitar solo.
An awesome album.

Lavishly packaged archive performance CD release.Twelve track disc of a gig that was recorded on May 30,1970 during the 2nd gig,the 10pm show.Nicely done cover - actual flyer of the concert itself.Since I've never had ANY Hendrix bootlegs before anyway,I honestly believe that I was even MORE so thrilled to snatch a copy of this legit pressing.As always,the line-up is a trio,on 'Live At Berkeley',we have Jimi-guitar&vocals,Billy Cox-bass and Mitch Mitchell-drums.The setlist is good,with several memorable of Hendrix's anthems,FM staples;call 'em what you will.I was most impressed with "Hey Baby(New Rising Sun)","Stone Free",a tune that he didn't write,but made it a 'head music' classic "Hey Joe","Foxey Lady","Purple Haze" and "Voodoo Child(Slight Return)".Comes with a superb 24-page full color booklet,sort of like a mini-program.Recommended.