Customer Reviews

Jimi Plays Monterey

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This album was Jimi's coming out party. The Jimi Hendrix Experience had been tearing up England and Europe and were
superstars overseas. They had performed in Paris, France and blew
em' away. Various stories abound as to how and who invited the
Experience to perform at Monteray in 67'. Some stories say it was McCartney of the Beatles who encouraged the promoter, whose name escapes me at the moment, to add the group to the list of already established stars, which they were not yet in the U.S.

Other stories say it was Brian Jones of the Stones that lobbied for Hendrix and the Experience to be added. Brian and Jimi became instant friends after he saw Hendrix perform in the U.K.
Anywho, they arrived in Monteray to perform with the likes of Janis Joplin, The Mommas and The Poppas, Grace Slick and The Jefferson Airplane, the great soul star Otis Redding and many others. So, as they were deciding which order the bands would play, Pete Townsend and The Who were slated to go on after Jimi.
Pete did not dig that. He had seen Jimi and The Experience play
in the U.K. and did not want to be upstaged by this dynamic group. There was a lot of backstage rangling and feuding about who would perform first. The promoter decided to flip a coin to determine who would go on first. Well, The Who won the coin flip, but suddenly, Jimi jumped up on a chair and loudly proclaimed, "All bets are off!" meaning, NO HOLDS BARRED. The Who did their thing and at the end they destroyed their instruments. The drummer, Keith Moon, was famous for obliterating his drum set after most performances. The Who was convinced Jimi and the Experience could not top them. Boy, were they wrong. Jimi and the Experince were introduced by Brian Jones to the Monteray crowd. Now remember, the only song the U.S. had heard from Hendrix was Hey Joe, so they really didn't know to much about Jimi or what to expect. They came out the box with a 45rpm
version of Muddy Waters' Killing Floor. The crowd was floored. They loved blues, but had never heard any blues played like this. The group proceeded thru the set brilliantly,then Jimi pulled the rabbit out of the hat. After promising the crowd he was going to "sacrifice something I really love." the group did a cover version of The Toggs hit, Wild Thing. Near the end of the set Jimi showed em' what he meant by the statement, "sacrificing something he really loved", as he kissed the guitar, set it down on the stage and began to douse it with lighter fluid. (the band didn't even know he was going to set it on fire.) He produced a lighted match and set his ax on fire. He carressed the flames on the guitar as if he was going to make love to the thing right on stage. The crowd was freakin' out. They had never seen anyone do anything this outrageous on stage. Dude picked that flaming guitar up and pounded the stage with the custom guitar until it was in various peices, which he distributed lovingly to the crowd down front. The whole place was in pandamonium, and we're talking about established stars who were watching in the audiance and in the wings off stage. Obviously, he kept his promise to The Who, "ALL BETS ARE OFF!" Jimi Hendrix and The Experience had blown them off the stage. These young upstarts, who do they think they are. Who's this black guy playing his type of Rock think he is. Rock was the domain of white groups primarily from the U.K. So, at this coming out party for Jimi and The Experience, you witness them graduating from "RUMOR TO LEGEND." The album is a MUST for any TRUE Hendrix fan. It was the beautiful smash beginning for the, Most High Dali Lama of Guitarisms, James Marshall Hendrix, aka "JIMI." Peace and Love. OUT!

Many people seem to think that the visual aspect of Jimi's performance at Monterey was all that mattered. I won't try to deny the impact of the burning guitar or the sum total of the Experience's presentation, but I would ask a simple favor of the seeker of truth: JUST LISTEN TO THE MUSIC. If I remember correctly, the vinyl of the original release (which had a side by the JHE and a side by Otis Redding) appeared in '70. I remember soaking it all up as a young teen, before I'd heard anything about the legend. And you wanna know something? The music stands on its own just fine.

This CD contains more Experience tunes than the original vinyl did, but I'd be happy with even more. The two minute plus lead-in of stage noise and tuning is a waste of digits. I really don't understand why this junk was tacked onto the front of Killing Floor (which was written by Chester Burnette, AKA Howlin' Wolf, not Muddy Waters as claimed by HJ Hill inhis review). Now, I think, if I'd been in the audience as Jimi ripped through this blues classic, I would have known instantly that we'd entered into a new era. This isn't the psychedelic blues that Jimi was already playing so well. No, this was Turbo Blues, blues that rocked so hard it knocked your ears off. Had the Experience walked off having just played this one number, it would have caught my attention aplenty.

But every tune on this CD is killer. The highlights included Can You See Me, Rock Me Baby and The Wind Cries Mary. The first two of these show again that this band rocked hard, with a style many other rock bands of the era couldn't touch, because the Jimi, Mitch and Noel were all virtuosos and all capable of incredible improvization. The Wind Cries Mary was the counterpoint of this trio, providing the contrast, showing the depth of what was to come in Jimi's all too short future.

This contrast was amplified in a big way by a soulful cover of Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone. In those few minutes, Jimi took ownership of this classic and at the same time, paid tribute to a man he idolized. The listener is given a hint of Jimi's shy spirit, and a hint is tossed out that a shy spirit does not imply a lack of power. The playing and singing on this cut is stellar. Totally out of sight.

There was a showing of the film in New York before it hit the theaters and all sorts of rock stars were in attendance. During the JHE segment, the next to last tune played was Purple Haze. By the time the tune ended, Jimi's Strat was well out of tune, a common problem back then due to using the whammy bar. After Purple Haze, Eric Clapton yelled out something about Jimi being screwed for his final song. In effect, he was saying that if Jimi took the time to tune up, he'd lose the momentum he'd built and therefore lose the croud. Little did he know that Jimi had matters well in hand. After his deceptive intro, where Jimi called the final tune "The Combined American and British National Anthem", he ripped into a cover of the Trogg's Wild Thing that combined psychedelia and garage rock with a stage act that makes the term "showman" look incredibly anaemic.

Jim Marshall's images of Jimi coaxing the flames atop his burning Strat are the stuff of legend. But don't worry too much about all that. Just sit back and listen with the volume cranked way up. It's gotta be cranked, because the Experience played LOUD and you wanna hear it as close to the original Experience as possible. I've been listening to these performances for over 30 years now and I'm here to tell you that the music stands on its own. Period.

One more comment to HJ Hill: the organizer's name you were looking for was John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas.

This is by far my favorite live Jimi performance--- far better than Woodstock. Every Hendrix fan deserves to own this one-- get it used if you must, and pay whatever you need to--just GET it!!!! It is simply THAT good!

Yes, this is the concert where he sacrificed his guitar by burning it. Everyone knows the famous picture with the flames rising from the guitar with Jimi sitting by (and you can hear the actual guitar buring on this CD.) Funny thing is, that is actually probably the LOWLIGHT of the this CD--- because the rest of the music is SO spectacular! Even though Jimi was not yet well-known in the States-- a few years from "legend" status (heck, Purple Haze hadn't even been released yet!) he is on the very tip-top of his game on every track-- and Noel and Mitch are tight, and show why they are one of the most undeservedly underappreciated rhythm sections in rock.

This is before his "psychedelic" phase-- what I call his "noise" phase--- and the songs here are actually well-crafted and executed SONGS. It is abolutely MUSIC, not screetching noise. It's sort of like Picasso, who had to learn to paint in the conventional way before inventing cubism. Here we see Hendrix playing spectacular rock/blues-- with a few signs of the psychedelic "Star-Spangled Banners" that were to come.

Jimi talks to the crowd between some of the songs, making jokes and telling stories about how The Experience came together. This is an added bonus, and you can tell by this little banter that Jimi was actually also a genuinely nice and funny guy-- besides being a guitar god.

But, when all is said and done, the music is what will stand the test of time. Take a listen--- then tell me I'm wrong!

I'm not a "raving" Hendrix *Fan-attic ....but..... his version of "Like a Rolling Stone" (live) just knocks-me-out ! Top Shelf stuff.... as Jimi says....." excuse me while I play my guitar....." and so it goes .

By far the best concert money could buy. I first heard a song from this legendary performance when I was 14. I remember Friday March 12, 1982 while hearing my family singing The Irish Rovers's "The Unicorn" I was listening to Hendrix sing "Like A Rolling Stone" after "All Along The Watchtower", and I was virtually awestruck. I never heard such beauty before. I got the old album with Hendrix and Otis Redding at the Monterry Pop Festival, and was more intrigued. I finally got this 5 years later after hearing "Killing Floor" off of the "Kiss The Sky" e.p. The rest of this concert is full on frontal assult of a 3 piece band, and a possessed 1965 Stratocaster. I got to hear "Hey Joe" when I bought this, and it was an old live version I used to hear on the radio station in Philly, and it's so wonderful, "Wild Thing" ends this concert, and for over 7 minutes it was 3 trips and a half, The only one I was rather dissapointed with was "Foxey Lady" I was disappointed because there was no beautiful melody after the third singing of the chorus like on the studio album. Without a doubt it was a groundbreaking time out in Monterry where alot of new musicians got thier feet wet, and Hendrix was one of them.

This is a recording of Hendrix's explosive performance from the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. I used to have this on tape a long time ago and it was a favorite, but since I thought I had reached my Hendrix saturation point, it was a pleasant reminder of how potent his music could be. The songs are quite tight with no extraneous jamming. The setlist mixes some well chosen covers (Dylan, Howlin' Wolf) with originals from Are You Experienced? It's good to have this back in the collection again, because played at high volume, it's a wonder to behold.

Many people claim Woodstock was Hendrix's finest hour. May I suggest to you that Monterey was infact his finest hour.
Jimi Hendrix at the time was not known in the US and needed a break.
He and the Who had an arguement about who would go last.
Pete Townshend had seen Hendrix several times and knew what he could do. Townshend absolutely refused to play at Monterey after Jimi Hendrix
Hendrix at that time was insecure and stated if he had to follow the Who, he would take out all of the stops.
He starts his performance with a great version of Killing Floor, which in my opinion is the finest recording of that song I have ever heard.
He does Foxey Lady from Are You Experienced.
He then does the Bob Dylan classic, Like A Rolling Stone.
The Wind Cries Mary and Purple Haze with his fameous Finale, Wild Thing where he lights his guitar of fire and smashes it onstage.
This is one of the all-time classic performances in Rock history .

This CD documents one of the Jimi Hendrix Experience early live performances. Here we see the band, and Jimi in particular, in their full strength and energy. The track list is half made of their best known hits, like "Foxy Lady", "Purple Haze", or "Hey Joe". Another half consists of cover songs. Jimi played these covers so many times, that they sound just like his own tracks.

There's really nothing much to write about this CD, other than that the band's performance here is excellent, and Jimi's guitar playing is terrific. This CD may serve as a good compilation of early greatest hits as well. The sound quality is good, which is not often the case with old live recordings.

I have not heard the entire album. All I know is that this particular version of Rolling Stone is, alone, worth the price of admission. It is possibly the finest cover song of all time. Bob Dylan admitted that Jimi could play definitive versions of his own work.

1986 saw the commercial release of D.A. Pennebaker's film footage of The Jimi Hendrix Experience's performance at the famous June, 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. The film entitled "Jimi Plays Monterey" was accompanied by the release of the sound track album "Jimi Plays Monterey Original Motion Picture Sound Track". Yeah, the air-brushed cover was pathetic and the thought of yet more Hendrix archival material certainly didn't excite me. But here's the strange thing. This set serves to remind you how good Hendrix was.


Musically these nine tracks offered up a mixture of material off The Experience's debut album and staples from their live show. From a discography standpoint, much of this material had already been released. Four of the nine tracks ('Like a Rolling Stone'. 'Rock Me Baby', 'Can You See Me', and 'Wild Thing') appeared on both 1967's "Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix Love At the Monterey International Pop Festival" and 1970's "Historic Performances Recorded Live at Monterey" while the rest was scattered throughout Hendrix's chaotic posthumous catalog. Still, hearing the original material together in a unified set including stage patter and an introduction from Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones was inspiring. That said, you really needed to see the accompanying film to get the full effect. And what an effect - almost five decades later these performances remain amazing.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience were a late addition to the festival line-up. Depending which reference work you rely on, The Beatles (who were on the Monterey Festival Board of Directors), or The Rolling Stones were responsible for convincing festival sponsor John Phillips (of The Mamas and the Papas fame), to add Hendrix to the festival's performance roster. In spite of massive European successes, in mid-1967 Hendrix was still an unknown to most Americans. As such adding him to the performance list was a risk for Phillips, while the pressure on Hendrix and company to make a good impression must have been immense. Adding to the tension was a backstage fight with The Who over which act would open for the other. Having seen each other perform in England, neither act wanted to go on after the other. The performance order was finally decided with a coin toss - The Who winning and going on first where their performance culminated with the band trashing their instruments on-stage. I usually run from hype, but this album is one of those rare exceptions. Mean and lean, Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell were captured in prime form, literally wiping out a laidback audience that had no idea what to expect (they also wiped out Pete Townshend and the Who who had turned in an amazing set right before Hendrix).

- Opening up with a snippet of the band tuning up and Jones to-the-point introduction, Hendrix started of with a blazing cover of Chester Burnette's Killing Floor'. This was blues, though the hyper-charged rock variant was hardly a format American audiences had ever heard before. Amazing way to start an album. rating: **** stars
- As impressive as the introduction was, 'Foxey Lady' was even more hard core. The focus was clearly on Hendrix, but on this one the trio's secret weapon cam in the form of Mitchell's frenetic drumming. rating: **** stars
- "I'd like to bore you for six or seven minutes ..." Hendrix's cover of Dylan's 'Like a Rolling Stone' may simply be the best Dylan cover ever performed. Dumbfounding !!! rating: ***** stars
- Returning to the blues, to my ears the band's cover of Joe Jesse's 'Rock Me Baby' was the sole side one disappointment. Not that the performance didn't rock, rather Hendrix seemed to get lost in the song, literally just repeating the title over and over towards the end of the performance. rating: *** stars
- As Hendrix said in his stage patter, if anyone in the audience had heard of the Jimi Hendrix Experience it was as a result of the single 'Hey Joe'. Here they pulled out all the stops; Hendrix and company opening up with everything they had. Tight and focused, the live version simply slays the studio version. Rock and roll 101 !!! rating: ***** stars
- One of the songs featured off of the band's 'Are You Experienced" album, the live version of 'Can You See Me' speeded up the basic track, but otherwise remained true to the studio version. Another great rocker. rating: *** stars
- Introduced as the band's next single, 'The Wind Cries Mary'
- For anyone who thinks Hendrix is nothing but hype, I suggest checking out 'Purple Haze'. This may be the 'heaviest' live performance I own. This one will stand up to virtually any other live performance you can name. A creative zenith for Hendrix. rating: **** stars
- Before launching into a cover of The Troggs' 'Wild Thing', Hendrix's brief career overview provided simultaneously poignant and funny and his decision to "sacrifice something I love ..." set the stage for a classic rock moment ... To be honest, this is the one track that loses impact without the accompanying visuals. The song started out gangbusters, but the mid-section feedback freak out segment's simply lost without the sight of Hendrix dosing his '65 Strat with lighter fluid and setting it on fire. If you haven't seen it, here's a YouTube clip of the performance. [...] (the sacrifice starts at 6:15 on the clip - by the way, I wouldn't suggest squirting lighter fluid on a live fire). rating: ***** stars

Whenever I feel Hendrix overload, this is the set I go back to. Amazing.

"Jimi Plays Monterey Original Motion Picture Sound Track" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Killing Floor (Howlin' Wolf) - 3:35
2.) Foxey Lady (Jimi Hendrix) - 3:34
3.) Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan) - 6:51
4.) Rock Me Baby (Joe Jesse - B.B. King) - 3:29
5.) Hey Joe (Billy Roberts) - 4:10

(side 2)
1.) Can You See Me (Jimi Hendrix) - 2:42
2.) The Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix) - 3:24
3.) Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix) - 3:18
4.) Wild Thing (Chip Taylor) - 9:10