Customer Reviews

Live at Berkeley: 2nd Show [Vinyl]

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

 

 

Part 3 of my excursion into New Hendrix Vinyl.......let's go!
Got this from a third party Amazon dealer described as like
new but it wasn't. The Vinyl itself was dirty but cleaned up
very well and once I put it on the turntable, well, holy Moly
Good Golly Miss Molly, an Audiophile pressing!! A few pops
here and there but that's to be expected. Surface noise is
minimal. Very Quiet surface and the music itself made my
arm hair stand on it's edge! Once again, this is the Out Of
Print MCA pressing and both discs are dead on Flat and pressed
ON Center!! And also 180 gram, very thick and a pleasure, once
I cleaned them, to behold. A very Slightly Loose performance, you
can tell Jimi was a bit frazzled, but the audience vibe moved him
and the band came a callin'!! Great pressing-get it while you can,
I got mine for $21 with shipping, even in a good state cover wise,
the vinyl comes through and the album is very very enjoyable.
I guess the lesson I'm starting to learn is: If you want to get the
best sounding Hendrix vinyl, maybe you should start by picking
up the Out Of Print, but still available MCA pressings, they seem
to all be on 180 gram virgin vinyl and the packaging is as good
as the current EH offering. But the pressings seem, so far, MUCH
better than the current pressings. More to come with the Box Set
8 LP called 'The Jimi Hendrix Experience'!
Oh, I also compared this with my EH cd of the Berkeley show, and
once again, for sheer FIDELITY-this Audiophile 180 gram pressing
demolishes the cd. SO NATURAL SOUNDING!!
Gerard Masters

If I am ever in conversation with someone and it turns to Jimi Hendrix or live music, I can never hold back my unparalleled adoration for Jimi Hendrix and this album in particular. Having discovered it by chance, many of the versions on this record are absolutely brilliant. First off, the immersing yourself in this version of "Hey Joe" is one of the most remarkable experiences to be had. In the intro sequence, he builds up quick and you anticipate the song to proceed as the studio version does but rather, he pulls back, and offers a slow, captivating intro that leads into the song. In one of the most notable instances of coincidental brilliance (presumably coincidental...), police chatter invades the music space with perfect timing, which fits perfectly with the song. The two guitar solos that follow are awe-inspiring to say the least, almost transcendent. The way he infuses life into the instrument is just phenomenal. I see my other favorite guitarists as technical masters of the instrument but Jimi Hendrix- he embodied it with a soul.
Other remarkable inclusions are "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)" which is also the definitive version (though it is closely contested with the version on side B of Album 8 of the West Coast Seattle Boy box set), "Stone Free," and of course, his renditions of the "Star Spangled Banner" and "Purple Haze" which are seamlessly bound together. I cant speak highly enough of this album. He makes the experience even more intimate by thinks he says to the crowd. My favorite quote is before "I Don't Live Today" where he says "...this is for all the cats who are struggling who are gonna make it anyway. That's one thing for sure, nothings gonna stop us- it's just a hard battle, that's all."
To those curious about the quality of the recordings, which I am particularly critical of, is remarkable. On vinyl, I would suggest buying a new copy and moving one of your children to the basement so you have a safe place to keep it. I would have liked to have seen some other tracks, but the ones presented here are executed in sheered brilliance and are, at the very least, a testament to the man's sublime virtuosity. I apologize for the lengthy response, but in such a sea of material, this treasure certainly deserves to be discovered by all. Hope it was helpful!

I'm bad at writing reviews, but I hope this helps someone -and before you read on, I should first confess that I bought this CD somewhere else online for only around 10 dollars. Also, I already expected beforehand that most of the tracks would suck but I bought it anyways. (In my opinion, Jimi's live music is generally a bit... you know... off. lol.)

So I basically bought the CD just for Track 8 "Machine Gun" -since I swear, this is the best damn version of it ever. Just this one track makes the entire CD worth buying, as long as you're paying only 10-ish and not 40-ish for it.

So I highly recommend Hendrix fans to get this CD for Track 8. Remember to get the 2nd show, not the 1st show.

That's pretty much my review for this CD. It only has one good song (in my opinion) but the song is so good that the CD itself gets 4 stars. lol. (If you want a 5-star Hendrix CD, I recommend "Blues")

If you like live Hendrix than this is a must have. Probably one of the best recordings I've heard.

The record album came in on time and in excellent condition. My first time ordering through Amazon and everything went very well. I would order again.