Customer Reviews

Jimi Plays Monterey / Shake! Otis at Monterey (The Criterion Collection)

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

 

 

I had this on video tape and watched it hundreds of times. I recently transferred it to DVD and watched it another dozen times. I waited to buy this because I couldn't find any reviews about the picture and sound quality. I finally bought it and am glad I did. They did a fantastic job on the transfer. The picture is 1000% better than my old video tape or the DVD I made from it. They say they removed thousands of dust marks from the picture. The black background is actually black. The colors are nice and bright.

The sound is great. I don't have a 5.1 system yet, but I will soon. This will probably be the first DVD I try in it. It sounds so good on stereo, that I can't even imaging it sounding better.

Very impressive upgrade from previous versions.

The concert speaks for itself. It is a classic. This is my favorite Hendrix concert video by far. The songs are great and the performance is mind-blowing.

I have been a Jimi Hendrix fan since the mid 60's and have bought everything I could get my hands on by Jimi Hendrix.
I have had the VHS tape and the vinyl copy of Monterey.
The vinyl recording was very good as was the VHS tape. Finally its out on DVD.
There is nothing new here that has not been released before. Jimi Hendrix collectors like myself have to have it on DVD as well though. This of course is the performance that started it all. This concert is legandary to say the least. Jimi pulls out all of the stops. You will never find a better performance by Jimi Hendrix anywhere else.
What does set this apart is the Otis Redding performance. Otis does Shake along with I've been Loving you too long, Satisfaction and Try a little Tenderness.
There is also an interview by Pete Townshend as he recollects the festival and the legandary coin toss to see who performs first and who has to go on last. John Phillips gave his account and Townshend's acount is a little different. Townshend says the late Brian Jones actually tossed the coin. I guess we will never really know for sure who did.
This is a worthy addition to any collection........enjoy

I wore out the record of this match up in the early seventies.
This year was the 40th anniversary of this version of Monterey Pop
Festival, and these two artists definately left a permanent impression
on the music scene of that day. Otis Redding was one of the most vibrant
and powerful singers ever; and this recording; along with back-up bandmates Booker T & the MG's (feat. Donald "Duck" Dunn and Steve Cropper
of Blues Bros. fame) was one of the best live sets ever filmed.

Jimi's performance was nothing short of spectacular as He wowed
the crowd with guitar work few had ever seen until this day-

I heartily recommend this concert dvd.

When Jimi Hendrix burst onto the rock scene in the UK he had the likes of Eric Clapton in utter dismay while he received adulation from Pete Townsend, The Rolling Stones & The Beatles, to mention but a few. The Who refused to play after him at Monterey, because he was, at any venue, an impossible act to follow. If you want to know why, you must buy 'Jimi plays Monterey' (you get Otis Redding's performance there as a bonus, as well as a brilliant, informative commentary that guides you through the movie). Since the late 60's Jimi has been my number one rock artist, and this is his number one performance. The disc has been remastered in every respect; both sound and visuals are utterly superb.

Why do you even need a review? This is Jimi Plays Monterey.
If you don't have this you are missing history caught on tape.
Hurry up and order!

This is less about Otis and Jimi and more about "The Summer of Love". The production is terrible. The sad thing is the performances were obviously terrific. Among other things, you get Jimi doing Purple Haze to the credits. I don't particularly want to watch the credits, and I've heard Purple Haze before. I wouldn't mind seeing the performance though. They also show some "Summer of Love" film clip over Otis Redding performing "Try a Little Tenderness", which is his best piece in the DVD, IMHO, and it would have been nice to see that performance too. Unlike later performances, like Woodstock for example, Hendrix is very animated in this performance, even sets his guitar on fire! The sound, however, comes across as very muted, and differentially muted (the muting apparently getting stronger and weaker at different points), which is extremely annoying. The guitar seems to be the most muted, which more or less destroys the performance, which winds up being more vocal than anything else. I guess I could turn it up, but I don't listen to Hendrix to hear him sing. He was a lousy singer. I am almost exclusively interested in his playing of the guitar, and the extremely poor recording of the guitar stands out the most for me. Hendrixs' guitar is supposed to be LOUD. I can't imagine it was anything but in the original performance looking at the equipment setup. I can't imagine the voice being that much of the sound in the original performance or the guitar being that muddy. The muting isn't as obvious on cheap equipment, however, and given the quality of the sound is no big deal anyways, it's actually sorta OK played on cheaper equipment.

This should be labeled as a DVD about "The Summer of Love", which is clearly a main theme of the DVD. Maybe "Otis and Jimi and The Summer of Love"!

I give it 3 stars because it's Hendrix, and I'm a fan.