12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poetic Biography, November 10, 2009
Most reviews of this book do not understand what David Henderson is up to. Henderson is an artist in his own right and his biography of Hendrix is a great read. Henderson is an artist forged in the same cultural milieu as Hendrix. Henderson was an important figure in the Black Arts Movement and he is working in the New Journalism tradition (Hunter Thompson, Thomas Wolf etc.) so don't expect generic writing and a presentation of "facts." This is a poetic biography and it brings Hendrix to life. If you are put off by "slang" and are appalled by any deviation from the New York Times Style Sheet you should probably skip this book, but if you want to spend some time digging Jimi, his triumphs and tragedy you should get this book. If you were not at Monterey Pop, or Woodstock, or the Berkley Community Theater in 1970 when Hendrix dedicated the show to the Black Panther Party, you should get this book-- it is the next best thing to being there.
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not Good at all, August 11, 2010
The author just takes so many liberties that the book loses its credibility. The author just make so much effort in painting a "Jimi Hendrix" the author would like to believe in that the book turns into a fantasy story loosely based on Hendrix's life. I think the book exaggerated the political views of Hendrix and drastically reduce his drug use. Add to that incorrect details about his guitar playing and equipment use, something that has been so much documented everywhere else, and the book loses its charm almost immediately. Finally, the authors views of a conspiracy theory about Hendrix's death set the tone for what turns out to be a very disappointing book. It should not be sold as a biography; it is misleading in its cover.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Author takes more than poetic license, October 3, 2010
This is what we call a biographical novel. A mixture of fiction and fact about Jimi with the author's own personal agenda, sort of like Oliver Stone's take on Jim Morrison. Historical errors abound. He attributes far more radical political views to Hendrix than any other author I've read (eight books so far, most of them at least twice), or any documentary etc. He is so presumptuous he knows what Hendrix was thinking! Another reviewer says Henderson is an artist himself and we don't understand his poetic style etc. I understand perfectly. The man wrote a very readable novel based on the life of Jimi Hendrix and tries to pass it off as a biography.
I discovered this book close to 30 years ago. It was the first book on Hendrix I ever read. Thank God it wasn't the last! This is a warped representation of Jimi's art and life and I can only recommend this to absolute Hendrix fanatics who've already read everything else in print.
3/15/11 After being continually harassed by another reviewer for expressing my opinions of this book, I purchased an updated copy and reread it, comparing to the earlier edition for variations. My original conclusions were confirmed to me over and over. This book more often than not reads like a novel, with colorful prose about things that don't have to do with anything. This guy tells you what Hendrix "thought", "felt", "fantasized" etc. on dozens of occasions, and also the thoughts and feelings of others. I was told it's "childish" to say Henderson couldn't know what Jimi is thinking. I would think any rational mind would understand that no one knows exactly what another human being is thinking and I'll prove Henderson doesn't know. In the 1981 edition he has this big elaborate scene telling us everything Hendrix is thinking, feeling and seeing as he's dying. He follows one of Monika Dannemann's numerous accounts (this is the one where he dies in the ambulance because of stupidity on the part of the paramedics). Well in his new version Henderson has decided Hendrix was murdered so he has to change what Hendrix is thinking and feeling to fit that. Obviously he didn't know the first time, why believe him now? For those who like this style of writing, they're welcome to it, but it is not true biography.
Historical errors: I quote, "Alan Douglas, Michael Jeffery, Eric Burdon could have been angry - although they could have never expressed anything that would alienate themselves from Hendrix, the king of the music scene, and necessary to their success in the music business." What rubbish! Eric Burdon was successful before, during and after Jimi's career, and it never depended on Hendrix. Alan Douglas had a top 30 album with the Last Poets (at the time, and other successful records before that) and was not earning his living from Hendrix. Jimi was Mike Jeffrey's main meal ticket, but he managed other successful acts and owned several night clubs. David Henderson is a liar. He says Jimi was co-captain of his football team in school. Not according to his coach and his friends. His coach has even said Jimi wasn't much of an athlete and didn't get to play much. David says Hendrix's first exposure to white rock was "Wild Thing" by The Troggs in '66. Jimi was listening to white rock from the 50's onward (along with all kinds of other music irrespective of the color of the artist). He has Roger McGuinn and David Crosby in NY trying to form a band in '66. He says that at his audition for the Experience, Mitch Mitchell was "unable to hide a strange contempt for Jimi." Never heard that one before, and Henderson never gives any source for such inaccurate statements that abound in these pages. David says that "Jimi Hendrix inspired the idea for Track Records in the first place." Not according to ANY Who book I ever read (or other Hendrix book either). The Experience was the first act they signed, but Lambert and Stamp were already in the process of setting up Track Records before they heard of Jimi. "Almost all the writers who insist on Jimi's so-called color blindness are British writers who rarely ever talked to any of his African-American friends." Well the Allen twins, Juma Sultan, Billy Cox etc. are all Jimi's African-American friends and they all say Jimi didn't hang out or play music with people on the basis of color (anyone who's read anything other than Henderson knows that). The problem is Henderson. He has racist leanings (especially against white Englishmen) and he attributes his own feelings to Jimi. Henderson has Stephen Stills playing Joni Mitchel's Woodstock song before the festival took place. And on it goes.
The best thing about the updated edition is that Henderson prints several interviews Hendrix gave to various journalists in full (I wish someone would assemble all the Hendrix interviews into one volume). You can judge for yourself what Hendrix thought about race relations, how far his support went with the Black Panthers etc. Unfortunately, he had full song lyrics in the earlier edition and the new one just has a few lines here and there. Not enough good points to make me recommend this. If you're only going to read a book or two on Jimi, go for
Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix and
JIMI HENDRIX: ELECTRIC GYPSY. If those stir your interest, read everything and compare for yourself. Most important of all, LISTEN to all the wonderful music of Jimi Hendrix.
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