Customer Reviews

Stages

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the ultimate Hendrix box set. It contains about four hours of live material. The following concerts: Stockholm '67, Paris '68, San Diego '69 and Atlanta '70 are each presented in full and also in very good sonic quality. Each one is a jaw-dropping performance, to say the least. There's one from each year he toured, you can sort of get an idea of how Jimi's stage-approach changed from when he started touring as the "Jimi Hendrix Experience" to when he was calling his band the "Cry of Love Band." All these concerts were put out of print when the Hendrix family took control of all the Jimi Hendrix material in the mid-90s and formed the MCA "Experience Hendrix LLC." The people in charge decided that there were too many CDs already in print and many misrepresented the material. Especially the various releases of studio cuts, like Midnight Lightning and Voodoo Soup where some of the songs had posthumously overdubbed drum and bass parts for some reason. Therefore, they put all the Hendrix CDs out of print to start with a clean catalogue. So far, we've seen them release Jimi's concerts from Woodstock, Fillmore East (only a selection from all four shows albeit, but a good selection), Isle of Wight, a more complete BBC Sessions, the second set of Berkeley (why not the first set? nobody knows) and of course the studio material: South Saturn Delta and First Rays. The concerts that they put out of print will be released later (it's not a question of "if"), but as it is, Hendrix fans must buy this stuff used. On the other hand, you can buy new copies of many rare Hendrix comcerts, mail order, from daggerecords.com and purplehazerecords.com (even the Stockholm concert from Stages). Stages can be had for anywhere between forty and sixty dollars on ebay or Amazon. Amazon sellers are charging too much currently.

The idea behind this box set was to take four similar concerts, one from each year he toured between '67 and '70. This gives the listener the opportunity to see how Jimi and the band changed the songs over the years. The set lists don't exactly match, but have a fair amount of overlap. The '69 and '70 shows are the best with jimi and the band playing great. The sound quality is good on all of the shows. I wouldn't recommend this as a first purchase for Jimi material, but for any fan it's worth having.

The 4 CD boxset shows the remarkable growth of a remarkable talent. He recorded for a mere 4 years - yet few artistes have had such an astonishing influence and impact.

The first 2 cds(Stockholm 67, Paris 68) capture the experience in all their early euphoria. CDs 3 & 4 - San Diego 69 and Atlanta 70 (the latter with Billy Cox replacing Noel Redding on bass), are much better as live recordings. The band here really cooks with blistering versions of older songs and some great new songs.

If you want to experience live Hendrix, then stages is as good a place to start as any.

A little background about "Stages". While Jimi was alive he worked briefly with a producer named Alan Douglas. Nothing much came of their work together. After Jimi's death in the fall of '70, (and later Jimi's manager Michael Jeffery's death in '73) the Hendrix family often turned to Alan Douglas to help pull together Jimi's "loose ends" of music that had never seen release. This Stages collection was overseen by Douglas in '90-'91. Whatever else history says about his other Hendrix-related efforts, I believe he did a good job of finding quality recordings from 4 different years that are not only very well recorded, but also show a lot of variety and creativity in Jimi and the band. If you buy a Stages set be sure it has all the booklets for the great concert set notes in each one.

'67 in Stockholm finds the band still pretty fresh in the music business and obviously not wearied by the road as they'd later become. I have heard some poor recordings of Jimi from Scandinavia. This one is very good quality for the time, and is easy to listen to. Many of Jimi's greatest hits are here including a couple that weren't always heard in concerts later on - the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper" (contemporaries of Jimi during his debut in England) and Jimi's "Burning of the Midnight Lamp". Jimi is conversant with the audience if not a little bit shy.

'68 in Paris is a favorite of mine. The band is much more, shall we say "randy"; chatting up the audience, joking with each other, and playing loose. Among a 9-song stellar set, you'll find an excellent version of Muddy Waters' "Catfish Blues" (later to become Jimi's Voodoo Chile on Electric Ladyland) A stomping "Foxy Lady", a simmering "Red House" with Noel playing the bass on a borrowed 6-string Les Paul guitar of Keith Richards', and a very loose fun instrumental; "Drivin' South", seldom heard live. One of my favorites is "Little Wing" with a beautiful and extended, 30-bar, end solo by Jimi.

'69 in San Diego is classic "big arena" Jimi. The crowd was rowdy and Jimi did his best to calm things down; pointing out all the men in blue to the audience and joking with them between songs. This is a greatest hits set, but Jimi opens it up by the 5th song in a long and fiery "Red House". For my money, the last number in the set, "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" is utterly amazing. Jimi pulls out the stops in a soaring solo and as the band is settling into the final verse, there is a rush of people below him surging toward the stage toppling chairs and each other. He calls out, mid-song, for everyone to calm down. Nevertheless the band somehow played on and the intensity of the moment is felt in the music. The sound quality of this recording is exceptional.

Lastly, 1970 in Atlanta. This was the 4th of July and a huge crowd - tens of thousands in very hot weather - for an outdoor festival show. I feel like you can hear the strain of touring in Jimi's voice. You also know that the band was breaking up. I think Billy Cox is on bass here as Noel Redding had left to stay in England. I understand this was a late set at night and despite the poor conditions - heat, huge crowd, strain of travel, Jimi wishing he was back in the studio, etc. the band pulls it off, ending with "Voodoo Child" and makes a hasty retreat into the night, sadly never to return. Standout tracks for me; a great treatment of "Hear My Train a Comin', a very fast-paced, actually danceable "Stone Free", and the inclusion of two songs that never made it to albums in Jimi's lifetime - "Straight Ahead" and a country-flavored (!) "Room Full of Mirrors". R.I.P. Jimi! c.Andy O'Neill: Used with permission only

I was lucky, in a sense, I bought the cassette version of this set years ago. It made a great box set then and would still be lovely if it was still in print. I see the price for this CD set gets kinda high. A shame cuz the music is a real treasure.

Stockholm 67
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Fire
The Wind Cries Mary
Foxy Lady
I Don't Live Today
Buring of the Midnight Lamp
Purple Haze

Paris 68
Killin' Floor
Catfish Blues
Foxy Lady
Red House
Drivin South
The Wind Cries Mary
Fire
Little Wing
Purple Haze

San Diego 69
Intro riffs
Fire
Hey Joe
Spanish Castle Magic/
Sunshine of Your Love
Red House
I Don't Live Today
Purple Haze
Voodoo Child
(Slight Return)

Atlanta 70
Fire
Lover Man
Spanish Castle Magic
Foxy Lady
Purple Haze
Hear My Train a Comin
Stone Free
Start Spangled Banner
Straight Ahead
Room Full of Mirrors
Voodoo Child
(Slight Return)

Nice packaging with pictures and commentary.

Four shows from four different years. Great idea. I'm pleased that the Jimi Hendrix estate is continuing to officially release more and more of his music. He apparently did recording of his shows and his many jam sessions after shows with other musicians. He also recorded a lot of studio material that never got released.

One of the tricks to Jimi gigs is to find well recorded ones. Those who originally released this set were able to use well recorded shows and, I assume, clean them up so that they make for a great listen. If you get the chance, I highly recommend this set. For any Jimi fan it's a must. As you probably know, he was one of those artists who was both strong in the studio as well as dynamic live. This set gives you hours of proof of what he could do live. Yup. chrisbct@hotmail.com

This set is definitely not for the casual fan - but neither is it "for completists only". It is a MUST for completists. What makes this set interesting is hearing Jimi's evolution in how he presents his songs live. This collection is nicely, if simply packaged with liner notes for each show. Each disc comes in its own jewel case. And last, and perhaps least for some people, it fits in with your regular CD collection as it is not in the often annoying non-standard box set layout.

Despite other reviewers' comments, the sonic quality is not always superb, but neither is it sub-par. Obviously each show was recorded in different venues at different times using different equipment - so expect variation, though the quality within each show is consistent.

Some songs are available in other compilations - but not enough to deter you from picking this up. Also, there are some repeats (for example - not surprisingly - Purple Haze is on every disc/set!)

If there are plans to remaster this set, then it might be worth the wait as it is not cheap (unless you want the cassette version).

4 complete shows from each of the years 1967-1970. Some of the songs repeat. The sound quality if
uniformly quite good, some excellent. A must have for die-hard fans. Casual fans may not be so interested.

I bought this CD collection for my dad. He Said that the product was still in its cellophane and the cd's were in excellent listening condition!

This would have been the ultimate Hendrix Live Box Set. And the premise still stands. Take a Historical Concert from each of Hendrix's trio years, and package with 3 more years. 1967-Stockholm 1968-Paris 1969-San Diego 1970-Hatlanta,close to my hart. 67 Young Lean & Hungry-Opens with Sgt.Peppers. Stand Out track-Wind Cries Mary
68 Confident & Sassy-Blues all over. Stand Out track-Little Wing 69 Older & Wiser-Changin' the format. Stand Out track- Red House. 70 The New Church. Stand Out track-Stone Free (which he could always nail no matter how the rest of the night came/went) There you are. Thanx...