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30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Security Personnel, Security Personnel - Do You Read Me?", November 12, 2002
Jimi Hendrix's Isle of Wight concert of August 1970 was a historic occasion, it being his last major performance before his untimely death. As such, it has acquired a mythic status over time, used by some people as tragic evidence of Hendrix's decline and impending end 19 days later. The situation isn't helped by the fact that Hendrix gave several dispirited performances around Europe in the week following the Isle of Wight, before settling into London after bassist Billy Cox fell ill and the rest of the tour was cancelled. Hendrix wouldn't leave London alive.
What we are actually hearing at the Isle of Wight is an uneven concert in which Hendrix, just recovering from some combination of a cold/flu/withdrawal, was supposed to go on around 11 p.m., but ended up waiting until 3 a.m. The excellent DVD of the concert shows him looking weary, drawn, sometimes frustrated, other times careless and resigned. He makes several sarcastic and/or self-doubting comments to the audience, and during "Freedom" he seems to mouth the words "f**k you" to someone in the audience. At no point in the concert does he actually seem enthusiastic about the gig. He was playing in the cold night air on an island off the English coast (which probably made his fingers a bit stiff), and to top it off, he was having serious equipment troubles, most notably (but not only) in the festival security transmissions which periodically erupt from his amplifiers. These problems also wreak havoc on his guitar sound which alternates between completely saturated, uncontrollably-howling feedback and a thin, under-powered sound. The recurrent equipment troubles are reflected in the fact that Mitch Mitchell takes four lengthy drum solos at different parts of the concert, as Hendrix and his roadies try to work out the technical problems.
It must have been a hard position for Hendrix to be in. At the Isle of Wight, he probably felt that he needed to provide an exciting performance to the British audience who had launched him to fame, and for whom he hadn't played since February of 1969. At the same time, he was trying to adopt a more laid-back, music-focused performing style in contrast to the stage histrionics of his earlier years, and he was definitely tiring of playing his older songs. Recordings from summer 1970 often find him giving rushed and perfunctory performances of the older songs, while facing indifferent audience response when he took his time presenting the newer unrecorded material. Plus, as all the biographies indicate, he was SERIOUSLY stressed out by problems with his management during this time. In fact, Richie Havens claims (in Keith Shadwick's book on Hendrix) that just before taking the stage at this very Isle of Wight concert, Hendrix told him that his managers were stressing him out so badly that he was having problems sleeping and eating. I doubt any artist would be able to rise to the occasion and pull off a stellar performance under those circumstances. Hendrix had played several strong concerts around America during the spring and summer of 1970, but the combination of circumstances doomed this particular one. It was his first English concert in 18 months, and he was trying to compensate by giving an epic performance (i.e. a long set featuring lots of new material, some which had hardly ever been performed onstage before). Unfortunately, he fell a bit short on this night.
Despite the problems, Hendrix starts out very strongly for the first 7 songs or so, playing a spirited mixture of old and new material. There are even a few moments of brilliance. If the concert had stayed at this level, it would have been a very solid (but not stellar) night. From the opening "God Save the Queen" (treated similarly to his rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner") through "Red House," the band sounds very strong. Then suddenly, everything seems to fall apart. By the time the band hit "Message to Love" and "Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun)" toward the middle of the set, Hendrix sounds completely lost. His guitar is woefully out of tune and for the most part, he doesn't even bother to re-tune it! There are unofficial recordings out there in which Hendrix is torn-down drunk, or stoned out of his mind, but in which he still manages to pull off his trademark liquid phrasing. Not so at the Isle of Wight. What was bugging him on this night went beyond intoxication or state of mind. You can hear the stiffness as the strings slip from under his fingers when he reaches for notes to express himself. And you can hear him trying to keep his ideas and energy focused, although his mind, body and spirit are obviously in conflict. For much of the concert, in fact, it really seems as if he is fighting against the guitar (and himself) to make it do what he wants it to do. As such, there is an emotional sense of desperation in his playing. His sound is often harsh and the rhythmic and melodic shapes he builds are unusually blunt and sloppily executed.
The band pull it together for an excellent run through "In From the Storm" to close the show. But this cannot salvage a sub-par performance. The point, however, is that all great artists have bad nights, and this was merely one such bad night for Hendrix. It's not the tragedy that historians have made it out to be. This is made particularly clear by watching the DVD version. With all of the problems, the band was obviously just trying to make it through the gig that night. Ironically, it is that effort that provides this concert with its own type of strange, poignant beauty. Hendrix's struggle to make it through the show results in some beautifully poetic statements, particularly on the slow "Midnight Lightning," which for all its stiffness comes across like deep, electrified Delta blues ringing in the night air. To me, it perfectly sums up the desperation, fatigue and frustration Hendrix must felt at that moment. Further, drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox sound excellent throughout.
The packaging is attractive. Keith Altham's notes are good, but they don't really address the significance of the occasion. It would have been nice if Altham's notes had been supplemented by (Hendrix historian) John McDermott's. Tony Brown's book "Hendrix: The Final Days" gives a good background to this event. But despite its flaws, this was one of Hendrix's most significant performances and it's great that Experience Hendrix have finally brought it out in its entirety after 32 years (actually, I did notice a few seconds edited out of the solo section of "Hey Baby"). I guess it's the mark of a great artist that even in a sub-par performance, you can find much to love and value. Personally, I have never stopped listening to the Isle of Wight concert over the years, as there are many excellent moments scattered throughout. Once you get past narrow evaluations of "good concert" versus "bad concert," the truth is that Jimi Hendrix presented a night of tortured, emotionally harrowing playing.
That's all I can say. I wouldn't recommend this as a introduction to Hendrix's live recordings for a first-time buyer. The people who purchase this will probably already know what they are getting.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hendrix channels God!, December 18, 2002
A friend of mine once said about Hendrix, "Even at his worst, you can always find that glimmer of genius." Don't get me wrong. Isle of Wight is nowhere near his worst performance, though not his best either. It's a rough and bumpy ride smothered in genius. This two CD, eighteen song set, complete with rare photos and liner notes by Keith Altham, represents the end of an era. It closes the book on peace, love, and good happiness stuff. He died nineteen days after this August 30, 1970 concert. A final summation of what he created, and what he would leave behind.Despite a 2:00am down beat, no rehearsals, and a venue on the verge of exploding into a riot, The Jimi Hendrix Experience took the stage. With Mitch Mitchell on drums, and His Funkiness Billy Cox on bass, the band tore into material both old and new. "God Save the Queen" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" start off the sonic festivities. The performance is raw, but thanks to Eddie Kramer's mixing skills the quality is smooth as glass. It's full of clams, false starts, and radio transmissions coming through the amps. Univibe and Fuzz galore. Drum solos. Blues. "Midnight Lightning." Whammy abuse. Tuning problems? It doesn't matter. Jimi paints with sound, and "Only cowboys stay in tune." You hear the band working together creating moment to moment, maneuvering through the ebb and flow of extended improvisation. Blue Wild Angel illustrates the magic of Jimi Hendrix despite the flaws. You witness the band get it together and build up speed like a berserk locomotive. They're playing to 600,000 people. Twice as many as Woodstock. It's a historic document with the most brutal display of guitar virtuosity on the planet.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally -- the COMPLETE recording of Jimi's Isle of Wight!, November 13, 2002
Forgive me, but I happen to be slightly biased -- this is one great live JH disc. Experience Hendrix did the right thing - they released the complete concert, which also includes a 22 minute version of "Machine Gun". No longer are we subject to Alan "Hatchet Job" Douglas's "Live at the Isle of Wight" nightmare. The sound quality is fantastic -- prior to this I had a collector's CD which was pieced from several sources, with a lot of hiss and extra bass. BWA fixes all these -- it's like listening to the concert with completely new ears! I'm a Hendrix fan -- and if you are, too -- you need to get this 2 disc set. If you're only a casual fan, I'd still recommend it. If you're new to Jimi -- I'd recommend getting "Are You Experienced", "Axis: Bold as Love", and "Electric Ladyland" first.
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