Album Review: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Winterland
Well, it does not seem like there will ever be an end to the vast amount of archived material left behind by Jimi Hendrix, as since his untimely passing in 1970, his estate has released eight studio albums, over 20 live albums, and more compilations and box sets than you can shake a leg at. This is not to criticize the most recent release, Winterland, the live album featuring tracks from four of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s original line up (Hendrix-Redding-Mitchell) performing at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in 1968. The album has three different release formats; a “highlights” single CD edition, the standard four-disc box set, and the amazon exclusive five-disc box set.
The discs all contain a mix of tracks from the three nights, with disc one containing tracks from the two shows the night of April 10th, the first night, and so forth, with disc four containing other various tracks from the three nights. What makes the Winterland release particularly endearing to fans (like me) is that as it is still the earlier Experience, there are a lot of classic songs mixed in with some rare live performances. Winterland is the only other Experience live release (aside from Live at Monterey) to feature the covers of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor,” and Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.” The set lists lean a definite amount on tracks from the group’s first LP , with such songs as “Fire,” “Foxey Lady,” “Red House,” and of course, “Hey Joe,” and “Purple Haze.” Hendrix uses the shows as opportunities to either play new pieces, as in the case of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” which had not yet been official released, and to experiment with jams, as he does on “Tax Free,” and “Hear My Train A Comin’.” The box set also features two very rare performances of Hendrix covering Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love,” the only other official recording being on 2010’s Valleys of Neptune. The fourth disc also features a 20 minute interview with Hendrix from later that year, a great insight into his music mindset and opinions on music of the day.
As a whole, it is a great album for fans of any level, and a very good and concise introduction to Hendrix’s material, for those unfamiliar.
– Jackson Sinnenberg, host of Sinn 6:66, a classic rock radio show on WGTB that airs Fridays at 6pm
