Woodstock

Sometimes an artist can turn a Live recording into something that captures a generation. A snapshot of that point in time if you will. Jimi Hendrix did that on two occasions with his God like playing. Monterey Pop Festival, in which we are introduced to the Hippie Generation and where we have the iconic image of him destroying his Fender and lighting it on fire. The other being Hendrix playing The Star Spangled Banner to the masses at Woodstock. Practically everyone and their mother recognizes the image of Hendrix at Woodstock or the tune. In fact that image is currently in an eBay commercial. Proof that singular performance is still relevant today.

'Woodstock' was released in '94. Probably in a sly way to tie in the twenty-five years since Woodstock happened. Actually it was released two days after the actual twenty five year mark. Hendrix of course played the final day of Woodstock. Most people familiar with him were expecting to see him preform with The Experience, his backing back consisting of Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding. Instead they got his new band, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows. In fact the only time real time anyone ever saw this lineup was at Woodstock. The band would be revamped and shorted down to A Band Of Gypsy's for the next album.

The album captures a chunk of Hendrix's performance at Woodstock. August 18, 1969, marked the end of of the three day festival. Hendrix was initially to hit the stage at Midnight, but decided to wait til the morning to play. At 8 AM, Hendrix took the stage and gave one of the best performances ever. Even more amazing was the fact that Hendrix had been up for three days straight before, only to collapse from exhaustion after his set. The performance is still cited as one of the greatest ever in the history of Rock. And why shouldn't they, after all Hendrix say hello and goodbye to the Hippie Generation in two superb performances.

Preview

Download