Recorded just a short time after their rousing performance at Monterey Pop, but before Are You Experience? had come out here in the US, and following their disastrous tour with The Monkees, The Jimi Hendrix Experience were booked to open up for The Mamas and the Papas at the famed Los Angeles venue The Hollywood Bowl in front of 18,000 people. As with the Monkees tour, opening for folk darlings The Mamas and the Papas probably was another poor decision, as the two acts couldn't be more different, plus, with the Monterey Pop film not yet released, Jimi's quick rise to superstardom was still a few months away. All that being said, the band plowed through an energetic 42-minute set on this evening in front of a highly indifferent crowd, the frustration of the band pretty clear during the between-song interactions, or, rather, lack of them. As with most of the early Experience set lists, expect a good chunk of covers mixed with a few of the new originals from the soon-to-be-released debut album. Of the covers, it's the old blues numbers that work best, here we get a rousing "Killing Floor" and a scorching "Catfish Blues", and mixed with fiery takes on new tracks "Purple Haze", "Fire", "Foxey Lady", and "The Wind Cries Mary", it's a smashing set that rivals the performance from Monterey Pop, though perhaps not quite as breathtaking and without any guitar burning.
On the downside, Live at the Hollywood Bowl is marred by some sub-par sound, with the vocals of Jimi and bassist Noel Redding being way too loud in the mix, and much of the guitar, bass, and drums being very muddy when there are vocals. Of the more recent archival live materials released from the Hendrix Foundation, this recording is the least satisfying from a sonic perspective, but any new Jimi Hendrix live material is, ultimately, a win-win no matter how you look at it.
Performance- 4 out of 5 stars...sound quality- 3 out of 5. Overall, 3.5 for a very solid live Hendrix set.
Track Listing
1 Introduction
2 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
3 Killing Floor
4 The Wind Cries Mary
5 Foxey Lady
6 Catfish Blues
7 Fire
8 Like A Rolling Stone
9 Purple Haze
10 Wild Thing
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