The Jimi Hendrix estate, better known these days as Experience Hendrix, have been busy releasing plenty of remastered version of classic Hendrix material, as well as re-releasing some of his landmark live appearances. Live at Monterey is basically the show that put Jimi and the Experience on the map, a daring 45-minute, 9 song performance from the 1967 Monterey Pop festival in Monterey, California. Though the festival saw other stallar sets from acts such as The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield, Big Brother & Holding Company, Electric Flag, Canned Heat, The Byrds, and many others, it was the wild black man from America with his amazing guitar that really took the festival by storm and cemented his place as one of the stars of the new pop & rock scene.
This CD release (there's a companion DVD as well) documents the entire set, complete with a short introduction from then Rolling Stone lead guitarist Brian Jones. You get a few early classics, such as "Purple Haze", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Hey Joe", and a rabid "Foxey Lady", but it's the raucous blues cuts "Killing Floor" and "Rock Me Baby", as well as the hot covers of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" and The Troggs' "Wild Thing" that makes this set worth having. Who can forget the image of Jimi straddling and making love to his Fender Stratocaster, then smashing it to bits and lighting it on fire during "Wild Thing" ? Well, if you've seen the footage, you know what to expect and it's probably ingrained in your memory banks, but with the CD you can hear the destruction and feedback as Hendrix does his thing. Also have to love the crankin' "Can You See Me" here, complete with acrobatic drum work from Mitch Mitchell and Jimi's distorted, feedback laden riffs & solos. All of Jimi's ramblings to the crowd in between songs were left in, which adds a certain 'innocent charm' to this performance.
Live at Monterey...the Jimi Hendrix Experience in all their early, raw power. If you own his other noteworthy live performances, such as Woodstock, Berkeley, Band of Gypsys (at New York's Fillmore), or Isle of Wight, you'll no doubt want to add this to your collection. It comes in a great little digipack that has a booklet filled with photos from the show and info on the festival. Sadly, no essays about Jimi and his set at Monterey, which is kind of odd. Soundwise, this recording is showing its age a bit, but Eddie Kramer & Co. have done a decent job making this sound as good as it can be, though the Woodstock set has aged better.
Track Listing
1. Intro 0:39
2. Killing Floor 3:14
3. Foxey Lady 3:28
4. Like A Rolling Stone 7:06
5. Rock Me Baby 3:37
6. Hey Joe 5:11
7. Can You See Me 2:37
8. The Wind Cries Mary 3:53
9. Purple Haze 5:34
10. Wild Thing 7:49
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