The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum - April 26, 1969 (2-LP Vinyl)
Review
The estate of the late, great Jimi Hendrix has been rather generous with its archive in recent times, particularly with some terrific and historic live material from the guitar legend. Recordings previously issued have been cleaned up and expanded. And many that were popular bootlegs have been officially released in much better sonic condition.
This appearance by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in Los Angeles in April of 1969 is a dazzler. Not only is the hour-plus set loaded with freeform jamming- the Experience now settled in as the premier power trio of the era- but the tapes have been cleaned up and mixed by Hendrix’ longtime engineer, Eddie Kramer. In technicolor, Jimi’s guitar ascends like a phoenix; scorching through the opening “Tax Free” and rendering “Red House” as a blues masterpiece.
Hendrix tells the rambunctious Forum crowd to think of the concert as church. It feels just as much like a rally; Jimi even offers a few sly acknowledgements of the plain clothes police amongst the L.A. longhairs. “Spanish Castle Magic” is especially ferocious. And while not as incendiary as the Woodstock version that would ignite four months later, his version of the “Star Spangled Banner” is, in hindsight, a glowing preview, even if Jimi sights it as brainwash. The closing medley of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” that dips into an instrumental run of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” is a neat reminder of Cream’s send-off at the Forum just a half-year earlier; Hendrix was now alone atop the power trio mountain.
With liner notes by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, who was in attendance that night, it’s easy to hear how and why Jimi Hendrix inspired both his contemporaries and the generations to follow; basically, he’s playing the guitar like no one had before. And that’s probably the best reason to add this Forum performance to any Hendrix library; it’s yet another sonically restored gem of an appearance by Jimi, drummer Mitch Mitchell, and bassist Noel Redding.
It’s also easy to understand why maybe there was law enforcement, undercover or otherwise, in the fabulous Forum that evening. This wasn’t just Hendrix preaching to his choir. This was Hendrix hypnotizing by the thousands. This was the evolution of the revolution, electrified.
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— Larson Sutton, jambands.com
Product Details
April 1969 found Hendrix at a crossroads: the original Experience was quietly fracturing, with Noel Redding growing increasingly restless, and the Band of Gypsys lineup still months away. That tension never made it onto the stage that night in Inglewood, where the trio played with the kind of locked-in ferocity that defined their final year together.
Live At The L.A. Forum presents an extraordinary April 1969 performance by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Before a raucous, sold-out house, Hendrix, drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding tore through a unique set featuring highlights such as "I Don't Live Today," "Purple Haze," "Red House,"and an astonishing medley of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love". This pristine recording, newly mixed by Hendrix's longtime engineer Eddie Kramer, captures the original Jimi Hendrix Experience in their unrivaled, peak form. A portion of this performance was previously included as part of a short-lived Westwood One radio documentary box set [Lifelines 1990-1992] but has been unavailable in any form for two decades and this marks the first time ever that it will be available on vinyl. The double LP release in gorgeous gatefold packaging and a 12 page 12"x12" book--complete with liner notes from ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons who witnessed the show first hand--gives this seminal performance its proper platform, presenting the complete performance mixed directly from the original eight-track master tapes.
Tracklist
Side A
Side B
Side C
UPC: 196587246815
Label: Sony Legacy
Release Date: 11.18.22
Format: LP Vinyl