1969 was a period of upheaval and transition for
Jimi Hendrix. While 1968's
Electric Ladyland was a strikingly ambitious masterpiece, efforts to record a follow-up had stalled, and tensions were growing between
Hendrix and the members of his backing group,
the Experience, particularly bassist
Noel Redding, who had grown tired of
Hendrix's unpredictability (and was perhaps overestimating the public's desire to hear his new band,
Fat Mattress).
The Jimi Hendrix Experience would play their last show at the end of June 1969, and 2022's
Live at the L.A. Forum, April 26, 1969 documents a somewhat chaotic gig two months before the trio imploded.
Hendrix and his band were playing for an overzealous capacity crowd who were eager to get as close to the stage as they could, while a similarly determined group of policemen working as security at the show were doing all they could to hold them back. In the midst of it all,
the Experience were trying to play a show, and the result is a performance where
Hendrix has to occasionally urge the crowd to cool out in the midst of a set full of extended jamming. If this isn't the most tightly focused
Jimi Hendrix Experience performance of all, it shows the group was still capable of delivering exciting, remarkable music even under difficult circumstances. The feel of the show is loose, beginning with a 15-minute jam on "Tax Free," a little-known number by the Swedish combo
Hansson & Karlsson, and ending with a 17-minute exploration of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" that takes a detour through
Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" about nine minutes in. (The set also includes a short preview of the version of "The Star Spangled Banner" that would become an iconic part of
Hendrix's set at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair that August.) As always, the interaction between
Hendrix and drummer
Mitch Mitchell is at the heart of this music; the bursts of jazzy fury from
Mitchell's kit mesh well with the noisy sonic wanderlust of
Hendrix's guitar, and both were in an inspired fashion this evening, while
Redding's bass gives the music a simple but steady foundation. Though the evening might have been something of a challenge in terms of crowd control,
Hendrix's between-song banter finds him in impressively good humor, and the imagination and daring in his songwriting and guitar work is still dazzling 53 years later. The original recordings of the L.A. Forum show were engineered by
Wally Heider and
Bill Halverson and remixed by
Eddie Kramer for this, the first authorized release of the full concert, and the depth, detail, and sense of space in the audio serves this performance well. It sometimes seems like every note
Hendrix played that was documented by recording equipment will eventually see authorized release, but
Live at the L.A. Forum, April 26, 1969 is a superb reminder that most of that music is still vital, rewarding, and well worth hearing. ~ Mark Deming