Today would be Jimi Hendrix's 80th birthday

[spellbound]

Celebrate the greatest of all time. Jimi Hendrix: 27 November 1942 - 18 September 1970.

[rcarlberg]

Can you imagine what Hendrix would be like, what he would be doing if he was still alive today?

I can't.

[ronmac]

Best version of Voodoo Chile (Slight Return). Or you can back up and watch the full video which is as good as it gets. Some day, this will get released, assuming they can sort things out with the owner.

[rapidfirerob]

Jimi was in a class by himself. I never saw him live, sadly.

[rcarlberg]

What amazes me, as I get older, is how well Mitch and Noel were able to keep up with and support such a wildly-creative lead guitarist. They don't get enough credit! Sit down, buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride....

[Mythos]

Happy B-Day and RIP Jimi..

Just made a Roots of Space-Rock Collection and included "Third Stone from the Sun, "1983.. (A Mermaid I Should Turn to Be) and "Moon, Turn The Tides"...Gently, Gently", all great songs...

[Dana5140]

Was lucky enough to see Jimi 3 times- the first was with Soft Machine and the MC5, so one of the greatest shows I ever saw and it was only my second rock concert (I could not even drive then).

[Steve F.]

Was lucky enough to see Jimi 3 times- the first was with Soft Machine and the MC5, so one of the greatest shows I ever saw and it was only my second rock concert (I could not even drive then).

that is a great, 1968, triple bill. Damn.

[rcarlberg]

Back when ships were made of wood and men were made of steel and rock was gonna change the world.

[Dana5140]

that is a great, 1968, triple bill. Damn.

My God, it was superb. I fell in love with Soft Machine that night, too. My experience (heh heh) that night is also included in the book "Jimi Hendrix: The Night I Was There." . Here is the poster (I still have my copy, but my son has it). The Rationals did not play; another band stood in, called TIME (Trust in Men Everywhere).

original-1968-jimi-hendrix-detroit_1_72598e857c9fab90d5c0413a3cce6e96.jpg

[Munster]

Back when rock was gonna change the world.

Let’s be grateful it didn’t happen . I watched Jimi Hendrix Live in Maui last night (BBC iPlayer). It has some great footage of the concert Hendrix played (what a beautiful guitar his Flying V was) and he did appear to be having a good time. But as for the cast of characters around him who were promising “to change the world” – chief among them Chuck Wein, aka The Wizard – well, they were something else. Sure, they were a product of their time - and of certain “products” of their time. But by no stretch of the imagination could it be said they were in touch with reality. And as for that flying saucer spotted over Maui on the day of the concert, STILL talked about by some of Wein’s followers …

[Munster]

My God, it was superb. I fell in love with Soft Machine that night, too. My experience (heh heh) that night is also included in the book "Jimi Hendrix: The Night I Was There." . Here is the poster (I still have my copy, but my son has it). The Rationals did not play; another band stood in, called TIME (Trust in Men Everywhere).

original-1968-jimi-hendrix-detroit_1_72598e857c9fab90d5c0413a3cce6e96.jpg

What a line-up on that night. I have just ordered the book. It looks a good read and I will search for your entry.

[Rarebird]

Let’s be grateful it didn’t happen . I watched Jimi Hendrix Live in Maui last night (BBC iPlayer). It has some great footage of the concert Hendrix played (what a beautiful guitar his Flying V was)

One of the best looking rock-guitars, together with the Firebird.

[ronmac]

Let’s be grateful it didn’t happen . I watched Jimi Hendrix Live in Maui last night (BBC iPlayer). It has some great footage of the concert Hendrix played (what a beautiful guitar his Flying V was) and he did appear to be having a good time. But as for the cast of characters around him who were promising “to change the world” – chief among them Chuck Wein, aka The Wizard – well, they were something else. Sure, they were a product of their time - and of certain “products” of their time. But by no stretch of the imagination could it be said they were in touch with reality. And as for that flying saucer spotted over Maui on the day of the concert, STILL talked about by some of Wein’s followers …

It's also a great performance, unlike some of the less-inspired ones they've recently released.

[JJ88]

Let’s be grateful it didn’t happen . I watched Jimi Hendrix Live in Maui last night (BBC iPlayer). It has some great footage of the concert Hendrix played (what a beautiful guitar his Flying V was) and he did appear to be having a good time. But as for the cast of characters around him who were promising “to change the world” – chief among them Chuck Wein, aka The Wizard – well, they were something else. Sure, they were a product of their time - and of certain “products” of their time. But by no stretch of the imagination could it be said they were in touch with reality. And as for that flying saucer spotted over Maui on the day of the concert, STILL talked about by some of Wein’s followers …

I saw this too...about as bad as the original Rainbow Bridge movie! I didn't give a damn about any of these people. I understand that the Blu-ray features more Hendrix performance footage.

[ronmac]

I saw this too...about as bad as the original Rainbow Bridge movie! I didn't give a damn about any of these people. I understand that the Blu-ray features more Hendrix performance footage.

It's far better than the original movie. By miles, in fact.

[pb2015]

It's also a great performance, unlike some of the less-inspired ones they've recently released.

What are the less-inspired ones you have in mind? (I'm curious since I haven't been keeping up with the Hendrix archival releases lately.)

[ronmac]

What are the less-inspired ones you have in mind? (I'm curious since I haven't been keeping up with the Hendrix archival releases lately.)

Well, the Isle of Wight, Atlanta Pop Festival, and the new LA Forum release that just came out are not particularly great. I mean, it's still Jimi. But there are definitely better shows to put out.

[pb2015]

I suppose that they choose shows based on what is well recorded and easy to prepare for release. Seems to be true with most archival releases lately.

[ronmac]

I suppose that they choose shows based on what is well recorded and easy to prepare for release. Seems to be true with most archival releases lately.

There are plenty of well-recorded shows that they could release. The 1970 Berkley show would be one off the top of my head. The great San Diego Sports Arena show from 69 was released years ago by the snake, Alan Douglas, but not the family. It's long out of print. That could be released. They still have not been able to negotiate a deal for the Royal Albert hall show.

There are others, for sure.

[Munster]

My God, it was superb. I fell in love with Soft Machine that night, too. My experience (heh heh) that night is also included in the book "Jimi Hendrix: The Night I Was There."

I’ve been reading ‘Jimi Hendrix: The Day I was There’. It is extremely interesting – and I haven’t even got to the concert at the Masonic Temple in Detroit on February 23 1968! One thing that stands out is how many times in the early days people remember Hendrix smashing his guitar or setting it alight at the end of a concert. In 1967 in the UK alone, before his appearance at Monterey and so before he became famous, there are at least 40 concerts mentioned in the book. Apparently Stratocasters at that time cost a lot - £70, one person mentions – so I was wondering how he could afford to buy so many guitars while he was still a relative unknown.

I found this recent article, which suggests Hendrix used a specific guitar to destroy at the end of a concert, which was then glued/screwed together for the next concert. The article says it is ‘especially difficult to determine, in hindsight, how many Strats Jimi used. We’ll almost certainly never know for sure, but there were probably no more than 15 base instruments – regularly repurposed and chopped about, sometimes with the same neck appearing on several bodies – right up to the point in 1968 when, as we’ll see, Jimi appeared to settle on two primary instruments.’

But in the book no-one mentions seeing him switching guitars just before his final number and no one mentions him playing what would have been a fairly battered-looking guitar (if every night Hendrix’s roadies had to rebuild it from scrap). And a fair number of Marshall speakers were destroyed too. The article goes some way to explaining what happened, but I am not sure it is the whole expensive story.

https://www.guitarworld.com/features...-stratocasters