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The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Live at Monterey
(Experience Hendrix/Geffen/UMe)
#1 Boxed Set/Live Album/Music DVD for
2007
First Appeared in The Music Box, October 2007, Volume 14, #10
Written by John Metzger
The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s appearance at the Monterey International Pop
Festival in 1967 has been available for years in an array of audio and video
formats. Live at Monterey is yet another permutation of D.A. Pennebaker’s
films Monterey Pop and its offshoot Jimi Plays Monterey. To say,
however, that there is nothing revelatory about its latest incarnation in
separate CD and DVD packages would be to miss the point entirely. To put it
bluntly, one of the most important and exhilarating performances in the history
of rock ’n‘ roll has never looked or sounded better.
The histories of both the Monterey International Pop Festival and Jimi
Hendrix’s emergence from the British music scene have been told so frequently
that they have become pop culture legends. Yet, understanding the background is
a crucial component to comprehending the bigger picture. Initially conceived as
a single-day commercial concert, the Monterey International Pop Festival
blossomed into a weekend-long charity event that succeeded in its attempt to
bring credibility to the burgeoning rock scene. In the preceding nine months,
Hendrix had moved to London and taken the U.K. by storm, though he remained a
relatively unknown commodity in the United States. By fusing vintage footage
with previously unreleased and newly conducted interviews, these stories are
repeated in the documentary American Landing that opens the DVD rendition
of Live at Monterey, thus providing the context for everything that
follows.
There’s no doubt that part of Hendrix’s mystique was dependent upon the
visual aspects of his stage show. Consequently, although the soundtrack to
Live at Monterey makes a fine album — and it features one song (Can You
See Me) that wasn’t filmed — Hendrix’s performance must be seen in order to
appreciate fully what he accomplished. As amazing as his delivery was, it’s all
the more intoxicating to watch how he manipulated the audience. At Monterey,
Hendrix not only was aware that he had everything to prove, but he also had
complete confidence in knowing that what he was about to do would cause quite
stir.
Introduced by the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones, Hendrix took the stage and
launched into a rapid-fire rendition of Howling Wolf’s Killing Floor.
Fueled by the caffeinated rhythm supplied by bass player Noel Redding and
drummer Mitch Mitchell, the song immediately was urgent and gripping. Although
Hendrix tossed off the kinds of guitar riffs that he could play in his sleep,
the intensity of his performance demanded attention, and the glint in his eye
indicated that he had a few tricks stuffed up his sleeve.
With each passing tune in his perfectly paced set, Hendrix raised the ante.
He played guitar between his legs, behind his back, and with his teeth, and like
the cosmic flight director he was, Hendrix masterfully coaxed the audience
through a multitude of moods. He was aware that his reputation had preceded him,
and he used this to his advantage, teasing and taunting the crowd at every turn.
He reveled in the feverishly sensual drive of Foxey Lady, the gentle
beauty of The Wind Cries Mary, and the hard-driving, psychedelic angst of
Purple Haze. Elsewhere, B.B. King’s Rock Me Baby was turned into a
furiously thrashing, crash-and-burn blast of white-hot heat, while Bob Dylan’s
Like a Rolling Stone was tender and seductive, yet undeniably dangerous.
Through it all, Hendrix’s highly combustible solos never failed to hit their
mark, and each seemed to build upon the one before it as he carefully laid a
path that could only lead to a full-scale release of the tension he was
creating.
Somehow, someway, Hendrix simultaneously was living completely within the
moment while also working his way through a script that he cleverly had mapped
out in his head. The music that emanated from the stage was raw and visceral,
and even 40 years later, it is impossible to turn away from watching him perform
his madman’s march. After a few cryptic words of warning, he cajoled a wall of
feedback and distortion from his guitar before guiding Redding and Mitchell
straight into the heady, heavy sludge of Chip Taylor’s Wild Thing.
Tucking a snippet from Frank Sinatra’s 1966 hit Strangers in the Night
into the tune’s mid-section, Hendrix effectively co-opted and upended the pop
universe. He further broadened the cultural and generational divides by pressing
his guitar against an amp and simulating sexual intercourse. He then crouched
over his instrument, doused it with lighter fluid, and set it on fire before
bringing his set to an abrupt conclusion by manically swinging his guitar over
his head and smashing it to bits. His antics, of course, were shocking to the
assembled crowd — the cameras captured the reaction with long, lingering looks
at a few faces — and The Who’s own explosive outpouring was made to seem like
child’s play. Nevertheless, while Hendrix’s theatrics certainly helped to create
a buzz and attract a wealth of attention, it was his talent and charisma that
made him a star.
Live at Monterey comes padded with intriguing extras, too. Six cameras
were used to film the event, and for several tracks, viewers can create their
own visuals to accompany the music by flipping through the array of footage that
was shot. The set also includes a small photo gallery as well as an additional
interview segment with Lou Adler, one of the organizers of the Monterey
International Pop Festival. Of most interest, however, is the rare glimpse at
the Jimi Hendrix Experience performing in a small club in Chelmsford, England in
February 1967. The audio is fuzzy, and the picture is grainy. Nevertheless, the
material is priceless. Even without the bonus features, however, Live at
Monterey is, without a doubt, essential viewing. It is a rare, historical
artifact that hasn’t lost any of its edge. 
Live at Monterey is available on DVD from Amazon.
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Live at Monterey is available on CD from Amazon.
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Live at Monterey is available on Blu-ray from Amazon.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2007 The Music Box
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