Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Stone Free
2. Power Of Soul
3. Hear My Train A Comin'
4. Izabella
5. Machine Gun
6. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
7. We Gotta Live Together

Disc 2:

1. Auld Lang Syne
2. Who Knows
3. Changes
4. Machine Gun
5. Stepping Stone
6. Stop
7. Earth Blues
8. Burning Desire
9. Wild Thing

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7661 in Music
• Released on: 1999-04-06
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Box set, Live, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 115 minutes

CD Description
With Army buddy Billy Cox on bass and the Electric Flag's Buddy Miles on drums, Hendrix played four shows at the Fillmore East that closed out one decade and welcomed in another. This record (in addition to the video of the same name and the BAND OF GYPSYS album) documents these performances. Material he'd done with the Experience ("Stone Free", "Wild Thing") is mixed in with newer songs he'd worked on with the Gypsys, including "Power Of Soul" and "Machine Gun". Unlike his tenure with the Experience, Hendrix shares the spotlight with his new trio, with Buddy Miles performing a mini-set of "We Gotta Live Together", "Changes", and a cover of Howard Tate's "Stop".
Newer songs such as "Earth Blues" and "Who Knows" ooze with synergy, particularly between Cox and Hendrix. For all the chemistry however, Hendrix remains the master.His crisp reading of "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" starts out in a straightforward enough manner before Hendrix beginsdestroying worlds with a high-flying style that dances around the edges of self-indulgence into a place of pure genius.

Customer Reviews

A fine performance
Other reviews give a track by track listing, so there’s no point in repeating that. I’ll just emphasise a few points that a Hendrix fan might want to be clear on before deciding whether or not to buy this double CD.

The first thing to note about this release is that the contents of this double CD differ from the tracks previously released on ‘Band Of Gypsys’ – I had thought is was just an extended compilation of tracks from the four shows on 31.12.69 and 01.01.70 but the track listing and enclosed booklet point out this important detail. Even if you have ‘BOG’, it is still very worthwhile getting this set for the different performances if you are a keen Hendrix fan. Secondly, given the dates of these shows, I have to commend the sound quality as it is excellent – a real treat for the ears.

One of the marvellous things about collecting Hendrix’s recordings is that you will very rarely, if ever, find two exactly similar performances of the same song. For example, the opening track ‘Stone Free’ runs for 12:56 and includes some wonderful guitar work with additional vocal elements that work extremely well. There are many good tracks in this set, although there are one or two places that lean too far towards soul music for my taste – not my choice, but you might like it. Overall though, this is an impressive set of recordings and fits well in a Hendrix collection with generally excellent guitar work and the band seemingly enjoying themselves. I still prefer the original ‘Experience’ line-up as I felt they added more than just musical ability to a performance.

Live At Filmore East
'Live at Filmore East' is a double live album of Jimi Hendrix playing with Band of Gypseys. Having just listened to 'Live at Monterey' which was at the start of his career and this which was towards the end, you can see some real differences. 'Monterey' had short, punchy songs designed to make an impact and this Filmore concert has more extended jams and longer songs where Jimi gets into his groove and shows you a more bluesy, almost jazzy side of his playing. You get a storming selection of tracks and highlights for me were 'Izabella', both versions of 'Machine Gun', 'Voodoo Chile' and 'Earth Blues'. Saying that, this whole concert has amazing tracks and an incredible feel. Yet again with these Experience Hendrix recordings there is a great essay booklet and makes for a wonderful overall package. If you like Jimi when he goes off on a jam and you can feel his groove, then this is the album for you and makes a worthy addition to any Hendrix collection. Well worth a buy.

Essential Hendrix
Band of Gypsys has always been my favourite Hendrix album, and this expanded set from the same performances at the Filmore is even better. The sound quality is spot on and the rhythm section of Buddy Miles and Billy Cox keep Hendrix grounded and yet give him more space in a way that The Experience never did. Stunning, beautiful, powerful. One of the finest live performances ever recorded.