Jimi Hendrix Experience - Los Angeles Forum April 26, 1969

 

Of course, I am a huge Hendrix fan and have been for almost as long as I can remember - there is little that he ever did poorly in my eye, so consider that whenever you read anything I have to say about the man. Of course, even I consider some of his work better than others, but this one is especially ferocious! In light of the fact that the Experience would break up in just over a month's time, the performance here is incendiary - everyone is on fire as they blast through a mix of little known numbers as well as their biggest hits.

Opening with Jimi's fun, free-form rappin', they go into "Tax Free", a "song" they picked up from Hansson and Karlsson, a Swedish instrumental jazz duo, Jimi turns it into a 16 minute loose jam - while their playing is terrific throughout (although the extended drum solo is a bit ostentatious), there is basically no song structure to speak of. Heck, some of Jimi's obvious jams have more changes'n'variations. Interesting way to start a set! I guess it just goes to show that Jimi wasn't too worry about pandering to those who just wanted the hits!

But, from there we are treated to a powerful "Foxey Lady", he shows his mastery'n'knowledge of the blues - past, present'n'future and all the tricks of the trade - in "Red House" (did Jimi ever do a bad version of this one? He always let loose in the best of ways when he played this live with imaginative use of his whammy and wah-wah with plenty of his patented sound "tricks"), and it seems that he always extended "Spanish Castle Magic" in a live setting and he definitely trips out here with some fantastical sounds including an almost jazzy, middle breakdown. This is followed by an early take on the "Star Spangled Banner", with a bit less bombasticness than the later Woodstock version, but still with some finely abrasive'n'beautiful noise. As with Woodstock, they segue into their incredible hit song, "Purple Haze", which is given a pretty straightforward reading, although with a bit of a spectacularly extended solo section and an incredible ending, before going into one of my faves, the semi-nihilistic "I Don't Live Today", filled with Native American-styled drumming and more gorgeous noize (and yet another reference to the Smothers Brothers, although there is no explanation as to why) - my gawd, this must have been amazing to experience live! The finale is another one of Jimi's more perfect live numbers, "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)", which again highlights the mid-boggling playing of the band as they extend the jam and include a bit of "Sunshine Of Your Love" as a tribute to Cream, as they would at this time. The transitions can be a little awkward, but it's still pretty terrific.

The booklet included has a nice remembrance from Billy Gibbons, whose Moving Sidewalks playing with Jimi now'n'again and who actually witnessed the show at the Forum. The rest of the text, though, is just a generic overview of the times and a super brief background of the stadium - nothing particularly informative or interesting. I'm sure that a lot more could have been said, especially as this must have been one of the last shows that the Experience played, as Jimi has Gypsy, Suns and Rainbows at Woodstock just a few months later. Some nice photos of Jimi, though.

Overall, this is another extra-special live show from the original Experience. Highly recommended for fans!