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List Price: $21.49 | | Publisher: Faber and Faber
Salesrank: 800873
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| Our Price: $14.95 |
| Used Price: $2.74 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
In the thirty years since Jimi Hendrix died his influence has not diminished - for many musicians Hendrix represents the distillation of the counter-culture, while his distinctive style is constantly revived and mimicked by performers today. This book traces the sources of Hendrix's talent, showing how his knowledge of black musical traditions enabled him to cross racial barriers and achieve legendary status as both musician and performer.
Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix and Post-war Pop Reviews:
Not a bio, and that's good. 
2008-11-19 - This is not a biography of Jimi Hendrix. There are enough bios on Hendrix for anyone who wants to read one to be satisfied, with Charles Cross's Room Full of Mirrors the best of the more recent ones, and David Henderson's Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky probably the best that's been written. But Murray is striving for something deeper and I think, more valuable. He's not interested in telling the story of Hendrix's life so much as he's interested in telling us why Hendrix mattered so much. In doing so, he's written one of the best, most insightful books ever about the work of a single rock artist. He puts Hendrix's music in historical perspective regarding a whole range of music styles, from blues to gospel to jazz. He addresses Hendrix's importance as a guitarist with a great critic's ear and deep knowledge of the instrument's history, and draws really interesting comparisons between Hendrix and Charlie Christian, Hendrix and Robert Johnson, etc. And, he addresses the political and social importance of Hendrix as a black icon of hipness and a virtuoso performer, treating Hendrix alongside larger myths concerning "the 60s" and offering some penetrating discussion of the racial myths, tensions and conflicts that surrounded the guitarist's celebrity. The book is not perfect - I find the chapter on Hendrix and sexuality a bit disappointing, in particular, as Murray is too willing to label white musicians sexist while letting black musicians off the hook. But on the whole, if you want a book about Hendrix that digs beneath the surface not to reveal the private man behind the music, but the deeper meaning of the public Hendrix who was one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century, few other books compare (Greg Tate's Midnight Lightning makes a valiant effort, but I don't think it quite measures up to Murray's book).
Not a bio, a mildly interesting musical commentary 
2008-09-10 - I got this book because it was one recommended in a list of Hendrix bios by someone, and was mostly disappointed. Only the second and third -- out of around 11 -- chapters cover Hendrix's life. Those chapters were well written and facinating although they just skimmed the surface.
The other chapters are commentaries on the sixties, blues music, soul music, that are tangentially related to Hendrix's life and music. The commentaries were the kind that I find very boring and dated. Long discussions about how white America can or can't relate to the blues, whether Hendrix was a black musician crossing over or defined a whole new genre, etc. I tend to find such writing boring so I can't really judge it very objectively. If unlike me you like that kind of stuff you might like this book. However, if you are looking for a bio about Hendrix and his music there must be better ones around.
Hendrix is Musical Mastermind 
2004-04-01 - This book is not just a biography as some may think. It also discusses different political, social, cultural, and of course musical aspects that come from a variety of perspectives. This allows the reader to better see where Hendrix was coming from and how he came about creating such an impacting new type of music, which caused him to be the legend that he is. Even if you're not quite the Hendrix fan or even music fan for that matter this book is sure to hook almost anyone.
This book revealed many things about Hendrix I was not aware of. Before this book I felt I had an adequate knowledge of Hendrix, but through the book's excellent portrayal of things like the sixties, other artists of his time, and Hendrix's upbringing I got to see exactly how he came about making the name for himself that he holds today. Those things also helped me link reasons for various song lyrics of Hendrix's.
I can't stress the fact enough of how much of an impact the content in this book outside of Hendrix was. Other interesting topics in the book included an excellent history of the electric guitar as well as brief insists of other artist's music such as Janice Joplin, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan. I especially enjoyed learning about the hardships that Hendrix had to overcome while working his way up to success.
