Jimi Hendrix Video:

		List Price: $19.98		Label: Mca Salesrank: 53906 Released: July 6, 1999
		Our Price: $15.59
		Used Price: $3.46
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Jimi Hendrix's appearance at Woodstock may have been one of his most celebrated performances, as the producers of this DVD put it. But it would be a stretch to call it one of his greatest. By the time the guitarist finally took the stage, weather and endless logistical delays had pushed the show to Monday morning, a day after the festival was supposed to have ended. By then, the audience was too tired, hungry, wet, and stoned for Hendrix's set to be the expected apocalyptic finale. Hendrix himself was reportedly so wasted that he collapsed from exhaustion as soon as he left the stage.

Woodstock was the first gig by the Gypsy Sun and Rainbows band, a cross between the song-oriented focus of the original Experience (with drummer Mitch Mitchell) and the jam-happy Band of Gypsys (with bass player Billy Cox). Three other musicians, a rhythm guitarist and two percussionists, were on hand as well, but they are virtually inaudible in the audio mix and all but invisible in the film. That's not all bad; what we get instead are many close-ups of the guitarist at work, including shots of his enormous hands effortlessly navigating the frets and strings of his Stratocaster. And this is Jimi Hendrix we're talking about here, still the greatest rock guitar player ever. So while some of the set--a combination of familiar hits ("Fire," "Purple Haze," "Red House"), newer material "(Izabella"), and several jams--is perfunctory, there are moments of brilliance, like the blazing white noise he musters up on "Voodoo Child." In the end, any footage of Jimi Hendrix is worth having, as there isn't all that much of it around. But from a strictly musical standpoint, there's plenty of better live Hendrix out there, including on the four-CD box set The Jimi Hendrix Experience. --Sam Graham

Jimi Hendrix - Live at Woodstock Reviews:
5*'s for the 'real concert' 2*'s for the butchered version here.
2009-06-03 - I just wanted to add a few notes regarding a number of questions that arise in the reviews. The percussion of Juma Sultan and Jerry Velez and the rhythm guitar of Larry Lee is inaudible on the concert DVD (against Jimi's wishes obviously) due to the producers wishes (the reasons may have come from legal/financial issues). There are many good quality bootlegs of the 'real' mix which is actually rather good, with clear percussion and rhythm guitar. In my opinion this adds to the sound of the gig immensely (it's much more playful and inventive - not to mention fuller sounding).
Larry Lee actually sings on two tracks that have never found an official release. Did you know that Jimi Hendrix played 'Gypsy Woman' in tribute to one of his favourite guitarists and performer's, Curtis Mayfield for example? If you're a Hendrix nut you'll also have heard 'Mastermind' too, which was a Larry Lee composition. Presumably these very good and one off songs from the Hendrix canon were left off due to licencing, to some extent? However the real concern is; Why on earth somebody who looks after the Hendrix Estate trying to re-write Jimi Hendrix's life by censoring it in such a way?? The filmed footage concentrates in Jimi so much because when we see Juma and Larry playing away wthout any sound it makes no sense, so the edits try and cut them out of shot. This may be why there is no widescreen version?

It's dissaponting that someone thought this was a good idea. Personally I won't re-purchase this until they address the sound mix at least.

By the way Larry's very good guitar playing is kept clearly in the mix of 'Jam Back At The House' - even Jimi couldn't sound like 3 guitar players at once!

Hey Joe, where you goin...
2009-05-03 - I grew up in the Woodstock era and was actually stationed in nearby West Point after my Viet Nam tour. So this collection or documentary "The Road to Woodstock" directed by Bob Smeaton also holds a piece of me history.

I must say I almost did not watch this film as the front have was a packed with sound bites of people doing just what I did in the first paragraph of this review; they spent too much time telling how great they were and then some antidote about Jimi.

Hang in there you will be carried away. This is as close to live as you are going to get. Jimi is one of those performers that when let lose can perform rings around his formal recordings. Some times I think it is an acquired taste. I have to confess besides his adaptation of "Starspangled Banner" I was taken back more by "Hey Joe" written by Billy Roberts. Of course everyone has their favorites.

No mater how you look/listen to it this production deserves a place in your collection.

Electric Ladyland

This has better Audio than the 2005 version.
2005-10-28 - While the 2005 version has the complete concert, this 1999 version has its stereo soundtrack mastered at 448 kbps, while the 2005 stereo soundtrack is at 198 kbps. This results in that the 1999 one has more headroom and dynamic range and less compression then the 2005 version.

Abbreviated Concert Experience
2005-08-04 - From what I've read on the Experience Hendrix website, a new Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock DVD will soon be released (Sept 13th, 2005) which features more tracks, bonus material, and even a 2nd DVD containing black-and-white footage of the show filmed by a guy who was on the front row. My advice is: WAIT. Don't buy this version. Buy the Deluxe Edition that comes out in a month.

A Defining Moment
2005-02-12 - I'm giving this 5 starts because its Hendrix.

It seemed like the first part of the concert Hendrix was struggling to get things going. But once he did, that was all she wrote!

When I was 11 years old, I snuck into a theater to see Woodstock. I had little interest in the other performers (although I liked many of them very much). I was really only interested in Hendrix. When he finally appeared, I was overwhelmed by the power of his performance. Listening to that unbeliveable music, watching his hands; nothing in the rest of the festival could compare to it. It was beyond mere loud rock music. It was something akin to a religious experience. Now, almost four decades later, the power of that experience remains undiminished.

To this day, I can't listen to his Star Spangled Banner without getting chills. In that moment, in that short piece of unexpected unrehersed music, Hendrix grabbed the whole of the USA by the neck, looked it in the eye and said "You broke your covenent with God, and your promise to your people!" Who else could have bore the weight of such a musical statement?

We should be grateful that a Hendrix once walked the earth. With all due respect to Beck, Reid, Vai, and others; when we speak of the realm of heavily amplified electric guitar, in the end, there is only Hendrix.
There will never be another like him.