JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967
December 26, 2023, 5 months ago
(Experience Hendrix)
Few rock artists rocketed to superstardom as quickly as James Marshal Hendrix did. If you'll allow me to put it all in perspective, the now-classic debut by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced, was released in North America on August 23, 1967, and by this point, the trio (singer/guitarist Hendrix, bassist Noel Redding, and drummer Mitch Mitchell) was regularly blowing away the headlining acts on bills they shared.
Case in point, opening for the Mamas and Papas five days earlier. And the proof is in the pudding of the recently released live release, Hollywood Bowl - August 18, 1967.
Much of the tunes performed here replicate many of the same ones performed three months earlier at what is usually widely considered the trio's breakthrough (a show-stealing performance at the Monterey Pop Festival), as evidenced by such covers as “Killing Floor,” “Like A Rolling Stone,” and “Wild Thing.”
Add to it such other covers as “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Catfish Blues,” as well as renditions of such JHE originals as “The Wind Cries Mary” (albeit with a few vocal flubs), “Foxey Lady,” “Fire,” and “Purple Haze,” and you have a great/authentic audio snapshot of Jimi mere moments away from becoming a legend.
