Jimi Hendrix – “Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight” DVD The last filmed appearance of the artist Hendrix (as opposed to last live appearance period, as has been erroneously noted in other quarters) and as such passed into semi-legend. I think this has been released before (with certain songs plagued by tech problems edited out) but this is the full concert, warts-n-all, with bonus interview footage from surviving members, filmmaker, tour manager, and Hendrix himself. One can see the occasional tech glitch running back and forth, and the police radio transmission that pops up during “Machine Gun” unfortunately wasn’t intended as “Musique Concrete”. Still, Hendrix is a professional: be there competing radio signals or ripped clothing, the show must go on and it does. The tape glitches that do appear aren’t as distractive as one would fear. The performance? Some songs catch on fire more than others (you can find the roots of all those bloated plodding rock jam/epics in the overextended “Machine Gun”), but if this isn’t as awe-inspiring as the Monterey show, he wasn’t exactly sleepwalking through this either. Overall this DVD helpfully demonstrates why Hendrix was often imitated but never bettered. David @ MCA/Universal |
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