Rating: 
Summary: good stuff but it needs more concert footage!
Review: I like this dvd I really think it is cool. But where's the rest of the footage? they really screw this one up! It does not show him playing with his teeth or any thing like that. jimi played wild thing and did an amazing solo with his teeth! but they just don't show it. it's only on the cd. If they re-release it with something better, then I would be satisfied. The interviews are good but this dvd definately needs more footage. then it would be much better. however. if you want to see some real action, get Jimi plays Monterey. He pulls it all out.
Rating: 
Summary: Just for real fans
Review: The music on this disc is great, but the video portion of the concert is just for big time fans. Granted, the video technology was cutting edge for the times, but watching it just gave me a headache. Don't get me wrong, I love Jimi, but the footage included here left we wanting. Black and white is OK, but FOCUS. I think the cameramen were more buzzed than Jimi!
Rating: 
Summary: Essential Jimi Hendrix DVD.
Review: I bought the VHS version of this in the dark days before I joined the rest of the digital generation and was sufficiently pleased with it...I knew going in that it was primarily a documentary, so missing the actual Fillmore gig wasn't that much of a letdown at the time.
>
Having said that, the DVD really is the way to go, as the documentary is of course included in its entirety, BUT SO IS THE GIG (or at least the lion's share of one of the shows). The concert presented here seems to be the one that was recorded for the original "Band of Gypsys" album from 1970 (which included, in my opinion, the strongest take of "Machine Gun", my personal favorite of all Jimi's songs). The video quality is bootleg at best, with only one (maybe two) camera angles used during the entire concert, and the camera never gets close enough to enable you to get a good look at Jimi's technique (which may be disappointing to musicians trying to cop a riff); the view you get is one of someone seated at the show. Even so, the performance of "Foxey Lady" (inexplicably not included on either the original "Band of Gypsys" or the double-CD "Live at the Fillmore East") is worth the price of ownership for this DVD alone; he blows one of the lyrics near the end, but it's an imperfection not worth considering in the face of the song's performance...it really slams home the level of talent caried by th entire band, to say nothing of Jimi's own mind-blowing six-string sexuality. Buy this before the Woodstock, Isle of Wight, or any other live Jimi Hendrix performance DVD...it covers all the bases and the quality of the show is unsurpassed.
Rating:
Summary: Hendrix rocks the Fillmore East.
Review: The DVD contains a documentary about Hendrix and The Band of Gypsy's (Billy Cox and Buddy Miles), and B&W Footage from the concerts at The Fillmore East. The Documentary contains tons of interviews with those around Hendrix, and is very comprehensive in covering that period of Hendrix's History. It is very revealing and a must see for those who want to know about Hendrix during this time period in his career, It contains a lot of archival footage and recordings as well, Listen to Jimi Jams never heard before. The Raw B&W footage of the concert's is fantastic. Its Hendrix need I say more; Machine Gun baby. I love this DVD; and its a must for any Hendrix fanatic like me.
Rating:
Summary: Good concert, but stick to the CD.
Review: I bought this video because at the time when I wanted another Hendrix album, I couldn't afford the 2-CD set. Well I enjoyed hearing about how the band got put together and about why they made the album. This video contains interviews mixed in with black and white concert footage. That's right -- black and white. It looks nothing like how it would have looked in color. Still, this is one of Jimi's best concerts. "Machine Gun" blew me away. "Who Knows?" is a wonderful track, and the interviews really make you realize what kind of band this really was. It's an incredible story. Here's my reccomendation: if you want to hear more about the Band of Gypsies, as well as concert clips, get this video. But if you want solely the concert, get the double album "Live at the Fillmore East."
Rating:
Summary: GET THE DVD! IT SEPARATES THE CONCERT FROM DOCUMENTARY!!!!
Review: I have read customers reviews of Hendrix/Band of Gypsys at the Fillmore East and for a moment couldn't understand why they were bashing the documentary. But then I saw that these were reviews of the VHS version. So if you have a problem with the VHS version then your problems will be solved if you get the DVD version. The concert is seperated from the documentary and shown uninterrupted.( I haven't seen the VHS version so I can't empathize with other customers problems with VHS version)Based on whats on the DVD case , it includes new interviews , rare archival footage , and additional performances from 12/31/69 and 1/1/70 concerts which weren't on the VHS version. This DVD version is labeled as a special editon if you read carefully on the back of the DVD case. When you watch the concert footage you feel like you have been sent back in time and sneaked inside the Fillmore East to see this concert. It is shot totally in black and white and the production quality isn't the best but its like you own a lost , rare piece of rock and roll history when you're watching it so you accept the quality. There are 8 songs featured in the concert. One of my favorites is MACHINE GUN ; an anti war song. With Hendrix's virtuoso guitar playing along with Buddy Miles' drum playing creating the effect of machine gun fire along with the cool background "oohing" by Buddy Miles and Billy Cox this is a very memorable piece. Then Hendrix finishes by playing chords that sound similar to his bombing effect chords from his Star Spangled Banner performance at Woodstock. MACHINE GUN is a "bad" and "mean" song. Can you dig it? The last song played on the DVD is EARTH BLUES but we see the song already in process during Hendrix's guitar solo. Why this segment was picked up during the middle I don't know but you figure the makers of this DVD had their reasons. The segment is so powerful though that you don't mind it starting from the middle but you wished it started from the beginning so you could see the whole performance of the song. The segment quickly fades in from black with a camera shot showing Jimi , Miles , and Billy Cox from their front/right side playing at full blast. I don't know for sure but it seems like EARTH BLUES was tossed into this DVD just for good measure and , boy , will you ever appreciate it. You see all members of the band just rocking this song to death! Just AWESOME stuff! Then Hendrix ends it by saying goodnight and "Happy New Year". The footage then fades to black as he walks off stage. In the DVD you get images from the concert (11 pictures) , the concert footage is divided into 8 chapters featuring a song in each chapter , the list of tracks from "Band of Gypsys" and "Live at the Fillmore East " CDs , and you get the informative one hour twenty-three minute documentary(featuring color footage of the December 31 concert). This a very simply made DVD but the contents are priceless. So if you complained about the VHS version then your complaints have been heard with the release of this special edition DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Addendum
Review: I watched the documentary again and I have to make a modification to my review: I agree with what others have said about the documentary (although I recommend that people watch it more than just once - there are high points) but I also have to question whether Jimi put the BOG together simply to sell to the "black market," as was suggested in the documentary. I think Jimi's music was most important to him and he simply wanted to play with musicians - as many of them as possible - regardless of their race. This is evidenced by the quite confusing last 3 minutes of the documentary where the producers skip quickly over the point in history where Jimi brought Mitchell back into the band (on the eve of his tragic death). The producers clearly implied that the whole episode "was the low point in Hendrix's career." Miles was a terrific drummer; Jimi, however, was an experimental genius who continually moved forward to deliberately break artistic barriers - not racial ones. If racial barriers were broken in the process, however, that was a (fortunate) by-product. Jimi Hendrix, however, was not a walking political statement - he even shunned the very type of politics that the producers suggest he embraced (e.g., Dick Cavett show excerpt where Jimi says that art, not politics, has soul). I appreciate that he was a genius - and, yes, a black genius. I also appreciate the pride black people should have that he achieved what he did. Personally, however, I believe Jimi deserves all of the pride. Everyone else in the world - black, white, yellow, or blue - should just be thankful that he lived. What I believe Hendrix fans would love: 100 hours of Kramer (who was terrific) in the studio taking apart copius amounts of tape with, perhaps, insightful commentary - about the music - by people who actually played with Hendrix. No, it wouldn't get boring (my God would it be not boring). Also - ALL the video footage in existence in a volume-like format. Bits and pieces are so frustrating. Give us everything and give it to us in a format that respects the music above all else. That said, thanks to the producers who brought this to us. Every little bit is so appreciated. (Disclosure: I BOUGHT this and I'll buy anything Hendrix that is well done. I support.)
Rating:
Summary: Band of Gypsys
Review: This is a must have for any Jimi Hendrix or Buddy Miles fans!! The video isn't the best, but the sound is great. I would absolutely recommend this DVD to anyone that loves the rock/blues sound.
Rating:
Summary: Jimi -1, Phonies - 0
Review: I gave this one 4 stars because I only watched the documentary once. I disliked it to such a degree that I never watched it again. It really angered me to see the likes of the late DJ Frankie Crocker and Don Cornelious of Soul Train wax nostalgic about Hendrix when they were the early trend-setters of Black media who did absolutely nothing to promote Hendrix' music in his lifetime or afterwards. Lenny Kravitz??!!!?? Where's Ike Turner? Where's Ron Isley? Where's Little Richard? Where are the Chambers Brothers? Where's Sly Stone? Where's George Clinton? Where's Curtis Knight? Where's Bobby Womack? Where's B. B. King? These were all his contemporaries, for the most part -- each more equipped to discuss Jimi or the nuances of his music than Lenny Kravitz. Go directly to the concert footage and enjoy the show. The uninterrupted "Machine Gun" is well worth the price of admission.
Rating: 
Summary: BUTCHERED AND CONTAMINATED
Review: FEW THINGS HAVE MOVED ME LIKE THAT NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE OF MACHINE GUN.NEXT, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY I HAVE NEVER LIKED THE MUSIC OF LENNY KRAVITZ.HIS MUSIC LACKS INNOVATION AND INSIGHT.LENNY TALKING OVER JIMI PLAYING MACHINE GUN IS LIKE A PHONE RINGING IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVERSATION WITH GOD.I DON'T NEED TO HEAR/SEE SOMEONE INTERPRET HIS PERFORMANCE,MUSIC OR PHILOSOPHY FOR ME. I AM QUITE CAPABLE. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE AUDIENCE,JIMI NEVER DID. THE FOLKS THAT PUT THIS VIDEO TOGETHER OBVIOUSLY LACK THE SUBTLE COMMUNICATION SKILLS JIMI SO MASTERFULLY DISPLAYED THAT NIGHT.THE COMPLETE PERFORMANCE WILL REMAIN A MYSTERY.
|
