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Jimi Plays Berkeley

Jimi Plays Berkeley

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Jimi is great ....
Review: ....but whoever allowed this to be released in the butchered state that it's in should be shot!!!! I have waited for this complete show/movie to come out with good sound and uncut now for so many years, when I found out that they did this to it, my jaws just droped.... I will buy it but I am so angry that some of his best playing has actually been cut out.... Get your act together "the people who are in charge of Jimi's music" please, you are doing him a great diservice..... If Jimi was alive he would be doing the shooting himself....Enough said but the dvd is still worth it because of the 5.1 and stereo sound remastering.....(if it was not cut i would have given it a 5)...Buy it anyway it's still worth it..."Purple Haze" "Johnny B Goode" and what is left of "Hear my Train A Comin" alone are invaluable...ROCK ON JIMI (the undisputable master!!!!)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Best moments make this worth the price of admission
Review: Although the sound and video quality do leave a bit to be desired, this DVD is a good value, and if you enjoy watching Jimi display his musical and sexual powers in subtle ways, there are moments on this video which are priceless. For instance, about 44:45 in, watch Jimi drop to his knees to tease two 14 year or so old girls in the front row. Jimi has been wailing on an improvisational take of Voodoo Chile, and the girls are in ecstacy. On his knees directly in front of the two, one girl gestures with regard to the size of Jimi's anatomy, while the other nods in agreement. The fact that Jimi is directly in front of them, not 3 feet away, is simply coincindental. That's what is so great about the moment! Jimi is writhing, sexual innuendo emanating from his handling of the neck and body of the strat. He's probably secretly enjoying the moment as much as the girls. He caps it off with an oral display directly in front of the two, playing with his teeth/tongue with the body of the guitar in a horizontal position so they can see it all and can't possibly misconstrue the implications. To me its totally captivating and Jimi pulls it all off with absolute subtlety. Ah, to possess such power! And its all in E minor pentatonic. All you need is the musical and improvisational genius to go with it. Anyone know those two girls? They must be in their mid-late 40's now!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Jimi Plays Berkeley DVD
Review: Always great to watch Jimi play. DVD says it contains the complete second set which may only be partially true. Noticed a lot of chopped up parts, including some killer solos that are completely cut out. Not the best camera angles used. I've seen other versions of this video that contain more footage. Feels like this video is to short or incomplete.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Jimi Plays Berkeley DVD
Review: Always great to watch Jimi play. DVD says it contains the complete second set which may only be partially true. Noticed a lot of chopped up parts, including some killer solos that are completely cut out. Not the best camera angles used. I've seen other versions of this video that contain more footage. Feels like this video is to short or incomplete.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Hodge-podge editing and no new surprises here
Review: Clocking in at a woeful 56 minutes, this DVD represents only a fraction of the two concerts JImi performed on May 30, 1970. The packaging itself comes with a nice booklet that explains the background on how the concert was filmed, and the events that unfolded with it after JImi's unfortunate demise. The only 'real' bonus footage is a complete 5.1 surround sound audio for Jimi's second concert (which is essentially a different mix to the newly released Jimi Plays Berkeley CD, also available.)

In all fairness, the sound for the video has been substantially overhauled. But, the haphazard edits and shaky camera movements that plagued the original documentary (rockumentary?) still exist. One would have figured that today's technology could have at least fixed the 'shaky camera' problems, but I digress.
Pciture quality is clean - though one can clearly see the limitations of the original equipment used to record the show. Given that it's one of only a handful of live Hendrix videos available, one can't be too picky I suppose. Highlights include Jimi's screaming rendition of "Johnny B. Goode", "Star Spangled Banner/ Purple Haze", and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", only because these songs are more or less complete. The other songs on the DVD are all significantly edited down from their original length.

One interesting tidbit gleaned from the accompanying booklet is that Experience Hendrix was not able to include any outtakes because they haven't been turned over 'by the previous administration' that controlled the guitarist's legacy. Which probably means that Alan Douglas or Michael Jeffery's estate is probably sitting on the rest of the film.

Jimi's performance itself warrants 5 stars, but given the sheer lack of extra material, my rating stays firm at 3 stars for this release. Mildly recommended.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Very Dissapointed
Review: I consider myself a pretty big Hendrix fan and can say this DVD was a huge let-down for me. I basically bought it just for the "Hear My Train A Comin'", this Berkeley performance is by far my favorite version of the song. I couldn't beleive they edited(very poorly I might add) this twelve minute blues masterpeice down to about two and a half minutes. Not to mention just about every other song is butcherd as well, "Lover Man" clocks in at around thirty seconds. I hope whoever edited this got fired. Im glad the Hendrix family is finding ways to rip us off and rake in the cash for themselves. Can you say ARE YOU EXPLOITED?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great DVD, but to much editing...
Review: I gave it 5 stars because it's Jimi, but it should really be about a 3. Why did they have to chop up the greatest performance of "Hear My Train A'Comin"? I've got this live version on the Blues album and the Voodo Child collection, and it is awesome. Why did they do that?? The song is originally over 11 minutes long, and they cut it down to a few minutes. Also, why can't they release the full concert? On every Jimi DVD they have partial concerts, why not release it all??? Oh well, I guess some is better than none. All in all it's a great DVD!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: good dvd
Review: i got this dvd first before i got any other ones of his and all i had heard was the "are you experianced?" album wich i loved so i thought why not give this a try because i really wanted to see him live, since i wasnt born when he died. but this was very good i really liked it from the get-go, the only downpoint is that the actual concert footage isnt the complete set list which is included on the cd that comes with this.its still good, plus its by hendrix, that just makes it even better to see him workin his magic on the unsuspecting crowd.very good, buy it and see how modern day music as we know it started!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome Video. Lots of Hendrix.
Review: In 1974, I went to a movie theatre in Boston to see the film on which this video is based. It was my first exposure to Jimi Hendrix performing, after listening to him for years. I was completely messmerised, as was the entire audience. It seemed as if we were all at an actual concert. This is a great Hendrix video, especially for those who have never seen him perform, only heard him. I sincerely hope that it becomes available again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Johnny B Goode worth the whole video
Review: It may be incomplete but it's the incomparable Hendirx and seeing him play Johnny B Goode the way Chuck B. wished he could play it is worth the price of the whole video. Ooooh that man could play just like a ringing old bell.


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